A/N: First and always, love to Ms Kathy for her beta skills and wisdom.
A group of readers, organized by HookaShewz, bid and won a one-shot from yours truly in the recent FGB Eclipse auction. These generous ladies (names listed below) requested a continuation of Tips for their one-shot. I spent a few weeks thinking through Bella and Shalloward's year together, and figured I could do it justice in four chapters.
Team Shalloward did not request a specific prompt – they just asked for the story to unfold naturally. With that in mind, here is the first part of the continuation of Tips.
##
Bella asked for three rules:
No sex.
No hard feelings if either of them met someone else during the course of the year.
Nothing illegal.
"No sex for a whole year?" asked Edward disbelievingly. Bella chuckled over her coffee cup at his expression. They were sitting at her kitchen table. It was January 2, and weak afternoon sunlight filtered in through the blinds.
"I didn't say that," she pointed out. "I said no sex with each other. You're free to have sex with others during the course of the year. We're friends, remember?"
Edward pondered this for a moment. The thought of having sex with other women while he was courting Bella seemed wrong. The thought of having no sex at all for a year also seemed wrong – or at least, very unfavorable to him. "You could have sex with other people too," he said at last.
"I don't see that happening right now for me," she replied. Edward waited for her to elaborate, but Bella said nothing further.
"Nothing illegal? What's that all about?" he asked. "I can't run a stop sign for a year?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of not engaging in illegal activities when we're together or when you're in my house," she said. Edward looked blank. "No drugs. No drinking and driving. That sort of thing," Bella explained. "Getting arrested isn't my thing."
"You need a relax a little, Bella," said Edward.
"Probably," she said. "But I'll find other ways to relax." She gestured to him. "Do you have any ground rules for the year?"
"Only one," Edward said. "No lying." Bella looked affronted. "I mean, no hiding the truth – is that better? No more keeping important stuff from me. No more treating me like a little kid. I want you to talk to me, Bella. I want to know you."
She was quiet for a moment, then nodded.
##
"So, you want to go out tonight?" Edward asked after Bella had put her coffee cup away. He pulled up movie listings on his phone. "How about a movie?"
They caught a late afternoon show of a big-budget thriller that had enjoyed a successful holiday run. As the lights went down, Bella took one of Edward's hands in hers. Her slim fingers were warm and soft under his, and he could feel her body shiver as he ran his thumb softly over her palm. If he were with any other girl, he would have pushed things a lot further in the darkness of the theatre, but he knew that wouldn't fly with Bella. Besides, just holding her hand felt strangely satisfying for him.
They drove home after the movie in the winter darkness. Edward had been visibly disappointed when Bella's garage had opened to reveal a black Volkswagen sedan. He had envisioned a Porsche, a BMW, maybe a Jaguar. But a Volkswagen CC?
"I thought you'd have a sexier car," he had said with a long face.
"It's Chicago in winter," Bella had pointed out practically. "Did you expect me to drive a convertible?"
Now that he was maneuvering through the snowy Chicago streets in the CC, Edward could understand why Bella had chosen it. It was solid and safe beneath him. Plus it was fully loaded with heated seats. And she let him drive it.
"Did you like the movie?" Bella asked, turning to face him in her seat.
"Yeah, it was good. How about you?"
"I enjoyed it very much. I like movies with lots of shooting in them," she replied unexpectedly, making Edward grin. "I wanted to see this director's latest." She paused for a moment. "My agent says they might go after him to direct the movie of this latest book I wrote."
Edward glanced at her in shock. "They're making your book into a movie? Holy shit, that's really fucking cool!"
Bella made a face. "It's not as cool as you might think. Yes, we've sold the movie rights for this book and the one before it. But these things can take forever to happen, so I'm not holding my breath."
"I think they'd both make really good movies," said Edward. "Maybe not the first book you wrote, but the other two for sure." There was a long silence beside him.
"You read all three of my books?" asked Bella at last.
"Well, yeah. They're your books, right? I read them while you were away." Edward focused on the road as he negotiated an icy intersection.
"That's probably one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me," Bella finally said, her voice rough with emotion. "Thank you, Edward."
"You're welcome," he said, pleased.
They finished out the evening on the couch, talking and eating leftovers from some New Year's Eve party Bella had hosted. Edward left before midnight, knowing he had an early shift at the deli the next day. He pulled on his winter jacket and scarf, and gave Bella a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek, which she returned.
