Chapter 7: Welcome Back

Edward POV

As the summer passed, things between Bella and I got progressively better. We talked on an almost daily basis, just before we went to bed at night. She said she slept better when she was able to say goodnight to me, so I tried to call as often as I could. And now I was on a plane heading back to Forks, surprisingly excited to return to a place I despised so much. But then again, I had good reason for that.

I was going to tell Bella that I loved her.

I had a plan in place, and I was just hoping for the best. I would go home and spend some time with my family, and then I would take her out to that diner again where we went on our not-so-date. Then at the first given opportunity, I would say that I had something I wanted to tell her. I had been thinking about this for weeks, ever since Tanya and I had discussed my "date" with Bella. She dissected and analyzed every minute detail of that evening. She insisted that I finish composing that piece of music for Bella, saying how "romantic" it was. Women.

But then came the issue of the kiss.

I tried to explain to her that it was just a friendly kiss, but she would hear none of that. So I described it to her, moment by moment; from contact until I pull away. I'd thought about that kiss so many times since it happened, but never really looked into it as deeply as Tanya had made me. Bella's lips were soft, and if I closed my eyes, I could still feel them against mine. It had taken a moment, but she responded and just as tenderly as I was kissing her. By the time I finished at the break of the kiss, I looked over at Tanya and she was crying. She then smacked me in the head and told me that I was such an idiot, and left the room. Then the next day she told me that if I didn't tell Bella how I felt, then she was going to do it for me and make it far more embarrassing than any bumbling I could manage.

And somehow, I didn't doubt that.

As the captain announced our impending descent into Seattle, I felt a thrill rush through me. I was getting closer and closer to my Bella, and she would be waiting for me at my parents' house as she promised last night before we got off the phone. I checked my watch what seemed like minutes later, when in fact only seconds had passed.

When we finally taxied and debarked, I rushed through the airport as quickly as I could to get to the security checkpoint. The line was moving slowly but it seemed to come to a dead stop when I heard the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Edward!"

I looked up and saw her face, a smile spreading across my face so wide it almost hurt.

My beautiful Bella.

So much more radiant than when I left her almost three months ago. The ravishing smile that lit up her eyes, the way she bit her lip to contain her excitement and the blush that covered her cheeks in the effort. I took my eyes off of her as little as possible all the way through the metal detectors and once I was, she ran for me. I held out my arms and she eagerly jumped into them with a force that almost knocked me over; hugging me tightly.

"Oh my god," she chuckled, though I could hear the tears in her voice. "You're actually here."

"I should be saying the same thing," I countered with a laugh, holding her against me. I hadn't realized exactly how much I had missed her until I had her in my arms. I pulled away to see her face and she wiped a tear away quickly with her hand. "Do I look that horrible? Thought you were going to be waiting at my parents' house?"

Bella brought her hands to the sides of my face, her eyes scanning it rapidly as if learning every angle of my features again. "I couldn't wait that long. Your dad is down in the car, I told him I wanted to come get you."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, kissing her hair and her arm came around my waist as we began to walk through baggage claim. I had missed this closeness with her, even before I left. Things were so awkward before I left and that distance between us had affected us both deeply. And now, we were back to as were should be. "So I was thinking that tonight, maybe we could go out somewhere, just you and me. I really have missed you."

"I've missed you too, and I would really like that, Edward," Bella replied and then a pained look came over her face and she bit her lip. "But, I kinda have plans tonight. Maybe tomorrow night?"

"Plans? Charlie?" I asked in confusion, but also feeling my heart sink at the thought of spending my first night home without Bella there.

"Um, not exactly," Bella responded anxiously and tried to distract me by pointing to the descending luggage now making it's way down to the conveyor belt toward us. "But I'll be around for most of the day anyway."

"What's going on tonight?" I pressed, still not turning to watch for my luggage. Her body language was exuding far too much unease for it to be anything good but she didn't answer and kept avoiding my gaze to look at the passing luggage. "Bella?"

She sighed heavily and turned to look at me. "Look, I know you just got home and everything and I feel really bad. But I was invited to go out tonight to a party, and I said I would go."

"With whom?" I replied curiously, not remembering Alice mentioning anything outside of the gathering at my house going on tonight so it couldn't have been her. And when Bella looked away and folded her arms over her chest defiantly, I asked again. "Who are you going with, Bella?"

"Who are you, my father? Am I not allowed to have any friends outside of our immediate circle?" she snapped as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "Let's just discuss this later, alright?"

