A/N See I told you I would post every other week. So here's chapter 3. Show me some love if you like this story. I really love to hear what you all have to say, and I can't thank you enough for reading. Also, for those of you who read Here With Me, I am currently right smack dab in the middle of the next chapter, I just wanted to let you know that at the latest it should post by next monday. Thanks again.

Thank you to my beta, Breath-of-Twilight. She is the best Beta ever, and I love her.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer is a goddess and she owns all of the Twilight universe. I own the story line. Please do not steal what isn't yours. No copyright infringement intended.

All the Loves of Our Lives

3. Disappearing Cat

It took several days for me to recover from my few minutes with Edward. I hadn't seen him in almost a week. Of course that was because I was so busy. I had been up at six o'clock every morning, and I didn't get home until after eleven every night.

I was in such a rush to get everything done for the start of rehearsals that I had no time for myself. Rehearsals were going to start on Monday, amazing as it was; I actually had the whole weekend to do nothing. That was providing I could get everything done by Friday. Since today was Thursday, I was going to be at the studio forever.

Rose and I had managed to get the line up for the recital done and most of the costumes fitted. I had four more classes before the end of the day, and I would finally get some rest.

I left the studio around eleven-thirty. When I got home, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. I could barely drag myself up the side stairs. I hadn't had the door open a minute when Jakey decided to run off into the night. I dropped everything in my hands on the ground and ran after him.

I couldn't blame him for running off. He had been neglected this week, and he was obviously mad at me. I chased him through the woods until it was so dark that I couldn't see where I was going. I started to panic and tears came running out of my eyes. I was never going to find him out here. Every tree in every direction started to look the same. I just couldn't move. How could I have lost Jakey? He was all that I had. He was the only thing in my life that didn't place any judgment on me. He was such a good little listener and now he had left me, too. I dropped to the forest floor and cried.

A sound broke up my sobs. I could hear something coming through the trees. Fear coursed through me. What if it was a bear, a coyote, or a mountain lion? All of a sudden the leaves stopped crunching. The animal had stopped moving. Was it catching my scent? I wanted to run but I couldn't, my limbs were frozen in panic.

"Bella?"

The voice sounded familiar.

"Bella, where are you?"

Edward.

"I'm over here." I wiped the tears from my face and stood up. He came running through the trees, and I felt relief flood through me.

"What are you doing out here? I saw you run into the woods, and when you didn't come back out, I thought that I should come looking for you."

"Jakey ran out of the house when I got home. I took off after him, but I just can't find him."

"I'm sure he'll be back. Let's get you out of here."

He placed his hand at the small of my back and led me out of the forest, the unspoken connection again surrounding us by his small gesture. When we crossed the road into my driveway, he stopped and turned to me.

"Bella, would you like me to wait with you awhile until Jakey comes back?"

"Yeah, I think I would like that, thanks."

We walked through the door, and I suddenly realized that I had seriously neglected my home in the last few days. The sink was full of dishes and there were costumes strung all over the dining room and living room.

My staging papers were all over the oak dining room table, and I had moved some furniture in order to choreograph.

"I am so sorry for the mess. I usually don't leave my house like this. I just haven't had time to do anything lately."

"I'd noticed you haven't gotten home until late. Is there anything that I can do to help you?" There was concern in his voice. He probably thought that since I was alone now that I couldn't take care of myself.

"No, I need to gather everything up to take to the studio with me tomorrow. Why don't you have a seat? Do you want something to drink?"

"Do you like wine?" he asked, throwing me off.

"Yes, I do, but I don't have any…."

"I'll be right back." He turned and left out of the side door. I wondered if he really would come back. While I waited, I started to clean up my colossal mess. I gathered the dishes that lie around the living room and put them in the already heaping sink. I placed all of my staging papers in a neat pile on the table. I gathered all the costumes and hung them in garment bags. I started to think that I should go looking for Jakey again when Edward finally came back, holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"I had this bottle that I've been waiting to drink and now is as good a time as any." He pulled the cork from the bottle of Merlot and poured some in both glasses.

