A/N: No infringement intended.

Chapter 18

EPOV

After talking with Bella about my sister's interference, I knew that changes were going to have to be made. I knew my sisters and brothers meant well, but if it was annoying to me, it was probably fucking creeping Bella out.

After a quick shower, I got dressed and shaved and then went to meet the others in the lobby. I was the first to arrive, so I settled down on one of the couches to wait. I was always a bit early, but I wasn't surprised to see Bella arrive at exactly the half an hour that we agreed to. She was precisely punctual. The surprise was seeing Bella wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red long-sleeved v neck t-shirt. For anyone else, this was just a typical casual outfit. For me, it represented something more. I couldn't take my eyes off her. The jeans were tight and clung to her body perfectly. The red shirt made her hair look the deepest of browns and highlighted both the length and the crook of her neck as well as the flawless nature of her skin tone. She caught me staring at her and she shook her head, slowly starting to blush.

"What?"

"You look beautiful," I admitted.

She rolled her eyes at me, and looked away.

"Seriously, that's a lovely color on you," I said, aiming for a casualness I didn't think I could pull off.

She looked back at me, seemed to settle herself and then said, "Thanks, Edward. That's nice of you to say."

I refrained from saying any more, knowing that it took a lot for her to acknowledge the compliment.

If anything of the past week had told me anything, it was that it took a lot to get her to acknowledge her feelings, period. I had never met anyone as self-contained as she. I wasn't the type to want to discuss every little detail or emotion that crossed my mind; in fact, the opposite was usually the case. I knew that I kept things close to me. Yet, it was true what I had said earlier; I had never met someone that I wanted to share my life, including my history and innermost thoughts with as deeply as I wanted to with Bella. She admitted as much the same to me, but I knew that she would need way more time to open up to me, and if things continued the way they did, it was never going to happen.

Bella, my brothers and sisters and I all made our way to the local diner, and we crowded into one of the booths facing the docks. Old 50's music played on the jukebox, and I stared in amazement at Bella, who had a double-cheeseburger, fries with cheese and gravy, and a strawberry milkshake laid out in front of her. While neither Rosalie nor Alice were dieters, I had never seen them attempt a meal like her's before. That was Bella though; she always surprised me by her choices.

"Yo B, don't you worry about calories and fat content and shit like that?" Emmett asked, his eyes wide. He watched as she took a gigantic bite of her double-cheeseburger and grinned as she moaned in appreciation.

"Not a single fucking bit," she finally said, after she finished chewing. To further her point, she pushed up the sleeve of her shirt and popped a muscle at him, and Emmett nodded approvingly and with admiration.

"How was the poker game?" Jasper asked, amused.

She shrugged, "I entered the game with 45.00 dollars and I couldn't afford a cab home. Mind you, I was up 80 bucks in the middle of the evening. I should have called it a day so much earlier."

"How do you like hanging out with the guys on the Rez?" Rosalie asked, interested. "They always keep to themselves… I don't know anyone who has broken into their circle."

Bella laughed, "They say the same thing about you all. Apparently it's just as difficult to break in with the Cullens."

"We're friendly," Alice protested.

Bella smiled at her warmly but shook her head, "It's not that, Alice. It's just that you are all so close knit, same with the guys on the rez. Doesn't seem like either group needs anyone else."

"I'd beg to differ," Rosalie said gently, smiling at us both.

Bella looked at me, seemingly pleased. From time to time that evening, in between stories of their trips to San Fransisco and New York, she would look at me in a certain way that would make my heart race each time.

Emmett and Rosalie were the first to leave, citing a need to unpack and get settled, while Jasper simply whisked Alice away.

After paying our bill, we headed back up the hill towards The Bakery, and Bella slipped her hand easily into mine.

"That was intense in the beginning," she noted.

"Are they bothering you?" I had to ask.

"I'm not used to… matchmaking, even though they… don't have to. It's… kind of stressful, actually." She admitted.

We entered the building and as we got to the elevators, I took a deep breath.

"Do you want to come over?" I asked, pressing the button to my floor.

"I… I do, but… Edward? I'm expecting a phone call shortly," she told me, fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. She took a deep breath, made as if to speak to me, but looked away when the door of the elevator slid open.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked her, concerned.