"Good night," she said softly. "Thank you for a nice evening."
"Of course it was nice," Edward said. "We're good together. Didn't I tell you?" Bella laughed and flapped a hand at him.
"This part is easy," she said. "Just wait until we're out in the big bad world, dealing with our friends and family. If we're still good together after that, it'll be a different story.
##
Opportunities to be together were few and far between for the rest of the month. Bella was still doing promotional work for her latest book and was away for several days. When she was home, she usually had Frankie – and even Edward knew that he shouldn't intrude on that.
Admittedly, his work schedule in January was jammed as well. He took on as many shifts as he could at the restaurant. It made the days go faster – and brought him more rapidly than expected to a very important achievement.
"So my parents are having a little dinner celebration thing on Sunday night," said Edward one afternoon as he wiped down the counter. Bella had just arrived from New York City and stopped at the deli for a quick meal and a chat before heading home. He looked at her a little shyly. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come?"
Bella looked at him, startled. "Won't your parents find it a bit odd if I suddenly show up for their dinner party?"
"Not really," Edward said, looking sheepish. "The dinner is for me, and they asked if I wanted to invite any of my friends. I thought maybe the best person to bring was you because, you know, you helped so much."
"What's the dinner for?" she asked. "And what did I help with?"
"I … uh … finished paying off my debt to my dad," he said. Bella still didn't react.
"What debt?"
"What do you mean 'what debt?'" asked Edward impatiently. "You know, my …" He trailed off mid sentence. Fuck. I never told Bella about it. I let her think that I was helping my family out financially.
Bella arched her eyebrows, a humorless smile hovering around the edge of her mouth. "Oh dear," she said, stirring her coffee. "Sounds like there's a story that I haven't heard."
"Fuck," mumbled Edward. "Yeah. I … uh … well, I owed my dad some money. Kind of a lot of money. That's why I got the job here." He cleared his throat. "Can't believe I never told you about that."
"Uh huh," said Bella, her tone skeptical. There was an awkward silence.
"Hey Miss Bella," said Jasper as he zipped by. "You tired of this clown yet? Want a new hot guy in your life?"
"There are days, Jasper," she said. "But no, I think I'll stick with my boy here." Jasper winked and sped off with a tray of coffee and hot chocolate. "Edward, tell your folks I'd love to join you for dinner on Sunday." He could feel relief spread through him as Bella let it slide.
"Bring Frankie too," he said.
##
Bella and Frankie arrived at Edward's home on Sunday evening in the midst of a cold snap. Bella reintroduced herself to Esme and Carlisle, and encouraged Frankie to shake hands. Edward gave both of them a quick kiss on the cheek. Everyone enjoyed a drink in the living room before heading to the table to ooh and ahh over the spread Esme had put on.
Edward's head spun with sheer delight throughout the entire meal. He'd paid his debt. His mother had made all his favorite foods for dinner. And Bella was at the table with him. As he contemplated his newfound financial freedom, he let his gaze wander over to Bella. She looked beautiful, her hair loose around her shoulders. Edward noticed that it was still the same rich brown it had been when she left for her book tour – she must be still coloring it. Emmett was teasing her about something, and she flushed prettily, biting her lip.
So beautiful.
At that moment, he realized his mother was looking at him. Her expression was not a happy one.
Edward jerked to attention, wine slopping over the side of the glass. "What?" he asked loudly. Everyone stopped talking to look at him. "Sorry. Mom, what did you say?"
"Nothing," said Esme. "I didn't say anything. I was just looking at you." Her words were simple enough, but Edward could see a small frown lingering on his mother's lips, and he felt uneasy. Then Frankie tugged on his sleeve for attention, and he turned away.
After dessert, everyone sat back in their chairs, full and relaxed. Edward was half-listening to Alice and Frankie debating the merits of strawberry versus chocolate ice cream when he heard his mother speak.
"Your daughter is lovely, Bella. So well mannered. You and your husband must be very proud of her." Edward twitched a bit; his mother knew that Bella and Marcus were divorced.
"My ex-husband. Yes, she's the apple of our eyes. We try not to spoil her, but it's challenging when there's only one."
"Yes, I have the same problem with Alice being the only girl," Esme said. "Have you been divorced long?"
