Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to the amazingly talented Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 16: Someone Like You (Part 1)

I hated surprises.

Alice knew this and yet, she still felt compelled to plan the "Date of the Century"—and not even warn me about what to expect.

Worse yet, she dragged my friends into her evil scheming. For the entire day, they had been burning up the phone lines, calling all these different places to try and set things up for tonight. And all the while, they just smiled and nodded, being completely vague if I tried to ask questions.

And what kind of friends would they be if they didn't rope the love of my life into all this as well? I hadn't seen Edward since yesterday. When I tried to get answers, Rosalie would only tell me that he had been hanging with Emmett, who was giving him, uh, pointers for tonight.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what part of the date Emmett was giving him pointers for.

I had to admit—though I was excited as hell, I was also terribly nervous. But that was normal, right? I mean, what if I did something wrong? What if he didn't enjoy himself?

And what if I didn't enjoy myself?

But deep down, I knew that was impossible. Of course I would enjoy myself.

I would be with Edward, after all.

That was the thought I tried to hold onto as I was going through my own personal round of torture, ahem, or should I say having Rosalie contort my hair into whatever style she was creating. I had no idea what she was doing, but I was too afraid to look, so I kept my eyes closed.

At the moment, Alice was out getting my dress. When I heard about this, I knew I was done for. She was probably going to bring home some hideously overpriced, overly extravagant thing that would be something she would wear, not me. Ugh. I cringed just thinking about it.

"Hellooo ladies," I heard a voice call out.

Well, what do you know—it was Alice.

"Hey, hun. Did you get everything," Rosalie asked.

I heard Alice walk into the bathroom. "Why yes, I did. And I got Edward his suit, too. He looked so great when he tried it on…"

My eyes popped open. "Wait, he went shopping with you?"

Alice giggled. "Yup, and you're going to die when you see him! But that's all I'm gonna say."

"Um, Alice—does he know what I'm wearing?"

"Nope, I had him wait by the entrance while I picked it out. I told him I wanted it to be a surprise. So when he picks you up, he'll be seeing it for the first time," she explained.

Well, it was good to know that I wasn't the only one in for a surprise tonight.

"Alright, Bella," said Rosalie, spritzing my hair with hairspray, "You are good to go. Go ahead and take a look."

I slowly turned to look at my reflection, and was floored. My hair actually looked pretty. It was fixed in soft curls, which cascaded gently over my shoulders. Understated, yet elegant. How Rosalie got my hair to look like that was beyond me. Whenever I tried to curl my hair, it got all frizzy and poodle-like. But this…I loved it.

I sighed happily. "It's wonderful! Thank you Rose."

She beamed. "You're welcome. You're gonna blow him away tonight, and we're only talking about your hair!"

"Well then, let's get going on the makeup," Alice said excitedly. Hoo boy…

Thankfully, only fifteen minutes later, I was done. And I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. They had put a light layer of shimmery black eye shadow on the outer corners of my eyelids, fading into the inner corners where they had put silver eye shadow. A soft pink was dusted on my cheeks, complete with a clear gloss on my lips.

"Wow, Bella—you look…hot," Alice said, looking into the mirror with me.

Rosalie nodded her head. "Heck yes, Bella! Now, are we ready for the final touch?"

Oh god—the dress.

I exhaled sharply. "Um, sure. Let's go check it out."

They led me to my room and Rosalie picked up the garment bag. She started to unzip it, but Alice stopped her.

"No, no! Before you see your dress, Bella, you need to put on something for me." She handed me a small bag, grinning mischievously.

I opened it apprehensively and narrowed my eyes, suspicious at what I saw. It was a dark blue, strapless lace bra and matching panties. "And I'm supposed to wear these because…"

Alice and Rosalie giggled. "Well, it's for Edward, really," Alice said. "He specifically requested something like this."

"But why would…" I trailed off as it hit me. So this was what Edward wanted to ask Alice about. I remembered that he said he liked the color blue on me, and that when Alice went out shopping for me, that he wanted to put in his two cents. But lingerie?

"Well, it seems as though Edward's been fantasizing quite a bit about you," Rosalie said. "And the lingerie will definitely make him happy!"

