Chapter 17: The Big Date
Bella POV
Being a goodie-two-shoes in school really paid off sometimes. Edward and I had been able to spend the entire first day of our relationship completely alone, without the probing eyes and questions of everyone around us. Neither of us had missed a single day of school in months between this year and last. Therefore, no one suspected anything and neither of us received a phone call from the school.
Of course, the downside was that it had completely spoiled me. Being able to spend all day alone like this with Edward, wrapped in our own little bubble that no one could intrude upon was heaven on earth. But the harsh reality of life came crashing back down on us when we had to finally drag ourselves out of that bed and head back to the school to pick up his car.
The next morning however, we knew our peace would be brief. Having avoided the bombardment of questions by taking off before the final bell of the day had sounded; we knew some of our friends would be looking for us. We arrived at school at the same time, smirking at each other before we got out and met at the back of my car.
"Morning," I said with a broad smile, as if I hadn't just gotten off the phone with him.
Edward swept me up in his arms, bringing my lips to his as I buried one hand in his hair as the other cupped his cheek. I felt amazing; so light and free. I was Edward's girlfriend. No more pretending or plastered smiles. He was mine and I was his. His lips eventually broke free of mine and I pouted jokingly at the loss. "Morning, baby."
I grinned and bit my lip. I really hoped the thrill would never fade from hearing him call me 'baby', or the happiness I felt with him like this.
But as expected, our own little world was short-lived this morning as we heard the sharp clicking of heels making their way toward us, followed by a "Well well well, look what the cat dragged in."
Edward set me back down on my feet and we looked beside us sheepishly; meeting the gaze of Rosalie as she stood there with her arms folded and eyebrow cocked. He smiled at her as he draped his arm over my shoulders casually. "Morning Rosie!"
Rose raised her fist at him and waved it threateningly a couple of times. "Do not call me that, Eddie!" she replied tensely and was met by his laugh. "Something you care to share with the rest of the class?"
"Yea," a tiny voice sounded from behind her, as an irritated Alice appeared suddenly. "What the hell was that little display all about?"
Edward and I glanced at each other with almost goofy smiles and he hugged me against his side, kissing the top of my head.
Rosalie got a snarky grin on her face and bobbed her head. "Told you," she said looking at me, and then winked at Edward before turning and walking away toward the school.
"Whoa!" Alice exclaimed with wide eyes and when the bell rang, she pointed at me. "You have got a lot of explaining to do!"
Watching her walk away, I wrapped my arm around Edward's waist and looked up at him. "You wouldn't happen to want to go to sophomore Spanish for me, would you?" I asked jokingly, only getting a sarcastic look with a raised eyebrow in response. "Yea, didn't think so."
That first hour seemed to drag, even though it was usually my favorite class. English Lit. We were starting on The Odyssey, a book I loved. Yet for once, I didn't care about some long winded poet talking nonsense about some guy returning from war, assumed dead, finding his wife surrounded by suitors. Since I was well aware that next hour, I was in for the interrogation of my life from Alice; and I really just wanted to have it over.
By the time I reached Spanish class, there was already a note sitting on my desk beside Alice. I tried to act as casual as possible as she pursed her lips, looking at me from the corner of her eyes. I opened the note once her eyes returned to the front of the class.
You and Edward finally got together, and you didn't even think to call and tell me this? When, how, where...? I want details, you should know that!
I dug out my pen and began writing as the teacher began his lecture. I gave her a blow by blow of everything from the locker, to the meadow, and every detail of the amazing day in my bedroom. Soon her irritation turned to elation and she could barely contain herself long enough for us to get out of class. Fortunately, my literal knight in shining armor was standing outside the door waiting for me, sparing me from the interrogation from Alice... for now.
However, my relief was to be short-lived. Just when I reached out to take Edward's hand, my eyes met a blazing pair of blue ones.
"Oh no," I whispered softly but loud enough that Edward heard me. He turned to look in the direction I was just before his back met the locker behind him. "James, stop it!"
He sneered at me and then looked back to Edward. "So you really were after my girl, weren't you, pretty boy? Sure doesn't take you long to swoop in, does it?"
"Fuck you," Edward croaked out as James' arm pressed against his throat, but his green eyes blazed with fury. "She's way too good for your sorry ass."
