Chapter 15: Fun For Little One

I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. A fucking Mommy and Me class, for Christ's sake. I wasn't a mom. I was a dad, but did Port Angeles have Daddy and Me classes? Of course not. When I called to find an open class, I made sure to ask if I was the only dad they had ever had. They swore I wasn't, but as I looked around the room, which was only filled with women, I was beginning to doubt that. I was surrounded by women and crying babies. I realized, though I loved my kid, I still didn't like other's kids. And why the fuck were the moms just letting the kids cry?

"You must be Edward," a woman said, smiling and holding her hand out. "I'm Irina. Welcome."

I shook her hand and tried smiling, hoping I didn't look as miserable as I felt. "Good to meet you," I said.

"And this is?" she asked, motioning to Little One in my arms.

"Sofia."

She tickled my little one's back with a smile. Why the hell did she just touch my kid? "It's so good to have you both here. Go take a seat in the circle and set up. Class begins in five minutes."

The circle was already pretty well formed, but I found a spot with a lot of room between two people. I laid my bag down and sat, laying Sofia across my lap. I spread her blanket out and moved her to her back like some of the other women had done with their kids. I was fucking clueless as to what I should have been doing, so I just sat there, playing with my little one's feet, making her giggle.

"Edward Cullen," someone said. "I can't believe my eyes."

I looked up to find a vaguely familiar face. I couldn't place her, though. It had to have been a while.

"It's Lauren," she said. "From high school?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," I said as realization dawned on me. "It's good to see you."

She sat down next to me with a baby boy. "You, too! God, I can't believe you're back. And with a kid."

"Yeah," I laughed awkwardly. "This is my daughter, Sofia."

"Aww, she's adorable. This is my fourth, and first son, Nick."

"Four, really?"

She nodded. "Tyler can't keep his hands off of me," she laughed.

Oh, fuck. Did not need that visual.

"Tyler Crowley?" I asked.

"Yeah, we got married after high school. What about you? I heard you moved to New York. Have you been back long?"

"A year, actually."

"Huh. This must be your first time here, right?"

I nodded, picking Little One up and holding her to my chest. "Yeah, my mom thought it'd be a good idea."

"Oh, you'll love the class. It's so much fun. Great bonding, too. Is her mom coming?"

"I'm a single dad."

She frowned and rubbed Sofia's back. Why the fuck did everyone want to touch her? "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We're fine."

Before she could say anything else, Irina came into the circle and sat down across from me. She started off talking to the moms, asking how they had been. I heard about sore nipples, baby's poop colors, and many other disgusting things they really should have been talking to a doctor about. Apparently, this was share time. She quickly moved on to pointing out new people, singling me out.

"Tell us about yourself and your daughter, Edward," she said.

"I'm Edward and this is my daughter Sofia," I said.

She laughed. "Oh, come on! We won't bite. Tell us about you."

"Um . . . I'm a surgeon, single, and this is my only kid."

What the hell was I supposed to say? Did they want a life story?

"I bet that's hard, huh? Working full-time and taking care of a baby. You know, as a group, we're here to support each other if you ever need to talk."

"I have plenty of help and people to talk to, but thanks."

Not really, because this was weird. Mom didn't say anything about talking about myself.

She nodded. "How old is Sofia?"

"She's about eighteen weeks."

"That's a sweet age." She smiled. "Now, let's get the class started!"

Irina turned some ridiculous music on and started clapping her hands, singing along to it. What. The. Fuck? There was singing? With Little One in my lap, I clapped her hands together like everyone else was doing, but kept my mouth shut.

Lauren elbowed me, smiling, and said, "Sing along. It's fun!"

Jesus Christ. The words were simple and all, but I didn't want tosing. I moved my lips to the lyrics, pretending. I was embarrassed to even be doing that. Little One was giggling, though. Apparently, she liked this. Then again, she liked it when I put my hands over my face and played peek-a-boo. She liked the simple things. There was no need to embarrass myself in public for her, but I did. After Lauren nudged me again, thoroughly pissing me off, I sang a little. I'd never speak of this. I was thanking God no one I actually knew was here to see this shit.

