Hopefully the teams will even out now.

Thanks to SarcasticBimbo. Her suggestions make my words better.

CHAPTER 18—BELLA

.

.

.

When the doorbell rings this time, I know it's Edward—I don't even have to check the Ring app. Jake seems to know as well; he's more excited than usual, which says a lot for a dog with boundless energy. He beats me down the stairs, bracing himself on the door with his paws.

Now, he's here, and even his silhouette is handsome, damn it.

My dog jumps all over him, sounding a flurry of happy barks in greeting. Edward leans down to ruffle Jake's fur, getting licked in the process. His eyes never leave mine, though.

God, he looks good. Even in a rumpled t-shirt and jeans, damp, messy hair, and a pair of flip flops, he's gorgeous. There's a giant bouquet of fat, blood red roses tucked in his arm.

A tiny smile kicks up one side of his mouth. "Hi."

For all the insults I've wanted to hurl at him this past week, my tongue is tied. Having him so close, seeing him with my own eyes instead of pictures in my head, has me reeling. My body hums, my fingers tingle with the need to touch, my arms long to wrap around his waist.

When I do manage to speak, it's only a reflection of his own greeting. "Hi."

Jake plants his butt next to my feet and watches us curiously. Of course, now that Edward is around, he behaves. Figures.

"These are for you," he says quietly, holding out the roses.

I take them, gently stroking the petals before holding the bunch up to inhale the sweet fragrance. I can't help the soft smile on my face. The flowers are fresh, unblemished, petals soft and perfect. Looking up into his green gaze, I ask, "Do I need to Google this or are you going to tell me what they mean?" I don't quite manage to contain the slight smile that pulls at my lips.

"I'm yours," he says simply, arms out, palms up. "Two dozen red roses says 'I'm yours'."

Stepping closer, he trails a finger across a rose petal, and I want, more than anything, to be that rose petal.

As much as I wish I could leap into his arms, I can't. The last time he promised himself to me, he ripped my heart in half hours later. Steeling myself, I question, "Are you mine forever, or just for now?'"

His shoulders sink. "I know I hurt you, Bella—"

"Hurt me doesn't even begin to explain it. You didn't only hurt me; you broke my trust."

Eyes clouded with regret, he rakes his fingers through his hair, then stuffs his hands in his pockets. "I know, Bella. Believe me, I know. I've never regretted something more in my entire life. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you. Ever. I only want to love you, if you'll give me another chance. Please."

Squeezing my eyes shut for a few moments, I sigh. The front porch isn't the place for this conversation, and I need some time to process what he's said. If ever a situation called for stalling, this would be the one.

"I need to put these in some water. You want to come up?"

His face brightens. I barely stop myself from rolling my eyes. It's not gonna be that easy, buddy.

I feel the need to warn myself, as well. It better not be that easy, Bella.

Jake sprints up the steps and I follow, trying to ignore the way the skin on my back prickles as Edward trails behind me. It's like every cell in me is drawn to him, down to the molecule. As much as I hate the feeling, at the same time, I love it. It's as if we're hardwired together, tethered by invisible filaments of precious metal. Like us, they're tarnished, but there's a possibility that we'll shine again.

We reach my apartment, and I head to the kitchen for yet another vase. I bought out a whole shelf at Walmart yesterday. The cashier thought I was nuts. She's right, because I know I'm going to forgive that beautiful, sorry asshole out in my living room.

But not without a little begging.

The roses really are beautiful. I take my time clipping the stems, removing old leaves. The gorgeous blooms manage to make my cheap vase look high-class. I pull one rose out and inhale the fragrance once again, brushing the soft petals across my nose.

"Beautiful."

Startled, I whip my head over to find Edward leaning on my countertop, a small, sad smile playing at his lips. Memories flood my mind, of our first kiss, and the many kisses that followed. I attempt to look annoyed, while sentimental thoughts overrun my head.

Tucking the bloom back into the bouquet, I point to the living room. "I'll be there in a sec."

He obeys, but I can tell he's moping. I'm sure he's been moping all week long, but a little more won't hurt him. I leave the roses on the counter. There's no room anywhere else. I have to admire his dedication and persistence. And I've got to give him credit—the whole thing is pretty romantic.

I waste a little more time, unnecessarily rearranging the roses, before I get up the courage to face him. He's on the floor, playing with Jake, who's brought out the favorite toy, the newest in a long line of Tug-a-Rugs. They're so damn cute, playing a game of tug-of-war that no one wins, both too stubborn to give in. Man and dog notice me at the same time, sitting up straight, watching me as if I'm about to give a command. I have to hold in my laugh. If only all of my life could be so easy as this moment.

Edward jumps to his feet like a soldier whose drill sergeant has walked into the room. I briefly wonder if I can get him to salute me.

