The smell of nail polish remover burned my nose as I worked to fix the sloppy paint job on each of my fingers.
"This is ridiculous..." I muttered to myself, trying to make sense of my idiotic behavior.
I was horrible at painting my own nails and didn't do it very often, but I wanted to look extra nice for my date tonight.
My date. With Edward Masen.
I was still completely baffled as to where it was he was taking me. I had to wear something I could climb in?
I figured we would probably be outside for a bit. Maybe a hike? December was only days away now, but the weather had remained uncharacteristically autumn like. A bit of a chill in the air, but unless it was raining or you were poorly dressed, the outside was not an unacceptable place to spend time.
I had spent the day racking my brain as to what I should wear. I had also made an emergency call to Angela who coached me through my closet and helped me make a decision.
"Oooh, wear those brown leather boots you have, Bells. They look super cute but still have some tread on them in case you really are hiking. Those with your light wash jeans...that indigo blue scoop neck you have...your tits look great in that!..."
Oh, Ang.
We added my jacket and one of my favorite green scarves to the ensemble and I felt immediately relieved.
Currently, I was dressed and ready to go. I'd been careful to curl my hair in loose, carefree waves. I'd put on only enough make up to look naturally "dewey" as Ang called it. I was happy when I looked in the mirror. My little borrowed heart was racing, thinking about what wonderful...or terrible things could happen tonight. You never knew with Edward and his mood swings. I was being very careful not to get my hopes up.
But after kissing him...really kissing him...seeing the way he looked at me, became protective of me...the way he wanted me.
Who was I kidding. I had very high hopes for this evening. That didn't mean I wasn't scared shitless.
My nails were short, but well kept. It took me a good three attempts until I had them looking the way I wanted with a pale, opaque, pink tint. I rolled my eyes at myself in my head, letting out a long breath when I'd finally finished. We girls are such weird beings.
It was dark out already, the sun had taken to setting around 5:00pm lately. Winter would not be long now.
Earlier, during my work day, I'd strung up white, large bulbed lights in my windows. I turned them on and sat at the base of my stairs now, just in front of the door, blowing on my stupid nails and trying not to get too freaked out. Edward would be here any minute now.
I had been strung out all day. I was unfocused and clumsy, a bit of a space cadet all morning long. What if tonight did go horribly? What if I made an ass of myself? What if he shuts down again? What if I fall down? Or choke on something? Or embarrass myself?
...and what if it goes perfectly?
I didn't have time to think about it very long as a glint of silver outside my window caught my eye. He was here.
I was frozen to my spot on the stairs, breath still captive in my lungs, ears tuned in, waiting to hear him.
Sure enough, I caught the sound of the car door opening and closing, the jingling of keys, the tread of a pair of boots. And then there he was, his face illuminated by the glow of my premature Christmas lights in the shop door.
He had a comforting, crooked smile on his face as he peered through my glass shop door window down at me, sitting on the last step.
I couldn't help but smile in return. I took a deep breath and rose to my feet, opening the door, the last barrier between us. Cool air swept across my face, and then I was looking up into curious green eyes.
"Hi..." I breathed. Goddamn, he was gorgeous.
I was already thinking about when I could kiss him again.
"Hi." he grinned. His eyes wandered over my face and hair, then from me to my Christmas lights. "Little early for Christmas lights, wouldn't you say?"
"It's never too early for Christmas lights. I used to have them in my bedroom all year round." I shrugged, still smiling goofily.
Sometimes in my hospital room too.
"Well, Miss Swan," he said, a crooked smirk on his face. "We have places to be and..." he checked an imaginary watch on his wrist. "We're four minutes behind schedule."
I laughed.
"Oh, is that right?" I stepped out beside him, then turned to lock my door. I could feel him close behind me. The heat of him radiating. I was hyper aware of his presence tonight. More so than usual.
I followed him to the curb where he opened the passenger side door for me, his ears turning a little red as he did so.
Once I was inside, I watched as his lean body moved gracefully around the front of the car and to his own door, sliding in easily beside me. He had a black jacket on that hugged his shoulders perfectly. Where the zipper had come down I could see the top of a band t-shirt underneath an open, light blue button down. His hair was in its usual disarray, raked through by his hands no doubt. Had he been as anxious today as I had?
