I quickly checked my appearance one last time before going to answer the door. Alice surprisingly had a blue summer dress that fit me perfectly. It was strapless and stopped a couple inches after the knee. It was showing more skin than usual, but I wanted to look my best, and Alice assured me that this dress was just the ticket. Alice had done nothing but brush my hair, wanting to keep my hair natural looking. I was wearing a light blush with just a little bit of mascara to accentuate my eyes. I was happy with how I looked, and hopefully Edward would feel the same way. I slipped on my sandals and practically ran down the stairs, being careful not to trip; I wasn't very graceful.
When I answered the door I was overwhelmed by Edward's amazing looks. He appeared to have no flaws, which was something that I was actually quite envious of. He was wearing black slacks with a white button up shirt that clung to his chesty, showing off his muscles rather likely. After I was done staring, I forced my eyes to travel up to his face, where I saw a huge smile and green eyes that seemed to be filled with desire. But it was the genuine type of desire, the one where it was almost as if he longed to be with me.
"Hello, Bella," he said softly. He reached for my hand and I gladly let him have it. He gently ran a thumb over my cuts, causing me to wince. His eyes were appologetic as he lifted my hand and gently kissed it. I could feel the blush rising up my cheeks.
"Hello to you too." I smiled as I noticed that he still had a hold of my hand.
"Are you ready to go?"
"I was actually wondering if you wanted to meet my friend Alice. She's anxious to see who made me get all dressed up," I laughed nervously.
He bent his head down to my hear and whispered, "You wouldn't have had to get all dressed up. You're beautiful." He quickly pulled his head up and asked in a louder tone where Alice was.
"Alice!" I yelled. I could hear the patter of her feet as she ran down the hallway, stopping dead in her tracks as she looked at Edward.
"Well, you must be Edward," she said.
Edward let go of my hand and walked towards Alice, using the hand that he held mine in to shake her hand. "That's me," he said smiling. Alice shot me a look that was just screaming, "Oh. My. God. You are so lucky." I had to bite my lip to stifle my laugh.
"I've heard an awful lot about you," she replied as she did a quick once over of him. She turned and nodded quickly, showing her approval.
Edward turned to look at me. "All good I hope."
"Oh, yes. Well, I best let you guys go on your date. So, I will see you later I hope Edward. It was nice meeting you."
"Bye, Alice. It was nice meeting you too." He turned to face me again, and the look in his eyes made me weak in the knees. "Ready to go?" he questioned.
"Yes. I'll see you tonight Alice." I gave her a quick hug and walked out of the door, grateful that the weather had done a complete 180 after last night. The sun was shining brightly, and I was hoping that my skin would get some color.
"So, where are we going?" I questioned.
"I was thinking The Tides. Is that okay?" His voice sounded nervous like it did on the phone.
"That's fine," I smiled. As we were walking to his car, I accidentally hit his hand with my own, and he quickly grabbed it. His touch felt so good, it was amazing.
"Alice is very welcoming," he chuckled.
"Yeah, she is. I have no idea how she has all of that energy. She likes you, you know," I instantly regretted saying that. Why would he need Alice to like him? It's not like we were going on a date.
"I'm glad." His answer surprised me, and I was instantly relaxed.
In a very gentlemanly fashion, Edward opened the door of his silver Volvo for me. I couldn't help but stare as I watched him walk to the driver side of the car. He was so graceful. When he got in the car, he instantly started a conversation.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Good, actually. I think getting out today will help." I looked at him to see a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?" I questioned.
"Yes. More than okay as a matter of fact. But, as I said last night, I just want to know that you are okay." He took his right hand off the steering wheel and grabbed my left hand, giving it a light squeeze.
"I will be. You're definitely helping." And he was. His mere presence could calm me down like nothing else in this world.
He didn't answer me with words; his smile said it all. He was grateful that he was helping me.
When we got to the restaurant Edward opened my door for me and walked us inside hand in hand.
"Reservations under Cullen," he said to the host.
"You're awfully confident. How'd you know I wasn't going to say no?" I asked jokingly.
"I hoped that you would want to see me as much as I wanted to see you," he whispered in my ear as we were seated at our table. Of course, Edward pulled out my chair for me.
"Hello, my name is Marie and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you guys off with some drinks?"
