Okay, I very much enjoyed this chapter. Writing it that is. Sorry it took a while to get out, but I finally was able to sit down and edit it as much as I am able. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter Thirty-One

EPOV

My phone lay on the foot of my bed as I paced back and forth in front of it. I was home and the fact that the sun was now gone said that I had been doing this for the past few hours. I'd been trying to pick up the phone and call my assistant since my mother had mentioned at dinner that I should call her so that she could thank her for her Christmas gift. When I agreed, I never imagined that it would take the rest of the afternoon to make the call.

I wasn't sure what was keeping me from doing this simple task. Maybe it was the fact that this would be my first non-work related call to Bella. Or the fact that I may come off like some crazy boss stalker. Either way this was way harder than it should have been. I stopped then and turned to the phone determined.

I was Edward Cullen.

I had everything.

I was capable of anything.

I was…..

…going to do this!

With a new sense of inspiration I took the black device in my hand and scrolled through my contacts till her name was highlighted. With a sharp breath I moved my thumb to press the sent button and froze.

Damn.

Why couldn't I do this?

Really, what the fuck was stopping me? All I'd have to do was dial her number, wait while it rang and hopefully it would go straight to her voice mail where I would leave a short, very brief message. In my head it sounded so easy but I stayed concrete. Still it seemed to be getting easier. This had been the closest I'd gotten all evening.

"This is really tragic, Edward." I heard from my doorway. I had been so focused that I hadn't even heard my sister approach.

"I mean, it's just a phone call. It's not like your about to sign your life over to the devil." Alice stated as she entered closer.

I grunted at her sarcasm, even if she was right. Coming to a halt in front of me, Alice reached up and took the mobile phone from me and hit the send button.

"Alice, what the hell!" I snarled. I could hear it ringing. Oh, God. Oh God. I wasn't ready for this.

My sister smiled up at me and I almost wanted to choke her.

"Don't forget to thank me," How could she do this to me? I heard it buzz again. And why?

"Why the hell would I do that," I hissed though my teeth. And what on earth made Alice think I could forgive her for this?

Probably that fact that I'd forgiven her for worse things.

"Hello" I heard Bella voice just as Alice handed me the phone. I stepped back rejecting it from her unconsciously.

"Edward," Alice snapped quietly, then shoved it at my ear. I took it unwillingly. It felt like fire in my hands.

"Bella,"

"Edward?" I noticed her surprised tone. Of course she'd be surprised. I'd never called her like this before. But I did love it when she called me by my name. My premature smile disappeared when she corrected herself.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen!" So I was back to Mr. Cullen, huh? Damn, when I'd worked so hard to become Edward to her. I pushed that thought from my head.

I noted that she sounded out of breath when she answered the phone, like she'd just come from a jog. Shit, I closed my eyes. I'd called at the wrong time. Well technically Alice had. I glared at her, but she only made herself comfortable at the foot of my bed.

"Sorry, did I call you at a bad time?" I asked hoping that she'd say yes and that would be that. We'd hang up and I would have done what I was supposed to have done.

"No, no, I just wasn't expecting you to call. Was there something that I could help you with?" Not exactly the words that I wanted to hear. Just was turning out to have just been a very bad idea.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have called," I moved to hang up but Alice whom I'd forgotten was still there hit me hard across the shoulder.

"ahh," I frowned.

"Don't you even think about it?" She eyed me.

"Wait!" I heard. Was I wrong to like the desperation I heard in Bella's voice at that moment? "Did I say something wrong?"

I let out a breath. Why did she always think she did some wrong, even when it didn't call for it. She was perfect, didn't she already know that.

"No Bella, you didn't do anything wrong." I reassured her. "It's me but it's okay I'll let you go now"

"Edward please tell me what's it is you need. I'm here to help you? That's my job." Everything stopped at that moment. Her job? I saw Alice's eyes shut and her mouth drop open before she smacked her forehead lightly.

