A/N: I am back! Did you miss me? No...? Maybe Olderward, then?

Tarbecca was kind enough to rec Start Over at ADF, and that has brought me a whole bunch of new readers. Hi there! *waves* Welcome!

To my lovely old readers, thank you for your patience and all your wishes, my exams went well. I'm so excited to be back with this chapter.

Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight, you're aware of that by now :P

Last time, we saw a part of the date... Here's some more of it... Picking up exactly where we left it. Enjoy :)

Chapter 8

The sound of a click pulled me out of the stupor and I turned to look at the smiling woman who was now motioning for us to pose for another picture.

She clicked a few more, this time with both of us smiling toward the camera and then bid us goodbye.

We started walking in another direction now, stopping every now and then to look at the sights and taking more pictures.

A few minutes later, I heard Bella gasp.

"What happened?"

"Look!" She pointed in front of us and I followed her gaze to a little girl, who looked about six or seven years old, dressed in a pink jacket, twirling around on the ice in the skating rink. She was looked absolutely adorable as she gracefully maneuvered her way around the rink, waving as she passed by a small group of people who'd stopped by to watch her.

"She's so cute. And obviously good at this!" Bella said with a smile. "I wish I had the grace to pull it off."

I looked over to the rink, then back to the beautiful girl at my side. The longing was so clearly displayed in her soulful eyes. Holding out a hand, I said, "C'mon."

Startled, she looked sharply, and dare I say suspiciously, at my outstretched palm. "What?" I tilted my head toward the rink and Bella immediately shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no."

"Why not?"

"I took lessons when I was five- Nana wanted me to try- and almost broke my arm once and injured a couple of other kids. Since then, I've accepted that I'm too clumsy for ice-skating. And definitely not in front of all these people!" she added the last part in a whisper, as if afraid of someone overhearing our conversation.

"You just said that you wished you could do it," I pointed out. She opened her mouth to speak but I continued before she could interrupt. "If I remember correctly, I told you that I wanted to give you the world, anything that your heart desires. Please let me do this for you?"

"Edward…" She still looked unsure, but I could tell that her decision was wavering. She looked between my hand and the ice, torn. "Can I really do it, in spite of the surgery?"

"I promise not to let go of your hands for even a second. I won't let you fall, Bella," I told her, the sincerity in my voice was unmistakable. "And since you've not felt any pain after all this walking we've done, I think you should be fine. That said, if you experience an ounce of discomfort of any sort, we'll stop immediately."

She let out a huge breath, her eyes roaming over my face. Slowly, determinedly, she raised her hand and placed it in mine. I squeezed it gently, leading her over to the counter, where we could rent the skates.

Once we'd put them on, I led her to the ice. Her legs wobbled a bit as we slowly trudged forward, but I could see that she remembered the basics, at least. I moved from her side to stand in front of her and cupped her face in my palms.

"I won't let you fall, okay?" I repeated, looking intently into her eyes.

She nodded, her expression one of solemn concentration.

I took her hands in both of mine and ever so slowly, started skating backwards, pulling her with me, never looking away from her face. We stumbled a little the first few steps, but eventually she got the hang of it and we were gliding much more easily than before.

I knew that if I let go, she'd surely fall, it wasn't possible to learn this in a day after all. The reason I gave her earlier was true, but apart from that, there was another answer as to why I practically forced her to skate with me. I wanted to show her that she could trust me. This was a silly little activity, just for a bit of fun, but I believed that it was a start, an opportunity for me to show Bella that if she'd let me, I was here to stay and had no plans of ever letting her go.

A few more minutes of injury-less skating made Bella a little braver and she let go of one of my hands to wave at the girl in pink we'd seen earlier. A squeak left her throat when she stumbled, almost taking us both down. Her hand immediately reached out and clasped mine so tight that I feared for my circulation.

"Um, yeah, I should stick to both hands," she muttered, looking at me, wide-eyed and I bit back a chuckle.