After the fucking awful singing was done, we bounced the kids. I did this at home with her, so why did I need to come to a class? Little One sucked on her fingers, smiling around them as I bounced her on her feet. She kicked her legs, but didn't really give me much help. It wasn't like she could support herself that well yet anyway. We moved on to more activities like that, just moving the babies around.

"So you're a doctor?" the woman on the other side of me asked.

"Yeah."

Had I not just said that?

"You know, us single parents need to stick together," she said. "It's so hard to care for a baby while working."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's not easy."

"And I bet you have grueling hours, huh?"

"Sixty hour weeks are the norm. Sometimes more, actually."

"Wow, and I thought forty hours was hard. How do you make time for her?"

I couldn't tell if she was actually curious or just wanted to talk. She was younger, probably early twenties. The baby in front of her looked about Sofia's age. I noticed underneath her eyes were dark circles, meaning she was probably exhausted. I was tired, too. I would have much rather spent my day off at home, relaxing, but I did want to do something to make Little One happy. Why was she coming here? Same reasons, just trying to be a better parent?

"I spend my evenings with her," I said. "We have a routine, so I think that helps."

She nodded. "Yeah, that's what I do with Kara, but I feel bad I'm not there for her like all these other moms. Plus, I'm going back to school in the fall, and I know that'll cut down on my time with her."

"But school is important. I'm sure she'd rather be taken care of than have a few more hours now. She won't even remember this."

"This is the important time, though. That's why I come here every week. It's time I know I can bond with her. Isn't that why you're here?"

I shrugged. "Not exactly. My mom wanted me to come. She said it'd be good for her."

"So it's an obligation? You're not even doing this for your daughter?" she accused.

Damn. Apparently, the chick could read me, and she wasn't too thrilled about what she saw.

"I do a lot for her," I said. "Her mom left her with me, so I gave up a lot to take care of her."

"My daughter's dad bailed when he found out I was pregnant," she said. "But I don't see taking care of her as an obligation."

"I . . . I mean, at first I felt like it was, but now I love her. I'm doing things to make her happy and give her a good life."

"Good."

"I didn't mean to sound like an asshole."

"No bad words!" Irina said. "It's one of the rules." She pointed up at the poster on the wall.

"Sorry," I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

I didn't know why I felt like I needed to explain myself to this chick, but she was right. I shouldn't have only been doing this for Mom. And Little One was enjoying it, so that did make me happy.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to sound like that, either. Let's start over. My name is Angela."

I smiled. "Edward."

"Seriously, though, us single parents need to stick together in here," she whispered. "It gets a little . . . competitive."

A Mommy and Me class got competitive? What, did they time who could change a diaper the fastest? I almost wanted to laugh at Angela. It was a fucking class, not a war zone where you needed to stick together against enemies.

"Competitive, huh?" I chuckled, pushing Little One's legs up so her knees bent, making it look like she was peddling on a bicycle.

"I'm not kidding," she said. "Can she roll over yet?"

"Stomach to back. She's still working on back to stomach, but she's about there."

She leaned over to whisper again. "Some of these moms get pretty competitive about milestones like that. They think their kid is the best, and they'll do anything to prove it."

I cocked my eyebrow. "That's just . . . sad."

I already knew Little One was advanced for her age, so maybe that was why I didn't care. I mean, my kid was pretty much awesome. I wasn't saying she was better than the other kids, but she was doing things babies older than her were just starting to do. She was smart, but I wouldn't go out of my way to prove she was better.

After a little more exercising, "loosening" the babies up, we moved on to toys. The goal was motor function, apparently. Irina wanted the babies to try and grasp the colorful toys. Little One killed at it. She kept trying to put it in her mouth, though, so I had to take it back. I grabbed her pacifier from the bag and popped it in her mouth to prevent that.

"Oh, you use a pacifier a lot?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah, why?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow.

She shrugged. "It's just . . . she might become too dependent on it. It could also lead to more ear infections and dental problems. A lot of pediatricians don't recommend using one often."

"Well, did you know researchers have found using a pacifier during sleep decreases the risk of SIDS? So, I'll continue to use the pacifier until she's a little older, and then wean her off when I feel it's appropriate, but thanks for the concern."

