SM owns Twilight.
Chapter 4
EPOV
It's taken me a month to regulate my schedule at the new clinic. I work a very flexible nine to five, Monday through Thursday and I only go to the hospital when I'm needed. I've established new patients ranging from newborns to adolescents and I'm really enjoying this part of my job. I get to spend more time with my patients and their parents answering any of their questions or concerns. I was afraid I wasn't going to like working at a clinic but it's grown on me in this short amount of time.
Unfortunately there has been absolutely no time for my personal life. By that I mean that I've been dying to see Bella again. I haven't taken Nathan to school since the last time I took him two months ago. There has been absolutely no time for me to take him. The transfer to the clinic was hectic for me as I was still doing back to back shifts at the hospital up until a few days ago. My days will now be dedicated to the patients at the clinic and for Nathan. I have been working toward this for the past month.
When I first started at the clinic I still had to do shifts at the hospital, I thought I was going to die. The hours were long and I barely slept. I started to rethink the whole thing. I knew that the transition would take time, but it was physically exhausting to no end. I could have just left my position at the hospital but I wanted to wait for my replacement. My job is and will always be important to me; therefore it was extremely important that I meet the new doctor before leaving.
Dr Steven Purdom came very highly qualified for the job and I felt good leaving him in charge. I let him know that we would be working together in high risk or emergency cases but for the most part I would be at the clinic.
On Thursday I got off work at six—a little later than usual—and I went straight to Kate's. I was having dinner with them and I was going to take Nathan home with me for a change. I asked Kate yesterday if I could take Nathan to school, but I also wanted him to sleep over my house so that we could start the weekend early.
I parked in the driveway and got out of the truck with a pint of Rocky Road ice cream that I picked up for dessert. I walked up the steps and let myself in the house.
"Hello? Kate, Nathan sorry I'm late guys." I called as I made my way through the house to the kitchen. Nathan and Kate were sitting having dinner on the kitchen bar instead of the dining room today.
"Hi daddy!" Nathan waved and gave me a huge smile.
No matter how long or hard my day was, this little boy made everything better.
It just took one smile from him.
"Hi, sorry I'm late, but I brought ice cream!" Nathan's face lit up. I gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head. I went over to the freezer and put the ice cream away for later.
I sat next to Nathan and I looked over at Kate and said hi to her. She was already up fixing me a plate of her famous lasagna. Damn that woman can cook.
She placed the plate in front of me with a glass of lemonade and I thanked her. I began eating because I was starving today.
We made conversation with Nathan as we ate. Kate and I always made it a point to talk to him and give him our undivided attention during these times.
"Tell me about your day Nathan." The only glimpse I get into Bella's life is through my son. He loves his teacher and talks about her often. I feel a little selfish asking him about his day because I know he'll bring up Bella, but I just can't help myself. I do care about his day but I also want to hear about her.
Does that make me an asshole? Shit. I'm a jerk that's for sure.
He thought for a bit and started to list off things he did today.
"We did show and tell, we colored, we practiced the ABC's on the chalkboard, Miss Bella taught us a new song and she taught us how to dance! It was fun daddy. Oh and I learned to write my whole name all by myself, I didn't need Miss Bella's help!" he smiled wide and proud. I grinned and ruffled his hair.
"That's great Nathan. You'll be writing all by yourself in no time."
"Yeah, but Miss Bella said I have to practice more b'cus she said my letters are still messy." I chuckled. I hope he gets his moms penmanship because mine is still sloppy.
Nathan went on and told us about all the activities he did at school and he never failed to mention how cool Miss Bella was. I sighed.
I really want to see her again.
When we were done with dinner, I put a movie on for Nathan in the living room. We let him have his scoop of ice cream on the couch if he promised not to spill. I helped Kate clean up the dishes. I rinsed them and she loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the counters.
"Hey can I take some of the leftover lasagna for lunch tomorrow?" I asked.
"Yeah sure, let me get a container out for you." She smirked at me because she knew I could barely cook. Most of my meals came from my mom.
Hey, I will never deny her the satisfaction of cooking for me.
Kate handed me the plastic container from the shelf and I helped myself to some lasagna. This will definitely come in handy later this weekend.
"So I'll be bringing Nathan back on Sunday afternoon." I told Kate.
"Sounds good. I'm sure he's gonna love the extra time with you, Edward. But make sure not to spoil him too much with sweets. I won't hear the end of it when he comes back and wants dessert before every meal." She gave me a serious look and I held my hands up in surrender. I was very guilty of over doing it with the candy sometimes.
