A/N: As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! On you go.

EPOV

I was unbelievably nervous. Sweaty palms? Check. Butterflies in stomach? Check. On the verge of puking? Check.

"Shouldn't you be leaving? You don't want to be late picking Bella up. That wouldn't make a very good impression on the Chief," Dad said, scaring the crap out of me as he entered my room.

I glanced at the clock, realizing he was right. Okay. I could do this. It wasn't like I'd never dated before. But, I'd never dated Bella Swan before.

I headed downstairs and was about to head out the door when Esme stopped me.

"That's what you're wearing?" she asked with a disapproving look.

I looked down at myself, not seeing what the problem was. I was wearing a nice pair of jeans with a dark green sweater and a polo underneath.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

She shook her head as she got up off the couch, took my arm, and dragged me back upstairs. I impatiently waited as she dug through my closet.

"Here," she said, thrusting some clothes at me. "Wear this."

Huffing a sigh, I took the clothes and stomped into my bathroom. I quickly changed and was actually pleased with the outfit that Esme had picked out. Dark pants, dark shirt, and a pinstripe vest. It looked good.

"Much better," she said when I exited the bathroom.

"Thanks," I told her as I rushed back downstairs.

I grabbed my keys and ran out the door. The last thing I wanted was to be late for my date with Bella.

I pulled into the Swan's drive with ten minutes to spare. I got out of the car, wiped my sweaty palms off on my pants, and rang the doorbell.

I was greeted by a stern looking Chief Swan; not the Chief Swan I'd gotten to know. Then again, I hadn't been about to go on a date with his daughter before.

"Good evening, Chief Swan," I said.

"Edward," he said in a curt voice.

He gestured me in, and I followed him inside to the living room where he crossed his arms and gave me a stare. I did my best not to fidget, but I had a feeling I was about to be interrogated. I wasn't sure I liked this side of the Chief. I was mentally preparing myself for the questions he was about to ask when Bella came running into the room and told the Chief to behave.

"Fine. Just remember Edward, that I'm the chief of police. I can make you disappear if you hurt my girl. Got it?"

I nodded response even as Bella and Mrs. Swan yelled at him and told him that I would never do anything to hurt Bella.

Finally, we were able to leave and as we walked out to my car, I told Bella how beautiful she looked. And she did. She was wearing some sweater-dress thingy with boots, her long brown hair was down, and she had a bit of makeup on.

As we drove into Port Angeles, we got to know a little bit more about each other.

"Do you miss Phoenix?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Not as much as I thought I would. I miss the sun and the warmth, and my friends. Friends who apparently don't miss me that much," I grumbled, still upset that I'd only heard from a few of them. "But, I'm learning to really like Forks."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah. See, there's this beautiful brunette who captured my attention right away. I definitely like her. She also has a kick ass family, and I've become friends with her siblings. So, I'd have to say Forks isn't all that bad."

"Well, I can tell you that the brunette is very glad that you came to Forks."

We smiled at each other just as one of my favorite songs came on the radio. I cranked it up and busted out singing to Ed Sheeran's You Need Me, I Don't Need You.

To my surprise, Bella joined me and I was more than impressed that she knew all the words.

"I can't believe you know Ed Sheeran," I told her.

"I'm slightly obsessed with British music," she confessed, and in that second I fell even harder for her.

"Me, too. What else do you like?"

"The color green, the smell of freshly mowed grass, the sound of rain hitting the roof. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, my dad's Old Spice cologne, and baseball. What about you?"

I couldn't help but laugh at her random answers. I'd been asking about what other music she might have liked, and Bella surprised me by going off in a different direction.

"Browns my favorite color, I love the feel of the sun on my skin, and the sound of bacon frying makes me giddy," I told her, grinning when she started to giggle. "I love baseball, reading, and I play the piano."

"You play the piano?"

I nodded.

"Would you play for me sometime?" she asked.