As he started the car I could smell that he was wearing some kind of cologne. Whatever it was...it was perfect. Light and clean. He'd only used just enough that I noticed, instead of dousing himself in the stuff like many men tended to do. I remembered a few dates I'd been on in college where I was certain my nose hairs had all been burned to nothing because my date had practically bathed in strong cologne.
But not Edward. His scent was immediately comforting to me. And it was just enough to make me think that this cologne wearing was meant for special occasions. Or special people.
"So," I asked when we pulled away from the curb. "Are you going to tell me where we're going now?"
I watched his cheeks rise as he grinned, turning out onto the main road in the direction of town.
"Well, usually there is food involved on dates I guess. So I thought, we'd grab a bite somewhere in town first. But then I'm not telling."
"Oh, come on. Food is an assumed date activity. Can't you give me a hint?"
He looked over at me once before turning his eyes back to the road, his brows knit as he thought to himself.
"Dessert could be weird."
What? What the hell did that mean...
"Edward, that's a horrible clue! Now I'm even more nervous." I laughed dryly.
He looked over at me again, his eyes narrowing as he observed me.
"You're nervous?" he asked softly.
My anxious chuckle became quiet, but my smile did not disappear. It only became bashful.
"Me too." he said quietly.
The lights of down town soon came into view. I hadn't spent too much time here yet. My eyes wandered past the strips of beautiful little restaurants and shops, all lit under the street lamps. It was a charming place. I made a note to myself to come and explore here more often. Maybe Edward would come.
I felt myself grinning again at the thought of spending more time with him. Doing things together like a normal couple. Even when I knew deep down we were already anything but normal.
Edward did a flawless parallel park job outside of a little restaurant called Oasis. Soon we were inside a warm, earth toned lobby, dimly lit and covered with paintings of all sizes, shapes, and color, waiting to be seated. The place was busy tonight. Many people around us were waiting for their names to be called. Edward had walked up to the host podium and given his name. The host called him 'Mr. Masen' and promised just a few short minutes to wait.
"Are you sure we were four minutes behind?" I asked with a smirk. "It looks like we surprised your host by being a few minutes early..."
He tapped his wrist once and winked. "My watch sucks."
As the lobby filled with more people and more noise, I felt Edward place his hand on my lower back, guiding me out of the way of the chaos and closer to him. Although the movement was subtle and graceful, the closeness of him was enough to put me on high alert. He hand was so warm. Gentle. Cautious. It was hard to keep my composure when all I really wanted was for him to kiss me like he did the other night. Again and again.
Easy, Bella.
My eyes drifted upwards and suddenly they were caught in his. He was searching me, measuring my comfort level, the whisper of a smile on his mouth. I let my shoulders relax and soon his did too. I couldn't keep his gaze as long as I wanted to. There were so many people filling in the little lobby and the noises and conversations drifted through ours whether we were intentionally eavesdropping or not.
I watched Edward's jaw clench as the chaos in the lobby increased. His hand dropped from my back once to rake its way through his copper hair. He was annoyed. At one point a woman waiting in front of us, carrying on an obnoxiously loud conversation, stepped backwards and bumped into me.
Edward's arm immediately curled around my waist, pulling me into him. The woman turned around to apologize hastily. I waved her off with a smile, but Edward shot her a look that made her apologetic grin vanish and her eyes widen. She turned around quickly to rejoin her friends.
Despite his moody reaction, I was happily tucked into his warm side, and therefore couldn't complain one bit. I place my hand on his back, rubbing gently as I could feel the tension in his body growing.
He looked down at me once again as I did this and placed a warm kiss on my forehead.
Oh. Is this what it feels like when your whole body smiles?
I wondered about his anxieties as I studied the band logo on his shirt. I remembered him telling me that night after Eclipse that he had them as well. I started to think through his ticks. Large groups of people, chaotic noise...
"Masen, party of two?"
I was certain I heard Edward mutter under his breath, "Thank fucking Christ..."
I added waiting to my list of Edward's peeves. Edward Masen hated waiting. I smiled at his use of the f-bomb. I'd been waiting to hear it all night.
'There's my Edward,' I thought.
...My Edward? Jesus, Bella.
The host guided us through a maze of people past the lobby entrance and into the dining room. Edward was ahead of me, holding tight to my hand as we wove our way through the crowd.