Very odd, considering he usually came off to be the perfect gentleman. Then again, he was a guy. And guys do usually have these kinds of thoughts…

Aw hell, I'd do it for Edward. "Alright, let's go for it," I said, trying to sound confident.

"Yes," Alice and Rosalie hissed quietly.

After I put on the bra and panties, Rosalie slowly opened the garment bag and Alice stood in front of it. "And now, Bella, here it is! The dress that will knock Edward's socks off…or his pants—whatever comes first. The dress that you'll be wearing on the night you lose the big v-card…"

"Geez, enough Alice! Show me the damn dress," I shouted.

She got a pouty look on her face, but nodded and stepped aside.

No. No way.

That dress was something I might actually consider wearing. But at the same time, I didn't feel worthy enough to wear it. It was too beautiful. The dress was knee-length and dark blue. It was also strapless, and every inch was covered with sequins and sparkles. A dark blue ribbon was wrapped around the waist and tied in a bow, giving the dress a more fitted look.

I actually started tearing up. "You guys, thank you. It's gorgeous."

They came over and hugged me. "You're welcome, sweetheart," Alice said. "But no crying! You'll ruin your makeup."

I laughed and began putting on the dress, being very careful as I zipped it up. When I was finished, Rosalie handed me my shoes. They were black peep-toed heels, complete with a rhinestone design on the toe.

"Here you go, Bella. I though a nice peep-toe would work well with this dress," she said.

"Um, I don't know, Rose. I don't have the greatest luck when it comes to walking in heels."

"Well, I figured that since Edward is probably never going to leave your side all night, that you'd be fine wearing them," Rosalie joked.

"She's got a point," Alice added. "If you stumble, he'll be right there to help you."

I laughed again. "Whatever, just hand 'em over."

I put on the shoes and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror. It didn't even look like me. But I liked what I saw. I just hope Edward liked what he saw.

Alice gasped. "Wow, Bella." This was one of the rare times she actually had little to say. But she quickly recovered and turned to Rosalie. "We did good, huh?"

Rosalie chuckled. "I'll say! But we need to get downstairs. Edward will be here in fifteen minutes."

My stomach did a minor flip-flop at her words. Typical first date nerves, probably. But this was no ordinary first date. This was much bigger.

****

"Bella, don't worry! You'll have so much fun," Alice said. She was staying the night at the Hale's to give Edward and me some privacy after the date. According to her, Rosalie and Jasper's parents thought I was sick, which is why I wasn't coming over, too. Like Charlie, we weren't quite ready to tell the two of them about Edward.

"I hope so, Alice."

"Alright, well, I should probably get going." She picked up her duffel and gave me a hug. "My Bella's growing up so fast," she squealed.

I snorted. "Go on, get out of here," I said jokingly. "You don't want to keep Jasper waiting."

Alice squealed again and ran to the door, but before she opened it, she reached into her bag and tossed me a box. Condoms, lovely.

She winked at me. "Hey, no glove no love."

I rolled my eyes and waved to her as she walked out the door. As quickly as possible, I ran upstairs and put the box on my nightstand. Then I went back down and stood in front of the stairs stupidly, not quite knowing what to do. I decided to just sit in a chair by the front hallway and wait.

As it turned out, I didn't have to wait for long.

The doorbell rang within two minutes. I got up slowly, trembling slightly. Tonight, big changes would occur, but I was ready. With one last breath, I opened the door and nearly fainted at the sight in front of me.

Edward was a vision, wearing a black suit, with a white button-down shirt and a skinny black tie. Of course, despite his slick outfit, his hair was untidy. But I loved it. He was also holding a single red rose.

Somewhat unconsciously, I brought my hand up to caress his cheek. "Beautiful," I whispered.

"The very word for which I was searching," he said quietly, before wrapping his arms around me and giving me a tender kiss. "You look absolutely stunning. Oh, and this is for you," he added, handing me the rose.

"Thank you. That's very sweet of you," I replied. "So what are we doing tonight?"

He chuckled. "Nope, it's a surprise." I growled, making him laugh even harder. "You know, you're very cute when you get angry."

