Hi people, this took me longer than I thought. Sorry for that.

Big thank you to my beta Hmz0975 :)

The rest of my work day passed in a haze, I was constantly telling myself to focus on another thing to think about and not on what would happen after work. But that, of course, did not work, the only word on my mind was date and of course Tanya's smirk as she said that. A big part of me was delighted, over the moon, thinking that Tanya is feeling the same attraction towards me as I towards her. And then the other part of me was thinking that she must have meant that as a coffee date with a friend. But then again if I was reading the signs correctly, she is interested in me and I couldn't be more delighted because of that. Let's just hope that that is the case.

Right now I'm sitting in the teacher's lounge hoping that Tanya would have the same lunch break as me, and every time the door opened my heart started to beat a little bit faster only to end up disappointed when somebody else came in.

Last disappointment that came in was Mrs. Cole; she saw me sitting all by myself at the lunch table and decided that it was a good idea to keep me company. I don't want to be rude but she was not who I was expecting to come in, hopefully she didn't see that disappointment on my face.

"Bella, dear, if you don't mind me calling you that" she said "I was wondering how did your first couple of days go. There aren't a lot of newcomers here."

"Thank you for your worry, this turn out to be a better decision than I had hoped for when I came here. I very much enjoy working with students, and for now I don't have any problems in my class." I said to her, it is nice of her to worry.

"Oh I'm glad to hear that, I knew that you would do great here. And did you meet new people in town or make any friends?" She asked me. Now this is little bit weird of her to ask but I didn't think much of it, yet.

"Unfortunately I did not get much time to go to the city, but I will today, and as for the friends, I can say I became friends with Tanya." I said that with radiant smile on my face, I couldn't contain myself as, as soon as I thought of Tanya, a smile came to my face.

As soon as I said Tanya's name Mrs. Cole became surprised, and started looking at me like she was trying to solve a riddle.

"Tanya as in Tanya Denali," She asked me in astonishment. I just stood there for a second trying to figure out why she is so surprised but I nodded, confirming her assumption.

"Well, that is something I did not expect" she said and I immediately started to get annoyed. I did not like where this conversation was heading, I had a feeling that she will say something negative about Tanya. Just try to say something about Tanya! I couldn't believe that I had that thought; I was not an aggressive person. And I have hardly known Tanya for a couple of days. I need to chill! OK Bella, just breathe and don't do anything stupid.

"Why is that so surprising?" I asked in a defensive tone. My face immediately took on an angry look. I didn't want to say anything else, so I just waited for her to explain her reaction.

"Oh, dear, no, I didn't mean anything bad" she tried to redeem herself; she hadn't expect that I would react like that. "Well the thing is…" I could see that she was trying to think of an appropriate thing to say. "She isn't exactly the friendliest person out there. She has been working here for a couple of years and she didn't make any friendship with the staff here, on the contrary we know nothing about her or her family. And if you try to talk to her about private things she immediately gets all cold and untouchable. At the top of all things she is really scary; most of us try to stay out of her path." She let out a nervous laugh at the end.

I took a few moments to calm myself; I couldn't believe the things she said about Tanya. She is the sweetest person I have ever met and for some unknown reason the things that Mrs. Cole said really bothered me. I had a feeling that I needed to defend Tanya, and that feeling is growing by the seconds. The second thing that came to my mind was if Tanya was really like that with everyone else what made me so special that she would act so nice to me, but I told myself not to think about that right now, right now I needed to defend Tanya. I knew that I couldn't explode like I wanted to, this was the first week of my job and I couldn't fight with my new colleagues, so I needed to calm myself down and respond calmly to her.

"Well, I don't really know what you are talking about; she is the sweetest person that I have ever met. She's been nothing but kind to me, offering to help me settle in. Maybe she is a private person, one that doesn't like to mix her personal and professional life. I have heard that she is an excellent teacher and I can say only the best things about her." I end up saying, hoping Mrs. Cole will get the memo and stop talking bad about Tanya… because I know the next time I won't be polite.

"Oh, dear, I didn't mean to offend her." I could tell that she was embarrassed "I'm very glad that you made a friend in her… well I got to go to my class now. I will see you around, dear" She got up from our table and headed towards the door.