"Sure. Carlisle's got a piano, but I'm not sure if it's tuned or not."

I pulled into the parking lot of Cafe Garden and was about to get out when Bella turned to face me.

"Why do you call your dad Carlisle?"

I angled myself to face her as I answered. "Because I've never really thought of him as my dad. My parents divorced when I was three, and I've always lived with my mom. I would see Carlisle for the occasional holiday visit or for a week or two in the summer, but we never actually spent a whole lot of time together."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," she said.

I reached over and touched her hand. "It's fine. You weren't prying at all. See, my mom always warned me about Carlisle. When I would come home with expensive gifts, she'd warn me that he was trying to buy my affection. She'd always talk crap about him; tell me he was a shitty husband or a selfish jerk. Stuff like that. But not once, has he ever spoken bad about her."

I paused a moment to gather my thoughts. It felt good to have someone to talk to about my parents. I hadn't realized it, but I needed to talk about it.

"When Mom sent me up here, I felt betrayed and more than a little angry. She meets some guy on the Internet, then decides to move to Jacksonville, and marry him. I didn't even have a say in the situation. It was like bam! She made up her mind to move and decided she didn't want me around anymore."

Bella's hand came up and cupped my cheek. "I'm sure that isn't true, Edward. Have you talked to her since you moved here?"

I nodded. "Once. She wants me to spend Christmas with her and her husband, Eleazar. I told her I would, but I don't really want to."

"You should. That way you can talk to her, tell her how you're feeling. She's your mom, Edward. She loves you, of that I have no doubt."

I nodded and changed the subject. I hated that things had gotten so morose on our first date. I asked if she was ready to eat and she nodded. I got out of the car, opened her door, and led her into the restaurant.

The food was excellent, but I wasn't too pleased with the service. Our waitress was so annoying. She kept ignoring Bella which pissed me off, and in the end I left a small tip.

After dinner, we walked hand in hand to the marine center, and my heart warmed when I saw the delight on Bella's face.

"I was told that you love this place."

She turned to face me and pressed a kiss to my cheek, causing me to blush.

"I do love this place! Thank you for bringing me here."

We had a fantastic time and as we walked back to the car, I asked her if she'd go out with me again. Her response left the biggest and cheesiest smile on my face.

"I'm up for any and all dates with you."

When we got back to her house, I asked her if she'd be my girlfriend and she said yes. I felt like I could fly. The feelings that I had for Bella were unlike any feelings I'd ever had before. Not even Tanya had made me feel the way Bella did.

I was sad that the night was over, but it had been the best date of my life so far. Hand in hand, we walked up the stairs to her porch.

"Goodnight, beautiful Bella," I told her, stroking a finger down her cheek. "I had a wonderful time."

"Me, too. This has been the best date ever," she said with a beautiful smile.

I knew in that moment that I had to kiss her. I leaned down, my lips so close to hers and just as I was about to kiss her, Emmett opened the door. I dropped my head to her shoulder, mumbling that I should've kissed her in the car. She agreed, and I promised myself that I would kiss her the next chance I got.

I lazed around in bed Saturday morning, just enjoying how good my life had suddenly become. I had a girlfriend, a good set of friends, and the sun was shining. A little after eleven, I showered, threw on some clothes, and headed downstairs only to find Carlisle and Esme in a heated embrace.

I stammered an apology and ran back upstairs wishing to hell I could un-see what I'd just seen.

A knock on my door, brought my head out of my pillow.

"Sorry, Ed. We didn't mean to embarrass you," Carlisle said as he came into my room.

"No, it's fine. It's your house. I just … uh, wasn't expecting to see that."

Carlisle's cheeks turned a bit pink. "Yeah, um … well, you see …" he trailed off, and I was a bit amused at how flustered he seemed.

"I asked Esme to marry me," he blurted out.

I stared at him for a second, stunned by his outburst. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, son. I had this romantic proposal in mind, and instead I blurt out 'want to marry me?' in the kitchen over eggs."

