The restaurant that Edward had chosen was a small place with only a dozen or so tables and it had the kind of laid back atmosphere that was welcoming. True to his word, the cuisine did vary from Italian to French, but everything on the menu looked great.
At first, the conversation seemed a bit stilted, but after a while they both found it easier to talk with each other.
"So you're originally from Arizona?" Edward asked between bites of food.
Bella shook her head. "No, but Arizona is home. I actually was born in a small town in Washington State. My parents moved because mom really didn't like small town life. I don't even remember the town really and I've only visited it once with my dad."
Edward nodded.
"So you don't consider California home?" Edward asked before taking another bite of his food.
Bella couldn't help it after Jasper's warning and she couldn't help but wonder if Edward's line of questioning was leading to other questions to find chinks in Senator Cullen's armor.
Sensing her hesitation Edward realized something and he smiled a bit. Lifting his napkin off of his lip he wiped at his mouth before setting it down again.
"Listen, Bella," he sighed, "I know, well, that this isn't easy because of who we work for, but honestly, I'm not interested in using you to find out more about what's going on at your job. I'm interested in you. Just you. I just…want to know more about you, that's all. You don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable with."
She sighed and managed a bit of a smile. "I'm sorry, Edward. This whole world of politics is just new to me and I…I feel like I've suddenly been thrust into a three ring circus and if I do or say the wrong thing I'm going to find myself in the lion's den or up on the tight rope without a net to catch me."
Edward smiled. "That's a very apt description. The three rings could be the three branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative. Separated, but all under the big tent, all vying for attention at different times in the show, but yet all dependent on each other to be successful."
Bella smiled as he took her metaphor to another level.
"But," he continued, did you ever think that even all the players in the circus have a life outside the tent? The clowns' make-up comes off, the lion tamer lets go of his whip, the beautiful lady on the tight rope puts down her balance bar and comes down to stand on steady ground. So, if you're the lady on the tight rope, then tell me what's going on when you're not doing the balancing act for work."
Bella chuckled. "Oh, I'd be horrible on the tight rope. I have absolutely no balance."
"Really?" Edward asked, surprised, always having thought of her as graceful. "That's too bad. I was already picturing you wearing one of those dazzling, skimpy outfits," he joked, though now that he said it, that's what he was actually doing.
Bella blushed and laughed. "And, what role would you play in the circus?"
He grinned. "That's obvious of course. I'd be the lion's tamer so I could rescue you if you happened to wander into the lion's den."
Bella couldn't help but giggle.
"Too cheesy?" he asked.
"A bit," Bella replied, "but still very sweet."
Conversation became easier after that and they both talked about the places they had lived, Bella describing her life growing up in sunny Arizona and Edward talking about growing up in Chicago and D.C.
)( )( )( )(
After they finished their meal, Edward took care of the check and asked Bella if she didn't mind skipping dessert so they could get dessert elsewhere.
Bella agreed and after they left the restaurant instead of walking back to his car he headed down the snow-lined sidewalk in the opposite direction from where they had parked. After a minute, Bella took her gloves out of her coat pocket and slipped them on.
"Cold?" Edward asked.
Bella nodded and smiled. "Sorry, still not used to it. I grew up in the heat. Give me hundred degree temperatures any day."
Edward reached out, took her hand in his and tucked it in the crook of his elbow. "Sorry. We don't have far to go. I'll try my best to keep you warm."
Bella blushed and couldn't help the warm feeling that spread in her chest at his words as she leaned a bit against him.
"So you don't like the snow?" Edward asked.
Bella smiled. "Oh, I guess it's not so bad. It's still all kind of new to me."
"Oh? Never took skiing trips or anything like that?" Edward asked, smiling at the way it felt to have her holding onto his arm as they walked along.
She laughed. "No, wasn't exactly the kind of vacation a cop and a kindergarten teacher could afford. Actually, I'd never really seen more than a puddle of snow before I moved here."
"Really?" Edward asked incredulously. After she nodded in response he continued, "So, no snowball fights, no snow forts, nothing like that."
She chuckled. "Nope. My life as a kid was running through sprinklers in the yard, even in what was supposed be fall."
Edward laughed. "That's just so…odd to be after growing up in Chicago and here where snow is a way of life in the winter. Well, then I'm glad I planned what I did."
Before Bella could ask what he meant, they turned the corner of the street they were walking on and came into view of a park. The place was beautiful with the trees and plants covered in snow and ice and there in the center of the park was an ice rink.