We left the house a short while later. It was coming up on Nathan's bedtime and I needed to give him a bath.
As soon as we walked into the house I went upstairs to start the bath. Nathan went to his room to get some of his bath toys.
"Come on Nate, the water's warm now." I called to him.
He came in carrying a bunch of water toys and tossed them in the tub. I helped undress him just to make it a little faster. He got in and I worked on shampooing his hair. He rinsed it off himself and resumed splashing his toys everywhere.
"Ok, you've got about 15 minutes to play in here because it's getting late and then it's off to bed."
"'Kay daddy."
I sat on the bench across from the tub to wait until he was done. I'm too much of a paranoid to leave him alone in that big tub. It takes less than thirty seconds for a child to drown, and I've seen one too many near-drowning cases.
As soon as I had Nathan dried and dressed in pj bottoms I tucked him in and he was out. I didn't even have to read him a book. I guess he had a long day too, and his sleeping form looked so peaceful. I kissed his forehead and whispered goodnight to him. I left his nightlight on and closed the door behind me. I finally went to bed 20 minutes later after cleaning up all the water in the bathroom.
The next morning we were running a little late for school. Nathan couldn't find his shoes and would not put on another pair. He had to have his very, very favorite black converse.
I found the damn shoes under the seat in the truck. I ushered Nathan into the truck and put on his seatbelt. I quickly went over to the driver side and got in. I started the truck and pulled it on reverse.
I didn't floor it for two reasons, one: my son was in the car so speeding is not an option and two: Nathan's school wasn't too far anyway. I just needed to get there quick so that I could make it to work on time. There was a chance that I could get off work early today so the sooner I started the sooner I would get out.
I made it to his school in no time but we were still 15 minutes late. I walked Nathan up to his classroom and all the kids were sitting in a circle listening to Bella read a book. When he came up to the circle Bella looked up and greeted him with a smile.
"Good morning Nathan, I'm glad you made it today." She said to him sweetly.
"Good morning Miss Bella. Sorry I'm late. My daddy and I couldn't' find my favorite shoes." He told her as he went to sit down in the circle. She smiled at him.
As she was about to go back to reading she caught sight of me and smiled. I waved and smiled back. She blushed and hid behind the book as she started reading to the class again.
I felt like a teenager, like if the prettiest girl in school had just noticed me.
I didn't stay long because I had to get to the clinic. I was having my mom pick up Nathan after school and watch him until I got out of work.
The day wasn't too busy at the clinic so I was able to get out at four without neglecting any patients.
On my way to my parent's house I decided to stop at the market. I wanted to make a pizza with Nathan for dinner. I could never go wrong with that. He loved putting his own toppings on it and it made him feel important. That was one of the fun things I liked doing with him.
I may not know how to cook but I can pre-heat an oven and prepare the best pizza with my son.
I went over the list in my head as I walked down the canned food isle. I needed the sauce, but the one that was usually next to the premade pizza dough and I could not find it. I already had cheese at home, but I did have to buy some pepperoni and pineapple for Nathan.
I walked by each isle trying to read the sign for the isle and I guess I wasn't looking where I was going because I crashed against someone's cart. The noise startled the people around us and they stopped to look like if it was a traffic accident. Great!
I quickly turned to apologize to the person I bumped into and froze.
"I'm so sor-," I didn't finish my sentence. I nervously ran my hand through my hair. It was Bella. "Hi-i Bella, I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
She laughed softly and waved me off.
"Don't worry about it. It was probably my fault anyway, I practically ran you over." She turned red and looked down.
"Well I guess we're even then." I chuckled.
We stood awkwardly for a bit before she spoke up.
"So how've you been? I haven't seen you bringing Nathan to school lately." She said as she fidgeted with her fingers. She was adorable.
"Oh umm yeah I've been working insane hours, but my schedule just eased up a couple days ago. I have a little more free time to spend with Nathan now."
"That's good, you know he talks about you a lot in class."
"Really?" I chuckled. "He talks a lot about you at home, so we must be very special to him." I smirked at her and she blushed a deeper shade of red. She couldn't be sexier.
I suddenly got the courage to ask her what I've been wanting to ask her since the day I met her. It's now or never.
Damn well here goes nothing. "Umm Bella…" I ran my hand through my hair nervously. "Would you be interested in having lunch with me one of these days?" I looked at her with hopeful eyes.
She looked surprised and then nervous. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as she thought of what to say.