I snorted. I couldn't help it. It was kind of funny.

"I'm assuming she said yes."

"Of course I did," Esme said, coming into my room as well. "I've been waiting forever for him to propose."

After congratulating them once again and learning that Esme would be moving in with us over the next few weeks, I called up Bella to see what she was doing.

"Hey, Edward! I can't talk at the moment. Mrs. Stanley asked me to come in and work this afternoon since one of the other girls is out with the flu."

To say I was bummed was an understatement. After hanging up with Bella, I decided to see if Emmett or Jasper wanted to hang out.

"Sure thing dude. C'mon over," Emmett said.

After telling Carlisle and Esme where I was going, I headed over to the Swan house and was greeted by Mrs. Swan.

"Edward, dear! Come on in. The boys are in the living room playing some video game."

"Thanks, Mrs. Swan."

I headed down the hall into the living room and found Emmett and Jasper playing Major League Baseball on the Xbox.

"Fuck!" Emmett roared as he tossed down his controller. "How the fuck did you win again?"

"Emmett McCarty Swan! One more swear word, and I'll wash your mouth out with soap. Don't think I won't!" Mrs. Swan hollered.

Jasper was doubled over with laughter as Emmett got yelled at.

"Hey, Ed. Just in time. Want to play against me?" he asked, tossing me Emmett's controller.

Fifteen minutes later, I was up by four and couldn't believe that I was actually winning at a video game. I had a man up to bat when Jasper asked me a question that threw my concentration off.

"How was your date with Bella?"

I fumbled and lost control of my controller, watching as it fell to the floor. I'd momentarily forgotten that Jasper and Emmett were Bella's brothers. I'd totally walked right into the lion's den without a second thought.

"Yeah, how was your date with my baby sister?" Emmett asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It was great. We had a fantastic time," I replied.

They both stared at me.

"What?" I asked, getting a little freaked out.

"What are your intentions toward our baby sister?"

"We're dating. I mean, I asked her to be my girlfriend and she agreed. So, yeah. We're dating," I managed to get out.

"Excellent!" Emmett said.

"Good. She couldn't have found a nicer guy."

My body sagged with relief once I realized that they weren't going to beat the crap out of me.

We went back to playing the game, when Bella came in and plopped down on the couch next to me.

"Hiya, Edward," she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

I felt myself blush as I gave her a smile.

She took the controller out of my hand, tossed it to Emmett, and dragged me toward her room.

"Door remains open!" Mrs. Swan hollered from down the hall.

"Yes, ma'am!" Bella shouted back.

And there we were. Sitting on Bella's bed, staring at one another. A strand of her hair had fallen loose from her braid, and I reached up to tuck it behind her ear. I couldn't resist her. She was so beautiful, although she did smell like fries.

"You're so pretty," I murmured as my finger traced down her cheek.

She grinned. "Not as pretty as you."

I let out a snort. I wasn't pretty.

I dropped my gaze to her lips and knew then and there that I had to kiss her. I cupped her face in my hands, and slowly lowered my lips to hers.

Our lips lightly brushed and as I went to deepen the kiss, I heard the voice of Chief Swan announcing that he was home. Well, crap. We both let out sighs and pulled apart. The last thing I wanted was for the Chief to kill me for having my lips on his daughter.

"I think the universe is against us," I mumbled.

"I think you're right."

Monday morning the halls of Forks were filled with the news that Bella and I were dating. I didn't see how it was anyone's business, but the people at Forks High sure thought it was theirs.

I was busy shoving my coat in my locker when James stopped at his locker.

"So, I hear you're dating Bella."

"Yep," I replied.

"Good luck, bro. That bitch is ice cold. Won't put out for nothing."

I slammed my locker shut and turned to glare at him. "Watch your mouth, James!"

He slammed his own locker shut and got in my face.

"What are you gonna do about it, huh Cullen?"

