A/N:

So when we left off, Bella and Edward had made plans to have dinner...we're going to find out what happens VERY shortly.

But first, I have some thank you's:

Sweek539 for being a totally awesome beta, and for making us look good. I 3 you lots.

Emmy415 for writing this with me, and for keeping my head above water. I couldn't do a lot of things without her, so leave her love.

Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. I just like to make her characters. dance around each other, and cockblock and torture you guys with them.

I'd also like to say that I have my ticket for Remember Me tomorrow. Do you? Go out and support Rob this weekend.

Chapter 7 (BPOV)

Friday. Doomsday. Why doomsday, you ask? Because Edward, 5-star chef Edward, was coming over to my house for dinner, and I was to cook for him. What do you cook for a 5-star chef? Hell if I know. Cooking for him was completely opposite of anything we've ever done. From the time he could reach the counter all he ever did was cook for me, not the other way around. I didn't want to screw it up, and have to order Chinese food instead; that would be completely mortifying. I couldn't just go for the old standby and make pasta, because he did it. But when he made it, it wasn't just a standby; it was his mom's recipe. It was infuriating. I wasn't trying to top him, or be better than him in any way; I just wanted to cook him something that didn't taste like dog food. I was sure he'd had tons of food a million times better than anything I would set in front of him, so I was on edge. I was on the edge of a high, rocky cliff, ready to take a dive, unless I found something suitable for him by lunchtime. I slammed the cookbook I had in my hand down on my kitchen island and took the last swig of my coffee, depositing the empty mug in the sink. In a haste, I walked to my bedroom, flinging open my closet, looking for something to wear for work. Dressing faster than I ever had in my life, I threw on a dress and some heels, grabbed my purse, and darted out the door.

I groaned when I got to the front doors of my building and noticed that it was raining. How did I not notice that from upstairs? I scampered to the door that led to the parking garage and found my car, hitting the unlock button on my key ring. I slid into the driver's seat, fired up the engine, and turned up the radio. Somehow, listening to the radio loudly on the way to work always seemed to relax me and get me out of my bad moods. It's Friday, Bella. Don't be in a bad mood, I repeated to myself over and over again as I sat in the horrendous New York traffic.

My day was so busy that five o'clock rolled around before I even realized it. I felt as if I got nothing done but yet had been constantly moving since arriving at the office, which consequently left me no time to browse for dinner ideas. I gathered up my bag from my chair, and was just about to walk out of my office when Jake traipsed in, and leaned against the wall across from my desk. His arms were crossed in front of him, making his arms bulge and look even more disgusting than they normally did, and he had a scowl on his face.

"Can I help you?" I asked. I know I sounded rude, but I needed to get out of the office, and he was not going to help the cause. I turned towards him, putting my hand on my hip, trying to look intimidating and fierce.

"How come you didn't tell me you were dating somebody?"

I huffed and walked towards the door. "Jake, I don't have time to deal with this right now. I have to get home and I'm running late."

He moved quickly to block me before I could get out. "Come on, Bella, what does this Edward guy have that I don't? He's pale and scrawny and he's kind of a jerk. I just don't think he's the type of guy you want to be with."

"First of all, Jake, it's really none of your business who I date. Second, I'll be the judge of what type of guy I want to be with and third, Edward has plenty of things that you don't; respect and class being at the top of that list. Now will you please get out of my way?"

He reluctantly stepped to the side, and I brushed past him, shooting him a death glare on the way by. "You'll see it my way, Bella. Mark my words!" he shouted after me, as I walked hastily down the hallway, trying like hell just to get away from the miserable little shit. I pressed the elevator button three times, willing it to open, all the while glancing over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't following me. Once I was safely tucked away inside the confines of the elevator, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes briefly. I didn't want to be in a bad mood when Edward came over, so I needed to calm down. I took two cleansing, deep breaths, and exited the elevator, smiling slightly when I saw that the miserable rain from the morning had passed, and the sun had come out. I dug through my purse for my keys, and climbed into my car, pressing the button to open the sunroof and let the sunshine hit my face as I sped out of the parking garage.

By the time I made it home, it was almost six and I was starting to panic. I was worried I wasn't going to have enough time to make a dinner worthy of Edward. I pulled the cookbook - my one and only - off the shelf and thumbed through the pages.

