Here is the new chapter, hope you enjoy it.

***edited mildly to meet TOS, unedited versions can be read at TWCS and FicPad.***

Chapter 6

The weeks have passed so slowly, they seem to drag on for me. Each and every night when I arrive home, I find Bella here, in her short skirts and tops, giggling with Emmett. I'm grateful for the first time ever I've got a heavy workload, and am able to regroup at my office.

Lately, however, Emmett has been insisting that I spend dinner with them. This may be the only time I spend time with Bella, but my attraction to her seem to still be growing. She still confuses me greatly, in so many ways. She is at times so shy, but her clothing screams I want to be noticed. I know for a fact she's putting on an act, but I'm still unsure to what her game is.

It's become so bad now I both hate and love coming home. I love seeing this girl in my kitchen—in my home—like she is and has always been a part of it. I hate it because more than once I've had to hear the sounds they make together behind closed doors. I swear one night they were going at it in our home gym and it about tore out my heart. Each time I hear Emmett grunting, it about rips my heart out of my chest. I badly want to tell Emmett he can't spend so much time with her, but he now has a B average in school, and I think it's because of her. I know she's helping him and I can't come between that.

"Hi," I hear from the doorway.

Looking up at Jasper and grunt out, "hello."

"Someone's still in a mood, I see. Come on, man, this has been one hell of a PMS-month; well, six weeks," Jasper chuckles.

"Jasper, I'm working," I sing out at him.

"I know," he sings back with a laugh. "Edward, I only came by to ask if you're up for going out on a date."

I look up at him smirking. "You know I love you, Jasper, but I don't swing that way." I wink at the end as he flips me off.

"Tia, a colleague of mine, is looking for someone datable and fun. She wants more of a long-term guy, not a one-night-stand type."

"Tia?" I ask trying to drum up my memory of the people he works with.

"Thirty-four, five-foot-seven, brown hair, hazel eyes."

I nod at him. "Sure," I say knowing that maybe this is just what I need to get Bella the hell out of my head.

"Saturday?" Jasper asks

"Yes, tell her I'll meet her at SI at seven; think that'll work?"

Jasper nods at me.

The rest of my work day goes by uneventful, and for the first time I go home empty handed. I walk in and smell something delicious coming from the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen, I see Bella's making dinner.

"Hi, Edward," she says with her back still turned.

"Hi," I mutter seeing her for the first time ever when I've seen her, she has jeans and a sweater on.

Moving to the sink, I wash my hands. "I see you finally got your winter wardrobe out," I chuckle. It's not until Bella freezes for a few seconds and drops her head that I replay what I said and realize it sounded catty.

"I had to, I was starting to get frostbite," Bella says with a forced smile.

I move next to her and start to stir the sauce she has on the burner.

"I'm sorry, Bella, just ignore me. I'm old and not with the times anymore. When I was in high school, girls dressed warmly and modestly, all the time. I'm just a little shocked by some of the things you've worn." I close my eyes knowing my apology sounded more like an insult.

"It's fine. I understand, Edward," Bella says, almost in a squeak. She clears her throat. "How was work – did you get everything done?"

"I did," I say feeling my whole body relax.

"What about you – school going okay?"

"It's school, but Em got an A minus on his English test ..." Bella trails off as she pales and slaps her hand over her mouth. "Shit! He wanted to surprise you, uh, fuck," Bella mutters the last part quietly.

I swallow as my body reacts to her potty mouth. "Dirty girl needs a spanking," my mind yells.

I close my eyes trying hard to switch off the voice that wants me to spank Bella for her dirty mouth.

"I won't say anything, and I'll act surprised when tells me."

Bella whispers, "thank you," and looks back to the pots on the stove top.

"How did you do?"

"I got what was expected of me. Here taste this," Bella holds out the spoon to me with her other hand cupped under it.

Bending a little and my eyes flick to hers as I open my mouth to taste the food. I moan and my eyes roll closed.

"Fuck, baby, you have excellent cooking skills. You're going to make someone happy when you're their wife."

I open my eyes, to see her smiling at me.

"Fuck it, Marry me," my mind screams.

"Don't I fucking know it? I mean how lucky am I to have her?" Emmett says pulling Bella to him as he leans over her to smell the food.

I feel my heart drop again as I watch him embrace her with such care. Thankfully, this is as much PDA as they get in front of me; I'm not sure my heart could handle more.

"Don't worry, Dad, we'll wait a year or so before we get married," Emmett says as he pats my back as I turn away.

"That's good," I mutter.

"No worries, Dad, she'll be your daughter-in-law, so of course she'll cook for you, too. Heck, maybe she'll help you get a woman," Emmett chuckles.

I look at Bella to see her face is flushed, and I know right away I don't want her as a daughter-in-law.

"I can get my own woman, thank you very much. In fact I have a date on Saturday," I grit out.