The bitch looked taken aback by my comment. Good. Telling me how to care for my kid? I had been reading plenty of books on this shit, and I had my mom and Rosalie to talk to about it, so I didn't need her input. Who the hell did she think she was?

"That. Was. Great," Angela whispered from beside me, leaning closer. "She always does that."

I shrugged. "Little One likes her pacifier."

"Okay!" Irina said. "Let's end class with light massage. These babies had a great workout today."

I laid Little One on her back like everyone else did, rubbing her belly softly. She loved when I did this at home. I moved onto her legs and arms, just lightly rubbing her skin, making her coo and smile around the pacifier. By the time I laid her on her belly to do her back, she was about out cold.

"So, will you come back?" Angela asked as I packed Little One's things up.

"I might. She seemed to like it a lot," I said.

It wouldn't kill me to come every once in a while with her. Not every week, though. That very well could kill me. I hated the singing, but the rest of it wasn't so bad.

"Good," she said. "It is really great for bonding. It's an hour out of your day, solely devoted to her."

I nodded. "I'll have to see if I can."

. . . . .

After the class, I dropped Little One off with Mom. Since I was off today and tomorrow, Bella and I decided tonight would be a good night for me to take her out. There was no chance of me running late at work or being called in unexpectedly.

Dropping Little One off took longer than I expected. Mom, of course, wanted to know everything about the class. I told her everything except for the singing. I couldn't trust her not to tell Dad, who would tell Emmett. I'd never live that shit down. She said she was proud of me for going and hoped I went back. She was even happier when I said I might, even though I wasn't sure if I meant it.

"It's almost six," I said. "I have to go. Oh, and I'm taking Tanya."

She smiled and hugged me. "Okay. You have a good time tonight, but not too much of a good time."

I sighed. "I have no plans on having that much of a good time. I'll be a gentleman. Swear."

"Good, and one more thing. Your birthday is in a week. Do you have plans?"

"Well, since getting drunk enough to forget I'll be thirty is out of the question, no, I don't."

"Aww, don't get all mopey about that," she laughed. "It's not even that old. So no plans means you might want to come over?"

"A birthday with my parents?" I sighed. "Sure, why not? Nothing says you're getting old like going back to family birthdays."

She rolled her eyes and patted my cheek. "We won't do it here, then. Pick a restaurant and invite Bella. I'll even watch Sofia so you can have a few drinks. A few."

I smirked. "All right. I have to go now."

She hugged me again, and I kissed her cheek. "Okay, love you, honey," she said.

. . . . .

I told Bella I'd pick her up —meaning walk across the hall for her — at seven. It was six-fifty-three. I wasn't positive on date etiquette, seeing as how I hadn't been on many actual dates, but I figured it was close enough . . . Right? I decided to check myself in the mirror one last time. Running my hand through my hair, I looked at my watch again. It was six-fifty-four now.

I sighed to myself. "Am I seriously fucking nervous?"

Fuck no, I wasn't nervous . . . Was I? What the hell did I have to be nervous about? Well, I was out of my comfort zone. A date, an actual damn date. I hadn't been one a real one of these since my first year in med school. And that wasn't with a person like Bella. My experience wasn't in dating women. It was with getting them into bed as quickly as possible, and then getting them out before I woke up the next morning. I was basically clueless for tonight, and I hated being clueless.

When I looked at the clock again, which now read four minutes 'til, I just said fuck it, close enough, and left my apartment for hers. I knocked twice and waited for a good minute before she opened the door. She looked fucking greatin a black dress.

"Hey," I said, smiling. "You look beautiful."

She blushed a little and looked down at herself, and then back up at me. "Thanks, and you look very handsome," she said. Suddenly, she smirked. "What, no flowers?"

Shit. Flowers. I knew I was missing something.

"I . . . I didn't . . . I'm sor—"

She quickly stopped me by laughing. "I was kidding. Are you okay? You look a little . . . flustered."

I nodded. "I'm good. Are you ready?"

She grabbed a small purse off of her end table. "Yep."

I put my hand on the small of her back as I led her downstairs to Tanya. I opened her door, being a gentleman, and she slid in with a smile.

. . . . .