"I'll have an ice tea please," I replied. When I looked up from the menu I saw that she was paying no attention to me. Her eyes were glued on Edward, and a hint of jealously shot through my body.
"A coke please," Edward said as he quickly glanced at the waitress, but his eyes immediately left hers and found mine.
"Hmph," Marie said. I couldn't help but laugh quietly.
"So Bella, you never did get to tell me about yourself last night." I was disappointed when I realized that there wasn't much to say. I wasn't an interesting person.
"What would you like to know?"
"What do you do for a living?" He sounded truly interested, as if he wanted to know everything about me.
"I'm an English teacher for juniors and seniors in high school," I replied with pride. I loved my job.
"I bet you're the prettiest teacher any of those kids have ever seen," he replied with that crooked smile that made my heart melt.
"I would bet otherwise," I mumbled. "So, Edward. What do you do for a living?" With his looks, I wouldn't doubt if he said that he was a model.
"Well, just like you, I love English. I'm an editor." He spoke about his job like I spoke about mine. I could tell he loved what he did.
"Really? That's so cool. I thought about doing that for a while, but teaching is what I love most." I stopped myself, realizing that he would probably get bored if I continued talking.
"What do you like to do on your spare time?" he questioned as he grabbed my hand.
"I read a lot. Occasionally if an idea pops in my head I'll write, but the end result is never something to be proud of," I chuckled. "I like to go out with my friends, minus the whole getting ready part. I'm not big on getting all dolled up."
He was looking at me skeptically and asked, "Is that not what you did this morning?"
"Yes, I did. But only because last night I'm sure I looked horrible. I thought that I would try and make a better impression today."
"Last night you were beautiful, just as you are today." He smile and took a sip of his soda and we continued asking each other anything we could think of. I found out that he went to Stanford, he was twenty-four, his dad was a doctor and his mom was an interior designer. He loved to play piano and play baseball with his brother, Jasper. I told him that I went to college at Long Beach State University, I was twenty-two, my dad was a sheriff and my mom was an artist. I told him about my brother, Emmet, and he showed no sign of worry that I had an very overprotective older brother.
We continued talking for what felt like forever, and I was reluctant to tell him that I should be getting home. Alice had told me that she was expecting Emmet for dinner, so I wanted to put on something that would hide my bruises a little better, though Alice had done a wonderful job covering them up with cover up this afternoon.
The car ride to Alice's house was silent, but not awkward. It was actually very relaxing, and I let my body mold itself into the passenger seat. Edward hadn't let my hand go since he started asking me questions. This all seemed to surreal. We hadn't even known each other for a day, and I already felt as if I was tied to him in some way, like we were supposed to meet that night.
"Let me walk you to the door?" Edward asked when he stopped in front of Alice's house.
"Of course," I replied. I let myself out of the car this time, not wanting to make myself seem rude by sitting and waiting for him to open the door for me. Once we were standing side by side he immediately took my hand and walked me up the driveway and to the front door.
"I had an excellent time today, Bella." he said. I felt his thumb lightly tracing patterns on my hand. His touch was utterly intoxicating.
"Me too," I said, shyly.
"Can we do this again sometime?" he questioned. I had no idea why he even asked. Of course I would want to do this again.
"I think I can schedule you in," I said playfully.
"Thank you," was the last thing I heard before his lips gently pressed to mine. I had never in my life felt anything as good as that, and without thinking I tightly wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He continued to kiss me until I heard Emmet's jeep coming down the street. I instantly pulled away.
"I'm sorry, but my brother's coming," I managed to say after I caught my breath.
"It's quite alright," he said as he smiled my favorite crooked smile. I stood up on my tip toes and gave him a chaste kiss and lightly placed my hand on his face.
"Goodnight, Edward," I said sadly.
"Goodnight, Bella. Can I call you tomorrow?"
"Of course," I replied. I gave him a quick hug before opening the door. I turned around once I was inside to wave goodbye and watch him get in his car. Luckily, he left right as Emmet pulled up to the house.
"Oh. My. God." Alice said out of nowhere. I turned to see her standing in the living room next to the window. She must have been spying on me.
"Yeah, I know," I laughed.
"He's amazing," she said loudly, causing me to sigh with agreement. He truly was, and I was starting to think that I was one of the luckiest girls in the world. I could feel myself smiling like an idiot, thinking back on my day. It had started out like crap, and was ending perfectly. All because of Edward Cullen.