"Bellaaa," Alice groaned. I, on the other hand couldn't get the thought out my head. The words 'my job' were throbbing in my ear over and over again. All this time had Bella thought of her time with me as part of her job? Worst off, did she only see herself just as my assistant. God I hoped she didn't think I saw her that way. No, I shook my head. Bella knew me better than that. I mean she had too. Right?

"Mr. Cullen?" Bella called. I took a deep breath to clear my head. I was going to forget what she'd just said. I was going to forget that she even mentioned work.

"Are you still there?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry I'm acting like this." I admitted. I knew I wasn't acting like myself. Bella did that to me. I ran my hand throw my hair. I did that when I was nervous. I turned away from Alice, placing my back to her.

"It's just that it took me three hours to build up the courage to call you." I acknowledged, and then regretted the confession immediately. Jeez, I sounded like a crazy person.

"To call me?" She questioned. Yes, I screamed mentally. She wasn't even aware of how nerve wrecking this was when it could be so easy.

"I know it's silly" I chuckled mainly to myself as I began to pace yet again. I'd finally gotten her on the phone and here I was acting like a crazy idiot just out of middle school. For Christ sakes, I'd done this so many times before. I mean I'd started countless conversations with strangers all over the world and now I could hardly get the right words out of my mouth.

"Umm…I just wanted to…uh" I breathed not sure what to say. Suddenly my palms began to sweat and my heart was inside my head. Never in my history had I had so much trouble expressing, well….me.

Honestly what was it about Bella that made me feel normal for the first time? That's right, normal people did this. Normal guys freaked out about calling the girl they loved, normal guys had insecurities and sweaty palms. Not me. Not Edward Cullen.

Well I guess that was me before Bella. However, I had to admit that it felt a little good to know that I was capable of being normal. I had always been above average, everything came easy to me. This was the first time that I had to actually work to get what I wanted. And even though it was frustrating to the point of madness, Bella was worth it.

Well she would be if I ever got around to telling her how I felt.

But right now I was only doing a good job of appearing like a fool. Feeling rather defeated I sighed.

"Never mind." I exhaled. "Sorry to have bothered you. Good Night."

"Edward please…"

Her voice stopped me from again pressing the end button.

I listened, frozen as she called out to me, not just once but three times. I knew I would have hung up by now if it had been anyone other than Bella. I wanted to, if not only to save what little dignity if had left, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Not when I wanted so greatly to hear her voice.

I listened as she sighed almost as if she was giving up and a strange sense of relief washed over me. It would be better this way, if she hung up first. This way it was in her hands, and out of my control.

With that thought in mind I wasn't prepared for her question.

"Edward, how was your Christmas?"

Later. Still EPOV

"… somehow that wasn't exactly what I was saying though. How do you think I ended up needing a new assistant?" I chuckled. It was a moment before I noticed the silence on the side of the phone call.

"Bella?"

No answer.

"Bella?" I tried again. Had she hung up on me? We were was still conversing , well at least I was. I removed the phone from my ear and glanced at the screen. Odd? Our call was still connected. I put the mobile back to my head, then smiled when I recognized the sound coming from Bella's end.

Her soft breathing explained why she'd so suddenly turned silent. It wasn't actually all that surprising that Bella had fallen asleep. After all she'd been yawning for the past hour, forcing herself to continue our conversation.

I actually hadn't noticed till just then that we'd been on the phone for over three hours. Three hours that had felt like three minutes.

However the length of our banter wasn't as astonishing as how easy it was to talk to Bella. Too really talk to her. I'd known we had some things in common, but even I had been taken back when I found out that neither of us had ever been to an Amusement park. I even shocked myself when I suggested off handedly, that we should go…together.

At first she was quiet, and for a second I thought that she was going to deny me but eventually in a small whisper she announced that she would like that very much. I almost crushed the phone in my hand due to sheer joy and excitement. I couldn't wait for the weather to warm up but what brought I smile to my face was the thought of her face turning a beautiful rosey color on the other side.

