The Learning Curve: Chapter 101

Edward Cullen's House

I tossed and turned all night, but the morning brought a new sense of calm, a revelation.

Bella was stubborn as hell. She'd never let me push her into doing something she didn't want. And she wouldn't have lied to me when I told her a hundred years with her wouldn't be enough and she said she felt the same. She wasn't the kind of girl that would say something untrue just to spare my feelings.

She loved me, and I had to believe she wanted to be with me in every way.

I would have to feel her out today and discover just how strongly she felt about living together. And once that was done, I would have to feel my mom out and see if she would let me have Grandma Masen's engagement ring to give to Bella.

I found my dad in his office again on my way to the kitchen. I poked my head in the doorway.

"I thought about it, Dad, and I know this is right," I said, and I hurried down the stairs before he could say anything else.

I grabbed a granola bar on the way out the door. There was no time to stop for breakfast. I was on a mission to see Bella.

When I knocked on the door, Charlie answered still nursing a mug of coffee.

"Good morning, sir," I said. "Could I see Bella?"

He frowned like he wished he could find a reason to say no, but eventually he nodded. "She's in her room. No funny business, now – I'll be checking in on you two."

"Yes, sir," I said readily, and when he stepped back to let me pass, I hastened up the stairs.

Bella was at her computer, and she had the Dartmouth website open.

"Hey," she greeted me with a broad smile. "I'm printing off info for my dad to look at. He's…sort of freaking out about the whole Dartmouth thing."

"Uh oh." I felt like an idiot and an ass. I'd spent the night thinking about cohabitation and marriage, but I hadn't stopped to think about Bella and how her dad might be taking the news. "Is he upset about you going so far away, or about you going so far away with me?"

"Both, I think. Mostly, it seems like he's worried that I'm doing this for all the wrong reasons. He doesn't get yet that I really want to do this for me, too."

I smiled because our parents were so much the same, and because I knew I was right about Bella. This was what she wanted, too.

"Have you looked at the housing policies at all?" I asked. She shook her head. "Well, um...they say that first-years have to live on campus."

Bella's face fell. "Like in the dorms, you mean?"

I nodded. "There are some loopholes, but it could be really tough for us to live together. How would you feel if we couldn't?" I asked warily.

She looked down at her toes which were curling into her rug. I could tell simply by the set of her jaw that she was upset. "Well, it's not going to kill me to live in the dorms. I mean, it's Dartmouth, so they've got to be really nice. But I'll miss you. And they'll probably stick us with roommates, so who knows when we'd get any alone time..." Her voice sounded more strained the longer she spoke.

"Hey," I breathed, crouching by her chair. "If there's a way for us to live together, I'll find it. I promise."

Her eyes met mine, and she smiled. "I know. Sometimes it seems like there's nothing you can't do. I haven't thanked you enough for all the effort you've put into...everything."

I shook my head, full of new confidence. "Being with you is all the thanks I need."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine, kissing me with such sweet earnestness that I felt my chest would burst from how full my heart felt.

A throat cleared behind me, and I scrambled back and to my feet. Charlie was in the doorway staring at us. He pointed a finger in my direction. "No funny business," he reminded me, and then he was gone again.

I glanced at Bella. Her face was red, but she was fighting laughter. "Oh my God, Edward, the look on your face!"

I let out a sigh. Chief Swan sure knew how to kill a moment.

A/N: All this Dartmouth talk is just depressing me. I went to a school with crappy financial aid and crappy dorms and ended up in more debt there than I would have an an Ivy? Weak. Super weak. I know where I'm aiming for grad school.