She walked ahead of me, and I reached for her hand. I twined my fingers with hers and she looked up at me, then closed her eyes. She took another steadying breath and said, "Charlie's supposed to call. I… I know what he's going to want to talk about."

"What's that?" I asked, leading the way to my apartment and opening the door with my key.

"He keeps in touch with some of my friends. Word has it that Marcus has landed a job in Seattle. Marcus didn't even mention to me that he was looking for work out this way. Charlie is… concerned."

I was speechless. It took me a moment to recover and ask, "Why is Charlie concerned?"

"Just that Marcus is keeping it a secret from me. He thinks it's kind of strange."

"Are you concerned?"

Bella shook her head, "Marcus has always been pretty dramatic. It's not out of character for him to do something like this. Besides, from the sounds of it, he's been pretty lonely. If he moves out here, I'd see him fairly regularly and he'd actually be able to help me out more, now."

"With what?" I asked, leading the way into the living room and flopping down on the couch beside her.

"I might try to land some more gigs," she said, nonchalant.

I couldn't help prevent the smile that spread across my face, "You can definitely do it."

"Maybe you'd like to set up some gigs of your own," she suggested.

\

"What about Charlie?" I asked.

She tilted her head and answered slowly, "I think that he wants to move out this way, to be near me. I told him when I landed this job that it was long term, and though Alice couldn't promise permanent employment, that it was going to be at least 2 years. Charlie doesn't need a job, but he's highly credentialed. He works part-time with a youth prevention outfit and he enjoys it, but he's pretty lonely, too. I think if I gave him the nod, he'd be here in a heartbeat."

"I think it would be great if Charlie relocated to the area," I told her, "I know how important family is."

"Charlie and Marcus are definitely my family," she agreed.

"Has… has Marcus ever been more to you… more than just family?" I finally had to ask.

She hesitated and for a moment, my heart stopped.

"No, never," she said, looking away, "When I first met him, he had a girlfriend since, like, birth. She passed away in our twenties. He's never been steady with anyone else since then. We have had a couple of drunken moments that have never come to fruition. Both of us, at one point or another, have stopped anything before it got too serious."

I closed my eyes, "What's 'too serious'."

Her laugh made me open my eyes.

"Seriously, Edward? Don't worry about it. You and I have gone further, in retrospect, and… Marcus and I both highly agree that we are much better off as friends than anything else. Besides, he's a hot guy. He's got glamour chicks lining up for him and the pretty boys dig him, too. I'm so not his type."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, indignant.

She rolled her eyes at me, "Edward, I'm not that girl. At all. I have a healthy sense of self-esteem, don't get me wrong. But the kind of girls who Marcus ends up with are definitely not like me."

"You're fucking perfect," I protested.

She shook her head, "Don't be silly. I'm simply average. I've got an okay figure, but I'm no fucking runway model. I'm short and I got stocky legs. I've got blah hair, blah eyes, and I've never run with the popular crowd. I'm pretty much a recluse, or at least, I have been in the past couple of years."

"First of all, you aren't blah in the least. You have a gorgeous body that I can't ever fucking stop staring at and you're not a recluse, totally," I breathed, and she rolled her eyes again.

"I can play it your way," I said, "I've got hair that refuses any sort of style, I'm never going to have a real six-pack, and I get gassy if I don't eat properly. I'm weak in that I cannot quit smoking, and nobody much likes me except for my family. I have to get my sisters to set me up."

She giggled, "Whatevs. I guess I get your point. You are awesome in each and every way, though, Edward. Totally."

She whispered the last part and I practically pounced on her.

Before anything good could come of it, her phone rang, and she shook her head. She looked at her phone and I shrugged. She walked down the hallway, and I turned on the news. A half an hour later, she came back into the living room and her expression was hard to gauge.

"Marcus will be in Seattle tomorrow afternoon," she said, "My father told me that Marcus left me an message on my phone downstairs and he wants me to come see him, if I could."

"You have the rest of the weekend off," Edward pointed out.

"I know we just got back, but did you… did you want to come with me?"

I didn't hesitate in the slightest, "Absofuckinglutely."

E/N: Thanks for reading, writing and reviewing.