As Bella looked over the menu with a smile, saying everything just looked so good, I was quite happy with myself for choosing this restaurant. With how many Italian meals she had made me, I figured she'd like it. I had heard good things about this place from listening to the nurses talk.

"I think I'm going to have to go with the shrimp ravioli," Bella said, closing her menu. "What about you?"

I laid my menu on top of hers and took a sip of my wine. "Chicken fettuccine alfredo. I guess I'm going simple and safe."

She smiled. "Well, that's good, too."

"So what have you been doing with your free time?"

"As I mentioned before, cleaning and organizing. I haven't had a lot of time to organize everything since I moved in. It's been nice. I finally got some things out in my living room. Pictures and whatnot, you know?"

I nodded. "It did seem a little bare."

"You know, I can't help but wonder how we wound up in the same apartment building. It's just . . . I'd have thought you'd live somewhere . . . nicer."

"I'm very low maintenance," I chuckled. "I don't need a lot, and I don't think it's so bad. It's safe."

"Yeah, of course. I guess I just figured it was strange that a kindergarten teacher and surgeon live across from each other."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't buy a house like my mom suggested. I'm very fortunate to have you as a neighbor."

She cheeks flushed. "I'm really glad I picked that apartment, let's just say."

"Glad you picked it for me or Little One?"

She smirked. "Mostly her."

"Can't blame you there," I laughed.

She took another sip of her wine as the waitress came over to take our orders. As we waited for our entrees, she asked about my week at work.

"Dad just came back today, and I'm fucking grateful," I said. "Emmett was covering for him."

"The guy that started a conga line at your parent's reception?" she laughed.

I nodded. "You see why I'm grateful. He's not exactly leadership material. The board has been a mess. He double booked OR nurses, leaving me about to start a hernia repair down one. It wasn't good."

"Doesn't sound like it. At least your dad is back now. Plus, you had today off. How was the class?"

"It was . . . interesting," I said, drinking more wine.

"Interesting as in bad or interesting as in good?"

"She liked it, so I'm glad we went, but I don't know about going back. It seems pointless to take her somewhere to do the same things I do with her at home, you know?"

She shrugged. "But taking her out is nice, isn't it?"

I nodded. "I think she likes going places."

"So . . . how did you like the singing?" she laughed softly.

I narrowed my eyes. "How did you know about that?"

"I know what the class entails, Edward. I've worked with kids since I was a teenager."

Son of a bitch. "Please, don't tell Alice I sang. She'll tell Jasper. I'm trying to keep this quiet."

"Oh, don't sound so ashamed. I'm sure it was adorable."

"It wasn't. It was embarrassing."

"Did Sofia laugh?"

"Yes," I sighed.

"Then don't worry about it. I'll keep my lips shut, okay?"

"Thank you," I said as the waitress finallybrought breadsticks.

I wasn't going to say anything, but she was slacking quite a bit. Her tip . . . it wasn't going to be great. Bella pulled one apart and put an end in her mouth. I cocked my eyebrow. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was teasing me. Then again, my dick had gone so long without being in a chick's mouth that I was probably just imagining things. Probably. But except for the chewing part, I wished I was that breadstick.

"Good breadstick?" I asked, grabbing one for myself.

She nodded, covering her mouth with her hand. "Very."

"What was Forks like?" I asked.

"Oh, not very interesting. It's a very small town. I couldn't wait to get out when I was younger. I guess I could see why my mom wanted out so badly."

"Are you . . . do you think you're a lot like her?"

I just hoped this was safe conversation. I didn't want to upset her, but I did want to know more about her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm a lot like my dad. Once I got out of Forks, I kind of missed the small town feel. I was really glad I got a job in Port Angeles. It's small, but not too small, you know?"

"Yeah, I just see it as small, though. I've only lived here and New York City, so I don't have much to go by."

"Do you miss New York?"

"Not really. I miss the fast pace, but being back here isn't so bad. It's nice to be back with family and the friends I grew up with."

"I bet you're really thankful to be back now that you have Sofia."

"God, yes," I laughed. "I'm not sure I would have survived that first night without my parents and you, of course."

