Chapter 10

BPOV

Was this a date? I mean, we didn't officially say that it was a date. It's just a lunch and he's just coming to keep me company since Jake's away and he seemed so interested, right? Right.

I was stressing. Even though we had an email or two throughout the week and the occasional text, I hadn't seen Edward since the baseball game and I was so nervous I couldn't stand it.

That's how I ended up here, sitting in my car outside Forks and Spoons a full half hour early. I wanted to be the first one there so I could adjust myself and make sure I looked all cool and aloof sitting in my car when in reality I was anything but.

I rifled through the few CDs I had leftover in my car and then decided to go digital. I fished my iPod out of my purse and plugged the FM transmitter in. A few scrolls later and I found one of my favorite soundtracks to mellow out to. Some of the songs were a bit depressing but the rest of them were pure poetry.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I adjusted my shirt so it wasn't bunched up or anything and then I went back into my purse to grab some powder and lip gloss for last minute touch-ups. I was never a big make-up user because it tended to cause break-outs. But going to lunch with Edward, date or not, was definitely an occasion for kissable lips.

[I] Situation's all critical

You've got to look first before you go

If you wasn't too sure then now you know

The situation is critical [I]

The music was finally starting to calm my ever-present nerves and I plunked my head on the headrest and shut my eyes.

I heard a car door slam and my eyes flew open to see Edward getting out of his car and walking toward mine.

[I] Deep into the darkness where I hide

Deep into the darkness where I hide [I]

The slight breeze blew the untucked front of his shirt around he looked like a Greek god in slow motion as he smirked at me and continued walking.

All of a sudden I was out of the car and he was right there in front of me. I ran to him and flung my arms around his neck, pulling his lips down to mine. He didn't hesitate to open my mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue in to meet mine.

A knock on the window brought me out of my delicious daydream as Edward stood outside my car looking at me like I'd grown a second head.

I shut the engine off and got out.

"Hey! Sorry, I was, um, listening to music. Wanted to hear the end of the song that was on," I mumbled.

"Ah, not a problem. I do that too." Oh thank god he's a nerd-burger like I was. "So, you ready to go in? Hey, do they know you're coming today?"

Oh Edward, will [I] you [/I] be the one making me come today?

"Oh, um, I usually call them the morning of, so they know I'm coming but they don't have too much time to do any special prep that's out of the ordinary."

He seemed genuinely interested. I don't know why I'm always surprised when a guy wants to know something just to know it and not to use it as ammunition.

"Don't want them to do anything that they don't normally do - otherwise it wouldn't be true to how they usually run the business."

"So it's like a...culinary pop quiz?" He chuckled and gave me the side-eye.

I chuckled. "Yeah, something like that. Let's go in."

We were greeted by Andrew, the front-of-the-house man - he even bowed which caused Edward to give me a strange look. After we were seated at a small table near the water fountain in the back, a slow smile crept up on Edward's face.

I couldn't help but to smile back but only because it was making me uncomfortable.

"What?"

"You're like, important."

"I am?"

I could feel the heat creep up my neck as the flush colored my face.

"Yeah. I mean, your write-ups are. One bad review and the it can make or break the restaurant. How do you deal with that kind of pressure?"

"Well, you're an Assistant Manager. You've given employee reviews before, right?"

He nodded.

"It's kind of like that, except way more fun," I grinned. "The people running restaurants have major cajones. They have their whole heart and soul in it, so I get to review people that give their whole lives to do exactly what they're doing. Ninety percent of the time, they impress me, and that other ten percent maybe shouldn't be in the business in the first place."

"Wow. That's very blunt and a little harsh, don't you think? What if that other ten percent is trying really hard but they just don't have the skills to do what it takes to impress you?"

The waitress came and somewhat interrupted our discussion. I wanted to explain to him that I was not as harsh as all that but I had a job to do.

I had looked over their menu online and I had selected 3 key dishes to review - an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. Since Edward followed my lead, we were ordering a lot of food which would be fantastic for a double-review.

When the waitress had taken our menus and finally walked away, I leaned in close to Edward from across the table and spoke softly.

"Edward, in my personal life, that ten percent always counts. People who try always count. But in my professional life, I have to separate the skilled from the unskilled. It's what I do. It's in the job description. I love that I get to be picky about something that I know a great deal about. I'm a little mini-expert and that's what they pay me to do."

He didn't say anything for a good thirty seconds and I thought I'd offended him in some way.

"I get what you're saying. If you weed out the ones that should be putting their energy into something else, you get to focus on the ones who could be great or those who already are."