"Really?" Bella says and my eyes snap to hers. She looks shocked and as if she's in pain. It confuses me the way she makes me feel and her reactions.

"Ah, yes, I mean, is that so hard to believe?"

"No, sorry… just ..." Bella stops talking and looks back to the stove.

"Sorry, Dad, I was just joking around," Emmett adds sounding upset.

My eyes fall back on Emmett who looks like I just killed his puppy.

"I'm sorry, Em, it's just ... another long day," I say knowing I've been saying and blaming my work for my shitty moods for weeks now.

"Maybe this chick will fuck this mood outta him," Emmett whispers in Bella's ear.

Her eyes flash to mine and she gives me an apologetic smile picking up quickly that I heard what he whispered.

Dinner feels more like a visit to the dentist than a relaxing family meal.

"I'm going go home; I think I'm in need of an early night," Bella says as soon as she had her plates in the dishwasher.

"Come on, Bells, it's only seven," Emmett pouts at her.

Bella's eyes flash to mine for a few seconds before she looks back at Emmett. She walks into his arms and whispers in his ear. I watch as he nods and then kiss her head.

"Text me to let me know you got home, okay?"

"I will, goodnight, Emmett, Edward."

"Night," I say watching her leave.

I sigh putting my own plate in the dishwasher, after rinsing it.

"Dad ..."

I turn looking at Emmett.

"Can we watch a game or something?"

I smile nodding at my son.

Emmett and I spend the rest of the night watching re-runs of the past month's games before playing some games on the Xbox360. For the first time in over a month, it feels like old times. Tonight makes me realize some of my gloomy mood is because I've been missing my quality time with my son.

~*MSG*~

"I've got a game tonight, can you come?" Emmett asks as he hovers outside his car door.

"I can," I smile.

"Can you sit with Bella, she …" Emmett shakes his head. "Will you look after her for me?"

I swallow. "Won't she want to sit with her friends?"

Emmett gets an angry look on his face as he looks at me for a few seconds. "Dad, please just do it, okay?" he asks again looking at me until I nod. "Besides, I'm her only friend," he mutters getting into his car.

I'm sure he didn't mean for me to hear his parting words.

Emmett's parting words are on my mind the whole day, as I wonder what the hell happened to Bella that caused her to lose all of her friends. I hope it's not because she's spending so much time with Emmett.

As my mind is preoccupied, I end up getting finished later than I planned. When I leave the office, I head straight to the stadium for Emmett's game. I park and then make my way to the bleachers.

"Hey, skank bitch!" I hear getting yelled, and my eyes travel to the girl yelling. I see it's one of the cheerleaders, which surprises me.

"I'm talkin' to you Skankella," she says in a nasty tone.

My eyes move from her to the girl she's yelling at. I gasp a little when I see Bella, whose path is being blocked by some other girls in cheerleading outfits.

"You're fucking ruining him! He was meant to be mine, but NO you had to fucking blackmail him into dating you," the girl says harshly.

I quickly move forward.

"I'm not blackmailing anyone; he's with me because he chooses to be," Bella says trying to sound harsh but her voice wavers a little.

"Hi," I say before the mean girl can say anything else.

"Hi, Mr. Cullen," the mean girl smiles and I now know it's Kate, Newton's sixteen-year-old daughter.

"What's all this yelling about?" I ask.

"It was nothing," Bella quickly says and I look at her before turning to look at Kate.

"Look, I know I should've told you, but she's blackmailing Emmett into dating her," Kate says sounding smug.

I look to Bella who is shaking her head at me. Her eyes are pleading with me to believe her. Since I've seen them together I know my son's feelings for her are true.

"Kate, Emmett loves her, I know my son and he loves Bella. As hard as it may be for you to take, understand or even want, it is what it is and the simple fact is they're together."

I pull Bella away as my own words break my heart.

"I'm sorry," Bella says looking down.

"What was just going on back there?" I ask as Emmett and his team runs onto the field.

"Emmett and Kate went out on a date, a month or so after school started up again, but he didn't ask for a second date. She's finding it hard because it was only a week or so later that he announced in the lunchroom we were a couple. She thinks I stole him from her."

"Did you?" I find myself asking.

"No," Bella stops and turns to me placing her hand softly on my arm. "I know you don't like me ..."

I open my mouth to rebuke what she said but nothing comes out as she carries on talking.

"Or the fact I'm in your home with Emmett so often, but I do care deeply for Emmett. He's my best friend, and I love him."

I swallow dropping my eyes not liking the pain I see there.

"I do like you, and it is more the fact that you both seem so close that has me worried ... about what happens when you guys go to college," I tell her, not saying anything about how much I really like her.

"We'll be fine. Emmett wants to go to UW and I am—if I'm able to—going to the community college in Port Angeles."

I nod at her.

"Can we get past this dislike, or could you tell me what I did to make you hate me?"

"This one is on me, Bella, you've done nothing."