I just shook my head, letting it go. "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely," Edward said, taking my hand and leading me down the steps towards a black limousine.

I snorted. "A limo? Are you kidding me?"

Edward smiled sheepishly. "Your friends wanted this night to be special. And, well, so did I."

Of course, I wanted this to be a magical evening, too. So I couldn't argue. I nodded and he opened the door for me, getting in after I did. I couldn't help but notice that he seemed slightly nervous, too—which comforted me.

"So how was your day," I asked.

He sighed. "Weird. Alice seemed to become possessed when we went shopping. She was like, demon girl."

"Yeah, that's Alice. When she goes shopping, watch out," I said, laughing.

"And then Emmett…ugh. Some of the 'tips' he was giving me for tonight…" He shuddered. "Too graphic and just plain weird. So I'm throwing them out the window. What do you say we just…improvise?" He put his arm around my shoulders and nuzzled my neck.

I giggled, blushing furiously. "Sure. Improvising is a good thing."

He moved his lips up to my cheek and kissed it softly. "I love it when you blush," he whispered.

"I love you, Edward," I said, gazing at him.

"I love you so much, Bella," he replied, leaning down and sweetly pressing his lips to mine.

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. This was going to be a wonderful night.

****

We arrived at our destination ten minutes later, and Edward helped me out of the car, grinning widely.

"Where are we," I asked curiously. I couldn't see anything around me because it was completely dark.

He looked down at the new watch on his wrist—Alice's doing I'd guess—then glanced back at me. "Well, you'll find out in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"

As soon as he said "1", the entire area lit up, providing me with a good view. We were at Navy Pier, and from the looks of it, we were the only ones here.

"Edward, what's going on?"

He didn't say anything, but merely gestured in front of him.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Docked in front of us was one of the large Spirit of Chicago boats. It was covered in twinkle lights, creating a very magical atmosphere.

"Um, this…is for us," I squeaked.

Edward put his arm around me. "Yes, it's all ours for the evening. We're going on a cruise."

I was shocked. "How? I mean, how did you pull this off?"

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett arranged it all. How, I don't know. I just follow the orders," he said with a chuckle.

I shook my head, completely at a loss for words. "Wow."

"So, you like it," Edward asked.

My eyes began to well up with tears. "Yes, it's perfect. Thank you."

He leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead. "Anything for you, my love. Shall we board," he asked, offering me his arm.

"Yes, let's go." I linked my arm through his and we carefully made our way onto the boat.

Once inside, we were met by a steward. "Welcome to the Spirit of Chicago Mr. Masen and Miss Swan," he said cordially. "Why don't I show you to your table?"

"That would be great, thank you," Edward replied.

We were led to a small, candlelit table, which was situated in front of a row of large windows. Also located by our table was a small band, playing quietly.

Edward held out my chair for me, before sitting down himself. "What do you think so far?"

I was still in a daze from everything that had happened. "I can't believe it. It's all so very surreal, like a dream. I feel like I'm just going to wake up and all this is going to be gone."

He reached across the table and held my hand. "Well, I really hope not."

A waiter came up to our table and poured two glasses of champagne, one for each of us. After he walked away, Edward held up his glass to make a toast.

"To you," he said, simply but profoundly.

I smiled and blushed, nodding my head before taking a sip.

The rest of the evening progressed very nicely. Edward and I just sat and talked until our dinner arrived. Sometimes we would fall into a comfortable silence, doing nothing except for staring at each other lovingly. I couldn't help it. Edward looked amazing tonight. Occasionally, he would even take my hand and softly kiss it.

I simply couldn't get over how lucky I was.

After we finished our dinner of mushroom ravioli and tiramisu, I began to get up, but Edward stopped me.

"Hey there Bella, where do you think you're going?"

"Um, isn't it time to leave?"

He laughed. "No, it most certainly is not! For one thing, we're still on open water."

"Oh, I forgot," I muttered stupidly.

"Well, when you have such a big distraction present, I don't blame you," he joked. "Plus, I still have one more surprise for you."

"What?"