The inner dining room was beautiful and different. The lighting was very much date-night classy, but the decor was full of various contemporary art pieces, all styles. It was a nicer place, but I didn't feel under dressed in my jeans. Edward had picked a great spot. A place he knew we would both be comfortable and yet, a perfect place for a nice first date. There was a bar along the right side wall of the large open room. We walked past it as our host seated us in a cozy little spot in front of large bay windows, facing the lit street outside.
I heard Edward let out a sigh of relief once the hostess had scurried off to seat the next party, practically slapping our menus down on the tables and leaving before we had even sat down.
Edward glared at the back of his head as the host left. For a second I was worried that Edward's mood would be sour for the rest of the night. But looking at the sneer on his face, I couldn't help but laugh. Both because he looked ridiculously cranky and also because I was praying he might laugh along with me.
The sound of my laughter caught his attention and though it took him a moment, a smile did find its way to his face. I gave myself a silent cheer. One small victory at a time tonight.
I was just about to sit when he offered to take my coat. I unbuttoned my jacket, trying not to fumble when I felt his hands come to rest on my collar from behind, sliding the coat off my arms, one finger trailing down from my shoulder to my elbow as he did so. I shivered a little at his touch.
I turned towards him as my hands slipped out of the bottom of my jacket sleeves. I looked up to find him watching me the entire time. When I'd caught him, he only grinned at me. Once he'd hung up our coats behind him, we sat down at our little table. Because of its proximity to the bay windows, it felt a bit more private, as if we were in our own little nook.
"Sorry," he said. "I forgot how busy this place gets on the weekends."
"I don't mind. It's a beautiful place." I said. "I have yet to explore much of downtown."
"Really? Well maybe if you don't hate me by the end of the night, we could do more exploring here sometime. I happen to be a local." he said smugly with a grin.
I laughed, feeling relieved that his wit and playful sarcasm had returned. We perused the menus, talking as we did so. I was eagerly learning more about him, little pieces at a time. I learned that he'd take a good pasta dish over a big steak any night. He thought the word 'prawn' was a stupid fancy way of saying 'big ass shrimp' and that raw onions grossed him out.
"They have a vegetarian section on the menu too." he pointed out. "I don't know...I just know you like to eat healthy and shit..."
He looked a little embarrassed after he spoke, unhappy with the way he had said it. His eyes were apologetic. I really didn't mind one bit. The fact that he remembered that much about me...the fact that he was trying so hard to please me...was adorable. It was obvious he was rough around the edges. He had warned me of that himself, but he was trying. That effort alone made me want more of him.
I laughed easily, letting him know that I wasn't offended or put off. You could see the relief replace the anxious, worried look on his face. He smiled at me softly.
A comfortable quiet settled between us as we looked at each other, eyes bright and hopeful.
"Bella?"
"Hmm?"
"...You look...you look beautiful tonight."
I felt my face flush a dark red and my head dipped down, trying to hide it. I felt his hand cover mine on the table between us. The contact buzzed with an energy I was becoming more and more familiar with. It belonged only to Edward. I looked up at him through my eye lashes. The lamp lights from the windows and the soft light from the restaurant illuminated him in a way that had me transfixed.
He was beautiful. And the way he was looking at me now...it made me believe I was too.
Dinner turned out to be a lot more playful than serious. I was beginning to realize that Edward had this side of him that was a cheeky little goofball. We ordered our food and talked about a lot of different things all evening, the scenery of people around us unnoticed. Only we existed at our little table in the window nook. Talk of Alice's wedding came up and Edward launched into the telling of some ridiculously embarrassing stories about each of his cousins. My stomach hurt from laughing even before our food arrived.
Hot plates of beautiful food were delivered to us, making my face feel happy and warm with delicious steam. Edward let out an appreciative moan as he took his first bite. The sound shot straight to my center, my mind taking it out of context and wandering to a very different setting. One that included food and a naked Edward. I blushed at the thought. I'd never been this attracted to someone before. It was eliciting from me these new desires I felt I didn't have much control over.
Edward was turning me on.
I took a deep breath and tried to hide my blush, focusing intently on the food in front of me. But the ever perceptive Edward was staring at me with an almost smug look on his face. As if he knew what I'd been thinking.
Oh, Mr. Masen. Two can play this game.
