It's been crazy this week! I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner. Getting lots of reviews motivates me to get them out quicker though ;)

Enjoy!

December 12

Bubble gum pops in my ear grating on my sleep deprived nerves. Jessica has been standing behind me looking through a magazine for the past five minutes. If she pops that gum one more time I'm gonna lose it. Doesn't she have some work to do?

The popping mercifully stops and I'm blissfully sitting in silence.

"Hey Bella?"

I groan internally resisting the urge to beat my head against the keyboard. That's so much worse than the gum popping. I can never ever come to work without the proper amount of sleep again. Dealing with Jessica apparently requires all the necessary hours of sleep I can get.

"Yeah Jessica?" I continue to type hoping she'd just go away.

"So I heard something the other day."

I roll my eyes. Surprising. "Yeah?"

"Yes. And I think it's so sweet that you have a crush on Mike, but I just wanted to warn you that he's mine and he doesn't feel the same way." She says condescendingly sweet.

I snort. I wonder where she heard that crap from. "No problem."

"I'm sure you'll find a little boyfriend someday." I can practically hear her smirk.

A few minutes pass by till she finally leaves. With a sudden urgency, I start closing down my area for the night. I just want to leave without talking to her again. Edward and I are going out with Jasper and Alice but this time his brother, Emmett and his wife Rosalie, are joining us. I'm nervous enough as it is.

The door out front swings open and Edward strolls in. His face wide with a huge crooked grin. I smile back at him. Just seeing him eases my nerves.

Jessica walks back into the room to put away a file. I can't resist.

"Oh look, I guess it's someday." I smile at Jessica smugly. She looks confused at first but when we meet for a kiss through the little window, comprehension dawns on her face.

I'm not one to care what other people think, but I have to admit the stunned look on her face does feel a little good.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Yep. I just need to swing by the apartment to change." He nods and we leave a now resentful looking Jessica behind.

He doesn't wait long to ask the question I'm expecting. "So what was that about?"

"That's Jessica and she's with Mike, my supervisor. Somehow word got to her that I apparently have a crush on him." I chuckle saying it out loud. "Truth is, he's been practically salivating over me for two years. He just recently stopped asking me out to lunch with him everyday." I think it over for a minute. "I suppose I could thank Jessica."

"Still doesn't explain why she looked mad. Shouldn't she be happy that you have a boyfriend?"

I laugh. "Maybe you see it that way, but Jessica thought she had the upper hand on me." He looks adorably confused. "She thought she had what I wanted. That gave her the upper hand in her mind. Then she insults me by saying that I might find a little boyfriend someday. Then you, being not so little and incredibly hot, waltzes in and kisses me–it made her mad." He still looks confused. "Never mind it's all stupid and pointless anyway. We're not in high school." My temper flares slightly. "I hate drama and Jessica is full of it. I just want my peaceful little workplace back."

He slings an arm around my shoulders. "Well you have two whole days to not worry about it."

"Um, one and half actually."

"You have to work tomorrow?"

I nod. "Until one." He pouts and I kiss his puckered lip. "Come on, we have to hurry. If I'm late to another dinner because of you Alice will have my head."

We arrive at the restaurant right on time and walk in to find the others. His hand is laced through mine and he's rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb soothingly.

"Eddie!"

Edward sighs and looks around the room.

A burly man with curly hair and huge biceps smiles at us waving enthusiastically. Edward pulls me over to him and that's when I notice a tall blonde women standing beside him. Her hand is resting protectively over the bump protruding from her stomach.

So this is Emmett and Rosalie.

She smiles at Edward warmly and then me but I notice the slight difference. It's less warm and more cautious.

"Hey little brother." Emmett says. They hug each other with a single pat on the back.

"Emmett." He says when he pulls back. Edward gives Rosalie a small hug around her stomach and she laughs. "You look better." He pecks her cheek.

"I am."

"How's my little niece doing?" He glances down at her stomach.

"She's great. Kicking me to no end but great."

He nods and then turns to me. I put my hand in his outstretched one and allow him to wrap an arm around my waist. "I'd like for you both to meet Bella. Bella this is Rosalie, my sister, and her husband Emmett."

I smile and shake both of their hands. "Nice to meet you."

"I like her better than Tanya already." Emmett says with a bright smile.

Tanya?

I look questioningly at Edward. He rolls his eyes and I see Rosalie elbow Emmett.

"What? I do. She actually looked at us." Emmett defends himself.

"Shut up." Rosalie hisses.

