Bella POV

I woke up in the morning all hot and sweaty. My dreams had been anything but restful. In the light of day, they were actually a bit embarrassing. But, if I was honest with myself, I didn't know if I felt that way because of what I'd dreamed or from disappointment that it had only been a dream. I was still getting to know Embry, so how could I be wishing that my tangled sheets had a different cause? Yet, that was what part of me was doing. Was it wrong? No, I decided that it wasn't. I was a normal—well, relatively so—girl, and there wasn't anything wrong with being attracted to a guy who I was interested in and who was interested in me in return. I thought back to yesterday, when Embry had refused to let me obsess about my effect on him. If it didn't bother him, then I shouldn't let it bother me.

The ringing of the doorbell had me scrambling out of bed. As I dashed downstairs, I silently begged that it wouldn't be Embry. We hadn't discussed a specific time to meet today, and if I had to face him right now, I would literally ignite from my blushing. When I opened the door and saw Jessica and Angela, my thought was 'Saved'—at least until I saw their grins. As enlightenment dawned about the reason for their early-morning visit, my automatic smile at seeing them tightened up. They were obviously here for a gossip session and I had to be the main feature.

"Morning, Bella," they chorused.

I mumbled something inarticulate as I stepped back to let them come inside.

"We can take care of breakfast if you still need to get around," Angela offered.

I nodded and went back upstairs. I took longer than normal to get ready, putting off the inquisition as long as possible. I had no idea what questions they would ask or what I would say. Neither did I know what Embry might want said or not. We hadn't exactly talked through it all, or defined exactly what we were now.

"Well, Bella," I addressed my reflection in the mirror, "you won't figure it all out just standing here. Get a move on."

Having eaten while I showered and dressed, my friends generously let me consume my own breakfast before they started on their questions.

"So, Bella, did you have fun shopping yesterday?"

"It had to get done."

"Embry?"

"I still haven't heard back from Jake about my truck, so Embry helped me get stuff done around town yesterday."

"You know…Eric called me trying to find out about your chauffeur."

"Sorry, Angela. He and Tyler were there, too, and as annoying as ever," I groused.

"And did Embry help you out?"

"Yeah, he got me away from them, so we could get the shopping done. Then we watched some movies and had dinner here with my dad."

"And…?"

"And we're going out for burgers today," I admitted.

"Ooooo!"

"A date!"

"I guess so."

"And when did all this happen? Details, Bella!"

It's nothing to be ashamed of—and they're your friends, I reminded myself, and started talking. The bike ride home and how we'd cooked and played games a few days ago; then how Leah had given me stuff to think about the next day, and the text exchange with Embry that night—both my friends squealed loudly, then burst out laughing at the surfboard line before getting contemplative expressions on their faces. They were just as interested in the full details of yesterday's shopping and movies.

"Has he made any moves?" Jessica eagerly inquired.

"Moves?"

"You know, moves on you?"

"Well, he kissed my cheek when he left last night." My hand automatically moved up to cover the spot.

"That's it?" she was clearly disappointed.

Somehow I found myself talking about my slip in the hall yesterday morning and how—where—he'd caught me.

"And then what happened?" Angela was just as interested—which surprised me a little in a minister's daughter.

"I ran back to the kitchen—breakfast was burning—and I guess he stayed in the hall for a few minutes."

"Ah, a not-so-little problem," was Jessica's sage announcement.

My fire-engine face was a dead giveaway that there was a lot more still unsaid—though it didn't stay that way for long.

"Isn't it awesome to know that you've got that kind of power just being a woman?" asked Jessica.

"I didn't do anything on purpose!" I exclaimed.

"I know," she assured me. "But it's still true. I'm not saying that Embry's just going to roll over or follow you around like a puppy, but…there's nothing wrong with knowing what you have inside you."

"I just don't want to push too hard. I wonder…maybe I did that with Edward and—"

"Stop right there," Jessica ordered. "You didn't do anything of the sort. You certainly didn't go after him, the way all the other girls, including me did. You didn't go after any of the guys. If he had issues, he should have said something, and not made you think it was about you. Now, did Embry do or say anything to show that he was upset with what happened?"

I shook my head, "No. Nothing."

"Then don't worry about it."

"I wasn't going to, really I wasn't. I guess…Edward really did a number on my confidence, I think. Before him, I didn't second guess myself or others. I hate that I'm doing that now, even if it's only for a second."

Angela reached over and squeezed my hand. "If that's the kind of person he really was, then he didn't deserve you, Bella. You just keep right on telling yourself that as often as you need to. And let Embry show you that, too."

"What about the rest of the day?" Jessica wanted to know.

"He actually asked your dad for permission to date you? That's so sweet!" Angela sighed after I'd covered the rest of yesterday.

"Anything else besides today's lunch-date?" Jessica wanted to know.

"Not yet. Port Angeles, probably, at some point."

"La Push?"

"I guess. But with Jake and Quil being all weird this week…I don't know."

"Competition?"

"I don't see how—but I just don't know how guys think. Jake never said anything, but the way he and Quil argued about the truck—and maybe me—that last day we all hung out… He never said anything, and I just don't see him like… He's like a best friend or an almost-relative or something" my hands lifted, lowered, and moved back and forth in uncertain gestures.

"But you do see Embry like that, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know when it started, or why it's him, but I do."

"Then you can't spoil this wondering how Jake will react," Jessica informed me. "If he gets upset, then that's his business. It's no fault of yours that Embry asked you first. If Jake really was interested in you 'that way', then he should have said something."

"And don't let that stop you from spending time on Embry's ground, either," Angela added. "I'm sure there are things he'd like for the two of you to do there. It's not like you'd be dancing around Jake's house rubbing his face in it."