I twirled a perfect bite of mediterranean pasta around my fork and wrapped my lips around it, letting out one slow, deep, breathy, moan and closing my eyes as I did so. I opened them to see the smug look on Edward's face completely vanished, his mouth slightly open and his eyes staring at my mouth. I purposely hollowed in my cheeks a bit to suck up the short tail of pasta dangling from my lips. Then I delivered my very best smug look, raising an eye brow at him as I swallowed my food.
He swallowed hard, looking everywhere but me. He fidgeted in his seat a bit before returning to his food.
I added this moment to my list of small victories for the night.
Before I knew it, it was almost 9:30. The conversation had erased the time completely for me. I felt relaxed and happy. Thrilled to be near Edward, growing closer to him by the minute. I soaked up his words like a sponge. And when I spoke, I knew he was listening. He focused intently on me. He asked questions. Even when the waiter would come to refill our glasses, he would nod his thanks politely but never interrupt or take his eyes off of me.
When we had finished our meals and become aware of the time, Edward insisted we had another place to go.
"Oh that's right," I joked. "You did promise me a weird dessert didn't you?"
"Exactly." he winked.
I let my eyes wander over the art on the walls as Edward stood in front of me, paying our bill. There was a large piece on the wall across from me that I could not take my eyes off of. The colors were so intense. The subject matter more abstract than anything else, but so full of feeling. The angst that radiated from it hit home with me. As if I'd shared a feeling that might look just like this. Could it be...?
"Edward?"
"Hmm?"
"Is that...is that piece one of yours?" I pointed it out.
His eyes grew wide and his ears grew red. He let out an uncomfortable chuckle, but looked at me in awe and confusion. "Uh...y-yeah actually. I didn't think you'd recognize my work, I've never shown it to you."
I looked up at him, cautiously reading his eyes.
"Esme showed me your piece for the silent auction at the hospital. Its the only one I've seen." I said quietly.
He looked surprised, and a little nervous.
"I usually let Esme just pick what she likes...which piece was it?"
Now it was me who was nervous.
"Uh...umm it was...it had uh..."
Understanding lit his features.
"Esme..." he smiled knowingly but without humor. "Leave it to mom to embarrass the shit out of you when it comes to pretty girls."
He took my hand and we walked out of the restaurant to his car. He stopped me just as we got to the curb, his hand in his hair once again.
"Did it... did it make you uncomfortable? Seeing what I'd painted?" he asked, wincing a little. "I'm sorry, if it did...I wasn't trying to...I just...I didn't know you would see it and..."
On the outside, Edward could wield the confidence of a prince. But these little moments reminded me of the wounded boy he was on the inside. While his stuttering was adorable, I knew he was really concerned about what I thought of him. Wildly insecure and unsure of himself with me deep down. He was...scared. Like me. I didn't know what had happened to him to make this so...all I knew was that I wanted to erase it. To take his fears from him. To show him that I'm not easily scared away.
So I did. In mid sentence, I pulled gently on the collar of his jacket, pulling his mouth down to mine. I kissed him soundly, without hesitation. I could feel his surprise, his breath drawn back quickly in through his nose. But when he exhaled, his body shuddered just slightly, then relaxed into mine. A deep groan escaped his chest, rumbling beneath my hands. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me impossibly close, our bodies pressed tightly together.
It was all softness and heat and lip and tongue. The feel of his fingers splayed across my back, willing me even closer to him. I felt wanted. One hand reached up to cradle my face, a thumb brushing across my cheek. I felt precious to him.
When we pulled away it took me a moment to gain my composure, but I found mine sooner than he found his. I had been trying to make a point. He was searching my eyes and breathing shakily, surprise still written all over his expression.
"Edward, I thought it was beautiful. The painting...it...it made me hope for you." I said quietly. "It made me hope that you saw me... the way I was seeing you."
His eyes traveled over my face after I spoke. He looked...moved. There was a heat in his gaze that seemed to set me on fire. And I knew then, that whatever this was between us...there was no going back. I was tied to Edward.
"I have something I want to show you, Bella..."
I didn't recognize it in the dark until the car zoomed closer to it, tucked away in the trees.
Edward was taking me to his cottage. He checked his phone a few times as he drove, which had me curious. The ride was short and quiet...but not awkward or uncomfortable. It felt like an important moment was being shared between us, and that one was about to come.