I grinned now, remembering the past hour. I turned my attention back to her light breathing. She was unquestionably asleep. I sighed. It was time to call it a night but just as I was about to end the call for real I heard a faint murmur. I immediately replaced the phone to my ear, hoping if not a little that she'd woken up. I'd always wanted to wish her a good night verses see you in the morning.

"Bella?" There was no answer but I could overhear her moving around, probably turning in her sleep. I listened as she mumbled a bit, not saying much I could understand. Standing on my balcony, staring out passed the large lake to the mountains I burst into laughter as I listened to Bella talk to herself as she slept.

Never would I have imagined that this night could have gotten any more interesting but amazingly it had. I wondered if she was aware that she talked in her sleep or was I the first person to stumble upon this performance. Either way I was positive that I was the first to experience it in this way.

It took a while to get my laughter under control, hoping I hadn't woken the entire house but I just couldn't help myself as I listened to her quite conversation. I was very aware that this was wrong, that I shouldn't be doing this but really who could blame me. I was so captivated by everything that Bella did and this was no different.

Finally when my body couldn't withstand the cold atmosphere any longer, I closed the bay doors behind me, still ease dropping on my sleeping angel. Ten minutes had passed and I honestly believed that I could listen to her forever. Her conversations were rather easy to follow when you could make out her words. At one point I caught her talking to or about Alice and even her mother was present in her dreams.

I tried hard to block the thought of me filling her dreams knowing how farfetched it was. I continued to listen to her rambles way passed one in the morning until even my body couldn't function anymore. I saved what I had been working on and closed my computer. I'd been listening to her on speaker, as if her verbal dreams where I recording to soothe me to sleep.

I picked up my phone, switched the speaker option to off and pressed the device to my ear once last time. She'd quieted down and I could only hear her low snoring now. The cuteness of it all did one last tug at my heart and I smiled.

"Good night Bella," I sighed. And in the moment I couldn't hold in any longer. Every feeling I had for Bella rushed to my heart and clouded my thoughts so before I could even stop myself I whispered.

"I love you," I surprised myself but somehow I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Even though she'd never know of this confession I wished that one day she'd be able to hear those words from me and believe them.

At that moment I heard her stir and for a moment I thought that she'd woken up and had heard my last statement. My breathe caught in my throat and my heart halted. But she settled back down, which allowed me to sigh with relief. Well that was until Bella uttered something that would change my life.

"Edward,…"

BPOV

It was my last day in Washington, and I was spending it with Jacob. Surprisingly we hadn't gotten to spend much time together, too busy with our own families for the holidays. He wasn't happy that I was leaving early to keep my promise to Alice. I'd promised that if I was allowed, Alice believed she ran my life, to come home for Christmas then I would spend New Year's with her.

"You can stop frowning now," I laughed at Jacobs' sour expression as we walked side by side along the beach. We didn't dare get too close. The water would be freezing.

"I'm sure she won't mind if you stayed little longer," he pouted. It reminded me of the old days, the days when he didn't have to fight for time with me. It was naturally his. It was good to see this Jacob again.

"You don't know Alice like I do. I'll never hear the end of it, plus I'm kind of ready to go back." Jacob glanced at me then, and it sent me into another fit of laughter.

"That doesn't mean I'll miss you any less. It's just that, that's my home now." I shrugged unaware of what it was I really wanted to say.

He sighed from beside me before he stopped. I stopped too and turned to look at him. For a moment I thought he was going to speak but then he only opened his long arms. I smiled and stepped forward into him. He hugged me as if I was already gone, and it made my heart sad. To be honest Jacob was probably what I missed most about this place. He made it little bit harder to leave.

Exiting the yellow cab into the cold city I stared up at the building that I now called home. I was glad to be back, and even more so now that my bed was so close. I'd stayed up way too late last night with Jacob and was starting to reap the consequences. However I wouldn't change it for the world.