"I-I don't know…umm-" I interrupted her before she could reject me. If she was going to reject me.
"I know it's out of the blue and we don't know each other well, but I'd just like to talk to you some more and get to know you. No harm in that is there?" I used my soft voice to try and coax her into saying yes.
"No I guess not. Sure I'll go with you."
"Great! What day is good for you?" I couldn't hide the huge fucking smile on my face. She laughed at my enthusiasm.
"I'm free on Monday or Tuesday at two o'clock, your choice."
"Ok let's do it Tuesday then since I won't be too busy. Can I pick you up at the school? Or do you prefer to just meet up?"
"No, I don't mind you picking me up. Let me give you my number so you can text me when you're there."
"Ok" I reached into my pocket to get my phone out.
Wow I just got a lunch date with Bella for Tuesday!
I quickly entered her number on my phone and saved it. I'll hopefully be putting it on speed dial later.
We said our goodbyes and I told her I was looking forward to our lunch on Tuesday. She nodded and told me she would be waiting. With one last look I stepped aside and continued on to the next isle. I knew I was supposed to be looking for something but I couldn't remember it right now. And to be honest I really didn't care at the moment.
My heart was beating fast and my palms were sweaty but I felt relieved and so happy. I was going out with Bella next week. It's not much, but I was glad she agreed to lunch. I felt that asking her out to lunch was a little less forward than dinner and I wanted her to feel comfortable. We didn't have to view it as a date, like I told her I just wanted to get to know her.
I finally found all the things I needed and paid for them. I called my mom and let her know I was on my way to pick up Nathan.
He was eagerly waiting for me outside with my mom. She was holding his backpack and his Spiderman toy. I drove up through the long driveway that circled in front of my parent's house.
Nathan waited at the top of the stairs with my mom until I parked the truck in front. He ran down the stairs as I was getting out.
"Hi daddy!" Nathan jumped into my arms and held on tight to my neck.
"Hey buddy" I kissed his forehead and held him in my arms. I looked up at my mom and smiled at her. "Hi mom."
"Hi sweetheart. How was your day?"
"Good mom, thanks for picking Nathan up. Was he good?" I asked her as I looked at Nathan silently asking him the question as well.
"Honey, that son of yours is very well behaved…well compared to how you were as a child." She chuckled and I just shook my head. "But he was excellent today. He even got his homework done."
"Grandma helped me cut out the pictures and I colored them and glued them."
"Awesome, thank you for doing your homework and being good for grandma today." I put him down and took his stuff from my mom.
"Ok mom thanks again." I gave her a hug and a kiss and Nathan did too.
Nathan loved making the pizza. I let him put all the toppings by himself which was mostly pineapple.
We ate in the living room while we watched a movie. I had it timed so that the movie would be over around his bedtime.
I was thankful that he fell asleep midway through the movie. I was feeling really tired and wanted to go to bed a little early. I quickly set him up in his bed and went downstairs to clean up. We made a mess with the pizza, and if I didn't clean up now, I wouldn't want to do it later. I cleaned the counters and loaded the dishwasher. I checked the doors and turned out all the lights except for the hall light from my room to Nathan's. I never knew when he was gonna make his way to my bed in the middle of the night.
As I lay in bed later that night I couldn't help but smile. I would be seeing Bella soon. I was feeling really happy about going out with her, which is virtually new to me. No other woman has ever had me feeling this way. I wanted Bella to be in my life and it both scared me and excited me.
Since I was in a great mood at the moment and suddenly felt bold, I decided to text her. if anything i can always start off with 'hey here's my number.'
Bella, It's Edward. This is my number if you'd like to save it...
I'm really looking forward to our date Tuesday!
Have a good night.
-EC
I read the message a couple of times and it sounded pretty good. Not too desperate so I clicked 'send.' I got a little nervous after I pressed the button.
What if she's not as enthused as I am about the date? I'm gonna look like a total moron. My phone beeping pulled me out of my pity party.
It was Bella.
Edward, I just saved your number, thanks.
I can't wait to see you again.
G'night!
-Bella
HOLY MOTHER! She can't wait to see me again!
I think I worry too damn much. I'm gonna start to chill out more now that I know she wants to see me again.
Surprisingly I slept well that night considering I couldn't stop thinking about her.
BPOV
I really didn't expect to see Edward today let alone run into him at the market. I haven't seen him for nearly two months. He brings Nathan in this morning and we say hello from far and then later this afternoon we literally bump into each other. It's actually kind of nice since the way our conversation went would have been a little inappropriate in my classroom. I really didn't want to explain to any mothers why my student's father was asking me out on a date.