I grabbed onto James' arm, trying to pull it away from Edward but they never broke their infuriated gazes from each other. "James, I mean it! Let go of him!"
James laughed almost maniacally, shaking his head and glancing over at me before returning his gaze to Edward.
"Wow, what a man you must be. If you need a woman to fight your battles for you," he replied and then scoffed, casting me an angry glance. "Fucking have her, you won't have any more luck than I did. Can't even give decent head. She's a fucking cocktease."
Edward's green eyes flared even more, to the point he actually scared me. His fist clenched and punched James in the stomach to break the hold he had on him, shoving him across the hall and pinning him to the lockers instead.
"You never speak that way about my girlfriend ever again. Don't look at her, talk to her; I don't even want you thinking about her when you're jacking off at night. Because you fucked up, not her."
"Alright, break it up you two!" Mr. Whittier came running down the hall, grabbing Edward's shoulders to pull him off James. I quickly took his arm to pull him closer to me. "What is going on here, gentlemen?"
James and Edward continued to glare at each other and I shook my head, looking at Mr. Whittier. "Nothing, sir. Just a misunderstanding."
"Good, now get to class. All of you," he called out to the small crowd who had gathered around us as he turned to walk away.
James pushed off the locker and smoothed a few loose tendrils of his hair back. "Fucking whore," he growled as he moved past us.
Edward began to lunge after him but I held tight onto his arm and placed my hand on his face. I turned him to face me and shook my head.
"It's not worth it, baby," I said softly and as he was about to protest, I pulled his face quickly to mine and kissed him gently to silence him. "It's not important. Let's get to class."
Edward let out a slow breath and kept his eyes closed, trying to calm down. I felt his jaw gradually loosen under my touch, and he nodded slowly. "But if he ever calls you anything like that again..."
"It still doesn't matter. You know the truth and that's all that's important," I replied gently and gave him a small smile. He opened his eyes and I kissed him gently once more before we began walking toward class. He walked behind me with his arm wrapped protectively around my shoulders.
"So, I was thinking, since everyone knows now-or will now that Alice does-I think we should actually go on a date," he said suddenly and it was obvious that he was trying to keep his calm.
"A date?" I asked in amused skepticism, gazing at him with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't we already cover that months ago, Mr. Cullen?"
"Actually, Miss Swan," Edward teased me back, finally coming to my side so I could wrap my arm around his waist. "I meant more like a date that was completely voluntary. And we pick all the activities."
"Hmm, guess I should kinda fill in my dad, huh?" I replied anxiously.
I admit I was a little nervous about telling Charlie that I had a boyfriend, even though he had already voiced his approval of Edward. What a father says before his daughter dates a guy and after she's already dating him, can sometimes be two very different things.
"You haven't told your dad?" Edward asked incredulously, as if we'd been dating for months. I rolled my eyes as we reached the library and he smirked. "Man, what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall for that conversation."
My jaw tightened as I swatted his ass with the back of my hand and he pulled away to jog into the library, laughing. "That can be arranged you know."
For the rest of the day, my stomach was in knots. During study, we made tentative plans to go skating and play laser tag, one my idea and one his to be fair, and a small intimate dinner. And now the hard part...
Telling Charlie.
I drove home that day and decided to butter him up by making him lasagna for dinner, since it was his favorite. When I heard the cruiser pull up at 5:30 on the nose, I had just pulled it out of the oven.
"You can do this, Bella. He'll understand." My mantra was out the window as I heard my dad walk in the door and hang up his gun belt.
"Hey, Bells?" he called from the front door, as I heard the crumpling sound of leather from his jacket falling down his arms.
"In here, Dad. Dinner's ready," I called out and before I knew it, he appeared in the room with a smile on his face. He didn't have to say a word for me to know that he was excited for dinner. I made him a plate, grabbed a beer from the fridge and set it in front of him. "Dad... can I talk to you?"
His eyes came up to meet mine worriedly and he shook his head. "Please don't tell me you're... pregnant," he hesitated on the last word.
"Dad!" I groaned shaking my head, sitting down in the chair next to him and buried my face in my hands for a moment. "No, I am not pregnant."
I heard my dad's long, heavy breath of relief and he nodded. "So, what is it, Bella?"