While he poured the wine, I moved my furniture back into place in the living room. As I moved the coffee table back into place he came over and sat on my couch. He looked so comfortable sitting in my living room. I sat down in the corner of the couch and tucked my knees to my chest. I could see him watching me. It was almost like he was waiting for me to do something.

"I hope Jakey comes back soon. I don't know how much longer I can stay up to wait for him."

"If you would like to go to bed I could wait for him?"

"No, I think I'm okay for a little while."

We sat there in silence for awhile at opposite ends of the couch. The wine that he brought over was very good. It was starting to make me feel all warm inside, and I could feel my eyes drooping.

"You have a lovely home. How long have you lived here?" His voice startled me out of my sleepy daze.

"Thank you. I bought the house about five years ago. I love this house. I think it's pretty similar to yours. Do you like your house? I haven't been in it since my neighbors moved."

"Yes, I quite like that house. It suits me well enough. How long was the house vacant?"

"Well, let me see. I think that they moved out maybe three years ago. I haven't had any neighbors for three years… That's crazy. I hadn't really even noticed."

All of a sudden, I could hear a faint meow. I jumped off of the couch and ran to the side door. Jakey walked into the house as if he had never been gone. I scooped him up in my arms and kissed him. He must have still been mad at me because he immediately jumped down from my arms and took off up the stairs. I could see Edward sitting in the other room. He looked like he was content. That thought made me happy. Maybe I had made a friend. Seeing him sitting there made me want to ask him to stay awhile even though I knew I needed to go to sleep.

"Well, it looks like I don't have to worry anymore, Jakey's home."

"That's good. I guess I should go then."

"No, stay and finish your wine. I'm not in any hurry to go to bed." I hoped that he would stay. This was only the second time that I had been alone with him, and I really enjoyed his company. When he spoke, in his smooth British accent, it made me feel at ease. I found myself thinking about being around him more often.

He looked at me and said, "Okay, but only if you really would like me to stay. I mean, I wouldn't want to keep you from your rest."

"The only one keeping me from my rest is me. If I wouldn't spread myself so thin, I wouldn't be so tired all the time. Really I have no room to complain. The studio's doing really well. Rose and I have got it running so smooth, now. It has taken a long time. I get to do what I love for a living, that's more than I can say for a lot of people I know." He looked at me and smiled. It was so brilliant and beautiful. His teeth were white and straight. His lips were pink and looked to be so soft. I pictured myself kissing those lips. I could only imagine what he would taste like. When he started to speak he snapped me out of my daydream.

"Do you and Rose own the studio?"

"No, I'm the only owner. If Rose had a title she would be my manager."

"Hmm, that's interesting. You definitely seem to be the quieter of the two of you. Manager seems to be a good fit for her."

"How do you know that I'm the quieter of the two of us? You don't really know me that well, yet."

"I know that she's the one that did the introducing the other day while you stood there with your mouth closed," he laughed.

"I tried to come over there and introduce myself. Actually, several times but you never came to the door."

"I never heard you knock."

"I definitely knocked, several times. In fact, I felt so bad that you only saw me when I just happened to be looking out the window that I came over to apologize."

"What would you need to apologize to me for? I mean, really? You haven't done anything wrong. I just happened to be looking at the same time, didn't I?"

"Well, I didn't know if you were or not. I hadn't really thought about it that much. Really, I was so mortified that it looked like I was staring at you that I didn't even noticed." I was starting to feel anxious talking about this. I had been staring at him but I didn't want him to know.

"There's nothing to be mortified about. So, I think that maybe it's time for me to go. It's getting late, and I don't want to feel responsible if you're too tired to work tomorrow." I followed him to the door and took his wine glass from him, realizing too late that he had brought them over.

"Oh, wait you forgot you bottle of wine…"

"No, save it for the next time we have to wait for Jakey. If there is a next time."

"If things keep going the way that they have been, I'm sure he's going to take off on me, again. Although, I hope not. I hate to have to worry about him."

"Well, maybe there will be another time, then." He lowered his gaze and was down the stairs before I could say good-bye. When I went back inside, the house felt empty. I had been so busy since Riley left that I hadn't realized that my house had stopped feeling like a home. With Edward here, it felt like there was life in it again.