I felt my heart pick up its pace. His house. Where we'd be alone. Alone together. His personal space...
Somehow in a situation that would make me beyond nervous and uncomfortable with anyone else, I was more excited than anxiety ridden. I wanted to see more, and to know more about Edward. I wondered just how far he might let me in tonight. As we pulled into the drive, it began to rain. It was a slow, misty drizzle.
Edward was out of the car in an instant, and before I could unbuckle my seat belt, he was at the door, opening it and giving me his hand.
"We're gonna have to make a break for it." he said as the rain picked up intensity. I could see the water from where we were now, his boat tied up in its place. It began to roll about in the current against the pier.
I took his hand and followed him, laughing as he bolted around the side driveway and towards the back porch. I expected us to go inside but instead Edward was pulling my hand and guiding me quickly towards the woods on the other side of his cottage.
"Edward! Where are we going?" I shouted after him, over the noise of the rain. I was starting to worry. I wasn't soaked, but I knew if we didn't get to wherever we were going soon, I would be. My anxiety started to pulse. It was dark, I had no idea where we were going and the rain just kept coming. But Edward's hand around mine felt warm. As long as he didn't let go of me, I'd be okay.
"Just a minute farther!" he answered.
Soon I started to see something. It was a light, it was up in the trees, but it was glowing warm and inviting. It was surrounded by a bulking dark form. As we got closer, I realized it was a...treehouse.
We came to the base of an enormous oak, the moss covering its thick roots was wet and slick. Edward caught me twice as I giggled my clumsy way towards him. Above us was the underside of a rather large treehouse. I moved back just enough to get a better look at it. It wasn't like the sort of ram shackle, thrown together fort Jake and his buddies would have built together in the backyard. This was a well built shelter. It was the size of my little apartment bedroom. It looked like a mini house that had grown over with moss and leaves, sitting up in this tree. The windows even had blue shutters, some broken or covered in foliage.
I watched Edward pull out his wallet, fishing around until he produced the tiny silver key I remembered finding before I had returned it to him.
Ah...so this is what its for.
"Edward is there someone up there? There's light coming from the windows..."
"I asked Alice to bring a light for us on the way back, and a space heater for the cold."
Oh...that's who he'd been texting in the car.
I was kind of baffled by this. Definitely the most unique date I'd been on. I was absolutely fascinated with the treehouse. I was anxious to see what was inside. What parts of Edward might be revealed to me there.
And I needed to get out of the cold and rain.
"I'm gonna open the hatch," Edward explained. "Follow me up?"
I nodded, watching as he easily hoisted himself upwards onto the wooden plank steps, nailed to the trunk. I took a moment to shamelessly stare at his ass before I approached the ladder. The first step up was quite a ways from the ground, an easy step for Edward's long, lean legs - not quite so for me. Luckily I was able to pull myself up without Edward noticing, and kept up right behind him.
I felt warmth and light come over my face as Edward unlocked the hatch into the treehouse. As he hoisted himself up inside I climbed up closer, only to see his face and hands in the light, reaching down to lift me up.
He pulled me inside like I weighed nothing, sitting me down next to his where he knelt. He closed the hatch and pulled a rug over it. He rose from the floor and went to a little closet in the corner as I took a moment to look around.
I was sitting on an old persian looking rug, beside a tall, glowing, amber camping lantern the illuminated the small space rather well. The inside of the treehouse was mostly bare. The was a closet in the corner, two black bean bag chairs, various band posters adhered to the wall. The space heater had been turned on before we arrived, making the room toasty. I still found myself shivering a little, trying to adjust to the room. I noticed more evidence of Alice...between the two bean bags was a small end table with a single red rose on it and two plastic cartons, each with a piece of cheesecake inside.
I heard Edward chuckle, coming towards me with two thick blankets from the closet he'd been rummaging in.
"I owe Alice one for this." he said, helping me to me feet. I was just tall enough to not hit my head on the ceiling. Edward however, was hunched over as he came towards me. The warm lantern glow against his still wet face made his skin sparkle. His hair was damp, some strands fell loosely in his face. He unfolded a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders, rubbing my arm as if to warm me up faster. I hadn't realized my teeth were chattering just slightly.
"I haven't been up here in years. I'm sure this place would have been full of cobwebs..." he said.