Taking a step in my direction, he says, "I was an idiot."

"Yep," I interrupt, rudeness not even on my radar.

A smirk pulls at one side of his mouth. "Like I said, I was an idiot, and I'm so, so sorry, Bella. I should've never tried to make decisions for you, or for us as a couple. I didn't give you the respect you deserve, and it's a mistake I'll never make again." He comes closer, until we're less than a foot apart. "You are the most important person in my world, Bella Swan. I want to make decisions with you, not for you. Please, forgive me. Let me love you." Vulnerability colors his gaze, those green eyes deep and pleading, lending even more credibility to his words. Not that I doubt a single part of that speech. I know he means every single word.

But still … he meant every word before. It was all sincere, until it wasn't. Until he decided to throw me away because he thought it would make things better. How can I be sure it won't happen again?

I take a deep breath and focus somewhere in the middle of his chest. The eye contact is too much for me. I'm afraid I might cry; the heaviness of this moment weighs down on me like an anvil. I want so badly to trust in him. I want him just as much as I always have, but the doubt still lingers.

"I'm scared, Edward. How can I trust you again?"

He takes one of my hands and tips my chin up with the other. "I'm never going to give you a reason not to trust me again. I'll spend my whole life proving it to you." His thumb traces the back of my hand, back and forth. "Please, give me a chance."

Despite my resolve, tears gather in the corners of my eyes. I'm swayed by his promises, overwhelmed by his touch.

"I love you." He rests his forehead on mine, and his warmth has me fighting the instinct to sway into him. "I love you," he says again, voice softer, yet more insistent. Releasing my hand, he pulls me into his body, and being wrapped in his arms again feels like heaven and hell.

Balling my fists in the sides of his shirt, I lean back. "You can't make it better with a bunch of flowers and pretty words, Edward."

"I did that because I thought you'd like them."

I give him a pointed look.

He has the grace to look chagrined. "I figured it couldn't hurt my chances. Still, I was trying to tell you how much I love you, when I couldn't do it in the most traditional sense."

"I figured that out. You used Rose's wedding flowers yesterday. She explained their meanings when I helped her order them. Google helped with the rest."

He smiles. "Google is a good friend."

"Until you're sick. Then Google is the devil." We both laugh, and it's so easy to fall back into our old banter. I'm not sure whether it's a sign of weakness on my part or simply a plain old sign that I should stop fighting this.

The laughter fades into a somewhat awkward silence. There's unfinished business here that neither one of us knows how to solve.

Edward speaks first. "I just want to set some things straight. That night, I said some things that weren't true. I want you to know that we do fit, Bella. I'm not whole when you're not with me. Something's missing."

"Then why did you end it? How could you end it?"

He smiles softly. "Didn't we already address that? I'm a grade A idiot."

I don't return his smile. Slipping around his body, I sit on one end of the couch, staring at the wall. From one blink to the next, his body fills my vision as he kneels in front of me.

"I thought I ruined your family, Bella. You know I don't have siblings, but I always wanted one or two. Mom couldn't have any more kids after me, so it's just me. I know how much you and Emmett love one another. I saw it as we all grew up. I couldn't take that away from you. From either of you."

"As noble as that is, you're still an idiot."

"I'm not pretending to be otherwise."

"Emmett and I have already made up, you know. He came by yesterday and apologized for punching you."

Edward snorts. "Should've come to me for that. In fact, he did. Yesterday."

"He sucks at apologies, doesn't he?" I ask with a small smile. "Always has."

"He's horrible. Came over yesterday, gave me a one-liner, and then started eating all my junk food."

I laugh a little. "I bet. I already ate all my feelings, so there was nothing left for him to find."

He takes my hand and threads his fingers through mine. "I'm sorry I gave you feelings to eat."

My smile gets bigger. "You're so weird."

"I'll be whatever you want me to be, love."

"Is that a line from your medical school escort days?"

"Of course you remember that," he says, sighing. "You have the memory of an elephant."

I can't resist. "Don't you forget it."

"That's terrible, Bella," he laughs, and I realize I'm laughing, too.

I've felt better in the last five minutes than I have the last week. And being happy with him feels a hell of a lot better than missing him and hating him at the same time. Giving him a second chance is the only thing that makes sense to me. Why should I make us both miserable by holding on to the mistakes, hurt feelings, and misunderstandings?

We both deserve a second chance; a chance to do this right. To be together out in the open, instead of hiding everything from our friends and family.

We're quiet once again, and I can see the fragile hope in Edward's eyes. It matches what's in my own heart. I disentangle our hands and watch that light dim, but he doesn't know what's coming. I throw my arms around him, hugging tight, breathing him in. It feels like ages since we've been this close. Ages since I felt his soft hair sift through my fingers. Ages since I felt his heart beating against mine.