Friday came too soon. I could hardly drag myself out of bed. Once the day started everything started to fly by in a haze. My exhaustion was starting to catch up with me.

With all the classes finished for the day, Rose and I decided that it was time to go home.

Jakey was waiting for me when I walked through the door. There were no messages for me on my answering machine, as usual. So, I decided that I would take a long and definitely needed bath.

I grabbed a glass of wine and headed up the stairs. I went through the motions of what I needed to get done, but didn't really pay attention to what I was actually doing. I slipped into the hot water and felt no relaxing effects. I thought the water would relax me, but when I closed my eyes all I thought of was Edward. He hadn't been on my mind much today because I was so busy, but as I sat there in the water, all I was left with was my thoughts. I laid back and placed a warm face cloth over my eyes and tried to focus on just enjoying the quiet.

The hair on my head tingled, and I suddenly felt like I wasn't alone. I took the face cloth off of my eyes, and there he was. Edward was sitting on my sink like he was supposed to be in my bathroom.

Suddenly I panicked. I couldn't think straight, focused solely on Edward.

"What you are doing here?" I squeaked.

He didn't answer, just sat there looking at me. I felt like his gaze was burning through to my soul. Edward's intense voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"Are you going to say something?" I said with confusion evident in my voice.

He sat there for a few more seconds, and then started to move closer to me.

"Have you been thinking of me?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because I have thought of nothing but you since I left here last night."

He was thinking of me.

"Well, I….."

"Don't, Bella."

"Don't what?"

"Don't answer, I think I already know."

His British accent made me melt. I loved the way he spoke. It was so proper yet different than most British accents that I had ever heard. He looked at me like he was very curious about something. At that moment, I realized that I was still in the tub. I felt so self conscious that I just wanted to hide under the bubbles. He must have sensed some sort of change in me because he suddenly moved closer.

Without another word he reached into to water and pulled me into his arms. He looked into my eyes and walked into my bedroom, laying me down onto the bed. I was not aware of anything but him. As he started to take his clothes off, he never broke eye contact with me. I had never seen a more magnificent man than he was. His face was intense, but was so beautiful that I felt like I would cry. He had a long thin nose that was slightly turned up at the end. His think dark eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes seemed to be black instead of their usual bright green. He started to lean into to me, and I could feel my pulse quicken…

Holy crap, I was going to drown!

I shot out of the water so fast that I was lucky that I didn't slip and fall out of the tub. I didn't know how long I had been out, but my skin was definitely pruney. It took me a moment to get my bearings, again. What was he doing to my brain?

I finished in the bathroom and headed back downstairs. Jakey was waiting for his dinner, and I hadn't eaten anything since my piece of toast early this morning. I fed Jakey and went into the pantry. Nothing sounded good to me. I was hungry but decided to only make some popcorn. I grabbed a glass of wine and went into the living room. It was only seven o'clock, and I felt like curling up on the couch and watching a movie.

I had just sat down when there was a knock at the door. I dragged myself off the couch and went to the door. It had to be someone I knew because strangers always came to the front door. When I turned the corner into the hallway, I could see Edward through the window. My heart jumped when I saw him. I knew that I shouldn't be this happy to see someone I hardly knew, but I honestly liked having him around.

When I opened the door, he smiled at me.

"Good evening. I was just wondering if you would like to have dinner with me."

"I would love to, but I just actually sat down to watch a movie. Would you like to join me?" Please say yes.

"I'd like that. Maybe we can go to dinner some other time?"

"That would be nice, come on in." He followed me into the kitchen, and I poured him a generous glass of wine. Actually, it was his wine. Since I had a glass last night, I stopped by the store and purchased the same bottle so he wouldn't know I drank what he left.

"Sorry that it's the same wine we had last night, but I don't have any other wine."

"That's perfectly fine. That's why I left it here." He smiled at me, and it lit up the room. I turned facing away from away before I said something that would surely embarrass me. We went into the living room and sat at opposite ends of the couch, again. I turned on the romantic comedy that I was planning on watching and felt a little silly.