"Edward, please, Emmett's missing you, and he insists that I come to your home. He hates that I'm alone so much."

"Okay, we can try?" I say and Bella again nods looking back at the field.

As the games goes on, I find myself watching Bella's reactions more than what happens on the field, and I find myself smiling often over how happy she looks.

"Has Emmett met your parents yet?" I ask at half time.

Bella bites her lip as she shakes her head. "Dad only has four days off. When he arrived home early last Friday he slept all day. He left early on Saturday to meet up with my mom, who was working the weekend shift until three on Sunday."

I frown tilting my head.

"They both had Sunday afternoon and Monday off and wanted to spend time together. Dad got tickets to the opera for Sunday night, and thought it would be a waste of time driving home just to go back again. He came back Monday night alone since Mom had to work Tuesday. Since he was heading back out on the road Tuesday night, he spent time with friends and getting ready for his next long haul."

"Fuck, do they ever spend time with her?" my mind asks.

Bella's eyes snap to mine with so much pain, and I realize I spoke out loud.

"They do, well, Mom's normally home three nights out of fourteen, but Dad, he's only home five nights every three months. He always sleeps the first whole day he's here. Because they don't get much time alone—now I am older—he likes to have just two days where it's just him and Mom. They both know I can take care of myself. We normally have a family day on Dad's fourth day, and his fifth day is taking care of things or seeing his friends."

I clasp Bella's hand feeling the sadness in her words. Regardless of what she tells them, this is hurting her to go so long without seeing them.

The crowd cheers as the football players all come back out, and Bella smiles a little as she watches the game. The entire second half, her small hand is clasped in mine.

"What was your last boyfriend like?" I find myself asking as we sit in my car waiting for Emmett.

Bella blushes right away. "I had a boyfriend for three days when I was in ninth grade, Ben Cowell."

My eyes widen as I hold back my laugh; Ben Cowell is the son of our local reverend, and was often seen picking his nose and eating it – hell he still does it.

"Really?" I ask with an eww sound to my voice.

Bella slaps my arm shaking her head.

"Yeah, he kissed me which was fine until he stuck his tongue in my mouth giving me a fright and I bit it."

I outright laughed as Bella shakes her head at me.

"That's it," she says quietly and I find my laughter slowing down.

"So Emmett was your first?" I stutter as Bella blushes, and it comes to me just what I have asked her. "Don't answer that," I say as Bella looks at me wide-eyed shaking her head.

Bella quickly looks away from me only to turn back after a few minutes.

"Why does this seem to work?" She asks waving her hand between us, "when it's just us?"

"I don't know," I reply.

~MSG~

"Did you see how awesome I was tonight?" Emmett says as he gets in the back of the car.

"You were great," Bella says with a beaming smile making Emmett grin more.

"Did my dad take care of you?" he asks looking between Bella and me.

"Yes," Bella says opening her door, I assume to get in back with Emmett.

"Bella, just sit in the front, I want to spread out." At that Emmett moves so that he's taking up most of the backseat. I lean over Bella pulling her door closed as I sit up, my arm brushes against her round perky breasts. As my eyes look at her from the corner, I see she has closed her eyes and is biting her lip. It looks almost like she's holding back a moan.

Bella wiggles about her seat, and I have to grip my steering wheel to stop myself from touching her.

I let out a long breath as does Bella when the car comes to a stop in front of my house. My eyes move to her and wonder if she felt it, too.

As soon as I am through my front door, I head upstairs to my room. It's a few hours later when there's a knock on my door.

"Yeah?" I say as Emmett stands at my now open door.

"I told her it was fine, but she said to double check with you first!" Emmett grins out at me.

"What's fine?" I ask making him raise one of his eyebrows before wiggling both at me.

"For Bella to spend the night."

I swallow shaking my head at him.

"Come on, Dad, it's already late and her 'rents aren't even home," Emmett says in his sad voice, and even gives me the pout he did when he was younger.

"Fine, but she sleeps in the guestroom."

"Why can't she sleep in my room with me?"

"Because I don't want to hear you two having sex," my mind screams out. "It's not respectable for her to sleep over and stay in your room. It's one thing to know that you are having sex, and another to openly allow it."

"Dad, come on, we're not going to have sex, she's ... we'll just be talking and stuff."

"It's the stuff I'm worried about; now either she sleeps in the guestroom, or she can go home. The choice is yours."

"Okay, the guestroom it is then, but same applies to you and any women you bring home."

I just look at Emmett and he crosses his arms.

"I paid for this house," I tell him not backing down.

"Yes, but if you said it's respectful, then you should be showing me the right way by example."

I let out a sigh. "Fine, it's not like I'm even seeing anyone, but if I do and they stay over, they will stay in the guestroom. Happy now?"

"Nope, but it'll do for now," Emmett says waving at me as he walks back out the door.

I groan and rub my face as I head in my bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

A/N: So after all of that, what do you think now?