I wrung my hands slightly in my lap and then brought my eyes up to him. "I have a date with Edward Cullen," I blurted out suddenly and his eyes met mine. "On Friday. He's... kinda my boyfriend."
Charlie seemed to ponder this for a few minutes while he chewed, and then looked at me. "Can't say I'm entirely surprised, but I thought you said you were just friends."
"We were... last week," I tried to reply casually but Charlie shot me a look with a raised eyebrow. "What? I thought you liked Edward."
"Bella, I'm a father. Isn't it my job to be skeptical of every guy my daughter dates?" Charlie pointed out and I couldn't help but nod in agreement. If he didn't love me, he wouldn't care at all about this. He took a sip of his beer and picked up his fork again to resume eating. "Isn't he a little... old for you?"
"Dad," I whined slightly as my head lolled back. "He's eighteen, it's really not that bad. And I really like him."
"So where are you two going?" Charlie replied calmly, and continued to eat as I told him our plans for Friday night.
x-x-x
I looked at myself one last time in the mirror. Not bad. My favorite jeans, layered tees, loosely curled hair and light make-up. I had to admit, I looked pretty damn good.
Alice seemed to be under the impression that I needed her to doll me up for each and every occasion in my life. I knew how to look like a girl; I just chose not to go through the entire ritual every day. She threw an absolute fit when I wouldn't let her plan my outfit and spend five hours getting me ready for my date with Edward, but I stood firm and put my foot down. If she wanted something to primp and dress up everyday, she could buy a Chihuahua.
My date with Edward. My first official date with Edward to be exact. I smiled just thinking about him. This week had been so great, I sometimes had to pinch myself to prove I wasn't dreaming.
I glanced at the clock, 5:40. He would be here in twenty minutes. That left just enough time to go over the rules again with Charlie. Did every daughter have to do this? When I had first told him that Edward and I were dating, he hadn't seemed all that surprised. In fact, it almost seemed to confirm his suspicions, but I needed make sure he remembered our talk. I grabbed my jacket and purse and headed for the stairs.
As I rounded the corner, I stopped on the bottom landing. Charlie was standing in the living room in front of the fireplace, his hand on a small silver frame. His thumb absently traced the tarnished filigree, his brow wrinkled in thought.
"Dad? Everything okay?" I asked quietly, as not to startle him.
He slowly set the frame in its place. "Yea Bells, I'm fine. Just looking at this picture of us fishing down at Tempe Town Lake. You had to have been eight or nine at the time. You remember that?" When he met my eyes, he looked older somehow; sadder. "And here I am about to meet your boyfriend. It's just funny, I don't know where all that time went. Sometimes I just wish..." His voice trailed off, and he seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"Sure dad, I remember," I answered, instantly trying to lighten the mood. I didn't know what he was about to say but I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it right now. "I thought sitting and being quiet for hours at a time was boring. So I decided to practice my aim by throwing all the bait in the lake."
I chuckled and walked up to him, gingerly putting my arm around his waist. My dad and I were definitely not what would be considered affectionate, but we were working on it.
He laughed and his face suddenly took on the happy, younger expression that I was accustomed to. "I was so mad at you," he shook his head, placing his arm around my shoulders and pulling me towards him. "We went through two damn jars of salmon eggs that afternoon before you started in on the rocks. We didn't catch a damn thing but the fish were sure happy."
These were the moments I loved with my dad; when we both let down our walls and stopped having to be strong.
"So," He said, standing taller, switching to 'dad' mode. "Edward is coming to pick you up? Where exactly is he taking you?"
I rolled my eyes and moved to sit in the big armchair near the window. "Dad, we talked about this. Edward is coming over to pick me up for our date," I said in a very matter of fact voice. "We are going skating and to play laser tag. I know you've met him several times but he would like to meet you officially as my boyfriend. I think it's stupid and a waste of time, since you've talked to him like a hundred times before, but it's important to him. And dad," I paused, looking at him sternly. "He's important to me."
He stood across from me, looking down at his feet, toeing the rug with his boot. "Bells, you remember the talk we had, right?" He looked up at me then, an uncomfortable look stretched across his face.
"Dad!" I exclaimed, throwing myself back into the chair with my arm over my face. "We are not having this discussion right now. Edward will be here any minute and I don't want you embarrassing him. No talk of gardening. At all."