"Exactly."

The waitress brought our drinks over and I took a big sip of the cucumber-lime water before I glanced back up at Edward. He was watching me with a discerning eye.

"Pretty impressive Bella, Bella Swan." His grin was huge.

"Ha! Thanks Edward, Edward Cullen. Sorry if I got a little wordy there for a minute. I tend to get incensed about topics that I'm passionate about."

"No, I get it. Talk to me about music and I will go on for hours about why Debussy can run circles around Liszt. I mean Liebestraum No. 3 doesn't even [I] compare [/I] to Clair de Lune."

"Actually, I think the Liebestraum is a far more demanding piece and you aren't giving Liszt enough credit."

Edward's jaw dropped open.

Then it closed.

Then it opened as if he was going to say something.

Then it closed again.

"How do you know Liszt?" he said hesitantly.

The food arrived and I let his question hang in the air until the waitress had left the vicinity.

"I'm not ignorant, Edward. I am a fan of music. I know enough about musicians I like to be able to discuss them."

Wow, what was this, "Pick on Bella Day?"

"No! I didn't mean it that way, really. It's just...nice, is all, to be able to talk about something like that with someone. My sister's idea of music is Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. It's not pretty. And Jasper! The man is in love with all things Country."

I opened my mouth to protest his apparent hatred of Country music - what about the amazing Lady Antebellum or Sugarland or Alison Krauss, what is wrong with this guy?

"I didn't say I didn't like Country music, Bella." He cut me off. "I'm just saying it gets old real fast whereas the classics never die."

"Beer for My Horses [I] is [/I] a classic," I huffed indignantly.

He snorted as he took a sip of his soda and I thought he was going to choke so, naturally, I laughed my ass off.

We took turns sharing our meals and it was as informal as you could get. I'd reach over and take a forkful of his spicy chicken and he'd take a huge spoonful of my sauteed vegetables.

If you were an outsider who didn't know any better, you'd think we were a couple.

When I had finished up my notes, I motioned for the waitress to bring the check around. She went to hand it to Edward, but I grabbed it instead.

Edward had no choice but to let me pay the bill considering it was a business lunch for work. I signed the receipt smugly and told him that he owed me.

"Oh really?" He elbowed me on our way out the door. "We'll see about that."

I led the way out, waving to the hostess as I went, and as I turned to say goodbye to Edward, he ran right into me, almost pushing me down on my ass.

"Whoa...what are you doing?"

"I was going to say goodbye and walk to my car..."

"Nuh uh. Keep walkin, Swan."

I just stood there and stared at him with a furrowed brow.

"I'm walking you to your car, genius."

"Ohhh. Gotcha."

I turned around, trying my best to seem nonchalant. But I couldn't help the blush that was slowly creeping up my neck at the thought of Edward, very gentlemanly, walking me to my car.

There we were, standing outside my car, not saying anything.

Staring.

I piped in when I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Ok, well, thank you for coming with me. You gave me a lot of material to choose from for my review. I really appreciate it."

"Thank you for inviting me. I had a great time." For a second, it felt like a date. "I mean, I really wanted to try this place. It was great." He stuttered a bit.

I, Isabella Swan, was making this beautiful man nervous.

And I fucking loved it.

"Any time. Thanks again."

I turned to put my car key in the lock when I felt him hug me from behind, wrapping his arms around my torso, carefully avoiding my girly parts.

His warm breath was at my ear.

"Talk to you soon. Bye Bella."

He kissed my cheek and let go. I glanced back to watch him walk away. It was almost painful.

I got in my car and tried to play it off like I was unaffected by feeling his arms around me, but I was practically vibrating with energy. I watched his car leave right ahead of me and then I pulled out of the lot to head back home.

The drive went by so quickly that I didn't even remember anything but opening my front door and having a small munchkin of a dog jumping at my knees.

I picked her up and spun her around, smiling and laughing and, dare I say, squeeing.

And then she peed on me.

I scared the piss out of my own dog. Worst. Dog-mom. Ever.

Note to self, walk the dog first, THEN spin her around while practically screaming in her face.

I ran her outside without even putting a leash on and let her roam around to finish was she started on my hip.

After she was done, we went back upstairs and I took off my clothes to soak them before I stuck them in the washer.

I grabbed a quick shower and when I came out, Jessie was asleep on my bed. I laid down in my towel next to her and gave her a little snuggle. Then I put on some clean clothes.

My notes were still in my bag, so I grabbed them and set them down next to my laptop before opening it up and launching Chrome.

My heart fluttered when I saw that I already had a message from Edward.