"I just don't want things to be awkward," I sighed. "They've been friends almost all their lives."

"It probably will be, at least a little and for a little while, until they work out how this will change their friendship," she told me frankly. "But let Embry handle that. And…some of what you'll both have to deal with will be because of who you are, and some of it will be because of what you are."

At my look of confusion, Angela continued, "Some people there—and here—probably won't appreciate a mixed relationship."

"What?" exploded out of my mouth.

"It's a sad fact of life that racism and prejudice are still alive and well even in the 21st century. And small towns like Forks and La Push can be the worst."

"Was that why Eric and Tyler were so rude in the store?" I wondered.

"I don't think they'd need an excuse to be rude to a new guy who's with you," mused Jessica, "but it could have been part of it."

"I didn't even think about any of this," I groaned.

"And don't start now," Angela insisted. "You are the most accepting and color-blind person I know, Bella. Don't let anyone dictate your future to you," Angela spoke like someone with first-hand experience, so I asked her about it.

"Yeah, I do know what it's like. I'm mixed myself, so I've gotten it from time to time—not with the dating aspect of it, but the other stuff isn't all that different."

I felt terrible that I'd never gotten close enough to Angela before now for the heritage issue to have come up. She did have an exotic look, but nothing that screamed any one ethnicity in particular. A glance showed that Jessica seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"I'm half-white and half-Quinault," Angela told us. "My mom's family was progressive enough back in the day that they wanted her to get a good education, and she met my dad at school. Then he decided to take a church in the region near where she'd grown up—making a contribution. They had to deal with a lot of talk and criticism until most people eventually got used to them. It's not nearly as bad for me as it was for them, but every so often…"

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but this isn't your doing, either. Embry's a great guy, so focus on that and not what anyone else might be saying."

The serious drift of our conversation was broken when Jessica cut in with, "Just do it like you did when you were dating Edward Cullen—only without forgetting about the rest of the world."

"Definitely not," I promised.

I cocked my head, trying to figure out if I was hearing something. I'd only just realized it was the ringtone on my cell phone when it stopped. Before I could get up to go and grab it, the phone in the kitchen starting ringing.

"Hello?"

"Bella?"

"Embry. Hi. Did you just try to call my cell?"

"Yeah. Didn't leave a message—figured you might not have it on you."

"It's upstairs, and I'm down in the kitchen with Ange and Jess."

"Getting the third-degree, huh?"

"Pretty much. You?"

"Mom got to me last night. I mean, your dad knew, so…"

"Absolutely. So do we have a plan for today?"

"I've got to clean my room and do laundry this morning, so how about I pick you up around noon? We can talk then about doing anything else today."

"That sounds good. I promise I won't keep you waiting."

"I promise I won't mind if you do." In fact, he almost seemed to want it.

I laughed. "We'll see. I better let you go so we can both get things done this morning."

"Okay…Bye, Bella."

"Bye."

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I wasn't surprised when both my friends insisted on helping me get ready for my first official date with Embry. It was strange how enjoyable this was—a huge difference from the days when Alice had used me as her life-size Barbie doll. Jessica had good fashion sense, too, plus the willingness to listen to what I did and didn't want—like when I talked her out of a skirt on the grounds that Embry only had his bike today, and I had no interest in pulling a celebrity move and flashing an audience while dismounting.

Moving on to the date itself, Jessica began, "Now, Bella, you can—"

"—just be yourself," Angela interrupted. "That's who Embry likes. Besides, flirting is meant to catch a guy's attention, and you've already done that."

"Oh, fine," huffed Jess, though she was smiling as she did so. "Okay, I think that does it. Embry isn't going to know what hit him."

Angela urged, "Take a look."

I looked into my mirror and inhaled a shaky breath. I looked…great. Even better, I looked like myself—another huge improvement over the Alice-makeovers I'd suffered through, when I'd been unrecognizable at the end of them.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Have fun today, Bella," Ange gave me a hug and turned to Jessica. "Jess, come on. We've got to go. Embry's going to be here before long, and I think Bella might want a little time to herself first."

Jess pouted a little, but went along. They let themselves out while I remained in front of my mirror.

I couldn't help thinking back to all the conversations of the morning—well, mostly it was what Angela had said about how people might react to me and Embry being a couple—and that was another thing we'd have to hash out: the official terminology of what we were now. I agreed with what Angela had said about me not looking at the outsides of people—and I certainly hadn't let anyone's disapproval, not my dad's or Billy's or anyone else, keep me from being with Edward, so there was no reason to start now.

But, had Embry thought about this, either? Wouldn't people expect him to want to date—to eventually marry—a native girl? Carry on his heritage? I sat down in front of my computer and googled the enrollment numbers for Washington's native tribes. It was a little surprising to see that Embry's Makah tribe was over three times the size of the Quileute tribe. So maybe it wouldn't be as big of a deal as I thought. Besides, with the tribes being so small, they almost had to look for partners from outside, or risk inbreeding or something like that.

Feeling a little better about it, I went downstairs and fussed around while I waited for…my boyfriend to arrive. Butterflies were swarming madly in my stomach. I wondered why I was nervous now, when I'd never really been that way with Edward. Was it that I wasn't as sure about Embry as I'd been with Edward? Or did I feel like Embry mattered more to me already than Edward ever had, and I didn't want to lose that?

I jumped when the knock on the door caught me completely by surprise.

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AN: I actually have part of the date written out, but not typed. But since I did promise several readers an update this weekend, and we're at a good length now, I'll stop here, and use that other stuff to start the next chapter with.