Was it a date? He said "go out to lunch."
Yes, it's a date, it's a lunch date.
I'm so freaking happy I can scream!
I had a huge smile on my face as I drove home from the market. The butterflies in my stomach were doing crazy tricks in there, but I felt so blissfully happy. I loved this new feeling. I had to call Alice.
"GUESS WHAT?" I screamed through the phone when she answered.
"What the hell, Bella! Why are you screaming, and what happened?" Geez she was grumpy. I couldn't help being excited though.
"Sorry it's just…I'm so happy!"
"Well you better spill it girly I'm on the edge of my seat now."
"Edward asked me out today." I squealed with delight. I was being such a girl. Fuck it.
"WHAT! NO WAY." She squealed just as loud as me then paused. "Wait. How? I thought you said he hasn't been around?"
"He hasn't been, but I saw him briefly today when he brought his son in. Oh god , Alice my heart started racing the second I saw him and then he was gone." I sighed. I couldn't help wondering when I would see him again when he walked out of my classroom. I mean last time I saw him it was roughly two months ago. Way too long. "So anyway I go to the market today and I crash into him. Literally. Like I almost killed him."
I laugh at my clumsiness and so does Alice but she laughs a little too long for my liking. Bitch.
"Bella, that's classic. You almost kill the guy that you've been dying to go out with… and been having kinky dreams about might I add!" I gasp.
Shit she knows me too well, this is embarrassing.
"I have not had weird dreams about Edward. Thank you!"
"I didn't say 'weird' I said 'kinky', you whore!" she laughed louder. Great let's all laugh at my expense.
"Do you want to hear the end of this or not?" I was a little frustrated now.
"Fine go ahead."
"Ok well after our 'encounter' we had some small talk and next thing you know he asks me out to lunch. I almost freaked out and was going to say no, but then he asked so nicely I agreed. We're going out to lunch on Tuesday. He's picking me up."
"Bella I'm so excited for you, and I'm sorry I made fun of you earlier. I hope it turns into something great, and if it doesn't then you'll just need to keep looking for Mr. Right. Don't worry about anything. Just go have fun girly."
That's more like it. That's what I wanted to hear from my friend.
"Thanks Alice, you're the best."
I got home and put all my groceries away. I called my mom while I cooked dinner for myself. I told her about my upcoming lunch date and of course she was delighted. She wanted to meet Edward already.
"Mom, it's our first date. I think I need to get to know him first before I introduce him to you and dad."
"Bella, you have too many rules. Live on the edge once in a while. Besides it's just your dad and I. We promise not to scare him away." I heard my dad grumble in the background something about 'not good enough for my little girl. I sighed. My parents are too much.
"I'll see what I can do mom." I mumbled.
After dinner I decided to take a long relaxing bath. My day had turned from good to fucking awesome from just a trip to the market. Well that and a certain green eyed yummy doctor. The acronym DILF comes to mind. How appropriate since he's also a 'daddy'.
I filled my tub with warm water and lavender scented beads. It's the best combination for relaxation. When the tub was filled I undressed and carefully got in. The water felt amazing and my muscles immediately started to relax. The lavender calmed me and put me in a state of peace as I closed my eyes and focused on all my senses. I lay there taking deep breaths and just letting my mind relax.
A beeping from my phone startled me and I quickly opened my eyes to look around. I figured out it was my phone that was in my jeans on the floor. I groaned as I got up to get it. I figured might as well get it since it already interrupted me.
I searched the pockets of my jeans and pulled it out. I looked at the screen and it was an 'unknown' number. I flipped the phone open to read the message.
Bella, It's Edward. This is my number if you'd like to save it...
I'm really looking forward to our date Tuesday!
Have a good night.
-EC
The butterflies are back but I don't mind at all. He just said he was looking forward to our date! I contemplated whether to reply or not.
What the hell, why not? This was exciting!
Edward, I just saved your number, thanks.
I can't wait to see you again.
G'night!
-Bella
Yikes! I hope I didn't sound stupid.
I didn't wait to see if he would reply. I was too nervous so I shut my phone off and threw it back on the floor. I went back to my bath feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.
I scooted down and let my head fall back on the bath pillow. A huge smile played on my face, and I had a feeling it wasn't going away for a long time.
Thank you, Edward Cullen.
I hope there weren't too many mistakes...
Thanks for reading my story!
-MEL