Once dinner was served, Bella and I kept talking. It was comfortable conversation. I learned a little more about her childhood and dad, and she asked about mine, getting to hear hilarious stories of the things Jasper, Emmett, and I got in to. Somehow, we got on to the topic of her last boyfriend. It happened by accident. She was telling me about spending a lot of her time in La Push on her breaks from school. Apparently, the ex lived there, and she met him through a friend.

"We dated up until last year," she said. "Oh, you probably don't want to hear about this, do you? I'm sorry. This is not appropriate date conversation."

"No, it's fine," I said. I kind of did want to know about this, as weird as that sounded. Maybe I just wanted to know what I had to do better than, but I wanted to know how it ended. "Why did you breakup? I mean, a six year relationship seems like something someone wouldn't give up on easy."

"He cheated," she said, narrowing her eyes, stabbing her fork into the ravioli on her plate. "That was about it."

I wasn't a saint, clearly, but cheating was something I had never, would never do. That was why committed relationships were never my thing, so I was already better than the last guy.

"Bastard," I said.

"Yep. So, moving on, is your mom keeping Sofia all night?"

Was she thinking what I was? "Yes."

"That's good. You'll get to sleep in." She smiled.

Fuck. She wasn't, and she was giving me blue balls.

"Yeah," I sighed. "That'll be nice."

"I can make you breakfast tomorrow, if you'd like."

I smiled. "I'd like that. And hey, I didn't even have to ask for a second date," I laughed.

"I don't think breakfast is considered a date." She smirked. "But I guess you can call it that."

"It's our second date." I grinned.

When the waitress came back to get our plates, she asked about dessert. Bella declined, saying she was full. I was actually pretty fucking thankful. I wasn't sure I could handle her licking chocolate off of her lips. I was trying to behave, and her licking her lips wouldn't help. I knew I wasn't going to be sleeping with her tonight, and a part of me — not my dick, obviously — was okay with that. She deserved better than that.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, signing my name on the receipt.

She smiled and nodded. "Whenever you are."

. . . . .

As I drove us back to the apartment building, we started talking about Little One. It was hard to believe she'd been a key part of my life for two months now. Time seemed to be going by fast, leaving me wondering where it went.

"Before I know it, she'll be crawling," I said. "And then walking! I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

"Don't forget about talking," she said. "She's starting her blabber a little. It's adorable."

"I know," I laughed. "I'm actually excited for the day she'll say daddy. Hell, I'd take 'da'."

She turned her head and smiled. "She'll say it."

"You're a key part of her life, you know? I just can't thank you enough for all you've done." I turned my head and noticed her blush, and that nibble. "You're going to kill me, Nibbles."

She let her lip go and laughed softly. "What?"

"It's that damn nibble and blush."

"Well, we've been over the blush. I can't help it, but I can try to stop biting my lip."

"Oh, no, don't." I smirked, pulling into the parking lot. "It may kill me, but I like it."

I moved quickly to Bella's side once I got out of the car. I pulled her door open the rest of the way and held my hand out for her. She blushed, smiled, and gave it to me. She held my hand all the way upstairs. It was silly, really, but kind of nice. I was holding her hand. Serious change right there.

We stopped in front of her door, and I ran my fingers over her cheek. I couldn't help but enjoy the way her skin felt. It was so damn soft. She raised her eyes to meet mine and smiled softly.

"I had a great time tonight," she said.

I lowered my head, moving my lips closer to hers. "Me too," I whispered, kissing her softly.

It didn't stay innocent, though. She moved her hands to the back of my head, pulling my hair a little as I pushed her against the door. My hand moved up her side, grazing her boob. She moaned a little in response. Fuck yes. One of her hands left my hair and moved down my back. Suddenly, it was on my ass. So Bella could get a little frisky too, huh? Nice.

"I . . ." she panted, "should go in."

I nodded, moving my head down and kissing her neck. She probably should go in, but I didn't want her to.

"Oh," she gasped. "Really, Edward, I should."

"Yeah, you should," I whispered. "But your hand is still on my ass."

She let go — damn it — and moved it up to my face, making me look at her. She was flushed red, but smiling like a damn fool.

"Good night, Edward," she said.

I smirked. "Good night, Bella."

She pecked my lips once more before I pulled away. She fumbled through her purse, trying to get her keys as I watched her.

"I'll be over in the morning," she said.

"I'll be waiting."