Chapter Ten: Waiting for You

Edward's POV

I stood in my shower, just letting the water run over me, for forty-five minutes before I shut the water off. I didn't know why I was so nervous. I'd been on plenty of dates before...hell I'd proposed before. I don't even think I was this nervous when I proposed to Tanya.

Bella was different though.

She'd been through more in her short life than most people in their lifetime. And, she had a daughter to protect. If I was with Bella, I was with Ava. Ava would become just as important and if I hurt Bella, I hurt her child too. It was nerve wracking thinking about what could happen and who could get hurt.

I didn't want to be thinking about that though. I wanted to be positive, so I took a deep breath as I began shaving. I had shaved that morning, but I did not want to be stubbly if we ended up...kissing.

'Ava's grandparents took her to a movie tonight, so we won't have to deal with any of her hundreds of questions ;)'

I laughed when I read Bella's text as I walked back into my room. I dried off the rest of the way and pulled my clothes on. I had just enough time to run down the street to the small florist before I had to leave to pick her up. I decided on a single rose was romantic enough, without being too much.

I drove over to her house and sat in my car for a good five minutes before growing my balls back and walking up to her door. I gently knocked on the small garage side door and smiled when I heard heels clicking down the stairs. When she opened the door, my breath hitched.

She was beautiful in just her jeans and shirt, but tonight she had dressed up. She had curled her hair, put a skirt on, and she had heels on instead of her usual flats.

"Wow," I whispered after I'd gotten a grip. "You look absolutely amazing." I smiled as I handed her the rose.

"You're so sweet," She giggled as she smelt it. "Let me just put this in a vase and we can go. Come on in." She gestured, stepping aside. I followed her upstairs and smiled when I saw how much messier the place was today rather than a few days ago. "Sorry about the mess, I didn't have a chance to clean up after Ava left."

"Don't worry about it. My apartment was surprisingly clean the other day." I laughed. She filled the small vase with water before sticking the rose in it. Once she was ready, I grabbed her hand and led her downstairs. We walked to my car and I opened the door for her, just like my dad had taught me.

We drove into the city and her face lit up once we could see the Space Needle.

"I don't get to come here that much anymore." She told me as we drove. "But, my friends and I were here almost once a month back in high school for some concert Mike found."

"Yeah, I've only been in the city a handful of time," I whispered, thinking back to the last time I was here. Right before Tanya broke the engagement off. I shook my head, hoping to just forget about her and focus on Bella. I loved Tanya, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized we weren't right for each other. She didn't want a family and that was the one thing I desperately wanted.

If things worked out with Bella, I had a feeling kids were in the future for us.

I pulled into a small parking lot right outside of The Pink Door, a small Italian restaurant Emmett had been raving about for the last week. I got out and ran around the car to help her out of the car before going inside.

"Reservation for Masen." I told the hostess. She smiled at me as she checked us off her list and grabbed the menus. When she stopped in front of a table, I followed Bella and pulled her chair out for her. Again, something my father had taught me when I was in high school.

"So, I told you a lot about me." She laughed after the waiter had taken our orders and poured our wine. "It's your turn."

"Well, I grew up in Chicago with Jasper and Emmett." I started. "Jasper and I went to Boston University after we graduated and Emmett went to Lesley."

"You all ended up in Boston?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Like my dad said, we've been attached at the hip since we were in diapers." I reminded her. "Well, Jasper and I had been dreaming of Boston U since middle school and Emmett didn't want to be left out...he kinda just followed where we went."

"You sound like the Three Musketeers." She laughed.

"If you only knew." I agreed, thinking back to all the stupid shit we did and the havoc we caused when we were younger. "Anyway, I got a substitution job when I graduated. I bounced back between a lot of schools before I was offered this job. I moved out here in the beginning of September and started in the middle of September.

"And again, the guys followed me out here." I laughed. "I mean, this wasn't the plan but they both found really good jobs out here and decided we should always stick together."

"Wow," She smiled. "So, other than Emmett and Jasper...who else were you planning on leaving in Boston?" She asked.

"I was engaged when I left Boston." I told her. I figured I should be honest with her since she told me everything the other night. "She was planning on moving out here when she found a job, but...we broke off the engagement. Well, she broke it off."

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, as I looked up into her beautiful brown eyes.