That went well. Now I was really confused, what was the deal with Tanya? Maybe I could ask her on our date today. Date. I was going to lose myself in my imagination again and I can't have that. I need to go to my classroom and be productive. I mean, try to be productive, when all I want to do is to think about Tanya.

What kind of person had I become, I used to made fun of people that became obsessed with their crushes. What did she do to me and why did it not bother me, like at all.

I walked to my classroom, starting to prepare for my next class, and as I was arranging my papers, I smiled. I was really enjoying doing my job, working with students in the field I enjoyed the most. This is what I'm meant to do, of course I had bigger ambitions; one day I would like to work as a university teacher. Hopefully one day this dream of mine will come true.

The rest of my day passed really quickly, and before I knew it the bell had rung for the end of my final period.

"Ok, people, hang on for a second," I quickly said to my students, they had already started to get up from their seats "As you pass by my desk, please, take one piece of paper, that is your homework for tomorrow. Please do it." They all groaned when they heard what I had said. I just smiled at that and said goodbye to them.

I went to pick up my things from the table and then headed towards the door, while looking at my phone. I was hoping for a text from Tanya. Unfortunately there was none, maybe I could call her, hoping that she did not forget about our deal.

Just as I was about to dial her number, I heard someone clear their throat, so I looked up and saw her, my angel. She was standing at the door, smiling at me, and with that smile I forgot all my worries from that day, and all I could do was smile back.

"I was just about to call you." I said to her.

"Well, what kind of gentlewomen would I be if I didn't pick up my lady for our date?" she finished with a wink and a smug look on her face, while I blushed at her statement. But I decided to make her sweat a little, not wanting her to see that she already had me. This is a scary feeling, I knew her only since a couple of days, and she had already won my affection.

"What made you think that you can score a date with me without even properly asking me on one?" I said with a serious face. I wanted to see how she will react to my statement; for a second I saw worry pass through her eyes, but before she could say anything we reached her car.

"Please, wait for a second." She said to me as she walked to the driver's door and picked up something from inside. She then turned to me and with a shy smile said, "You are right, I didn't do the right thing by you, and please forgive me for that. I don't want you to think that I would ever force you to do something you don't want to. I would like to make up for my mistake, so if you give me a second chance, I would like to officially ask you out; Isabella Swan would you do me the honors to go on a date with me, therefore making me the happiest woman on Earth." Then she handed me a bouquet of flowers that she had held behind her back, and it was so beautiful and yet so simple; red roses and yarrow. I was looking at the flowers for a second, what a strange combination, but beautiful.

Her statement made me all fuzzy inside. I could feel that she really meant every word of what she had just said. How on earth did I get so lucky to meet this woman? Her statement made me feel appreciated and cherished, she was a keeper. And while I thought about all that, she began to worry. She must have interpreted my silence as rejection. Her face looked like I had just killed her favorite puppy, right in front of her.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention at all. Do not worry, you don't need to buy me a coffee, I will take you…" She began to mumble, honestly this reaction kind of surprised me, she seemed to be so confident, but also she showed me that she wouldn't pressurize me into anything.

"I would love to go on a date with you, Tanya" I decided to put her out of her misery. I got close to her and took the Flowers from her hand, while she smiled like she had won the lottery. Then I decided to do something bolder, I stepped a little bit closer to her, touching her cheek and kissed her. I let my lips stay there for a second, taking the moment in. Noticing of how her cheek was really cold, her skin was so smooth and she smelled so good, like fresh flowers. I could stay this close to her forever, but I decided not to be a creep and stepped back, reluctantly. This time I had a smirk on my face and she just stood there frozen.

I knew I had it in me. I decided to give her time to recover and headed to the passenger door and got in. She didn't leave me waiting for long though; she came in and said, "I will get you back, just so you know." I could tell that her playful side was coming out and I was very happy about it.

Before I knew it we were speeding down the road, and she told me that the mall wasn't far away from the school, so it wasn't a long trip. And it was the truth; we were entering the mall's parking within minutes.

"Do you want to do the shopping first, or do you wish to eat something before?" she asked me while turning off the engine.