Takes too long. Too many ingredients. Too fancy. Not fancy enough. How the heck do you even pronounce that?!

I opened my fridge and rummaged through the contents. Surely I'd be able to come up with something. As it turned out, I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. All I had was left-overs, and I wasn't even sure they were edible. I closed the refrigerator door harder than I intended to because the whole thing rattled on impact. Think Bella. I rested my arms on my island and turned my wrist to check my watch. 45 minutes. Damn it. Should I text him? My fingers began rhythmically drumming on the countertop, and I started getting jittery. No...I told him almost a week ago I would cook for him. I eyed my cell phone, sitting on the corner of the island.

Just then, I had an epiphany. "Rachael Ray!" I said out loud to myself and raced to my computer. "Thank God for 30 Minute Meals!" I furiously clicked around on the website, instantly deciding on Mexican. I scanned through the recipes, looking for something fairly easy.

"Hmm, Spanish chicken and rice. Sounds good to me." I wrote down the ingredients I would need, suddenly extremely thankful there was a market right across the street from my building.

Roughly an hour later, Edward called and said he was running a few minutes behind. I was never more relieved in my life. Dinner was almost finished, but I still hadn't showered or changed from work. I turned down the heat on the stove, and rushed into my room, stripping off my clothes as I went. I turned the shower on, not really caring what temperature it was, and yelped when I jumped into the frigid water. After taking the fastest shower I had ever taken in my life, I dashed to my room, and threw on some yoga pants and a tank top, not bothering to get dolled up since we were staying in. I ran a brush through my long hair, and swiped on some mascara and lip-gloss. Just as I got back into the kitchen to check and make sure I wasn't burning dinner, there was a knock on my door.

Edward stood on the other side of the door, wine bottle in one hand and a DVD in the other. I nonchalantly ran my eyes over his body, mentally appraising the way his jeans sat low on his hips, and his t-shirt stretched over his chest perfectly. I cocked my head to the side and sighed in appreciation before looking back up at his face.

"Can I come in, or are you going to make me eat in the hallway?" he quipped. He had a smug grin on his face that told me he knew exactly what I was just doing.

"Uhh, yeah..." I said, clearing my throat, the traitorous blush covering my face. "Sorry, come in." I stepped aside as he walked through the door.

"Smells good in here," he said, handing me the wine bottle, and laying the DVD on the coffee table. I walked into the kitchen, taking a few glasses out of the cabinet. Edward followed me in, leaning against the island in front of me. I uncorked the wine bottle, filling our glasses about 3/4 of the way, and handed him one.

"So how was your week?" he asked, as I grabbed plates and silverware and went to set the table.

"It was alright. I was really busy today. I ran around constantly, but I don't really feel like I accomplished anything." I set the plates across from each other, and laid down the silverware next to them. "How was your week?" I asked him, turning around to make eye-contact with him.

He smiled. "It was great. We were busy...which is good. I just hope it stays that way once the novelty wears off, ya know? Oh, I also found out that Alice thinks that Jasper is her soulmate, and she's moving here."

I almost spit out the wine I had in my mouth, and my jaw dropped open. "Are you serious? She's only seen him what, twice? How can she possibly know that? And how are you so calm about it? What happened to the overprotective big-brother I once knew?"

He shrugged. "She's a grown-up, and she's capable of making her own decisions. Plus, New York is a logical choice for her career. I guess I can see where she is coming from. If they hit it off, who am I to keep them apart? Plus, I think Jasper is just as smitten with her."

I walked across the kitchen, setting my glass down, and pulling the pots off the stove. "You threatened him, didn't you?" I asked, glancing speculatively in his direction.

The grin that spread across his face was a mile wide even though he tried to hide it with his wine glass.

"I knew it!" I yelled. "You just couldn't resist. We may have spent a significant amount of time apart, but you haven't changed one bit. Well, except for the seriously sexy car and the bitchin' motorcycle."

"Hmmmm...." he said, looking at me with a small grin on his face. Whatever was going on in his mind was not good...I could tell.

"What?" I asked, and his grin got bigger again, almost matching his previous one.