"We could watch a different movie. This is just what I was going to put on. I have a ton of other movies, I…."

"This movie will be fine. I want to watch whatever you want to watch." He smiled again, but looked away first this time.

We sat there in silence watching the movie. I was very aware of him sitting there next to me. I wanted so badly just to touch his hand. Just that little comfort would make me so happy. I offered him some popcorn, and he refused. I could see that his wine glass was almost empty so I got up to go grab the bottle. The tension was starting to build for me. I could tell that this was definitely on my part only, but I just needed to get away for just a moment. He apparently noticed that I was taking longer than it should just to grab the bottle because as I was standing in the kitchen with my back to the living room, I could hear his footsteps coming into the kitchen.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, just tired."

"Oh, is that why you're in here? Would you like me to leave?"

"No, no, I don't want you to leave." He followed me back into the living room. This time when we sat down he sat closer to me than he had before. My heart started to race with him so close. I sat there with my hands in my lap trying to pay attention to the movie. Unfortunately, I had hardly been paying attention to most of it and I had no idea what was even going on.

He leaned closer to me.

The phone rang. Whoever it was could not have picked a more inconvenient time than this.

I ran to answer the phone.

"Hello."

"Bella, its Mom. What have you been up to? I haven't heard from you, and I was starting to get worried." I could hear the relief in her voice.

"Mom, I'm fine, just trying to get everything done before the recital. I literally have been going nonstop. But, hey, Mom, I have company right now, I'll call you back later."

"Oh, who's over there?"

"We'll talk later, ok? Love you, miss you. Bye, Mom."

"Love you, too, baby. Call me as soon as you get a chance."

"Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Bella."

I hung up the phone and headed back to the couch. He was still sitting in the same spot watching the movie as if I'd never left.

I sat back down, closer to him than I probably should have. Again, I felt the urge to reach out and touch him. I knew that I couldn't do that. I barely knew him. I wanted to know more though. I found myself wanting to ask him questions, but I just wasn't comfortable enough, yet.

The movie was getting closer to the end. I knew that I maybe only had another twenty minutes before it was over. Just when I was over thinking the situation, his hand suddenly brushed mine, and I knew that it had to be an accident. His pinky finger touched mine again, and this time I knew it was definitely on purpose. It felt like electricity was running through my veins. I could feel heat starting to flush my face and then in waves over my body. I didn't pull my hand away, and neither did he. We sat there for the rest of the movie not moving except for the brush of our fingers.

The movie had ended too soon. We had been sitting there for almost two hours with no conversation. I felt very nervous around him, and I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Bella, would you like to have dinner tomorrow night?" His voice was cool and calm. There was no hint that I affected him in any way.

"Ummm, sure, when do you want to go?"

"How about I pick you up around six o'clock?"

"I'll be ready at six then."

He stood up, and I could tell that he was going to leave. I followed him to the door, and he turned to face me.

"Thank you for a lovely evening. Tomorrow then?" He turned and left without another word.

I had a horrible night's sleep. All that I could think about was Edward.

I spent all night wondering about what dinner would be like. Where were we going to go? I had never felt this much anticipation with Riley, even in the beginnings of our relationship. I found myself thinking about him throughout my day. I couldn't wait until I would see him again.

I spent my day cleaning up around the house and taking care of the laundry that had been piling up. Jakey had pretty much avoided me all day and only came around when it was time to eat.

I decided to call my mom back and fill her in on what had been going on in the last week or so. She was upset to hear about Riley from Jasper, but she understood that I had been really busy. She was so wonderful. I always felt like I could tell her everything, but for some reason I just wasn't ready to tell her about Edward. She never asked me about the company that I had had over the night before, and I never brought it up. We talked for almost an hour before I realized that I only had an hour and a half before Edward would be here to pick me up. I told her how much I loved her and made plans to have lunch with her and Jasper the next week, in between rehearsals. When I hung up the phone, I felt anxious. I hated not being completely honest this time with her, but when I was ready, I would tell her. Without thinking about it anymore, I ran up the stairs to get ready for my dinner date.