"What's wrong with now?" I urged, as I grabbed my first suitcase before it got too far out of my reach and brought my eyes back to her. "Why are you avoiding the topic? And you didn't mention this last night on the phone at all."

"I'm not avoiding the topic, Edward. I just would rather discuss it later in private, rather than in a middle of a crowded airport, if you don't mind," Bella replied tensely and watched me as I grabbed my last bag. "Come on, your father is waiting."

Why the hell was she acting so strangely all of a sudden, I wondered as I followed behind her through the airport and out the doors where my father was waiting outside the car. A smile came over his face and he pulled me into a hug as I approached him.

"Hi Dad," I laughed, patting him on the back before pulling away to toss my bags in the trunk, my eyes finding their way back to Bella. It was like night and day between the girl who leapt into my arms inside and the girl now getting into the car without so much as a glance in my direction; and it made me supremely uneasy.

Her mood shifted yet again when we arrived at my parents' house, almost bouncing with enthusiasm. She never left my side for more than a moment while I greeted my family and friends, shared in my excitement when my parents surprised me with the huge indoor pool they had built for me in a building behind the house, and hugged onto my arm as we sat talking with Emmett, Alice and Rosalie. I couldn't make heads or tails of her behavior, except that she was hiding something and I was going to find out just what that was.

Once Jasper arrived after work and successfully distracted Alice, I took Bella's hand without a word and led her into the house and up into the privacy of my room. It was time for answers. "Alright, we're in private. What is going on?"

Bella kept her eyes locked on me silently for a moment and then let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, Edward. I'm going to First Beach tonight, I have a date."

I have a date. Those words echoed in my head repeatedly as I felt my stomach drop out, as if they were the only words that had come out of her mouth. But I took a deep breath to collect myself and shook my head. "First Beach? As in La Push First Beach?"

"Do you know of another one?" Bella retorted sarcastically and placed her hands on her hips. "Yes, I'm going to La Push tonight."

"With who?" I asked stiffly and she rolled her eyes, trying to move past me. I stepped in front of the door and folded my arms over my chest. "Tell me!"

"Jacob Black!" she yelled at me, her brown orbs darkening and glaring at me. "Now I'm going to be late if I don't leave soon."

My eyes widened and I shook my head at her, unable to believe the name that just came out of her mouth. "There is no way you are going out with Jacob Black. And what about your father and his 'no dating until you're sixteen' stipulation? Last I checked, that's still a few weeks away!"

"For beginners, you say one word to Charlie about this, and I will never speak to you again, Edward Cullen. That is, after I'm done beating your ass!" she growled with her finger pointed at me. "And second. Seriously, who the hell do you think you are? You leave me here all summer, and I'm just supposed to sit around with my thumb up my ass, anticipating your return? Forgive me if I missed that memo! I figured it was about time for me to go out there and start being a kid for the first time in my life. Have some friends, make some mistakes and damn it, just have a life, for crying out loud. And one that didn't center around Forks."

"You could have hung out with Alice," I snapped back, waving my arms out. "Or, for the love of god, anyone but Jacob Black!"

"Well, Alice has a life outside of me, Edward. Remember that guy she's dating that happens to be your best friend?" I quipped back sarcastically with a raised brow. "And I know all about the history between you and Jacob, and honestly, you just need to let it go. Jacob was the only person who would talk to me about the night of the graduation and what happened. Because I was so wasted, I couldn't remember. And do you remember why that was, Edward? Oh yea, you were ignoring me for no damn reason!"

I took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Bella, I don't want to fight with you, I really don't. I just really think that you should reconsider this? Jacob Black is…"

"Not who I have the date with," she interrupted me, her voice slightly calmer. My hand fell and I looked back at her as she was making her way over to me. "I'm… not interested in Jake that way. He's a buddy. I was kinda buddy-less this summer, since someone decided to go off building houses."

I couldn't help but laugh when she poked my chest with her finger jokingly, but it quickly died. I just couldn't believe that everything I had been planning to do and say tonight got blown out of the water by one little phrase.

I have a date.

"You don't have to worry about me, Edward. I'm a big girl," Bella broke me out of my thought and I looked into her eyes. "And as far as Jacob goes. I know she was your girlfriend, but she's the one that spread her legs; he just happened to be the one between them. And he's really gotten me through this summer."

