Special thanks to Cattinson and Christag Banner for pre-reading this chapter and making me feel so much better about posting it!

Chapter Two

EPOV

Four days after the party I still hadn't used the phone number that had been written on my hand. However, I had spent the majority of those four days thinking about her. I wanted her. She intrigued me like no other girl had before, and I really wanted to get to know her. Unfortunately, for the first time in a very long time my conscience got in the way of what I wanted and I thought it would be better for her if I didn't call.

Two days after the party I went to my parents' house, unannounced. My father was at the hospital, of course, but my mother was home. That was exactly what I was hoping for because my mother was the person that would have answers to my questions.

I spent a little while just talking to my mom about my classes and what she had been up to lately. She told me some stories about Victoria, reminding me that I hadn't actually seen Alice and my niece in a few weeks. I needed to fix that and try to spend some time with both of them soon.

"So mom," I started after we had been talking a while. "Who was the girl that came here to see you the other day?"

I was trying to be smooth so as not to pique my mother's interest over her question, but it didn't really work. My mother looked at me with a small smile on her face and a knowing look in her eye.

"That's Bella. She is in my book club, sweetheart. She is attending school here at the university, but she grew up in Seattle. She's a sophomore just like you, an English major with a perfect GPA, and she works at a bookstore part time, which is how I met her. She's fantastic," my mother told me.

"She works at a bookstore?" I asked. "Why does a girl that's driving a vehicle like I saw her in need to work at all? There's no way that menial job is paying for that car."

My mom laughed. "Oh Edward, some people work because they want to, not because they have to. Bella's last name is Swan. Does that ring any bells for you?"

Of course I knew her last name, and it did sound familiar, but I couldn't really place it, so I shook my head.

"She is Phillip Swan's granddaughter. Phillip Swan as in the founder of Swan Publishing. She's a trust fund baby, hence the car. But she has a love for books that I'm sure is partially due to the world she grew up in. Bella works because she wants to be around books. She wants to be involved in the publishing world as much as she can even while she is in school."

I was shocked. I had assumed that Bella had money, but I didn't realize that it would be that much money. Of course I had heard of Swan Publishing. Charles Swan, who would have to be Bella's father, had spent a lot of years as a playboy millionaire and had always been in the tabloids. It was only in the past few years that he had straightened his act and really gotten involved in the company. I'd had no idea that he had a daughter, though.

I left my mother's house a little while later and drove to my apartment. I pulled out my phone and stared at her name in my contacts. I wanted to call her, but I wasn't sure that I could date her. She was perfect. I wasn't. Bella really had her shit together, and she really needed a guy that had his shit together, too. That guy wasn't me, and I didn't know if it would be me any time soon. As much as I enjoyed spending time with her the other night at the party, I just couldn't see how the two of us could be anything more than friends.

I'd only known her for a week, and only seen her twice in that time. I wasn't sure why the thought of not seeing a girl that I barely knew made me feel like I was missing out on something important.

A week later I was still thinking about Bella. I hadn't deleted her number from my contacts even though I knew that I should have if I wasn't intending to call her. Now, because I hadn't deleted the damn number, I was close to caving in and calling her.

I was sitting in the quad on campus still looking at her number when I heard someone laugh and it sounded just like Bella. I turned around to find the source, and there she was. Bella was standing with a guy, laughing at something that he said. She looked absolutely beautiful with her head thrown back and a carefree expression on her face.

As I was watching I saw the guy throw his arm around her shoulders and the sight made my stomach twist in knots. Who was that guy? Were they dating? If so, why had she given me her number?

Before I could talk myself out of it, I had gotten up and walked over to her. I knew the instant she saw me. I saw the sharp intake of breath right before she stopped laughing. The guy hadn't noticed yet, but I had. She looked pissed.

"What are you doing here, Edward?" She asked me in a clipped tone. Oh yea, she definitely sounded pissed.

"I left class and little while ago and saw you here," I answered her. "Could we talk for a minute, Bella?" I asked, hoping that she wouldn't tell me no.

The guy didn't seem too happy about my presence, and before she could answer he had already started glaring at me.

"Is there a problem here?" He asked, clearly not happy about my interruption. That shit pissed me off. What business was it of his if I was there talking to Bella? I was just about to say something back to him, but Bella spoke first.

"It's fine, Paul," she replied and scooted out from under the guy's arm. "Go wait for me at my car, this will only take a minute."

He walked off after shooting me one last glaring look, and Bella finally faced me. Her hands were on hips and her head was cocked to one side, studying me.

"What do you want?" She asked me.

I ran my hands through my hair, nervous to actually be talking to her. I hadn't exactly thought through my decision to come here and speak to her, and now I wasn't entirely sure what to say. I couldn't exactly tell her that I had come over because I didn't like seeing another guy with his arm around her. She would think that I was crazy.

Apparently I took too long to answer her because she rolled her eyes and started to walk off. I couldn't just let her get away, though. I had to say something to her.