After an hour of that, we were both tired, so we stopped by at the nearby restaurant for a late lunch, our conversation moving over to Bella's studies. The warmth inside felt amazing as we shed our coats. We sat down at the corner booth. I pulled off my beanie and ran a hand through my hair. I faced Bella and found her looking up at my hair with a strange expression.

"What?" I asked, self-consciously, trying to tame the locks. "Is it all flattened? I look like a goof, don't I?"

"Uh, no, no," she said quickly. "It's sticking up in all directions actually."

I sighed. "No matter how hard I try to tame it, my hair never obeys me."

"Looks, um, looks good on you like this," she mumbled, blushing profusely and picked up the menu, seemingly giving it her undivided attention as I smirked and did the same.

After a hearty meal, we walked much slower. We'd been moving around aimlessly so far, taking breaks ever so often. I fretted over Bella, repeatedly asking her if she was doing fine and she always replied in the affirmative, sometimes with an eye-roll and a smile, sometimes with a shaking head. The last time I'd asked, I'd been on the receiving end of a withering glare that should have had me fearing for my safety. But now, despite the intermittent rest, I assumed that after the hours of walking we'd done, Bella might be getting tired, so I pulled out a map and told her to look through it, find out where she wanted to go next.

She decided on the tropic zone of the zoo, so we headed there and spent some time there, forgetting all about the cold weather outside and taking a look at the many different species of lemurs and the hundreds of varieties of birds.

I was happier than I'd ever been seeing the mirth on Bella's face as she looked at all the exhibits. I laughed when she tried to imitate the squeak of the parrot and was secretly satisfied when she cringed back into me, away from the Emerald Tree Boa. The little placard said it was non-venomous, but it was… creepy.

When we walked out of the zoo, we came across a counter that offered tours of the lesser known and often missed areas of the park. It sounded interesting, but neither of us was up for another "three hours of vigorous walking" as the guide put it.

"Maybe next time," Bella said casually and the simple little statement planted a shred of cautious optimism in my heart.

We sat around on a bench for a little while talking about all the things we'd seen. As the evening fell upon us, the wind became chillier and we decided to leave. The ride back to Bella's dorm was as comfortable as the one in the morning. We chatted about our day in the park, the food, the music playing in the car. I was glad to see that the dynamic of our relationship had not changed. We could still talk to each other about anything as easily as we could spend time in companionable silence.

When we reached the dorm, I rushed to open her door for her and then insisted on escorting her to the apartment.

The awkwardness, that had fortunately been absent in the car, came creeping upon as we walked up, looking anywhere but at each other. I fidgeted with the car key as I wondered what would be the right way to say good bye to her.

I was still debating it when we reached her door.

I couldn't kiss her… Too soon for that since the entire mess started with a kiss. Yeah, a kiss would be too much.

A handshake? A wave? No… that was too less. Impersonal.

Maybe a hug? Friends hugged, right?

Before I could reach a conclusion, Bella made the decision for me. I froze as she leaned in and put her hands on my shoulders. Rising up on her toes, she placed a soft kiss on my cheek. It was the slightest of brush of her lips against my skin, but it was enough to send a warm current down my spine. A slow, wide grin spread over my lips as she pulled back, her simple gesture tugging at my heart in ways I couldn't even describe.

"I had a wonderful time today," she said with a smile that could've melted the coldest of hearts. "Thank you, Edward."

"It was my pleasure. So, can I, uh, see you tomorrow?" I asked tentatively.

"I was thinking of doing a bit of studying tomorrow," she answered and my face fell. "But," she continued, "Maybe you could come over in the evening?"

"I was thinking about the evening, too. I have work until five, so maybe I'll see you around six-thirty?"

"Perfect."

With her agreement, I said goodbye, waited until she was inside and then headed home.

I'd just walked in and was hanging up my coat when my phone rang. I answered without looking at the display.

"Merry Christmas, dude!" I pulled the phone away from my ears as the booming voice of my dear friend threatened to shatter my ear drum.

"Merry Christmas, Emmett. How are things in LA? You and Rose reach there alright?"