Just as he was about to reply, a loud engine sounded out front. I gave him my best 'be nice' look and he lifted his hands, giving me his best innocent 'what?' look, as I headed for the door. Edward looked more handsome than usual, dressed in jeans and a vintage tee, a creamy leather jacket and his hair mussed to perfection.
"Hi," he said releasing a long breath, his grin sweeping across his beautiful face.
"Hi, back," I answered, a matching grin of my own. We must have stood there beaming at each other for longer than was appropriate, because I heard my dad loudly clear his throat behind me.
"Oh!" I started, shaking my head trying to clear it. "Come in."
Edward chuckled and stepped into the house.
"These are for you," he said, holding out a gorgeous bouquet of pink tulips. How much more perfect could this guy get? Seriously not fair to the rest of the male population.
"Thank you, Edward. They're beautiful," I rose up to peck him on the cheek and Edward lowered his head and actually blushed; he was too adorable. I almost forgot we weren't alone when a throat cleared again.
"Oh, um…yea. Edward," I rolled my eyes and used my best professional voice. "This is my father Charlie Swan."
Even Edward noticed my sarcastic tone and he gave me a look that had 'behave.' written all over it.
"Father," I said again. "This is Edward Cullen."
I glanced to see Charlie giving me the exact same look.
Edward stepped forward with his hand extended, his eyes never leaving my dad. "Chief Swan, I just wanted to thank you for allowing me the chance to date Isabella. I care very much for her, sir. I promise to keep her safe and treat her with respect."
I glanced from Edward to my dad and back again. Charlie stood straight, his arms crossed over his chest, staring at him and seemingly sizing him up. I was beginning to get nervous when he reached out for Edward's hand, shook it and nodded.
"Be sure you do," he added.
"Yes, sir," Edward replied.
And that was that.
I let out a breath I hadn't even known I was holding as I gathered my things, said goodnight to my dad and walked out the front door Edward held open for me.
A comfortable silence filled the ride to the Fun Center. We talked about our day a bit and our plans for the evening, but didn't feel the need chat endlessly. Edward held my hand on his thigh, his thumb brushing slow circles on my skin. The drive to the skating rink only took about twenty minutes but when we pulled up, I knew there had to be a mistake.
"Edward?" I said confused. "What's going on? The parking lot's empty."
What the hell was going on? It was Friday night, and one of the only places in Forks for teenagers to hang out and act, well, like teenagers, had the appearance of a ghost town.
"Oh no!" I gasped, looking over to him, my eyes wide with panic. "It didn't close down did it? I love this place! How in the world will I ever get my geeky laser tag fix now?" I whined, throwing myself back against the headrest.
I heard soft laughter from the seat next to me. "Bella, calm down. It's fine. Trust me."
And with that, he stepped out of the car, walking to my side and opening the door.
"Trust you? What does that mean? There's no one here, Edward," I asked, looking around the large empty lot as I took his hand and stepped out of the car.
He kissed my forehead and pulled us both towards the large building.
"You do know my dad's the Chief of Police, don't you? I don't exactly think that aiding you in breaking and entering is what he thought you meant when you said you'd keep me safe."
His chuckle was his only response and I glared at him. As we approached the doors however, I swore I could hear music coming from inside. Something was fishy.
Edward reached for the door handle and I was surprised to watch it swing open easily. It was dark inside, but definitely not closed. Classical music emanated from the speakers, soft colorful lighting and reflections from a suspended disco ball gave the large building a cozy intimate feeling. As we stepped further in, I noticed the distinct absence of other people and in the center of the huge oval skating rink was a picnic. My jaw dropped open at the sight.
"What did you do?" I whispered in awe at the sight before me.
A large blue blanket was set upon the smooth, polished floor, with pillows of various creams and blues scattered around to make it more comfortable to sit on. Several ivory candles set the scene creating an intimate glow. A large wicker picnic basket and several vases overflowing with the same pink tulips Edward had given me when picking me up completed the most romantic picture I'd ever seen.
"I want to be angry, but I just can't seem to find it in me right now. This is so beautiful, Edward." I turned to him, my heart so full of love for this man that I thought it might burst and I felt tears pooling in my eyes. "I can't believe you did all of this for me."
Edward pulled me to him, his hands cradling my cheeks. I slowly closed my eyes and felt the first tear slip.