"Wait, Bella!" I yelled after her and she turned around, obviously not pleased.

"What the hell do you want, Edward?" She yelled at me.

"I want to talk to you. I saw you and I just couldn't not come see you," I told her, hoping it would placate her a little. It didn't.

"You mean you saw me with another guy and didn't like it?" She shot back at me, surprising me. She must have noticed that I didn't expect her to figure that part out because she said "I saw the way you looked at him standing with me. I'm not an idiot. But what I can't figure out is why you care? You've had my number for two weeks and haven't bothered to use it. You can't just all of a sudden decide to talk to me because you see another guy talking to me. It doesn't work that way, Edward."

"You're right, and I'm sorry," I told her, surprising both of us. I hadn't meant to admit that to her, but I couldn't lie to her in that moment. She deserved the truth.

"I didn't call, and it's my own damn fault. I should have. I've thought about you every day since that party. Please let me make it up to you, Bella."

She stared at me for a second before rolling her eyes at me again, but I could see the start of a smile on her lips.

"Make it up to me, huh? I guess I could let you do that. Why don't you start by taking me to dinner this Friday night," she said, once again surprising me. This girl was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and I was starting to love the anticipation of what she would say.

"Dinner Friday night sounds great," I replied, grinning at her. "I might even use that number you gave me before then."

She laughed and said "You better," just as she turned to walk away. It didn't matter right then that she was going to her car where there was another guy waiting. She not only had agreed to dinner with me, but had been the one to make the suggestion. I wasn't worried about Paul one bit.

The next few days flew by and it was finally Friday night. I had indeed used Bella's number over the past few days. I had texted her every day just to say "hi" and see how she was doing. The texts that I got back from her were quickly becoming the best part of my days, and I had to stop myself from constantly texting her just so that I could know what she was doing all the time. Something about this girl made me lose all sense of myself. I never saw myself as the type that dated. I liked girls just fine and had no problem hanging out with them, but before Bella I couldn't even fathom asking a girl on first date. Luckily for me she did that part for me.

I typed the address that Bella had given me into my GPS and headed to her house to pick her up. When I told to my sister Alice about my date she had told me to book a table at a fancy restaurant, but I decided not to do that. I wasn't a fancy type of guy, and I didn't want to give an impression of myself that wasn't true. So I told Bella to dress casually and that I would surprise her with our date when I picked her up.

When I pulled into her driveway, I turned off my car and checked my reflection in the rearview mirror. I tried messing with my hair some to try and tame it, but then just stopped. It was a mess like always, and there was nothing that I could do about it at this point.

I got out of the car and walked to her front door. Before I could even ring the doorbell, though, she had opened the door and was grinning at me.

"You're here! I'm so excited, you have to tell me what we are doing, Edward!" She exclaimed. I couldn't help but smile at how happy she looked in that moment. It was even better than when I had seen her laughing the other day, because this time that gorgeous smile on her face was because of me.

I decided to tease her a little because she was just too cute. "Bella, I thought you were cooking me dinner here? That's why I told you to dress casual. There is no need to dress up when we are just going to stay here at your house."

She pouted at me for a minute before realizing that I was kidding. The minute she realized it she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me. It was the first real physical contact that she and I had, and I was stunned. Before I could even react back she had let go and was grinning at me again.

"You're just so adorable, Edward," she said before walking to my car. I just stared after her, once again surprised at her. Would she ever cease to amaze me?

Once I got in the car and started driving, I told her that I was taking her to eat pizza and play arcade games. I was nervous telling her this, because I was worried that maybe Alice had been right and I should have brought her to some fancy restaurant. But Bella seemed happy with what we were doing. I was pretty sure that Bella wouldn't have a problem telling me if she didn't want to do something, so I took her at her word when she said that she was happy with my choice.

As soon as we got to the pizzeria, we ordered our dinner and then headed straight for the games. Bella kicked my ass at Pacman, but then I beat her at air hockey. She was very competitive but not a sore loser, which made it fun. She had a smile on her face the entire time, and I was starting to realize that I her smile was something I loved seeing.

When we sat down to eat our pizza, Bella began her questions. I should have known that she wasn't going to let me out of not having called her as easily as she had.

"So tell me, exactly why didn't you call me for two weeks?" She asked.

I debated on whether or not I should tell her the truth. Part of me wanted to lie to her and just say that I had been busy. But I didn't think that was the best idea. I knew that I was going to want to see her again after this date, so it seemed best to tell her my fears from the beginning.

"I went and saw my mom a few days after the party," I told her. "I asked her about you and she told me everything she knew. It scared me."

Bella just looked at me with a curious expression. Finally she said, "I'm not sure I understand. What scared you? Who my dad is? The money? That doesn't even make sense. You come from a very wealthy and influential family as well. You should be used to all of that."