He turned and nodded at the band, which stopped playing and began setting up another microphone. I was leaning sharply away from the table, trying to see what was going on.

Edward chuckled. "Careful there, you don't want to fall out of your chair."

"Edward…"

"Bella, please look at me." After I turned my attention back to him, he continued. "Alice tells me that one of your favorite singers is Van Morrison…"

"Yes, and?"

"And after listening to some of his songs, I picked one out that I think really suits us," he explained, walking over to the band and taking the microphone.

Was he going to sing? If he did, I couldn't imagine him not being good at it. He seemed to be good at just about everything.

"I had planned on performing it for you tonight. But then I thought, why sing it when someone else could probably do a better job," he continued. Suddenly, he cleared his throat.

Oh holy mother of god. It was him.

Van Morrison himself.

This was turning into one memorable evening.

I gaped open-mouthed as he took the microphone from Edward, whispered something, then turned towards me.

"Bella," he said, "I wish you and Edward every happiness. This one's for you."

At once, the chords of one of his best songs—in my opinion—began to play: 'Someone Like You'. Edward was right, this song suited us perfectly.

I've been searching a long time

For someone exactly like you

I've been traveling all around the world

Waiting for you to come through…

I had been sitting with my eyes closed, getting lost in Van's voice, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Edward standing next to me.

"Would you care to dance," he asked, holding out his hand.

I was too overcome with emotion to form a coherent sentence, so I simply nodded and stood up. He led me over to the small dance floor, then gently placed a hand on my waist, his other hand still holding mine tightly. Very slowly, we began swaying to the music.

After about a minute, Edward spoke. "What are you thinking about, love?"

I lifted my head off of his shoulder and gazed up at him. "How much I never want this night to end."

He smiled, almost shyly. "Well don't forget, it's not over yet."

"Yeah, I know," I said, blushing in response.

He stared at me for a few moments before I spoke. "What are you thinking about?"

"How much I love you. How beautiful you are. How I wish I could figure out how the hell I'm supposed to stay human," he said, whispering that last part.

"Edward, just have faith. It'll come to you," I replied, kissing his neck.

"Yeah, I hope so."

"It will. Now stop being mopey, you fun-killer," I joked. "This is our night."

"Ok, I'm sorry. You're right." Edward leaned down and brushed his lips against my jaw. "Did you have a good time this evening?"

I smiled widely. "Oh yeah! It was magical. It was amazing…"

He chuckled. "Yes, it was quite a nice night, wasn't it?"

"Uh-huh." I brought my lips to his ear. "And like you said, it's not over yet."

Surprisingly, I heard a low growl come from deep in Edward's throat. When I pulled back to look at him, I noticed that his eyes were slightly glazed over with…lust? I didn't have time to figure it out because he immediately crashed his lips to mine. In no time, our mouths were moving feverishly together, our tongues locked in a battle for dominance.

I had to say, Van Morrison's lyrics were definitely right on…

The best is yet to come.

Ok, I want to start by apologizing for the late update. Thanksgiving kind of got in the way, plus I wanted to make sure this chapter was absolutely perfect. It got so long that I needed to split it in two. I put the lemon in the second part for two reasons. I felt like it was good to give such an amazing moment its own chapter. Also, I don't know if any of you don't like reading lemons or not, so I decided to just be safe. If any of you don't want to read it, you can skip over that chapter. But all of you lemonade lovers, don't fret! Part two is going up today!

I'm putting the links to Bella's dress and 'Someone Like You' on my profile. For the record, that actually is my favorite Van Morrison song :-) I first heard it when I saw Bridget Jones's Diary, and I fell in love with it. The link I gave you pairs the song with a montage of video footage from Pride and Prejudice. I haven't actually seen that movie, but it looks good. I'll have to rent it one of these days…

So what did you all think of this chapter? I'm totally jealous of Bella! She gets to wear a great dress (check out the link, seriously!), spend time with Edward, go on a cruise, and gets serenaded by Van Morrison himself…lucky bitch LOL. Oh, I've actually gone on one of those Spirit of Chicago cruises a few years ago with a bunch of my classmates, and it's so beautiful!

Read and review, please. And get ready for the lemon…