I shoved him out of my face and next thing I knew, my face was throbbing from the hit it had taken from James. I'd never been a fight before, but I sure as hell wasn't going to stand back and let him hit me.

Clenching my fist, I swung back, wincing when my fist made contact with his chin.

Before I knew it, I was being pounded on by James with his friends egging him on. I flinched as blow after blow hit my body, but I was doing my best to get a few hits in.

"What is going on here?!" a voice hollered.

Seconds later, James was pulled off of me, and I was a bent over, pain-filled mess.

"Get to my office, now!" Principle Greene shouted at James. "Edward, get to the nurse's office, then I'll need to speak with you."

I nodded and as I began to limp down the hall, the Swans surrounded me. Jasper and Emmett wrapped my arms around their shoulders while Bella pressed paper towels to the bleeding cuts.

"What in the world?" the nurse asked as we walked into her office.

"James," Jasper explained.

The nurse poked, prodded, sterilized and mopped up blood. Taking a good look at the cut on my head, she informed me that I needed stitches and Carlisle was called.

"Edward! Jesus, son! What the hell happened?" he asked as he rushed into the nurse's office a while later.

"James beat him up, Dr. Cullen," Bella explained.

"What? Why?"

"Good question, Dr. Cullen. Edward, I've heard his side of things, now I need to hear yours," Mr. Greene said from the doorway.

Quickly, I explained what had happened. I even admitted that I was the one that started things by shoving James.

"I realize that violence isn't the answer, but he was talking bad about Bella."

Mr. Greene let out a sigh before informing me that I was suspended for two days. There was a lot of protesting from those around me, but I accepted it. I had started the fight, and I deserved the punishment.

"James has been suspended for a week," Mr. Greene informed us.

Carlisle opened his mouth to presumedly argue some more, but I told him it was fine. Seeing that he wasn't going to win, he ushered me out to his car so he could take me to the hospital for a proper exam and stitches.

I handed my car keys to Rose and asked her to drop my car off for me.

"Are you sure?" she asked, staring that the keys with reverence.

"Yeah."

Six stitches later, I was back at home, sprawled out on the couch with several ice packs placed strategically all over my body. Carlisle handed me some painkillers which I gladly took and before I knew it, I was being awoken by a beautiful, sweet voice.

"Hey, Edward," Bella said softly, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?" she asked, picking up my hand and placing a kiss on it.

"Not so hot. I kind of feel like I got the crap beat out of me."

"Probably cause you did. What were you thinking, Edward?"

"He was bad mouthing my girl! He got in my face, I shoved him, and then fists started flying. I know that I shouldn't have pushed him, but …" I trailed off at the look on her face.

Crap! I'd pissed her off. I was getting ready to apologize when my arms were filled with Bella, and she was pressing kisses all over my face. Well … that wasn't what I was expecting, but I wasn't complaining.

"That is the sweetest, yet stupidest thing any guy has ever done for me. But next time, just walk away! I don't want your pretty face to get messed up. Understood?"

I nodded, wanting her lips back on me.

"Where's Carlisle?"

"He had to head back to the hospital," she told me.

"So, we're here alone?"

She nodded.

"Finally," I mumbled as I cupped the back of her head and brought her lips to mine.

Our lips gently brushed against one another before passion set in. Lips parted, tongues dueled, teeth nibbled. It was the best kiss of my life, and I'd never wanted it to stop.

We sat there kissing and hugging for hours until Bella's phone rang interrupting us. It was her mom calling wanting to know when she was coming home.

"I need to get going," she said with a sigh. "I'll stop by tomorrow after work. I'm going to miss seeing you at school for the next two days."

Later that night, Carlisle helped me up to my room and handed me some more drugs.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Sure, son. I wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you. While I don't condone fighting, I'm proud of you for standing up for Bella."

It made me feel good to know that Carlisle was proud of me. I hadn't realized how much I needed and wanted his support. I'd spent years listening to my mother tell me that he didn't care, but she was wrong. He did.