I don't own Twilight. I do own a patch of greenish-brownish stuff of my front yard. I think it might be grass but it's hard to tell with all the leftover snow.

Chapter 29

Edward didn't want to get his hopes up but Bella holding his hand was a good sign, wasn't it? They walked slowly to his car. He was glad he had gotten it cleaned for his date with Siobhan. It was a filthy mess a few days ago. For a used piece of crap Honda Civic it served him well but because it was a used piece of crap Honda Civic he treated it like a garbage can. When ever the smell started to get to him, he cleaned it out.

He opened the passenger door for Bella and waited until she was settled before jogging around to the driver's side. He was nervous, afraid of what she might say, that she might turn him down and want to just be friends. Not that he had done a very good job at being her friend in the past. But he vowed to himself that he would be whatever she wanted him to be.

"Did you have a good time at the gala?", she asked him as he buckled his seatbelt.

"It was better than any other year. It was fun watching Siobhan have a good time. It was great to see her parents relax a little. It's been hard for the whole family. Oh, and the food was much better, positively mouth-watering.", he laughed.

"Thank you. Have you known Siobhan for a long time?"

"Not really. I met her mother, Maggie, early last year. She came in the clinic where I was doing some interning. She had badly sprained her ankle and needed some physio. The clinician let me help and we got to talking about our lives. She told me about Siobhan and her need for a new kidney. She told me they had been thinking about going on Facebook to see if they could find a living donor. I mentioned it to Dad and introduced them to each other. Dad took it from there, got the hospital involved and I guess that's it."

They stopped at a red light and he looked over at her. She was fiddling with the hem of her dress. He gathered that she had no more idea how to start this conversation than he did. He screwed up his courage and cleared his throat.

"Is it later yet?"

She blinked at him. What was he talking about?

"You said that we could talk later, much later. I wanted to talk to you all week but you were so busy with Mom and you looked so tried every night I didn't want to get into something and make things harder for you. The gala is over, there is no more marathon cooking, can it be later now?"

"You know, that barely made any sense." She laughed at him, good-naturedly.

"I'm sure you are well aware that I have trouble with coherency when it comes to you, Bella." He winked at her. Edward noticed that they were driving beside a park. He pulled over and pointed out the swings for her. She nodded her head and they got out of the car. They walked over to the swing set and each took a seat.

"I don't have the strength you did, Bella. God, I'm a grown man and I had to hide behind anonymous note to tell you how I was feeling. When I came back to Forks and found out that you were going to be the one to help out with Tyler my first reaction was anger. I thought that maybe you were only doing it to get closer to me. I was such an ass. Then when I found out what everyone at school was doing to you and why they were doing it, well, I started to think differently about you. The more I thought about you, the more I saw what kind of person you were, are, the feelings I had for you changed. When I came to your house after Tyler told everyone off the way you stood up to me and dismissed me, made me think that I would never have a chance with you. So I kissed you. I thought that maybe I could convince you that way. But you shot me down, and spectacularly too. I went home and had long talk with Tyler. He helped me and gave me ideas. To do something to get your attention, to get you to listen to me when I knew you wouldn't in person. I thought that a secret admirer would peak your interest. I'm sorry you thought it was creepy, that wasn't my intention. And if you want me to stay away from you I will but I don't want to."

Bella thought about what he said for a long time. Long enough to make Edward's heart start to clench in his chest. So, this is it, he thought, this is where she tells me to fuck off and leave her alone.

"So, what do you want now, Edward?" She finally said.

"I want to go on dates. I want you to know how much I've changed. I want a chance to treat you like you should be treated. I want to kiss you again, with your permission, and have you enjoy it as much as I do."

Bella just sat there. Could she, did she want to give him a chance? The things he said and the way he said them gave her reason to pause. He was different now than he was when he first came back. He made such an effort to win her attention. It was endearing but was that enough to start a relationship. The way he was with Siobhan reminded her of what he was like years ago when he was this handsome, idealistic youth she crushed on. He was still handsome, shit, he was more than handsome, and still idealistic enough. She wasn't crushing on him now but it wouldn't take much to change that. She just didn't know if she could trust him with her heart. But then wasn't he saying the same thing, kind of?

She was getting cold, the air was wet and chilly out here in the open. She got off her swing and slowly walked back to the car. Edward trailed after her, no idea what was going on now. She stopped at the passenger door and leant back against it. He stood in front of her waiting for the end.

"You know, Edward, I never got a New Year's kiss."

Edward's face broke out in a huge grin. He took a few steps forward and put his hands on the roof of the car on either side of her head. He leaned in slowly, just in case she changed her mind. He carefully placed a gentle kiss on her cheek just like the one he gave Siobhan. He leaned back and looked at her. She smiled at him so he leaned in and did it again. He kissed a line from her cheek to her mouth. He kissed slowly but with increasing pressure until one of her hands came up and rested on the back of his neck. He slid one of his hands inside her coat and held on to her waist, pulling her flush up against him. He opened his mouth a little to see what her reaction would be. She snuck her tongue into his mouth and that was it. He was gone. It was the best kiss of his life and he knew he was falling for this girl. He increased his grip on her and deepened the kiss. He never wanted to let her go.

A car horn blared at them as the car drove past. He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. She shivered slightly, no longer being heated by his body.

"Come on, Pretty girl. Let's go home."

AN: This is the last regular chapter. There will be a longer epilogue in about a week. There is an out-take that I will post in a few days if anyone is interested.

You guys are better support than control-top pantyhose. Thank you for your kind words. I wasn't really concerned about the pacing of the story but the starting notes are the only way I can respond to my 'Guest'. Plus I wanted to make everyone laugh as much as 'Guest' made me laugh. You do have to admire the poor dear, she reads every story, every chapter, and stays up all night thinking of different ways to make herself feel better for having no creativity or imagination by trying to insult others. I've seen her posts on other stories, she is very egalitarian with her vitriol. Bless her heart, I don't think she has ever read a written word she likes.

To all the other guests, I'm sorry your name gets tainted by one or two trolls, but know that I appreciate your comments as much as everyone else's. I have about six months worth of replies for everyone but I'll blanket it for now, thank you, thank you, thank you.

sbc