The two of us sat in our bean bag chairs, laughing as they squeaked and let out that 'pfffff' sound. He passed me a cheesecake and a fork.
"I told you dessert would be weird." he laughed.
"Nah...I'm giving you points for creativity." I smiled.
He took a bite of his cheesecake and leaned back in his bag. I thought about the two of us up here, feeling a bit like a nervous teenager, hanging out with the cutest boy in school alone in his treehouse.
The cheesecake tasted amazing. My sweet tooth was perfectly satisfied. But I was more interested in watching Edward, whose eyes were wandering all over the room and whose mind was far from dessert. I let him have a moment to reacquaint himself with the space. When the curiosity was eating me up, I finally spoke.
"Where'd you go just now?" I asked almost timidly. Afraid he wouldn't want to answer me. I had learned from experience now that I had to be careful about how much I asked and what specifically I asked about. I had to test the waters. I had to be more careful with him.
"To a very different time in my life, that's for sure." he scoffed.
I decided to wait to ask more. I looked at his posters, recognizing bands I myself used to listen to. Jake would always bring me new music from the record store when I couldn't leave the house.
I pointed up to the large black poster of a band I recognized.
"Ahh...good old Blink 182. How can you go wrong?" I mused. I saw a grin crack on his face.
"Right? Good old teen angst music at it finest." he agreed.
It became quiet again and I became unsure of myself. Was this going to be the downfall of the evening? Was this where it all was going to become too serious for him and he'd change his mind?
"I wish I had had a treehouse when I was a kid." I said, trying to think of what else I could say.
Edward hummed in agreement, putting down his dessert and turning in his bean bag to face me. Even though our knees were practically touching, he felt too far away from me.
"This wasn't just a treehouse, it was...it was a kind of safe house." he explained. There was a fleeting sadness in his eyes. Memories I had yet to know of were playing behind his eyes and I wished I could see them. Understand him.
I put down my half eaten cheesecake and wrapped my blanket tighter around me. I realized Edward was having an important moment here, and he chose me to share it with.
"When...when was the last time you were up here?" I asked. Edward didn't look at me, he simply stared straight ahead at the wall, old tapes playing in his head.
"I came here once when I moved into the cottage, after I renovated it. But only to lock it up. The last time I was here as a kid? I was probably 10 or 11. My parents stopped using the cottage around then."
"You must have a lot of memories here." I said. I was neither fishing for information nor discouraging it. I just wanted him to know that I was acknowledging that this space important. If it was important to him, it was important to me.
He ran both hands through his hair and looked at me.
"There are...many." He leaned forward. We were now face to face, our knees touching, his elbows resting on his. He let out a long exhale and looked at me, eyes apologetic. There was so much behind those eyes. I knew by looking at him that he had no idea how to even begin to explain. Instinctively, I reached out to him. Placing a hand on his cheek and leaning forward as well, to meet him half way. My thumb danced over his cheekbone in an attempt to soothe. To reassure.
"You don't have to tell me tonight, Edward. Just bringing me here is a huge step in itself...isn't it?"
He nodded once.
"I just...wanted to show you that I could try." he said. He let out another long breath. "I know I haven't exactly given you a reason to trust me yet. To trust this." he motioned to the two of us. "I just wanted you to know that...things are different with you. You...you're important to me, Bella. I needed to show you."
He lifted his hands to my face, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His face looked pained as he leaned in to kiss me. The need in his expression almost heart breaking. He was so gentle as he laid his mouth on mine. Careful with me and the kiss we shared. As if this moment might shatter.
One thing became clear to me, as the rain pelted in rhythmic patterns on the roof and Edward Masen held me and kissed me...
It didn't matter if he was damaged and lost. It didn't matter if his temper put me on a roller coaster ride, or his past was even more horrible than I could imagine.
I was already in love with him.
Hello Everyone! I tried to make up for my last prolonged absence by updating with another chapter as soon as I could. Next chapter this date will continue and we will learn a bit more about some of Edward's history.
Also, I've been notified that This Heart Renewed has been nominated for the Lemonade Stand fic of the week as well as a Sunflower Award in the Best All Human Category! Holy wow!...I'm absolutely flattered and so thankful that people are digging this little story of mine. Vote for THR if you feel like it, friends. I'm just happy and honored this was even nominated at all! Have a fantastic week. Much more to come from me!