In the car, I just can't wait
To pick you up on our very first date
Is it cool if I hold your hand?
Your make me nervous so I really can't eat
What did I get myself into? Really. This girl was amazing, and she said yes! I was ecstatic! I just had no idea where to go from there. I wanted everything to be great, for it to be special. I was painfully unoriginal with all previous dating, honing in on the normal dinner and a movie. Bella was better than that though, and she deserved to have something out of the ordinary.
I hardly slept Friday night because I was too busy wracking my brain for some creative spark. Around 3 a.m. inspiration hit me. Bella waits on others all week long, running herself all over the place. She has to be tired. So, I can let her relax, and sort of wait on her for a change. I'm a decent cook. Making dinner would be easy enough. A romantic set up was another story though. At least I had the beginnings of a plan and with that, sleep finally overcame me.
The next day I woke to the sun streaming in through my bedroom window. I was so glad I hadn't lost my ability to sleep as I had gotten older. My eyes rolled to the clock on my nightstand as they adjusted. 11:00….oh God! I jumped out of bed and felt a little anxious. I didn't have much time to get everything, including myself, ready in time for tonight. I took a quick shower and threw on jeans and a faded tee. Grabbing my keys, I ran out the door and headed down to the local grocery store.
I wanted something I knew I wouldn't screw up cooking, so there would be no fancy new recipes for me tonight. My specialty is chicken parmigana, so I loaded my basket with the necessities and a simple bottle of red wine. After checking out, I thought about how to set the atmosphere. It was nice outside, which seemed to be rare in this town, so we could sit outside on my new patio furniture. What about lighting? It would probably be dark early and I didn't want to sit in the harsh light of the lamp out on the patio. I remembered a box of white Christmas lights I had put in the attic and had my answer. My backyard was loaded with trees so I could string up the lights and it would be perfect.
I looked down at the clock when I brought the groceries in and smiled to myself when I realized I had nearly 7 hours until I had to pick her up. I could do this. I set to work on the lights right away, wanting the hard labor out of the way. I climbed my stairs and pulled down the door to the attic. I nearly took myself out pulling the box down, but finally I was outside in the trees. Decorating the trees closest to the patio was my priority since that was where we would be. When I was done, I turned them on and saw them barely glowing in the sunlight. From what I could tell it was going to be just what I wanted.
I came back in the house and washed my hands. The chicken was sitting on the counter thawing and I began taking out plates, glasses and silverware. I set up music to play out on the patio and picked soft classical, keeping my fingers crossed that she would like it.
At 5 I began making my home made marinara sauce and grading fresh cheese. I baked off my breaded chicken and the French bread and let everything sit in a low heated oven. Noticing that my previous physical activity had caused me to sweat, I decided another shower was in order. By 6:45 I was ready to go and I headed for Bella's house.
I arrived at her house right at 7 and I felt the nervousness from the night before start to seep back into me. I took in the site of Bella's decrepit truck as I knocked on her door. Why did she drive that old thing? My thoughts were interrupted as Bella swung open her front door. She looked amazing. Her long brown hair was all the way down tonight and slightly curled. She had an adorably shy smile on her face, and was wearing a blue shirt that her radiate.
"Hello Bella," I greeted with a slow, and I'm sure appreciative, smile.
"Hi," she said, blushing. I guess my thoughts were evident on my features.
"Are you ready to go?" I asked.
"Yeah, let me just grab my keys." She reappeared a second later, closing the door behind her and locking it.
"How has your day off been?"
She smiled. "Very relaxing, thank you."
I opened the door for her and she looked at me with slightly widened eyes. "Thanks," she muttered. Apparently she wasn't used to a gentleman. What a shame.
I walked around the car and slid into my own seat. "So," I began, "I thought we would just have dinner at my house if that is alright with you. I made dinner and thought it might be more relaxing than a restaurant. Plus, it's quieter there, and I want to get to know you better." I grinned at her.
"Sounds great," she said, but she still had a nervous look in her eyes.
"I'm not a serial killer, I promise," I joked. Her laugh even sounded nervous.
"I have pepper spray if you try anything funny. My dad taught me well."
I laughed with her for a moment as I turned on the car and pulled away from the curb.
"Do you like music?" I wondered aloud.
"Of course," she said, her eyes lighting up. "I love music actually. It helps me through the day, no matter what is going on.
"Good, because I feel the exact same way," I confessed. Now for the real test. I couldn't handle narrow minded people when it came to music. "What kind do you like?"
"A little bit of everything really. My IPod is stocked with a large variety."
I liked this girl more and more. "Mine's the same way," I smiled. "Do you like Kings of Leon?"
"They are amazing!" she beamed.
"Something in common already!" my expression mimicked hers as I pressed play on my own IPod. "Revelry" began drifting through my speakers.