I closed my eyes as she spoke, not really wanting to a reminder of what stirred this hatred for Jacob Black in me. But beyond that, Kelly was the past; Bella was my present. And once again, he was coming in-between me and the most important thing in my life. I never should have gone to Alaska this summer but if I hadn't gone, I would have never had the wake up call I needed from Tanya. It all came too late either way. I cleared my throat without opening my eyes to speak. "So who do you have a date with?"

"James Dunlevy," she replied casually as she walked over and sat on my bed.

My eyes shot open and my head shot up to look at her, and immediately began shaking my head. "Oh no no no, there is no way. He is way too old for you."

"Alright, here we go again, dad," Bella snapped with the sarcasm returning to her voice. "He's eighteen, so what? I can have an eighteen year old best friend, but I can't have an eighteen year old boyfriend?"

"Whoa whoa, boyfriend? When did you meet this guy? And why didn't you mention him at all to me?" I began bombarding her with questions, as she stared at me in disbelief.

"Hold on, Tonto," Bella replied, holding up her hands and shaking her head. "I just started talking to him a week or two ago and he asked me to the party this morning. It's just a date."

"Just a date? With a guy you just met? What do you even know about him?" I asked, praying that she would soon come to her senses, and call the whole thing off. Now I was really regretting leaving for Alaska this summer. She would have stayed safe in Forks, away from Jacob and definitely away from James. I didn't know him personally, but I know of him. Women and their 'bad boys'. I felt the urge to roll my eyes.

Bella bit her lip in feigned concentration and then looked to me. "I know I'm young and inexperienced, but isn't that what dating is for? To get to know someone better?"

"Oh is that what this is about? Inexperience? Is it really that horrible to be a virgin, Bella, that you're in such a rush to dispose of it?"

Bella POV

I stared at him wide eyed for countless seconds. I laughed uncomfortably, unable to look him in the eye anymore and started shaking my head. "What are you talking about, Edward? This has nothing to do with… my… virginity," I replied in a muffled voice. Talking about these things with him about his actions was one thing but when my sexuality came to topic, it was an entirely different ball game. I felt the heat spread over my cheeks and I hugged my arms tightly around me. "I just want to go out and have fun, and… be a teenager. I'm so tired of having to play the mini-adult role all the time. Everyone has such high expectations of me and I'm tired of being sweet, compliant little Bella. I've been taking care of me and my dad since I was five years old, Edward. When do I get to be a kid?"

But that was only part of the truth. I had felt so empty all summer, even once I began talking to Edward again. And the last two weeks had been the hardest, although he had no way of knowing that. Just the absence of his presence in my life made me ache in ways that I had never experienced. The only times I had been able to dull that for a while this summer was the time I spent with Jake, though I felt no form of attraction to him whatsoever, and the time I had spent talking to James.

James was nice looking, funny and sweet and also had that bad boy appeal that I found so attractive in Edward. Although he couldn't be more different from Edward in every other way, which worked out perfectly for me. I needed as much of a distraction from Edward as I could get, so that these feelings, whatever they were, would stop. This summer made it very clear to me what his type of girl was, and it certainly wasn't me. As much as James was everything Edward wasn't, Tanya was everything I wasn't. She was a tall leggy blonde with blue eyes, a smooth complexion and a perfect set of pouty lips. Not to mention what other endowments she had that I didn't. I was kidding myself if I ever allowed myself to believe that Edward would ever desire someone like me if he could have someone like that at his whim.

I heard him walk toward me as I stared at the floor and the bed shifted slightly beside me. His arm came around my shoulders and pulled me to him and I slid my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek against his chest. "I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all, Bella," he said softly, kissing my hair gently. "You're right. You do deserve to be a kid. Just be careful, alright? I only want you to be happy, that's all I've ever wanted."

I looked up at him to meet his eyes and I gave him a soft smile. "I know, Edward. And I will be careful," I replied and gave him one last gentle squeeze before standing up. "Just don't worry about me. He's not going to make me do anything I don't want to, and I am certainly not ready for that. Not with someone I hardly know, that's for sure. And there will be plenty of people there with me, okay?"

He chuckled softly and stood up, pulling me back into his arms. "Don't be afraid to call if he gets out of line."

I laughed and playfully slapped his back. "God I've missed you," I replied and pulled away to look up at him and placed my hand on his face. "He'll never be good enough for me in your eyes, will he?"

I turned to leave the room, and just as I stepped outside the door, I heard him mutter a statement so softly I'm sure I wasn't meant to hear it.

"No one ever will be."