Edward clears his throat. "Have you heard from Jasper?" He changes the subject. I let him. I'll just ask him about her later. I have a suspicious feeling she was more than just a girlfriend.

Rosalie shakes her head and Emmett shrugs. "I'll call Alice." I say.

"Won't be necessary." I hear her twinkling laugh behind me.

Whirling around, I hug her tightly. "I can't believe I made it before you."

She's blushes. "We got caught up. Sorry."

Jasper quickly hugs me. "Nice to see you again Bella."

"You too." I smile. Edward and Jasper greet and then Jasper introduces Alice to Emmett and Rosalie. I notice Rosalie is a lot warmer with Alice. I try to not let it bother me.

"How about we move this to a table?" Emmett says holding up the buzzer.

We all file in behind him and the waiter finds our table.

With the drinks ordered and bread sitting front of us, Emmett wastes no time grabbing a few pieces. He lathers them up in butter and stacks them together like a sandwich. He takes a huge bite chewing appreciatively. "Man, I was starving." He says when he swallows. We all laugh and join him grabbing our own pieces of bread.

Our drinks finally come and I suck down a large mouthful of Coke. I'm so tired that I need as much caffeine as possible.

"So Bella, what do you do?" Rosalie asks me. I'm surprised she's talking to me but I try to hide it swallowing quickly.

"I'm currently working as a receptionist at a medical clinic. However I'm going through medical school right now as well."

She nods appreciatively. "Anything specific you'd like to go into?"

I smile. "Pediatrics."

Her smile in return makes me think I've just passed a test of some sort.

Alice asks her a question about the baby, and I sink back into my seat taking another large sip of coke. Edwards hand comes down on my dress covered knee and he squeezes. I decide to move my seat over to be closer to him. He moves his hand to rest behind my chair and I snuggle into his side. We both sigh contently when I get comfortable. I don't know why, but I have this constant need to touch him. It's uncontrollable.

When the food arrives I try to move back but Edward won't let me. Who am I to argue? We eat sharing bites of our food with each other and he quickly kisses me.

"Okay, you're too are officially sickening." I hear Emmett say but I don't look at him. I keep my eyes on Edward and he does the same.

Everyone orders dessert and I hold back a groan. I can't handle a repeat of last time. Now that I've had taste of him, there's no way I'll be able to control myself if he teases me again. I happen to glance up at Alice and she's smirking at me as if she can read my thoughts. Apparently she hasn't forgotten the last time either.

To my surprise Edward asks for a to go box when his dessert arrives. "You don't want it now?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "I'll have my dessert later." His eyes hungrily roam over me. I gulp. Is it time for the check yet?

Maybe it is just me but it seems like everyone is eating extra slow. And it doesn't help that every time I look at Edward he's eyeing me still. I sigh in relief when it's all payed for and we get up to leave.

Alice hugs me and tells me to call her later and I tell her I will. Jasper nods smiling and grabs Alice's hand leaving.

Emmett grabs me into a large hug and sits me back down. "I'll see you later Baby Belle." He grins and moves to Edward.

Rosalie comes over to me laughing in amusement at my bewilderment. "Don't worry, a nickname means you're in for life with Emmett."

I grin a little flattered. "It was really great to finally meet you Rosalie. And I'm so glad everything ended being okay the other night. I thought Edward was going to kill us trying to get there." I chuckle.

She laughs with me. "Thank you. And that certainly sounds like him." Her laughter dies and she looks at me seriously. "I like you. Don't make me regret it." She says bluntly.

I swallow nervously. "I won't." I sound more confidant than I feel thank God. Although I'm slightly intimidated by her, this I am sure of. I don't want to ever hurt Edward and that's what she's wanting to know.

She smiles a little. "And take care of him. He deserves it." I nod and she hugs me. This time I feel completely at ease with her.

We wave goodbye to them and practically run to the car trying to get out of the cold. Edward grabs my hand as soon as he starts the car but is quiet the whole way home. I jump out when we park and he trails behind me holding his dessert. When I unlock the door, he brushes past me sitting the box on the kitchen counter.

I get the door closed when I feel him come up behind me. He says nothing but he pulls my hair off my shoulder and kisses the sliver of bare skin showing. I close my eyes resting my head against the door. He continues kissing up my neck and sucks my earlobe into his warm mouth. I moan. He pulls back suddenly and I feel the cool air replacing the warmth of his body. I look around to see where he went. He's standing on the other side of the counter rummaging through my kitchen drawers. When he finds what he's looking for, he grabs the box of dessert from the counter.

"Are you hungry? I ask breathless

He smiles at me slowly and my heart rate speeds up. "I'm starving."