"This is one of the best songs on this album. I listen to it all of the time." I watched her mouth the words out of the corner of my eye. "Do you mind if I turn it up?"
"I love it too," I agreed. "And that's fine with me." The music seemed to calm her as we both enjoyed it. I was glad for that. I wanted her to have a good time. I wanted to see her more than just this once, and nothing had even really happened yet. Bella was just so infectious. We stayed quiet for the rest of our short drive.
As we pulled up to my house, Bella was pressed up against her window. I chuckled lightly to myself. I never really gave off the impression that I had a lot of money, but being a best-selling author paid well. I used a pseudo name so I stayed out of any kind of spotlight; there was no way she could have known.
"Do you like it?" I asked, breaking her trance.
"It's gorgeous," she breathed. I jumped out and went to open her door. I extended my hand to help her out of her seat and she blushed again. She was so beautiful.
"I'm glad you like it. How do you feel about chicken parmigana?"
She smiled at me with big eyes. "It's my absolute favorite. How did you know?"
"Just a lucky guess," I grinned. Thank you God! How did I get that lucky?
We walked up the front steps of my house and opened the door for her. "Welcome. I'm not quite done in here but I've made a lot of progress the last couple of days."
"Edward, this is amazing. My place looks like a shack next to this. You have great taste."
"Nonsense. You're house was perfect. I don't need all of this space but I like the change of scenery every once in a while. The same rooms over and over can get stale. Anyway, it's so nice outside I thought maybe we could eat on the patio. Dinner is waiting for us. Let me show you the patio and then I'll get the food."
"Oh no I'll help you!" she protested.
"Bella," I said. "You waited on me all week. It's your turn to be waited on. Follow me." I took her hand lightly, hoping that wasn't too presumptuous, and walked her out the back door.
I heard her breathe in deeply and turned to look at her. She looked completely content. Pulling out her chair, I motioned for her to sit. "I'll be right back," I whispered next to her as she sat down.
I ran to the kitchen, plated my food in rapid time and walked outside again. I set it down in front her and said "I'll be right back." I flipped on the music and grabbed the wine and two glasses.
"This smells amazing Edward. It looks like you are a regular chef."
"Thank you. You get tired of eating the same crap when you live by yourself. I taught myself how to cook so I like it. I hope you will too," I smiled at her. "Would you like some wine?"
"I haven't had a glass of wine in forever. That sounds like just what I need. Thank you."
I poured two glasses and sat down to eat with her. I raised my glass and toasted "To a wonderful night." I knew it was cheesy but I meant it. She smiled and clinked her glass with mine before taking a sip. Her eyes closed in satisfaction.
"Delicious. Now let's see about your culinary abilities." Her smile was mischievous and horribly attractive.
We both dug into our food but I kept my eyes on her, watching how she moved. "So Ms. Bella Swan, tell me about you. I only know that you drive a ridiculously rundown truck and work at a diner Monday through Friday. I know there has to be more to you."
She swallowed her mouthful and shook her head. "I'm really quite boring. I promise. You on the other hand, seem very mysterious. I don't even know what you do for a living. It has got to be something good though, look at this place!" She laughed. "I'm sorry that was rude. Oh and leave my truck alone."
I had to laugh at that. "Not at all Bella. I'm a writer. I use a fake name though so I can have my peace and quiet. All of my books say Edward Masen instead of Edward Cullen. Masen is my mother's maiden name. And that poor truck is on its last leg. How could I not say something?"
Bella ignored that last bit and focused on the rest. "A writer? Really, I never would have guessed that. You are extremely observant though, always watching things. I love to read. I'll have to give your stuff a try. What genre is it?"
"Oh I'm sure someone like yourself wouldn't enjoy them. I'm embarrassed to say it but I write mindless romance novels. It pays the bills and is so easy to do."
Her mouth formed a small "O" as she looked at me. "That is a little shocking. No, I don't normally read that sort of thing but hey, maybe I should give it a try. If it comes from you it can't be that bad." She blushed furiously as she covered her mouth with her hand. "That wasn't supposed to come out."
"You are too cute," I told her with a smile. "But look at you! You got me talking about myself and I wanted to know about you. Tell me what you do with your time, about your family, anything."
"Well, I live with my father, Charlie, right now. I know, so sad for a twenty-three year old woman but I do what I have to. My mom, Rene, died when I was little so I don't really remember her. I am taking my last semester of online courses right now and will soon have a bachelors' degree in Journalism. I love to write myself. I really want to work for a newspaper, track down stories. It's much more exciting than working at the diner. All of my free time goes to school work so that's really all there is to me. You know I like to read. I can't really think of anything else. "
"That is not boring at all by the way. I have a lot of respect for you, wanting to go into journalism and all. It's a hard gig. Are you paying your way through school?"
"Yeah that's why I'm at the diner all of the time. It's not much but it's all I need."