"So...you think my car is sexy, huh? Just the car, Bella?" he asked, setting down his glass and walking towards me slowly. The look on his face was enough to melt me into a puddle. I stared back at him trying to form a coherent sentence.

"I...well, um...yeah..." I managed to spit out.

Holy shit, is it hot in here? What the hell.

"Dinner is ready!" I yelled, trying not to show how flustered I was on the inside. I didn't know what was happening to me, or how he kept making me lose my mind. I didn't remember him ever being this smooth...it was infuriating, because I wasn't capable of resisting his charms. I grabbed one of the pots and dished out the rice onto a platter, and put the chicken on top, carrying it to the table. Edward grabbed the wine bottle on his way over, and filled both of our glasses back up as I sat down. I went to dish out the food onto our plates, but Edward took the spoon from me, putting some on my plate, then his own. We ate in relative silence. Edward stared at me most of the time, which made me feel extremely self-conscious, but he had a look in his eye that I couldn't decipher--again.

What is his deal lately? Shit is getting weird.

After dinner, I gave Edward a brief tour of my apartment. When we got to my office he noticed a photo album open on my desk.

"What's that?" he asked, approaching the desk.

I stepped up beside him. "Oh, that...it's...I was just looking at these last night. They're pictures from high school." I moved my fingers across one of the pages. In one of the photos, I was perched on Edward's back, much like I had been the night at the Highline Ballroom. It was taken the summer before our senior year of high school when we took a camping trip with his family. I smiled to myself before the album disappeared from in front of me.

"Hey!" I laughed. "What are you doing?" I turned to watch Edward make his way out to the living room. I followed him as he took a spot on the couch and was patting the cushion next to him.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I haven't seen some of these pictures in years, Bella." He looked so happy, that I couldn't say no to him, so I sat down, folding my legs underneath me. He moved the album so half sat on my left leg, and half sat on his right leg. His arm snaked around my back and rested on the back of the couch, and he leaned towards me a little so our heads were just about touching. We started flipping through the pictures, which started with our freshman year.

There were too many pictures that made me cringe. I was so awkward in high school and I never felt right in my own skin. I was the epitome of disastrous because I was constantly tripping and falling over my own feet. We came across a picture from my 16th birthday. I was dressed up in a pink frilly dress, while Edward stood next to me beaming in a suit and tie. I remembered that birthday fairly well; his parents and my parents had taken me out to dinner. I stared at Edward in the picture...how had I not noticed how good looking he was? Normally teenage boys went through some sort of awkward phase but I didn't think he ever did. I stood beside him in the picture, my arms crossed over my chest, hair in some god-awful ponytail, and no make-up at all on my face. I just looked really uncomfortable. My face must have shown how awful I thought the picture was because Edward turned his face towards mine, and nudged me a little with his shoulder.

"What's wrong? You don't like this picture? I think I look dapper, don't you?"

I scrunched up my nose, and shook my head at him. He clearly looked offended by my response.

"Well...you look good compared to me, but seriously, look at your hair. Total fashion don't. Too much hair gel, pretty boy." His fist slammed down on the book in mock outrage.

He looked at me sideways and then smiled. "Yeah, it was pretty bad, wasn't it?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Most definitely." I flipped through the album until I came across what I was looking for and pointed to the picture. "But not as bad as that. Lauren Mallory. WHAT were you thinking??"

"Ohhhh we're going to play that game, are we??" He laughed as he turned back one page and pointed excitedly to a picture of me with my boyfriend of all of two months, Eric Yorkie. "I could ask you the same question about that! Eric Yorkie, Bella? Seriously? I never said anything back then, but I hated that kid and never could understand why you dated him in the first place."

I laughed out loud, flipping the page quick to get rid of the picture. "I don't know what I was thinking. He was kind of weird. And he was a really sloppy kisser."

"Oh man," He groaned, covering his face with his hand. "Bella that was an over-share. If you want me to keep my dinner down and maintain any sort of respect for you, I suggest you not mention that again."

"Oh, fine. I won't tell you about how he tried to jam his tongue down my throat, or how I could fill one of the Great Lakes with the amount of spit he tried to swap with me."