"Since last spring," said Bella. "We're still amicable, which makes it easier to co-parent. It's a difficult job when you're on your own."
"Indeed," said Esme. "Are you dating anyone? I know a couple of doctors at the hospital who are single parents as well. It would be ideal for you to meet some nice men … nice appropriate men for you."
Alice and Frankie were giggling behind cupped hands and Emmett had jumped up to find his cell phone, ringing somewhere in the living room. Edward sat frozen in his chair, wondering if his mother had sounded as bitchy as he thought with that last comment. He guessed that she did because his father had suddenly looked up at his wife with a slightly shocked expression on his face.
Edward didn't dare look at Bella, but he also didn't know what to do. Then he felt the warm touch of her foot against his leg, and knew instinctively that she had this.
"Esme, that's very kind of you," she said calmly. "At this point, though, I'm not interested in dating anyone." Edward thought he heard a little emphasis on the last word. "I can't see myself considering it for at least another year. I like being on my own, and I think it would be inappropriate to expose Frankie to new men in her life, don't you agree?"
"Absolutely," said Esme, leaning forward to touch Bella's hand. "I shouldn't be asking you such personal questions, dear. I just want everyone to be as happy as Carlisle and me in our marriage."
"You're very fortunate," murmured Bella. "Frankie, what do you say to Esme for preparing such a lovely dinner tonight?"
The moment passed, and Edward finally lifted his gaze off his empty cake plate. His fingers were trembling, he realized, but he wasn't sure why. Anger. Fear. Shock that his parents would be anything but welcoming of Bella's presence in his life.
Edward pushed his chair back and began collecting the dessert plates. He needed to get out of this room, at least for a moment. In the kitchen, he rinsed the plates and bent to load them into the dishwasher. He heard the clicking of heels along the floor and froze.
"I told you once before that everything shows on that face of yours," said Bella in a low voice, joining him at the counter. "She saw it. She could see it in me too … mothers can see stuff like that." Edward was gripping the edge of the counter hard enough to make his knuckles white. Bella put her hand over his and rested her chin against his shoulder fleetingly. "It'll be okay – she's just worried about her kid."
"She doesn't like the idea of me and you … having feelings for each other," said Edward bleakly.
"She's uncomfortable with the idea," Bella replied. "Edward, most people are uncomfortable with it. Cradle-snatching. Cougars and cubs. Older women dating much younger men is something society is barely coming to grips with. This will be our reality if we get together." Edward could barely hear her, even in the silence of the kitchen. "I don't want you to have to endure that. Not for me."
A light footstep sounded in the hallway, and Bella stepped away to the fridge to examine the photographs there. Frankie came into the room and snuggled sleepily into Bella's arms. "Past your bedtime, isn't it love? C'mon, let's get your coat. It's time for us to go home."
"It snowed a bit during dinner," called Carlisle from the living room. "Your car might need brushing off. Edward, could you please clean Bella's car while she puts Frankie into her coat?" There was the usual bustle of bundling up and farewells at the door. Edward handed Bella's snowy car brush to her after she had Frankie buckled into her car seat.
"Thank you so much for inviting me," she said in a carrying voice. Edward figured that this was mostly for the benefit of his mother standing at the partly open door, despite the cold. "You've worked hard and deserve to celebrate a little. I'm very happy for you, kiddo." Mindful of what Bella had told him about his facial expressions, Edward smiled stiffly and accepted an air kiss from Bella, watching as she climbed into the idling car. She busied herself with the defroster and heater, then turned to look out the window at him.
For a moment, she let her carefully schooled, reserved expression fall away so that Edward could see in her face what she was feeling. The warmth and longing in her eyes flashed through him, making his head spin.
I don't want you to go.
He felt his sentiments returned.
Bella tapped the horn and waved goodbye to Esme at the door. Frankie blew a sleepy kiss to him. As the car backed out, Edward jogged back to the house, oblivious to the freezing cold, to anything except the rush of warmth he felt spreading through his body.
##
A/N: Heartfelt thanks to everyone on Team Shalloward, including cherieblossum, emmy, heatherjeanhd, Jessypt, Katie, laylak500, scarrok/scarrtx, sogoodtoo, Fergie, jjjuliebee, athenajean, Haileywood, janob63, treasurecoast, TwilightMundi, amymorgan, spanglemaker9, arfalcon and of course, hookashewz