"I take it you've never been ice skating?" Edward asked as they headed in the direction of the rink.
Bella's eyes just widened in response to his question and she shook her head.
Edward grinned and headed in the direction of the booth where they could rent some skates. The teenage boy behind the counter got the size that Edward requested for himself then looked to Bella. She told him her shoe size and stood there, chewing on her lip nervously.
After collecting their skates Edward took them over to a bench where they could sit and change out their shoes. "You all right?" he asked, noticing Bella's nervous expression.
"Uh, Edward…I meant it when I said I don't have any balance," she replied, looking at the skates in her hands like they were death traps. How did one stand on the thin blades anyhow?
"Hmm…I have yet to see that for myself," he said with a smile and a wink.
Bella's brows drew together, thinking about the one time she had asked her ex to take her ice skating. "I once asked someone I knew to take me ice skating. Their reply was, 'Sweetie, you fall on level concrete, why would I put you on ice?'"
Edward couldn't help but laugh at that and at hearing his unrestrained laughter, Bella couldn't help but chuckle herself.
He grinned at her and reached out he squeezed her hand a bit. "Don't worry, Bella. If you fall I'll catch you."
Bella's heart melted at his smile and the sincerity of his words. She unzipped her boots in order to put on the skates.
"Allow me," said Edward and moving to kneel in front of her he helped her to put on the skates, lacing them up for her.
Once they were on the ice Edward began to see exactly what Bella meant when she said he didn't have any balance and more than once they both ended up on the ground, usually with Edward taking the brunt of the fall as Bella landed on top of him.
Not that he minded.
Not in the least.
After their fourth fall where he managed to twist their bodies yet again so Bella landed on him he had the wind knocked out of him, but his shoulders still moved in silent laughter.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Bella said as she looked down at Edward. "Are you all right? I knew this was a bad idea."
Edward half coughed, half laughed. After a moment he finally managed to get out, "No, I'm all right. You okay?"
"Yes, well, you keep catching me," Bella said with a blush.
Edward kept his arms around her and made no move to get up. "I said I would."
Bella gave him a soft smile in response to his words and at that moment he couldn't help himself as he lifted his head and brushed his lips softly against hers, his pulse starting to race from the gentle contact.
Bella stiffened a moment and then she kissed him back softly, feeling a thrill run to her as her own heart started to beat faster.
Two teens skating in the rink called out for them to get a room and they pulled apart, Edward giving her that famous crooked smile as Bella blushed and smiled shyly back.
After that they managed to stand again and Edward winced a bit.
"Did I hurt you?" Bella asked with concern.
Edward shook his head and grinned. "No, I'm fine," he replied as he rubbed his backside a bit. "Though I have to admit my posterior end hasn't felt like this since I got spanked for trying to skateboard in the rotunda at the Capitol when I was eight."
"You did what?" Bella asked with a laugh.
"Well, the floor looked so smooth!" Edward laughed. "My father and the Capitol guard weren't particularly amused though."
She laughed some more as they made their way out of the rink and back the bench where their shoes were waiting.
Edward helped her to sit and they both started to remove their skates.
"It must have been fascinating growing up around all that," Bella said.
Edward shrugged. "I never thought of it as fascinating. It was just my life. I didn't know any different."
Bella nodded, hoping she hadn't broached a bad subject for him.
"I was always more fascinated by the lives of kids that did ordinary stuff. I mean, we had our house in Chicago and our home here, but I wanted to do things like, I don't know, ride a bus to school or be able to walk over to the neighbor's door and ask if the kid that lived there could come out and play," Edward said as he pulled off his skates and slipped on his shoes again.
"That must have been hard," Bella replied, noticing the sadness in his tone. "Though the bus is not all it's cut out to be…mine always smelled like sweaty gym socks. Not the best thing in the Arizona heat." She wrinkled her nose, making him laugh.
Edward smiled. "I can't complain though. My parents were attentive and raised me well. I was exposed to a lot of things that other kids would find fascinating and though I was taught to never take things for granted, a lot of the stuff that goes on here in D.C. became, well, commonplace."
Bella nodded and smiled as she zipped up her boots. "I'm still finding it all so…mesmerizing. The other night was my first night at the Kennedy Center and I still haven't had a chance to see so much…the museums, the monuments…"
"I'll have to show you sometime then," Edward said with a grin.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," said Bella, "I'm sure it's all boring for you at this point anyway."
"It wouldn't be boring, Bella," he said as he stood up and held his hand out to her. "It wouldn't be boring because I'd be doing it with you."