"Yeah, we got here yesterday," he said. "The entire McCarty clan is here and the party is in full swing, right boys?" I cringed at the "Hell, yeah!" yelled by his brothers in unison and the clanging that followed.

"Okay, okay, I got it. I'm glad."

He laughed. "How are you doing? I called to get the latest scoop on your love life."

I snorted.

"Ooh, something's happened!" he sang. "What's going on between you and Bellie?"

"Bellie?"

"Bella. Don't act dense, dude."

"I'm not. I just didn't realize you two had gotten so close as to have nicknames since you've never even met her," I pointed out.

"I haven't," he admitted, sounding regretful about it. "With the damned conference, I didn't get the chance to come see her in the hospital and had to come out here for the holidays. And since when do I need to meet someone in order to nickname them?"

I shook my head, saying nothing.

"Now, stop distracting me! Oh my God! Do not tell me that you've chickened out and done nothing to make that girl fall in love with you! I swear, I'll come and kick your ass."

"Hold your horses," I said. "I think falling in love with me is a long while away, but I did talk to her last night, told her everything from my perspective."

"And?" Emmett's tone dripped with impatience and I laughed, picturing his huge, six and a half feet tall form bouncing on his toes like an excited kid.

"And she's agreed to give me a second chance. In fact, we had our first date today," I informed him proudly.

"Fuck yeah! That's awesome, Cullen!"

I told him about the Christmas gift I'd given Bella and he laughed. "Nothing says I love you better than a Littman."

"What the hell are you two gossiping about like two teenage girls while I'm stuck in between the starving hooligans that are my husband's brother?" I jumped when Rose's voice snapped at me through the line.

"Baby, give me my phone." I could hear Emmett complaining in the background, but she shushed him.

"Edward? I'm waiting," she barked.

"Merry Christmas, Rose," I said sweetly.

"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas. What's going on?"

"He's got a girl, Rosie!" Emmett chimed in.

"A girl, huh?"

"She's not my girl, yet. But, hopefully, she will be," I told her.

"Really? I'm happy for you, Edward," Rosalie told me, her tone much softer now. "Where did you meet?"

"Uh, it's a really long story, Rose. Why don't you ask Emmett? He knows everything."

"He knows and hasn't said anything to me? What the hell?"

"We just went on her first date today," I pacified her. "Em didn't know that until a few minutes ago."

"Hmm, alright. I want to meet her soon, though. I've got to make sure she knows exactly what I'll do to her if she ever hurt you like that bitch Irina," she said, her tone serious and menacing.

I sighed. "Wait until you hear the whole story, Rose. I'm the one who has hurt her. She's not like that. She's kind and… just, beautiful. Inside and out. Bella is nothing like Irina."

"Well, I'm glad and relieved to hear that. You deserve happiness and the way you sound right now… I haven't seen that side of you in ages. If this Bella is the reason behind it, then I'll be the biggest supporter of this relationship."

"Thank you, Rose. It means a lot to me." I heard the beeping of another incoming call. "Someone else is calling me, I've got to go."

Em and Rose said goodbye. I switched over to the other line, where my parents were calling me. I sat down on the couch and wished them both a Merry Christmas, chatting for a little while.

As much as I hated it, I had to lie when Mom asked me how my patient was doing, the one who I said I wanted to monitor even during the holidays.

It'd been just one day, one date, but, the way Bella and I had easily slipped into our previously shared camaraderie, the innocent little touches that she'd granted me, the excitement and happiness dancing her eyes as we created new memories together, they all made me more hopeful than ever that someday, someday I'd have the honor of calling her mine and when I fell asleep that night, I dreamed of the day I could introduce her to my family as such.

A/N: As always, Melissa beta'd this and Dazzled Eyes22 pre-read it (Actually, this woman just reads my mind and brings out stuff even I didn't realize was there lol!)

I post (pic) teasers for chapters on Facebook whenever I get the chance, so if you're interested, come find me as Kayla Cullen.
To all my dear silent lurkers... I see you :P and I'd love to hear what you're thinking.

Until next time :)

~ForeverRobsessed