"We wanted different things." I shrugged. "She wanted a good career and I wanted a big family. She didn't think she could have both so she chose having a job over marrying me and having a family."

"That must have been so hard,"

"It was but in a way, I'm glad she broke it off when she did." I thought. "I mean, she could have moved out here with no job, we could have gotten married and had kids. She wouldn't have been happy as a stay-at-home mom and it would have led to bigger problems down the road."

"Yeah, having kids with people who don't want kids is...the hardest thing to deal with." She sighed. "Jake loves Ava, but I think part of the reason he isn't moving up here is because he never wanted kids in the first place. Like, he never planned on having them."

Bella and I talked about anything and everything that night. She told me where she wanted to go most in the world. I told her about the most embarrassing that had happened to me. We just...we worked really well together. There wasn't time for awkward silences because we were in laughing fits all through dinner.

"It's not too cold out tonight," I pointed out as we walked outside. "You wanna drive down to the water?"

"I would love that," She smiled as she got into the car. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the Golden Gardens Park. It took about twenty minutes to get there and since it was the end of October, not many people were at the beach so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Once we were parked, I took my shoes off and rolled my pants up and she removed her sandals.

I took her hand and led her down to the waters edge. I waited for a wave to lap up on our feet and once one did, the water was absolutely freezing.

"Oh!" Bella squealed once the water rolled over her feet. "Wow, cold!" She laughed as she ran up the beach. I laughed and followed her. "Let's go on a walk...far from the waters edge."

"Sure," I nodded. She took my hand and began pulling me north. We took the time to admire the view. The sun had just set when we got to the beach, and the moon was shining brightly down at us. We took the time to get to know each other more, but she suddenly stopped.

"Edward," She sighed as she turned to face the water. I let her think of whatever she wanted to say, I didn't want to pressure her. "I like you...a lot."

"I...I like you too." I whispered as she turned around and faced me. Even through the darkness, I could see the tears pooling her eyes. "Please, don't cry."

"But I just don't think I can do this." She whispered. My heart sunk, but I wasn't willing to give up on her so easily. "I'm so sorry, but I'm not a normal twenty-five year old, and you'll never get a normal life if you're with me."

"Who said I want a normal life?" I asked, trying to make her laugh.

"I have a kid to think about. I have a job and I'm trying to get more than a high school diploma." She told me again. "If I try and do anything else, I'll explode."

"But you aren't alone, Bella!" I told her, my voice slightly rising. "Alice has told me time and time again that you're stubborn and refuse to accept help."

"She's wrong,"

"She told me you were working yourself to death." I whispered. "And...I'm not some project that's going to make your life harder. I want to help make it easier."

"What about Ava?" She asked. "I have to think of her, Edward."

"I think she likes me." I laughed, and she cracked a small smile. "What are you worried about?"

"She already likes you, what happens if she gets really attached and," She took a deep breath. "And things don't work out? I could never do that to her."

"Well," I sighed. "We could not tell her for a while."

"You want me to lie to my daughter?" She asked, sounding a bit disgusted. "Because I won't."

"I'm just thinking...what if we dated for a while and see how things went?" I asked. "Because we could go on a few more dates and realize we can't stand each other. Or,"

"We could totally get along and be absolutely perfect for each other." She finished. "It seems wrong."

"Then don't think of it as dating," I said. "Think of it as...a time to get to know each other better."

"I like the sound of that," She smiled. "And Ava does like you...I don't think it would take very much for her to get on board when we do tell her about us." She laughed. "But you just got out of a serious relationship...don't you think this is fast?"

"Maybe," I agreed. "But, Tanya and I weren't meant to be."

"And we are?"

"Maybe." I said once again. "But...I thought you were gorgeous the first time I saw you and every time we talked when you picked her up...I just felt this connection that I've never felt with anyone else. And maybe this is super fast and I'm rushing into things, but if we don't try just because of how long it's been since Tanya, I won't forgive myself."

"A time to get to know each other?" She asked, sounding more interested in it than before.

"Yep," I laughed. "And I'll get to know you as long as I can."

Bella and I did what we said we'd do. We took it slow and took the time to get know each other. We didn't go out very much, but we talked on the phone almost every night after Ava was in bed. Things with Tanya had never been like this. I fell in love with her almost instantly and we jumped into things.