"Wow," I marveled. "That is really amazing. It takes a strong person to keep up with the demands of school and a job. Bravo," I applauded with a smile.
"Oh please," she blushed again. "You are an accomplished author and can't be much older than me. You seem pretty damn impressive."
I chuckeled. "I'm 25, and decently successful. But it's not everything. I adore my family. My mother, Esme, is a wonderful and giving person. I'm so lucky to have her as a mom. My father, Carlisle, is a respectable doctor and the hospital he works at wouldn't know what to do without him. They both live in upstate New York. My sister Alice and her husband Jasper live in L.A. Alice is a fashion Nazi and Jasper travels to San Diego for work. He's a Marine. But we all lead busy lives and I hardly ever see them." I paused for a moment. "And, that's my story!" I laughed at my own rambling.
"So how did you end up in this tiny excuse for a town? I mean, your whole lives in seemingly more glamorous places. Why would you want to come here?" she mused.
"I wanted somewhere remote and quiet to write from. I have never done the small town thing so I thought it would be a nice change of pace. It seems to be paying off too. I found a beautiful and smart girl to wine and dine and it's only been a week." I laughed at myself and so did she.
We returned to eating, making small talk through the meal. The more I learned the more drawn in I was. Everything about her was perfect.
"I have ice cream if you would like desert," I told her.
"Oh, no thank you! I'm stuffed! You are an amazing cook!"
"Well thank you. I'll just clear off the table."
I came back to the patio from the kitchen and the soft music was still playing. "Would you like to dance?" I asked her, extending my hand.
She choked on her wine for a second and then laughed at me. "Maybe you aren't as observant as I thought. I am really clumsy so dancing is not something I do."
"Trust me," I told her with a smile. "I know what I'm doing.
She looked up at me reluctantly. Sighing, she rose from her chair. "Fine, but I gave you fair warning. You cannot get mad at me if I screw this up," she pointed her finger at me sternly.
"Scout's honor," I swore, holding up three fingers. She giggled as I took her hand in mine and wrapped my other arm around her, my hand resting on the small of her back. We swayed back and forth as the music swirled around us. We looked at each other and I felt electricity between us. It was all so perfect and I couldn't believe it. I wanted more, even though I was already this close to her. My arm tightened around her instinctively and my other hand came to the side of her face. Bella's hand gripped my shoulder a little as my head tilted toward hers, her eyes on my lips.
"Edward…" she whispered. My lips were inches from hers.
"Yes Bella?" was my whispered reply.
She just looked at me and I took that as permission. My thumb brushed across her cheek and our lips met gently. I could have collapsed right there. Bella's lips were like heaven and I didn't want to leave them. I pulled her to me tighter and my hand slipped to the back of her head as her lips moved with mine. I pulled back and rested my forehead against hers, both of us breathing a little heavier than normal. My heart was racing, and just from one kiss.
"Wow," she said softly.
"Uh huh," I replied dumbly and we both laughed quietly. I didn't want to let go of her.
"I think maybe I should go home now," she said.
I felt my spirits drop. Hadn't she just said wow? I know she felt it. Maybe she didn't like it. Maybe the wow wasn't meant in a good way. Maybe…….My rambling thoughts were interrupted by her.
"No! I don't mean that bad! Please, don't look at me like that. This has all been so amazing and absolutely perfect Edward. I just want it to stay this innocent. I might not be able to help myself if you keep kissing me like that." Her eyes looked down and her cheeks were colored instantly. "There goes my mouth again," she said with a nervous laugh.
"Bella," I put my finger under her chin to lift her eyes to mine. "I completely understand. I don't want to compromise anything. Slow is good." I kissed her softly one more time, my lips tingling. My hand drifted over her shoulder and down her arm as I grasped her hand. "Let's get you home."
The ride home was mostly quiet, Kings of Leon serving for background music. I held her hand all the way and we traded glances and smiles with one another. I walked her to her door when we arrived.
"Thank you for saying yes, Bella."
"Thank you for asking, Edward." With a small smile she went on tiptoes and kissed my cheek, leaving my flesh burning. "Call me soon. Goodnight."
And with that she was gone. I wanted to jump for joy and run to my car but somehow I kept myself contained. The only car in the driveway was hers and I wondered vaguely about her father. I was too far in bliss to really give it much thought though. I drove home with the windows down and my music blasting. I sang along to every note with a huge smile on my face. I wondered if she was free tomorrow night…..
Well I met that girl
And she took me where I've never been before
Miles away from my so called life
I didn't really care
She took me there
A/N: The first date! Yay! The two songs are "First Date by Blink 182, haha, and "Oklahoma Girl" by the Eli Young Band. My IPod is diverse like the characters, so you are going to see all kinds of things on here! Please READ AND REVIEW! No one had reviewed yet and I know someone has to be reading this! It would make my day! Thanks