"Hey, no crying," he said softly and bent down to bring our eyes level, his thumb gently wiping my tear away. "You're not gonna go all girlie on me and cry every time I try and be romantic are you?"
I rolled my eyes at his teasing and lowered them slightly.
"I did this for us, baby. I want to take care of you and buy you pretty things, and show you just how special you are. I love you so much, Bella," he whispered, kissing my lips softly and the butterflies in my stomach fluttered at the gentleness. "So, is it too much?"
"It's perfect," I smiled, unable to tear my eyes away from his beautiful face.
The beaming smile he returned was enough to melt my heart.
"Let's eat," I said playfully, leading us towards our beautiful picnic. "I can't wait to see what you managed to come up with. Did you do this all on your own?"
We sat down, arranging ourselves beside each other and propping ourselves up on the fluffy pillows.
"Well, the idea was mine, but my mom did help a little. I am a guy, after all," he rolled his eyes and I couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out. Edward began getting out the food; sandwiches, fruit, cheese and crackers. Everything looked amazing.
Just as I was opening my can of soda, Edward cleared his throat.
"There's one more thing I wanted to give you. It's not a big deal but…"
From behind one of the pillows, he retrieved the most precious gift I'd ever received; a beautiful bouquet of colorful bendy straws wrapped in a delicate satin ribbon. My eyes flew up to him, my mouth open.
"How did you know?" I asked, my heart racing.
"Well," he hesitated. "Rose happened to mention that you had a little epiphany on the phone that brought you to the conclusion that you loved me."
His green eyes stared at me with such intensity that I felt myself tremble. That was exactly the moment I had realized.
"That's true," I said, gently taking the bouquet from his hands. I looked down at it lovingly as I continued. "I was talking to James and he was being such an ass. And when I opened the drawer, one of the bags you brought me- that you always bring me - spilled out everywhere."
I looked up to meet his gaze, there were more words passed between us than any sentence could ever express.
"It was you. All along, it was always you that took care of me. Who knew me. And I think…" I trailed off, still trying to acknowledge the thoughts forming in my head. "I think that I always knew. I always knew that you loved me, I was just… scared. Scared of not being good enough. Scared of just not being… enough. And this…" I said, gesturing towards the straw flowers. "It represents all of that. It's the most wonderful and precious gift you could ever give me. And I could never love anything more."
I leaned in towards him, barely brushing his soft lips with mine.
"Thank you, Edward," I breathed into his mouth and pressed my lips against his once more. My hands wound into his hair, pulling him closer as I deepened the embrace. My tongue traced along his bottom lip, and he moaned and breathed a soft 'baby' before taking it inside his mouth. His hand slid up my neck, entangling itself in my hair as his other rested on my cheek. Our tongues gliding softly against the others; our kisses long, slow and passionate.
After a few moments, our kisses grew shorter and Edward pulled away. His hand still rested on my face while his thumb gently brushed my cheek.
"Thank you, Bella." He spoke so softly, I almost didn't hear him. The moment was so tender; we continued to lay small pecks on each other's faces, whispers of love murmured in the other's ear.
Once we had finally managed to eat, Edward asked if I was done and ready to skate. I had completely forgotten that we were, in fact, in the middle of a skating rink and I chuckled at the thought.
"Sure," I laughed. "Ready as I'll ever be."
He helped me up and led me to the service counter to get our skates.
My fingers fumbled with the laces of the skates regardless of how much I attempted to appear calm. I had never skated before and now I was going to make a complete ass out of myself in front of Edward, as well as probably land on it a half a dozen times or so as well. I heard him chuckle softly beside me and then knelt on the floor to finish tying my skates.
"I am so glad I amuse you, Edward," I replied sarcastically as he stood up and took my hands to help me up and began guiding me out to the floor.
"You know, it's called roller skating because you're supposed to roll, Bella," he teased as he gestured his eyes to my feet, where I was walking on the rubber stoppers in the front.
When we reached the wood floor, I rested back on the wheels and almost lost my footing before Edward caught me around the waist.
"You're really trying to kill me, aren't you?" I gave a sarcastic chuckle, holding onto his biceps. He steadied me on my feet and took my hands in his and began rolling backwards to pull me with him. "So, why did you do this, Edward? I mean, not that I'm complaining since it's probably the sweetest thing anyone has every done for... anyone. But you really didn't have to."