It takes him a moment to catch up, but when he does, he nearly squeezes the life out of me. "I missed you," he whispers. "So much." He pulls me off the couch and into his lap.

"Me too. Don't you ever do anything like that again." I'm crying into his neck, but this hug feels so good, I don't even care.

He pulls back and holds my face in his hands. "Never. I'm yours, Bella. No returns. You break it, you buy it."

"Shouldn't I be saying all that?" I ask wryly.

"As you're fond of saying, 'semantics.' You broke me in the best way, love. You stormed in, snapped me in half, and put me back together better than I was before."

I grin, even as the tears dry. "So … you're mine."

"Yeah. And you're mine." His smile is so bright, his eyes crinkling at the corners in that adorable way he has.

"Who said anything about that?" I tease.

His eyes go dark and predatory, and his lips meet mine in a gentle kiss. It goes on like that until I'm done with the taunting, and reach up to rake my fingers in his hair and grab. He growls low in his throat, nipping at my bottom lip and licking away the sting. When our mouths meet again, I take charge, moaning at the taste of him. Tongues swirl and teeth tease, lips cling. I've missed this. Missed him.

Feeling overwhelmed, I pull away, and he tries to follow. I open my eyes to find him watching me, questions written plainly in his beautiful green eyes.

"I need a minute," I explain, touching my lips, feeling the heat from the outside. Kissing Edward has always made my head spin, but today, it's so much more. After the devastation and anger of the past week, these kisses feed the new hope blooming in my chest, the happiness in my heart. It makes me dizzy, sets my world off-kilter in the best way.

"Is something wrong?" he asks, voice soft, almost wary.

I shake my head. "It's just … I missed you."

A soft smile plays at his lips. "I've missed you, too. Every minute of every day."

Returning his smile, I say, "I missed you, but I was so mad. I didn't know which emotion was stronger, and that pissed me off even more."

"Believe me: as pissed as you were at me, I was probably more pissed at myself for throwing it all away."

I laugh. "I don't know; I was pretty mad. I wanted to feed your balls to Jake."

One of his hands automatically tries to go to his balls, but I'm sitting on his lap. He looks down between us and back up to me, then slides his hand around to grab my ass instead.

"Too soon?" He gives me a half hopeful, half-joking grin.

"Way too soon. I could still decide to feed your balls to Jake."

He cringes at the visual again, but breathes, "Please, don't."

As if he knows we're talking about him, Jake ambles over, panting happily, his tongue lolling out one side of his mouth. He goes to Edward first, and swipes that tongue all over his face, which I know Edward hates. He tolerates it well, though.

"Thanks, Jake," Edward says, trying to hide his distaste. "Good to see you, too, Buddy."

I smile, watching the two of them. Jake's the one who brought us together, really. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't gotten arrested for "stealing" my own dog. I'd like to think Edward and I would have ended up together no matter what, but who knows?

What I do know is: I wouldn't have it any other way.

.

x

.

"Why are you so worried, love?" Edward calls from the living room.

He knows I'm stalling, though I'm trying my best to hide it. "I'm not worried," I call back.

Oh, but I am. I don't know why I'm so worried. It's not like my parents have never met Edward. It's not like he's knocked me up. It's not like I'm bringing home a criminal or a bum. I'm bringing home someone my parents like and respect, someone intelligent and educated.

And hot as fuck, but I doubt my parents care about that particular attribute.

Nevertheless, I'm nervous. My parents have not met Edward as my boyfriend, and I don't know how to process the situation. I went through this a week ago, when we had dinner with Edward's parents, and everything went fine. There's no reason to expect things will be different this time.

I smooth on a bit of lip gloss and stare at the girl in the mirror, looking for the confidence that's gone missing. Taking a deep breath, I smooth my hands down the deep blue jersey cotton of my maxi dress and head for the living room.

Edward, who's been lounging on my couch while I worked through my minor freak out, hurries to his feet as I enter the room. I smile at his chivalry, because he's always been this way, ever since his our mothers made him and Emmett take a cotillion class when they were in middle school. While Emmett forgot every lesson as soon as it had been taught, those manners stuck with Edward. I'd thought it was silly back then, but I appreciate it now.

"You look beautiful," he says in a low voice as his eyes rake me up and down. While his actions and words are gentlemanly, the way he looks at me is not.

"You can't look at me like that in front of Mom and Dad," I warn with a smile.

"I know. That's why I'm looking my fill now." He holds me at arm's length and drags his gaze up my body again. "I love this dress." Leaning forward, he kisses my earlobe. "Lots of room for my hands under that long skirt." His teeth scrape, and I lean into his body. "Lots of room to hide what I'm going to do to you underneath the table."

