Author Note: Thank you for the great response to this story so far! Most of you are happy that they're happy. And you all love Masen!

I forgot to comment on this on Monday: a Guest reviewer is under the mistaken impression that Bella is practically Bree's twin. Nothing like this has ever been stated in the story. In fact, Bella mentioned in Chapter 19 that the petite, blonde Jane more resembled Bree physically. Bella and Bree have brown eyes in common, but that's it really.

Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.

Chapter 28 – Ordinary World

For our second date on Friday, Edward tells me to dress casually with comfortable shoes. He knocks on my door just after 6pm with another small bouquet of flowers and drives us to the Mexican restaurant where I'd gone for Jessica's birthday, near the north end of town.

Like a gentleman, he walks around to open my car door, but instead of leading me toward the restaurant, he leads me toward the street. "We're not going inside."

"We're not?" I ask in surprise.

"Not yet, anyway," he shrugs. "Um, a woman at the grocery store suggested showing me around Forks. I turned her down, but it got me thinking. I've lived here for over nine months and I don't really know much about Forks. I go to the Thriftway or the diner, maybe a couple other places, but I've never really explored the town. And what better way to do it than with a Forks native?" he smiles.

"Just not her?" Oh man, I almost goofed up and said "Jessica!"

Edward nods, smiling. "I'd much rather have you as my tour guide."

I readily agree, and we start walking south on Forks Avenue, then turn off so that I can show him our three school buildings, which are all in a cluster. "Do you want to go in?" I ask once we've reached the elementary school.

"Can we?" he asks, eyes wide.

"It's not that late," I shrug.

Edward agrees and we step inside the building. I show him first my classroom, and then Angela's kindergarten classroom. "I guess Masen has another four years before he'll go here, but Angela could be his first teacher."

"I love this," he says, looking around in awe. "I love all of her posters and the bright colors."

"Angela spends a lot of time looking for the perfect accessories. Heck, she'll still be decorating the nursery when her baby is a year old," I laugh.

Next, I show Edward the cafeteria, library and gym, before we head outside.

Back on the main road, we continue south. When we reach E Street, I point out the bowling alley a couple of blocks over.

"I didn't know we had a bowling alley!" he exclaims. "Do you bowl?"

"Not well," I shrug, "but I can. As you've probably noticed, there's not a whole lot to do in Forks, so teenagers sometimes hang out at the bowling alley if the weather is too nasty to go to the beach."

"We'll have to go sometime, yeah?" he smiles.

"Sure," I agree.

We walk as far south as the Forks Timber Museum, which is already closed for the day, before turning back around. Edward has never been to the museum, so I agree to take him some afternoon.

It doesn't take long for us to make our way back to the Mexican restaurant. We get a booth inside, snacking on the chips and salsa while we look over the menu.

"Would you like to go on a double date bowling when Jasper is here?" Edward asks.

"Oh, I didn't know he was visiting! Coming to see Alice again, I assume?"

"Well, he says he'll be here for my birthday, but I think Alice has a lot to do with that decision," he chuckles.

"When is your birthday?"

"Tuesday."

"And you're just telling me now?" I raise an eyebrow.

He smiles sheepishly. "I-I thought maybe since you'll be off school then that we could spend the day together in Port Angeles? And then come back for dinner with Jasper and Alice. He'll be here Tuesday through Saturday, so maybe we could all go bowling together one other day."

"That sounds great. This isn't the Big 3-0, is it?" I ask, though I already know he's currently 28 from talking to Edward's brothers last December.

"No! I'll be 29… for real, I mean, since everyone says that," he laughs.

"I've never dated an older man before," I tease him.

"Yeah? I guess I've never dated a younger woman. Bree was several months older than me."

"Surely you've dated other women than Bree?"

"A few," he allows. "But with a June birthday, I was nearly always the youngest in my class, so anyone I dated from the same year would be older."

"And I was usually the oldest in my class. That was cool when I was the first to get a driver's license," I laugh. "Freedom to get out of this town."

"But you came back to Forks after college in the big city."

"Yeah, I did," I smile. "My dad was here, and Alice was planning to come back to Forks after completing her degree… I don't know, family was more important to me than the benefits of living in a larger city. As a teacher, I could get a job pretty much anywhere in the country, but I'm happy here.

"Well, I may have spent the last few years complaining about the dismal dating prospects, but things are definitely looking up on that front," I add.