Edward's hands flew up to his ears, and he started yelling "Stop! My ears! Stop!" while I giggled beside him. He slowly took his hands off of his ears when he was sure that I wasn't going to say anything else, and started flipping through the pages again. We stopped every so often to re-tell a funny story, or re-count a memory that we were fond of. I didn't tell Edward, but I looked at this album once a week since high school. I never thought I'd actually get the chance to sit down and look at it with him. I took a minute to study his face while he was gazing at the pictures. He was so animated...his expression would go from frowning at something, to smiling happily, or he'd raise his eyebrows at something he'd found surprising. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and noticed me staring intently at him.

His arm snaked back around and rested on the cushion behind my head, and he leaned back in closer to me, his mouth only a few inches away from my ear.

"You're staring at me, Bella," he whispered, his breath causing tingles to go up and down my body. I shivered and turned my head slightly to look at him.

"Am I?" I asked, my voice low, trembling slightly.

"Mmmm-hmmm..." he said, his voice dropping. He brought his face so close to my ear that his nose touched my cheek. My breaths started getting shallower as I tried to keep my composure. This was getting to be too much. This man was a first-class flirt, and he was going to make me give in to his charms...and then I would ruin our friendship and regret it forever. I wasn't even sure if he meant to flirt with me. Maybe he was like this with every female? It was highly unlikely that he would want to be with me. Or was it?

"Why were you staring at me?" he asked, taking me instantly out of my thoughts.

Lie, Bella. You need to lie. "You, ah, have something on your cheek." I said, swiping the non-existant smudge off of his face with my index finger. "Got it," I said, and smiled happily at him. I hoped my smile was convincing to him, though by the look on his face, he didn't look very convinced.

He smirked at me, and went back to the book. His arm came off the back of the couch, and I could feel his fingers lightly graze the back of my neck. His touches were so light that I was surprised I even felt them, but every stroke of his fingertips sent my nerves into oblivion. I tried to keep my focus on the pictures that were in front of me, but I was too busy trying to figure out what Edward was doing to me. We had been pretty touchy-feely back when we were younger, but never like this. The feeling of change that I got at the Highline Ballroom was increasing tenfold, and I didn't know what to do.

"E-Edward?" I squeaked out quietly, trying like hell to keep my voice steady.

"Yes, Bella?" he asked, picking the book up slightly to get a closer look at one of the pictures. His fingers still kept the same figure-eight pattern on the back of my neck.

"Let's watch a movie," I said, jumping up from the couch, grabbing the DVD off of the coffee table. I groaned when I saw the cover.

"The Hills Have Eyes, Edward? Really? Do you want me to have nightmares for a week?" I rolled my eyes when he grinned at me. I gingerly took the DVD out of its case, and stuck it in the DVD player, then took my seat beside Edward again. This time, though, I kept my distance, sitting up against the armrest. I pulled the large blanket off the back of the couch, and laid it across my lap, slinging the other end over Edward. He reached over next to us, and clicked off the lamp next to the couch, plunging the room into darkness, except for the light from the TV. I glared at him. He just shrugged and hit play on the remote.

"Can't we keep it on?" I whined, kicking his leg with my foot.

He smiled smugly at me, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Nope. We're watching it with the lights off...and you can't put your head under the blanket either. Watch it, Bella. The scary monsters aren't going to get you, I promise."

I huffed and pulled the blanket up to my chin, sinking down into the cushions. I hated scary movies...Edward knew that. Last time he made me watch The Exorcist, I couldn't sleep for a week. I called him about three times a night, complaining of noises outside of my window or in my closet. I drew my fingertips into my mouth, biting on my nails as the movie started getting more intense. Edward seemed to be enjoying it...he chuckled along next to me, obviously amused at my discomfort. About halfway through the movie, I found myself on the middle cushion of the couch, no longer plastered up against the armrest in fear of being too close to the annoyingly beautiful man on the other side. At this point, I was more frightened of the deformed "people" on the screen than of him.

Never taking his eyes off of the screen, Edward's right hand came up to rest on my forearm where he started lightly stroking it from my elbow to my wrist, trying to calm me. My heart leapt into overdrive...his calming strokes were making me want to jump out of my skin. My eyes darted back and forth between the TV screen and Edward's face. My anxiety was bubbling up to the surface, and it was only a matter of time before I would jump up and run away screaming. Edward's hand stilled on my arm, and his long fingers wrapped delicately around my wrist. He tugged a little bit on my arm, and I angled my body towards him.