It was nice to just get coffee with someone on a Saturday afternoon without any pressure. I knew everything would slowly fall into place, but it was kind of nice to just take time to get to know each other.

By the time Halloween rolled around, I felt like I knew her entire life story and I knew hers.

I finished lighting the last Jack-O-Lantern just as the morning bell rang on Halloween. Today we were having a few Halloween themed lessons, but the afternoon was designated to a party for the kids. They were all bringing their costumes and they had Trick or Treating within the other classrooms.

The morning had gone by pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was time to change into our costumes. Even the teachers and parents who were volunteering dressed up. It was kind of fun to go pick out a costume again. After recess, the parents began filing into the room and I smiled when Bella walked in.

She looked so cute in her poodle skirt and white tennis shoes. She had her hair in tight curls held back with a headband. I walked over to her to greet her and she just smiled at me.

"You look good," She laughed. "What are you exactly?"

"I'm the ringmaster." I told her, causing her to smile. I could look at her smile all day long. When Ava walked in from recess, she hugged her mom and I decided to try and mingle with the other parents who had come to help. Once all the kids were back and in their costumes, I settled everyone down.

"Alright, thank you all for dressing up." I laughed as I talked. "Parents, thank you for coming and helping out. I know this is my first Halloween here, but it's going to be great." I told them. I quickly told them the agenda for the afternoon and when we were going to Trick or Treat.

The kids socialized and showed off their costumes while the parents talked amongst themselves until the principle announced we were allowed to leave our classroom. The gym teacher came into my room to give out the candy and I walked in front of everyone else and led them to the first room.

The Trick or Treating took about a period and when we were done, we headed back to the room. Everyone sat down as the parents went to hand out their own special treats. When I saw everything these kids got, I wouldn't be surprised if they threw up later. Once I had the music going and the kids all the sweets they could want, I walked over to Bella.

"You should have lived in the 50's." I whispered as we watched Ava. She was laughing up a storm with Jason and it was actually adorable to watch. "You'd be the cutest girl in school."

"Stop," She warned, but with a smile on her face.

"Fine, I'll behave." I said, looking straight ahead, trying to act cool. "Ava looks adorable." I told her. Ava was wearing a Minnie costume and she was surprisingly the only Minnie Mouse this year. All the other girls were dressed as the sisters from Frozen. I was kind of happy Ava was different.

"She wanted to do Minnie last year," She sighed. "But it was a really expensive costume."

"What was she last year?" I asked.

"Alice made her a costume. She went as a princess...not a Disney princess...just a girl in a pretty dress." She sighed and I could tell how badly she felt. But, knowing Ava she'd be happy with anything as long as she could go and get candy. "So, I made a special fund last year so she could be Minnie."

"Well, I'm sure she was the prettiest princess in kindergarden." I assured her, making her smile. "And, I like that she still wanted to be Minnie."

"It was between Minnie and Princess Peach." She laughed.

Too soon, it was time to start cleaning up so the kids could go home. Bella and Ava stayed the longest since it was her day off. They helped me get the room back to normal and I was actually grateful they stayed to help. The place was a mess.

"Are you going Trick or Treating, Mr. Masen?" Ava asked after Bella had gotten her changed into her street clothes.

"No, kiddo. I'm a little too old for that." I laughed.

"You can come with us!" She squealed. "Mommy, can he!"

"If he wants to come he certainly can." Bella told her excitedly. "You wanna come?"

"Sure, it'll give me a chance to wear this again." I laughed. Bella told me what time to be at their house and they left. I went to the bathroom to change before getting my things to go home. Seth was sitting at my desk when I got back, looking almost stunned. "What?"

"How?" He asked. "Did you get this place so clean...with so little time?"

"A mom stayed to help me."

"A mom or...the single mom?" He asked, winking at me.

"Don't wink at me." I sighed as I put my costume back in the bag. "You need a ride home again?" I asked since his car had broken down yesterday. He said that he did and he went to his room to get his things. I drove Seth home and went back to my place to eat some celery.

I had too many sweets this afternoon.

I jumped in the shower before changing back into my costume. I took a deep breath before grabbing my car keys. This would be the first real time that I was spending with Ava. Before, Bella and I weren't anything special. Just a mom and a teacher. Now...now we were something more.

And that meant something.