I was standing before a very large door when the thoughts flooded my mind. How did I get here? How come I didn't fight harder? How come I'm wearing a dress? And finally, how the hell had I let Edward talk me into having dinner with his family?
I turned to him and he turned to me with a far too tight smile on his face. Any tighter and his bones might burst through the skin, which looked like it was about to happen. Then I thought back to the previous week and it dawned on me.
"So, Bella, um…"
I looked up at Edward who was sitting on the edge of my bed and picking at his fingers so fiercely I thought he might pick them off, and smiled at him encouragingly.
"You see…"
I leaned up off of my pillow and put my copy of Wuthering Heights on the bedside table, then proceeded to save his hands from their own destruction and gently rubbed his palms.
" What is it Edward, you can just tell me." I said as I took extra care not to rub his one hand too hard, it was still a little sore.
"Well, you know, uh…Crap, I'm just gonna say it, but first I'm gonna have to ask for my hands back."
"What?"
"My hands, you might freak out, and one is already injured…so…hands please."
I thought about holding them tighter just because I could, but then released them because I thought that's what a good girlfriend would do. And I was really trying.
"Okay." He looked out the window then fixed his eyes on a spot just above my head. "Esme would like…TOHAVEYOUOVERFORDINNER."
"What?"
"Esme would…liketohaveyouoverfordinner."
"Edward, SLOW DOWN!"
"Esme, would, like, to, have, you over for dinner."
"What?" I said in a completely flat tone.
"She wants to meet you."
"She's already met me, or doesn't she remember? I was the reason why her daughter almost didn't come home from Port Angeles."
"Well, she wants to meet you in an official capacity."
"As what? Welcome Wagon Lady?"
"No, in your official capacity."
"Give me more Edward, I'm having trouble connecting the dots here."
"As my girlfriend. She wants to officially meet you as my girlfriend."
"No."
"Bella, please, she wants to have you over for dinner."
"No!" I said a little more insistent.
"Bella, please, she just, she wants to introduce you to the family as my…girlfriend."
"Hell no! You can't even say it!"
"I can to! ……..Girlfriend……..Girlfriend……Girl, oh god Bella, don't make me say it again!"
I laughed at him. He wanted me to go and meet his family in the official capacity as his girlfriend.
"Don't you remember what happened on our first date?"
He snickered.
"Exactly! Do we want a repeat of that?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure there won't be any waiters, and I can talk Esme out of having cloth napkins at the dinner table."
"That's not the point! I spaz out under pressure! There is no way that this will end in anything but disaster!"
"Bella, stop being so dramatic, it will be fine."
"No."
"Bella."
"No."
"Be—"
"NO! NO! No! no! no. no!"
"Bella!"
"Edward, I'm going to make an idiot out of myself! They'll all laugh at me it'll be horrible!"
"Bella, I promise, no one will laugh at you."
I rolled my eyes at him, this was not happening.
This was happening. Edward raised his hand to open the door and I grabbed.
"Wait, I'm not ready."
"Bella, it's now or never."
"I vote for the never."
"Bella…"
"Okay, just give me one more minute."
"We're gonna be late."
"One more minute!"