I paid the cab fare and quickly moved into the building out of the cold. Small flurries were falling, painting the city in white. I grabbed the stack of mail from my mail box and very lazily dragged my suitcase up the stairs. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that my luggage seemed heavier but I never realized it took so many stairs to get to my apartment.

I was out of breath when I dropped the bag in the door way and fell back against the closed door. I shut my eyes as I caught my breath before I pushed away from the door and threw down the mail on a counter. It was only three in the afternoon and sleep was the only thing that I wanted at the moment. Still I was determined to unpack immediately or who knew when it would get done.

Finally, three hours later I slipped into my bed, fresh out of the shower with only a yellow cami and a pair of pink boy shorts on. It felt amazing getting back into my queen sized bed after sleeping on my old twin mattress. I smiled lightly to myself as my eyes closed allowing the happy memories of my seven day vacation to flood my mind. Well mostly happy. My eyes pooped open when the memory of my fainting episode with Edward intersected my thoughts. The heat in my face rose just thinking about it.

"Bella," I remembered hearing my mother's voice calling me while I lay in darkness. I heard her call again before I groaned. Slowly I was able to open my eyes to meet her scared, anxious gaze.

"Bella," she sighed, this time out of relief. She helped me sit up. My head hurt like it always did but thanks to the lush carpet my dad had placed two years ago it didn't pound as bad as it would have.

"Are you okay?" Renee asked concerned. I got up and sat on the edge of my bed before she asked what happened. It was then everything came flooding back.

"Edward," I breathed as I dove for my phone lying next to Renee's foot. The call was gone and for some reason I was okay with that. I truly didn't feel like explaining why I had suddenly disappeared. I sighed back unto the bed and my mom joined me.

"Oh yeah, Edward called. He sounded worried for some reason. Did something happen?" I spun around to face her. Why hadn't she said something before? And I was a little annoyed that she was wearing that 'what's really going on between you two' look.

"No nothing happened," I lied.

Nothing except that I had embarrassed myself greater than I ever had before. Although I was confident that Edward wasn't aware that I had fainted. What I was referring to were my sleep induced rants. My mother had always found it hilarious to spy on me while I slept and then reveal everything I'd said during the night over breakfast. She also found my rambles to be random and very, she said, very informative. God was the only one who knew what had come out my mouth last night. Well, God and apparently now Edward.

I groaned wishing that the floor would just open up beneath my feet and swallow me whole but instead the ground remained the same and I was left to endure my humiliation.

I glanced at the phone in my hands and was filled briefly with joy. I didn't believe that he'd called back. Slowly as to not seem too hasty I scrolled through my phone. Sure enough, there was another call from him just after my fainting episode. Had he been worried?

"Back?" My mom asked with a raised eyebrow. I could see her expression out of the corner of my eye. "Does this mean you've been talking to him all along?"

"No," I blushed. "Last night was the first time."

"Aww," She nudged me with her shoulder. "Seems like this isn't just one sided," She smiled getting to her feet. I looked up her confused by her last comment but didn't get a chance to inquire about it because she'd already kissed my forehead and was heading to the door.

"Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I stated feeling the throbbing in my head dissipate.

"Okay well breakfasts ready. Oh and you should call Edward back," She stopped and turned to me in the door way.

"I will," I glanced up at her. She was smiled at me and it made me uncomfortable.

"Ok but I wouldn't wait too long to return his call," she said as she disappeared.

"Why?" I called after her.

"Because," I heard her say before she popped her head back into my doorway. "I told him you were in the bathroom."

It took a few seconds before I understood what that meant.

"MOM!" I stated picking up the pillow closest to me and chucked at her as she laughed down the hall. Needless to say I never did call Edward back unable to find a way to address the initial question. The question that had started this entire thing. "Did you know you talk in your sleep?"

So how was it? Good I hope. I can't wait to post the next chapter. Things are really going to start moveing from here on out. Please wait patiently and review this chapter. And I apologize for any errors found. I do try. _