"It isn't the money. I don't care about money. It was just you, Bella. According to my mom you seem to have your entire life planned out. You have great grades, you know what you want to do. I'm not like that. I don't care about college and am only going because my dad is making me. I have no idea what I want to do after I graduate."

Bella burst out laughing at my comment. "Edward, I'm 19 years old. Yes I know what my major is and I have good grades. Yes I know that at some point I want to work at Swan Publishing. But I by no means have my life together."

I wasn't sure what to say to her. She seemed too perfect sometimes, and it scared me. So I told her that.

"I'm not perfect," she replied. "I'm spoiled and selfish. When I want something, I will do anything in my power to get it. And do you want to know something, Edward?" She asked me.

I nodded at her. I wanted to know anything that she was willing to tell me.

"I want you, Edward. I might have hated you the first time I met you, but now I kind of like you. And I always get what I want. So you're stuck with me now."

I smiled at her then and said "Well in that case, I guess I will just enjoy the ride."

When I was driving Bella back to her house I told her about a party that James was having at his apartment that night. I hadn't planned on going since I was going to be with Bella, but she told me that we should go. I didn't want the date to be over, so I agreed and we headed to the party.

When we walked in I realized that bringing Bella here might not have been the best idea. James and Alec and Marcus, two of my other friends, were stoned out of their minds. A few other guys were there, too, drinking and playing poker. There were two girls hanging all over James and some more girls sitting at the poker table drinking and smoking a joint. I felt Bella grab my hand and I looked at her, realizing that she actually seemed insecure. I wasn't sure if it was because of the drugs or the fact that she didn't know anyone, but I felt bad for not warning her beforehand what would be happening at this party. I didn't even know if Bella had ever been around pot before or if she would be comfortable being around it.

The minute I walked in the door a girl named Renata that hung out with us occasionally walked up to me and handed me a joint. I stared at it for a second before looking at Bella. I couldn't lie, I really wanted to smoke it, but I also didn't want to freak Bella out. Luckily she just smiled at me and nodded, so I took a drag on the joint before walking to the couch and sitting down. I pulled Bella down to sit next to me and wrapped one arm around her while handing her the joint with the other hand. She took it from me, but then just stared at it. Her brows were furrowed in what I assumed to be contemplation and I couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked.

"Bella," I said, leaning close so that I could whisper talk quietly in her ear. "You don't have to smoke it if you don't want to. It's no big deal."

She looked at me, relief evident on her face, and handed it to me. I passed it back to Renata before turning my attention back to Bella. I was about to reassure her again when James walked over and handed us each a beer. She smiled graciously at him and reminded him that they had met a couple of weeks before. He talked to her for a few minutes before disappearing into his bedroom with one of the girls that had been sitting next to him when we walked in the door.

We stayed there for about an hour, and Bella eventually started to relax. She talked to Alec and Marcus and even cheered on some of the guys playing poker. She drank a few beers, but I made sure that I only drank the one beer since I was going to be driving her back home.

When we got in the car and started back to her house, I noticed that she had a worried look on her face. She was quiet for most of the short drive back, so once we got to her house and I had walked her to her front door, I asked her what was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Edward," she said "I don't care if you do it, but I just don't have any desire to smoke pot. I just don't want you to be pissed if I don't do it."

I smiled at her and tucked a piece of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear. "Don't sweat it, Bella. I don't care one bit if you don't. I do it because I enjoy it, but I would never want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

She smiled her beautiful smile at me and I stepped closer to her. I needed to touch her, to kiss her. I couldn't stop myself. I reached one hand to wrap around her waist and bring her closer to me and then brought my other hand up to cup her cheek. I leaned down slowly, making sure she knew what I was planning to do so she could object if she wanted. But she didn't object. I saw her tilt her head up to mine just before her eyes fluttered closed and our lips touched.

I had intended for our first kiss to be sweet, a way for me to show her how I felt about her even when I didn't know how to form my feelings into words. But the spark I felt the minute our lips met was like nothing I had ever felt before, and I immediately groaned against her mouth, licking her lips with my tongue. She instantly opened her mouth to me and put her own tongue in my mouth, gripping my hair with her hands. The kiss was passionate and intense and so much more than I had imagined it would be. Before I knew it, I had her backed against the front door and my arms were running up and down her sides, trying to grip her as tight to me as possible.

I don't know how long we stayed there kissing, but she eventually pulled away from me. She was breathing her hard and her eyes were slightly glazed over as she looked at me. I rested my forehead against hers, trying to catch my breath.

"I'm sorry, Bella," I told her. "There's just something about you. I couldn't keep my hands away from you any longer."

She smiled and gave me a chaste kiss on my lips. "It's okay. I liked it a lot. That's the problem. I liked it too much and if I hadn't stopped it when I did then I might not have stopped it at all and I'm not ready for that yet."

I smiled down at her before wrapping her into a hug.

"I'm glad that I was what you wanted," I whispered in her ear before letting her go for the night. I smiled the entire way home. That was a fantastic first date.