"Bella?" he asked. His eyes searched my face; they were swimming with concern. "You're trembling, honey. Please tell me what's wrong. Is the movie scaring you that much? We can turn it off," he said gently, tucking a stray piece of my hair behind my ear.

"No, I'm fine," I said, trying to reassure him. I threw the blanket off my lap and stood up. "I'm going to go get a glass of water. Do you want anything from the kitchen?" I asked, as I walked away.

"Water would be great, thanks!" he shouted after me. Still on edge, I pulled two glasses down and filled them with water. I leaned against the island, taking a sip, letting the cold liquid run down my throat. I closed my eyes, taking a few deep, cleansing breaths before I grabbed both glasses and walked back into the living room. During the time I was in the kitchen, Edward had shifted, his head now resting on a pillow, his legs stretched out over the length of the couch.

"Comfy?" I asked, setting his glass down on the table in front of him. I straightened up, putting my hands on my hips, trying my best to look annoyed.

"Yeah, but can you move? You're blocking the TV," He said, smirking at me.

"You move, and I'll move," I said, picking up my foot and tapping him in the hip with it. His hand shot out, gripping my shin. With a devilish grin plastered on his face, he gave my leg a yank, pulling me onto the couch. I ended up half-straddling him, my right foot planted on the ground, and my left leg bent at a weird angle, trapped between his hip and the back of the couch. My torso was bent over him, my hair falling over us like a curtain. I tried to stand up but his hands were on my hips pinning me down.

"Edward, let me go! This isn't very comfortable."

"Actually, Bella," he said with a smirk. "I'm quite comfortable."

I squirmed on top of him, gripping his shoulders so I could try to push myself off. "Well you aren't twisted into a pretzel, of course you're comfortable," I whined, nodding towards my leg. He cringed, his face looking pained.

"Bella? Please, don't squirm. You're um...I'm...I mean, it's...shit," he croaked out, loosening his grip, and somehow maneuvered us so I was laying next to him instead. I froze, my eyes getting huge, when it finally registered what he meant.

Did he mean...? Oh my...

He shifted his body so that his back was against the back of the couch, giving me enough room to lay without falling on the floor. I sat up, pulling the blanket back over us, laying down in front of him, my back to his chest. I tried to focus my attention back on the movie, but my mind was on the man behind me. The TV screen was just a series of pictures and words that I couldn't make out. He was so warm, his chest hard, but somehow soft at the same time. I could've melted into him. I felt his breath, warm and steady on the back of my neck. I felt his fingers slide into my hair, pulling it to the side and draping it over my shoulder.

"Sorry...it was in my way," he whispered, pulling the blanket up around my shoulder, tucking me safely inside. He retracted his hand, resting it back on his leg, and I couldn't help but wish he would keep touching me. I somehow longed for him to wrap me up in his arms. I knew it was wrong--so wrong--but I couldn't help it. He was treading on thin ice with his constant flirting and touching. We were dangerously toeing the line between 'friend' and 'friendlier', but was I ready for that? Could I just drop my inhibitions and start a relationship with him, if in fact that is what he wanted?

My mind kept racing as the movie came to an end. We had been laying in complete silence for about 20 minutes, and I had assumed he was engrossed in the movie. As the credits started rolling, I turned my head, and saw that his eyes were closed. His face was serene, his long eyelashes settled on his cheeks. A wayward piece of hair was draped in his eye, so I gently pushed it aside, careful not to wake him. It was doubtful that he had gotten enough sleep with the restaurant opening and he was probably exhausted. I quietly slide out from under the blanket, covering him completely with the blue afghan. I picked up our empty glasses, padding across the living room to deposit them in the sink. On my way back through the living room, I clicked off the TV, plunging the room into complete darkness before carefully making my way to my bedroom.

I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed, snuggling under the covers. As I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts were centered on the green-eyed man sleeping on my couch, and if I was ready to give myself over to him.

More importantly, was I ready for him to fall for me?

A/N:

They are SO close! It won't be long now children. I promise. I can't write this whole cockblocking business too much longer.

We already have ch. 8 written, so the wait won't be long.

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