Edward gave me a soft smile and gave my hands a gentle tug until I was once again in his arms while he continued moving his feet. "You mean besides being completely selfish and wanting you all to myself?" I rolled my eyes sarcastically, but not without a smile. He brushed my lips gently with his and looked into my eyes. "I wanted you to be completely comfortable and happy here with me tonight, baby. I didn't think you'd want people staring at you the first time you skated. And you always seem to be a little more comfortable with all this when it's just us."
"Well that's because then I know you're all mine," I replied with a devilish grin and his lips met mine in a tender kiss.
Yet, that's exactly what it was; when we were alone in our own little bubble, nothing could intrude. No one could steal his attention or take him away from me. I knew a lot of this newfound possessiveness was due to the newness of all of this, still trying to adapt to the reality that this wasn't some dream that I was having. I wanted him here with me where I knew he wouldn't disappear.
Suddenly, Edward loosened his hold on me and I tensed in fear until he almost immediately moved behind me holding onto my waist.
"Did you really think I would let you go, Isabella?" he teased me with my full name and chuckled softly beside my ear. "I promised the chief I would keep you safe. Wouldn't want me to go back on my word, now would you? Hold out your arms."
I furrowed my brow, moving my eyes to look at him without turning my head. "What?"
"Hold out your arms," Edward repeated as if instructing a five-year-old.
"This is no time for Titanic reruns, thank you," I retorted sarcastically.
"You really think I'm that cheesy?" Edward asked incredulously, but quickly laughed and secured his hold on my waist. "Seriously, baby. It helps to balance, like on a balance beam in gym."
"Oh so you haven't heard I've been banned from them, then?" I joked but finally did as he requested, slowly beginning moving my feet as he instructed. And before I knew it, we were surprisingly moving fluidly together around the floor.
"Are you ready to go on your own then?" Edward asked, but before I could respond, he had already let go of my waist and took my hand instead.
"No, Edward don't!" I exclaimed in terror; so afraid I was going to fall.
He swirled in front of me again, taking my other hand and returning to our original positions. "What did I tell you, baby? I'm not going to let you go. And I'll catch you if you fall," he said gently as our hands folded together and I stared into his eyes.
He moved so gracefully that under normal circumstances, I would feel extremely inadequate; but tonight, it was simply a reassurance. That once again, Edward would take care of me and never let anything happen that would hurt me. Beyond that, I had chosen my activity for the evening with a purpose.
"So, when do we get to play laser tag, Boitano?" I asked with a grin, squeezing his hand gently.
"Okay, first of all, I'm not a figure skater and I do not wear tights," he replied, giving me a teasing glare. "And second, whenever you want, Bella."
I nodded enthusiastically and knocked myself slightly off balance with the sudden movement. He caught me around the waist just in time and I closed my eyes as I blushed profusely. "I think that would be now. Get me on solid, non-moving ground, please."
Edward chuckled and moved us over to the edge of the floor where it hit the carpet. "Not bad for a beginner," he said reassuringly as we sat down to change back into our shoes. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, slipping my foot back into my sneaker. "So, this laser tag thing. What is the point of it?"
My head spun toward him with wide eyes, gaping. "You've...never played laser tag?"
Edward scoffed with a laugh and shook his head. "Are you kidding? I grew up with Emmett. It was paintball for us."
"Okay, kinda similar, far less messy. Do not even think you're going to ever get me to do that," I replied, pointing at him firmly. "I prefer to not be picking paint chips out of my hair for weeks."
"Ha, we shall see," Edward taunted, and grabbed my hand to head off to play my idea of fun.
EPOV
This had been, by far the best night I had ever had in my life; dressed that is. My lips turned up at the corners and my body responded to the thought. Images of Bella naked and…
"Okay, here's your vest," Bella broke into my daydreams, handing me a strange looking, heavy black vest with some sort of computer pack attached to the front and back. "You put it over your head like this and strap it right here on the sides."
Apparently, I wasn't quick enough because by the time I had it on, she was finished and had begun fastening mine.
"This," she pointed out matter-of-factly. "Is your gun, never," she exclaimed, no trace of joking in her voice. "Aim it at someone's face."