With a scandalized gasp, I pull back. "You. Will. Not. Not at my parents' table!"

"But what if I want to make up for all that lost time? All those Swan family dinners, when I could have been feeling you up under the table…"

I raise a brow. "I was underage for a good majority of those dinners." I pause, curious. "Were you ever thinking about that?"

"Honestly, no. That part came later." He wraps his arms around me, drawing me up against him. "But now I think about it all the damn time."

"Can you stop, just for an hour?" I flatten my hands on his chest and smile teasingly. I'm sure it's not lost on him that I'm blatantly copping a feel while asking him to keep his hands to himself.

"It's going to be very, very difficult," he says, gravely serious. "I might need something to tide me over," he continues, voice dropping to a whisper. The last word lands on my lips. His mouth brushes mine and he hums in approval as I rise up on tiptoe to meet his kiss. A hand slides down low to cup my ass, squeezing less than gently as he drags his tongue over mine, and I'm lost. We kiss until I'm breathless, until I can feel Edward's cock pressing against me.

"That escalated quickly," I breathe when we part.

He smirks. "I always rise to the occasion."

I roll my eyes. "Really? That was awful."

Rubbing himself against me, he repeats, "Really. But," he drops a soft kiss on my lips, "we've got to go. I don't want to give Charlie another reason to be mad at me."

"He's not mad at you, Edward." I grab my purse and head for the door.

"I'm pretty sure he's mad. He's mad that his son's best friend cradle-robbed his little girl." He follows right behind me, but we stop at the top of the steps.

"You're overthinking this," I try to tell him, but he's not listening.

"But Emmett said—"

"Exactly! Emmett. The person you should ignore. He's just trying to make you nervous."

"No, he's trying to give me a heads up."

I start giggling and have a hard time stopping. "You're playing right into his hands. He wants you to be nervous, so he's feeding you that 'Charlie is mad' bullshit. All Dad wants is to know you make me happy, and you do."

A wide, happy smile softens his worried face. "It's all I want, too. To make you happy."

"Then stop listening to Emmett. He's stirring shit for his own entertainment. Really, you should know this. You two have only been best friends for oh, most of your lives."

Edward sighs, shaking his head. "I should have known."

"Well, just think about how disappointed Emmett will be when he finds out his plan didn't work," I tell him with a sly grin. "Now, let's go. Dad might not be mad that we're together, but he's a stickler for punctuality."

Edward looks at his watch, and I can see the nerves return. I almost feel bad. Charlie won't give a rat's ass if we're late.

Emmett isn't the only one who likes to stir shit.

.

x

.

Edward fits in seamlessly, just as he did when we were kids. Earlier, when we arrived fifteen minutes late, Dad welcomed him with a handshake and a hint of a grin beneath his mustache. Edward looked surprised, yet relieved, though I did catch him looking around, likely for a firearm of some sort. When he realized we wouldn't be called out for being late, he shot me a suspicious look. I put on my best innocent face and followed Mom to the kitchen to help with last minute dinner stuff.

"I knew something was up after Bella went to college," Dad says over his second helping of strawberry shortcake. "Any time Edward and Bella were in the same room together, they both looked like they were in pain."

Mom nods. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to stay out of it. I always thought you two would make such beautiful babies—"

"Now, Renée—"

"Mom! Stop." My face is literally on fire, I'm sure of it.

Edward laughs. "It's a little too soon for that, Renée, but we'll see."

I look at him with wide eyes, to which he shrugs. He's got one of those enigmatic expressions on his face, one I can't decipher. I can't tell if he's serious or not.

"It'd better be too soon. Bella still needs to graduate," Dad cuts in.

It's not lost on me that he's not objecting to me having babies with Edward, it's just the timing.

"Well, anytime you want to get started on that," Mom starts, but I start to get up from the table while I threaten her.

"Mom, I swear if you don't—"

"Okay, I'll stop. It's just that we've expected this might happen for a while. We forget how new this is to the two of you."

The desire to disappear wanes slightly in the wake of Mom's admission, and I drop back into my seat. Edward takes my hand, grinning that crinkly-eyed grin.

On one hand, I'm sorry that Edward and I were so clueless, sad about that wasted time we could've spent together. On the other, I know we needed that time to grow, and get ready for one another.

"Okay, Renée. Enough with the sap stuff," Dad says gruffly, pinning Edward with his cop stare. "What I want to know is, what made you two take your heads out of your asses?"

"What?" Edward asks, a puzzled look on his face.

Charlie rolls his eyes. "What got you two together?"

Oh, no. Please, Edward, don't…

But he does. He bursts out laughing, and says, "Well, it all started the morning I had to bail her out of jail…"

.

.

.

And that's all she wrote. Epilogue to follow. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.