Edward smiles a dazzling smile, and I can't help but smile back. Maybe, just maybe, we'll be all right.

Once we've finished our meal, Edward drives us home. Unlike last week, he parks in his driveway. "Do you want to come in?" he asks hesitantly. "Watch a movie?"

"Sure," I nod, trying not to appear too eager.

Inside, Alice's mom is settled on the couch, reading a book. "Well, hello, you two," she smiles. "I just put Masen up to bed about 15 minutes ago."

"Can you make popcorn, Bella?" Edward suggests. "You're better at it than me."

"It's microwave!" I laugh, shaking my head as I walk toward the kitchen. Edward gets us drinks after he's walked Carolyn out, then we get settled in the living room.

"I ordered some new DVDs off Amazon," he says, showing me an array of DVD cases in his hand. "Is Deadpool OK?"

"Sure, I like Ryan Reynolds," I reply, laughing at the face Edward makes.

The bowl of popcorn is situated between us, so there's no cuddling for the first half of the movie. Once the bowl is empty, I scoot closer, enjoying the feel of Edward's arm around me. It's not the first time we've sat like this, but it feels somehow different to me. There's more expectation… on my part, anyway. I'm not sure if Edward is feeling the way I do.

When the movie is over, Edward stands up to get the DVD out of the player and put it back in its box. He turns around and starts walking back to the couch, then stops in the middle of the room. I look up at him questioningly.

"I feel like… if I come back and sit beside you…"

"I'll behave myself," I assure him.

"It's not you I'm worried about." Oh! My body erupts in goosebumps at his words.

A few moments later, he completes the last few feet and sits back down, holding his left hand out. I place my hand in his, letting him play with my fingers.

"It's nice," he says in a raspy voice, "the human touch. I've really missed that."

Smiling, I trace my fingers along the lines on his palm, then the cool band of silver around his ring finger.

"Does it bother you?" he whispers.

"No," I answer honestly. "I understand that removing your wedding ring is a huge step." I certainly don't expect him to remove it before the first anniversary of Bree's death.

"It is," he replies, swallowing thickly. "I-I know she's gone. I know she's not coming back. You know, I tried to take it off last week, before our first date."

"You did?" I ask, eyes wide. "What happened?"

"I was just staring at my bare finger and… my hand was almost shaking. It felt so wrong. I had to put it back on. I wasn't ready."

With a small smile, I reach up, running my fingers through his messy hair in comfort. Edward closes his eyes, almost purring. "Don't stop," he whispers. And so I don't. I touch him gently, nothing sexual, but enough to give him what he must be craving.

When he finally opens his eyes, I can almost see the desire in them. "Come here," he whispers, and I waste no time in letting him pull me close.

The moment his lips touch mine, I know this will be more than the sweet kisses we've shared up to this point. Our lips slide together and when I feel his tongue peeking out, I quickly open for him.

The way we're sitting beside each other on the couch is awkward, and I know I can't get as close as I want to without getting up on my knees or sliding onto his lap.

I also know that would be too much for him. And so I hold myself back and let Edward control our pace.

I feel like a teenager making out with her boyfriend — perhaps with less touching. His hand stays relatively static on my face and neck, rather than moving lower. As much as I might want him to, I know he isn't ready to make this sexual.

Finally, he pulls away with a groan, staring into my eyes. "I think… I need a cold shower," he chuckles. "It's a little too easy for me to get caught up. I know I'd regret it later. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." I definitely don't want him to have any regrets. I stand up, grabbing our dishes to take into the kitchen.

"You don't have to do that."

I shrug. "I don't mind."

Edward follows me into the kitchen to help me load the dishwasher, then walks with me to the front door.

"Kiss Masen for me, all right?"

He nods. "I will. I'll see you Sunday."

Leaning in, he kisses me softly, then stands leaning against the door jamb to watch me walk back to my house.

Sunday is an absolutely gorgeous almost-summer day, so Edward and I decide to take Masen to the playground.

"Kitty!" he yells as we head out to Edward's car.

"You can play with the kitty when we get back, OK?" Edward replies.

"Kitty go!" He looks up at his dad with a pleading look.

"I think maybe he wants Sandy to come to the park with us?" I suggest. "I actually bought a harness and leash for her so I can take her outside, but the harness is too big for her right now, so it won't stay on."