I did my best to hide my amusement but judging by Bella's face, I don't think I was doing very well.
I followed her into the dark room. Normally, I knew there would be someone handling all the instruction and monitoring the game but fortunately, the owner, a friend of my father's, owed him a favor. He was waiting in a back room for us to enter the game area.
"These packs here and here monitor and record each time you get shot. With each hit, they will light up and vibrate, recording the number of hits on that screen over there. The object is to see who can get the most hits and receive the fewest misses in the fifteen minutes of playing time. Any questions?" She looked so serious, I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling.
"Wow," I said with a straight face. "You really are a nerd."
I wasn't quick enough to avoid the jab to my ribs.
"Hey!" I screeched, rubbing my side.
"When you get your ass handed to you at the end of the game by a nerd, maybe I'll consider accepting an apology," she quipped and walked away from me.
The room was very dark, filled with different levels and standing partitions. The game started and Bella was nowhere to be found.
This is gonna be a piece of cake.
I began walking across the floor and within seconds, a red light flashed and a vibration sounded on my chest.
Shit. Well two could play at this game. I crept down along the bottom of one of the larger partitions, looking for her.
Red. Shit! Hit again.
Damn it, where was she?
This continued for several minutes, it didn't seem as if my damn vest ever actually stopped vibrating and I had yet to even see her or get off a single shot.
I decided to change my tactic, finding a hiding spot and waiting for her to come to me. I staked out a small ledge in the corner of the large room, and waited. And waited. Any minute now…
Red. What the fuck?
I heard a giggle from across the room. I leapt down and before my feet even hit the floor, hit again. Jesus Christ!
I took off across the room. Maybe I could chase her and get her to giggle again, giving up her location. God, am I sweating?
More red. What? How is this even fucking possible? What has she had Special Forces training?
The next ten minutes weren't any different. I ran around in circles trying to find her, while she just giggled and kicked my ass.
When the lights came on, I had never been so happy in my life. I had only shot my gun a total of eight times. I, on the other hand, had been hit eight times in the first two minutes alone. I was exhausted, sweaty and about to apologize to the cutest nerd in history and Bella was nice enough not to tell me her score.
We rode back to her house tired but extremely happy. Even though she had completely wiped the floor with my ass in laser tag, it had still been the best evening of just innocent fun that I had ever had. A real date with Bella; something I never thought I would ever have.
As we pulled into her driveway, I instructed her to wait in her seat as I walked around to open her door and help her out. She slid her arm around my waist and leaned against my side as I secured my arm around her shoulder. "You have fun tonight, baby?"
Bella looked up at me with a tired but elated smile and nodded. "Absolutely. Thank you, Edward," she said, pressing her cheek gently against my chest.
Even though we were both completely spent, it was amazing watching Bella let loose and have fun tonight; smiling because she was actually happy. I was bringing that out in her, just as she was bringing out the best in me. I was completely content simply to stand here on the porch with her, enjoying the last few minutes before her eleven o'clock curfew; just looking at her and holding her.
"You're welcome, Bella," I whispered, bringing my hands up to gently hold her face and brushing my lips softly against hers. Her head tilted back some, pulling herself closer to me to deepen the kiss and I melted into it. After a moment, I pulled away slowly and smiled at her. "You should get in before your curfew."
She nodded with a smile, kissing me briefly once more. "Text me when you get home?"
"Yes, mom," I teased and she poked me in the abdomen and I kissed her forehead with a laugh. "Yes, I'll text you when I get home. But Bella," I whispered softly, brushing her cheek gently with the backs of my fingers. "I love you."
Her smile spread across her face even more and she turned her head to kiss my wrist before meeting my eyes again. "I love you, too. Drive safe."
"Don't I always?" I laughed as she raised an eyebrow at me when she stepped into the house, and I got into my car. I drove home feeling light and happy, better than I had ever felt in my life. I had some serious thinking to do about my future. I couldn't be without Bella; I knew that now more than ever. This was more than just a simple high school crush. She made me complete and I felt the same from her. I was almost sure of it.
As soon as I got out of my car, I pulled out my phone to text her.
I'm home. Sweet dreams, my little firecracker.
A few moments later, my phone buzzed on my bed as I was taking my shirt off. I picked it up and smiled.
Always, when you're in them, my prince charming.