"Too bad there's no way to completely enclose Masen's stroller," he laughs, getting Masen buckled into his car seat. "Sorry, Mase. No kitty for now."

Like everything in Forks, the park is just a quick trip. Once Masen is on the ground, Edward and I each hold one of his hands as we walk across the grass to the play area. In my other hand, I've got the bucket playset I bought a few weeks ago so Masen can play in the sandbox.

He chooses the swings first, so Edward lifts his son up and into the toddler seat, then begins slowly pushing him forward.

"Masen has always enjoyed swings," he says with a smile. "At our house in Chicago, we had a wind-up baby swing that he would just sit in for hours. He really loved it. I felt so bad when he got too big for it, not long before… before Bree died."

"Have you brought him to this park before?"

He nods. "A few times, ever since the weather started to turn nicer. Unfortunately, I do actually have a job, so I haven't been able to spend as much time goofing off with my son as I'd like."

"Are you making progress on a third book?" I ask excitedly.

"I have a pretty detailed outline now," he shrugs.

"Do you always write like that? I mean from an outline?"

"Yeah. I need to plan it all out in my head first, from the 30,000-foot view, before I start getting into the details. I'm not very good at winging it," he laughs.

"No? I actually think you're doing pretty well at winging it," I reply with a wink.

He blushes… he actually blushes. "I definitely don't know what I'm doing right now with you," he chuckles. "You really are incredible, you know that?"

"Me? Why?"

Masen starts whining that he wants down, so Edward lifts him out of the swing, and we follow the toddler over to the sandbox. I hand him the plastic buckets and shovels, then take a seat on a nearby bench with Edward.

"You know you didn't even yell at me for taking nearly two weeks to contact you?" Edward begins.

"If it's any consolation, Alice and Angela may have plotted various ways to torture you."

He laughs. "And you didn't?"

I shrug. "I was hoping that when you said you needed more time that you meant time to come to terms with everything. I hoped it was a good sign that you didn't just immediately dismiss the entire idea of ever dating me.

"Once I understood the full extent of your pain, I've tried my best to be patient with you. It isn't always easy," I admit, "but I understand that there's no timetable for grief. Every person is different, and there's no way to rush the process."

He swallows thickly. "I hope that talking to a professional can help speed up the healing process. For myself, not just… for us."

I smile widely. "I like the sound of that — us."

"You were right, by the way. I needed time to convince myself that it's not wrong to be attracted to you, and that it's not wrong to enjoy your company. Our Sundays kind of became the highlight of my week, as much as I didn't want to admit that."

"And do you… accept that it's not wrong, I mean?" I ask, my heart rate speeding up.

"I do," he sighs. "I know I'm… a single man. It's been a little more difficult to convince myself that it's all right to pursue that. There was something Jasper said to me once, that Bree would want me to be happy. She wouldn't want me to be alone. Deep down, I know that's true. I know that's the kind of person she was."

"Was it something the two of you ever talked about?" I ask carefully. "If something happened to one of you?"

"No," he says quietly. "I guess… we were young and thought we were invincible. Neither of us anticipated losing the other for a very long time. Mom said that she and Dad have discussed it, and they've both agreed that they'd just want the surviving spouse to be happy, whatever that means."

"Were you… all right after I left Friday night?" I ask, remembering how our make-out session seemed to be getting close to his limit.

"Yeah, I was," he says with a small smile. "I thought maybe the guilt would hit me, but it didn't. I know we need to continue to move forward slowly though. S—"

"Don't say you're sorry," I cut him off, and he smiles nodding.

"Ma?" Little Masen pulls on the leg of my jeans, looking up at me as he points toward the slide. I freeze for a moment, nervously catching Edward's eye.

"You want to go down the slide, buddy?" he asks, ignoring his son's remark. "All right, let me help you up the ladder. Bella and I will be there to catch you at the bottom."

I smile widely. He said, "Bella and I." Together. We're on our way.

A/N: One late reviewer (ivy) got the closest to guessing their date when she suggested that Bella could take him to see her school. Their alone time after dinner got a bit closer to PG-13, but probably still PG. And then another family outing to the playground with Masen! But not Sandy lol. I tried to put my kitten in a harness and leash once, but she was terrified of the outside and just ran back inside when I set her down on the porch.

Next update on Monday! It's Edward's birthday!