"If it is okay with you, we can go eat something first." I told her. She got out of the car and magically appeared at my door, opening it for me.

"As you wish, my Lady," she said and held out her hand so I could take it while getting out.

I put my hand in hers; I could feel the tingles going through my arm. She did not let go of my hand, continuing to hold it and eventually intertwined our fingers. That did not bother me at all; all it did was to make me happy. She looked peaceful and happy with that shy smile on her lips.

We walked in comfortable silence until we got to the restaurant, which was inside the mall. When we got to the free table, she let go of my hand and put it on my back, guiding me to the chair, which she pulled out so I could sit.

The waiter came immediately after to take our order and as soon as he left, Tanya asked me "So Bella how was your day?" Her face showed such honest curiosity, I was taken aback.

"Well, I can't complain about my students, it is really fun working with them. There are a few jokesters in each class, but I know how to deal with them. We joke around but when it is time to work, they respect that. But honestly, something happened today that made me curious. I was wondering if you would like to explain something to me." I asked her. I wanted to know why was Mrs. Cole was so surprised when I told her that Tanya was a friend of mine.

"Feel free to ask me anything," she said with a smile, but I could see a glint of worry in her eyes, which disappeared very quickly.

"Well today during my lunch hour Mrs. Cole came in and joined me, she wanted to know how I settled in and if I had made some friends here. I told her I didn't have time to go to the town yet, but I have made friends with you. This is where things get weird for me; she was really surprised by my statement." Tanya just started to laugh at that. "When I asked her why was that so surprising, she told me that you are usually a lone Wolf, you and your family. I'm sorry if I seem a little bit intrusive, but it really piqued my interest, because from my point of view you are really one of the sweetest persons I have ever met." I was blushing by the end of my statement. I didn't really want to say all that, but then again what the hell.

She had a beaming smile on her face because of my last sentence "You really think so?" she asked me, her happiness was contagious so all that left me was to nod shyly and smile.

"Well Bella that makes me happier than you will ever know, and just so you know, you are the most beautiful person that I have ever met in my life." I could hear in her voice that she really meant it, which made me blush more profoundly and made my heart beat faster. We were moving fast here and I didn't mind it at all.

"I could say the same thing about you, you are like an angel" I said before thinking, but I don't regret it.

"Thank you Bella, but to answer your original curiosity, it is true. I and my family don't usually mix well with the others due to some personal things, so we try to keep apart from everyone else. I usually keep my professional face on in the school; So Mrs. Cole had her reasons to be surprised by the fact that we are friends…"

I didn't let her finish before I asked her "Why is so the case, why am I different?"

"Well… I can't give you a complete answer to that yet, I hope that that doesn't bother you too much, but I want to be honest with you. What I can tell you is that you are someone special to me. I knew that from the moment I saw you. I want to be close to you, as close as you let me. My intention from the beginning was to court you. I hope that that does not bother you." I could tell that she was worried about my reaction. But I wanted to take a little time to think about what she had said.

I did not expect this kind of an honest answer from her, though I felt pretty good to hear her say that. I wanted her and she wanted me back, can't say that I'm upset about that. I'm someone special to her; I could tell that she was being honest. I wanted to know the whole truth, but decided to be patient, she will tell me eventually, but for now I trust her completely.

Right now I needed to say something to her because I could see that she had started to worry, and just as I was about to say something, the waiter came with our food, making me wait for him to leave.

"Well, I can say that I'm flattered with what you say, flattered and little bit scared…"

"What do you mean scared?" she asked in a full worry mode, interrupting me before I could finish.

"You didn't let me finish, I'm scared by what I feel about you. I mean I have known you for just a couple of days, and my heart is telling me stuff that I cannot process yet. It all seems too early, too quick to me, but then again I cannot be really bothered by that, and that is what scares me. My whole being is telling me that I can trust you, It's like you have me under the spell." I finished my rambling.

"Oh, I understand, but I can tell you that I will not ever hurt you intentionally. And we can go as slow as you would like. I will never pressurize you, I promise you that." She said while looking me into the eyes, and I believed her completely.

"I would really like that, thank you for understanding." I smiled at her and took her hand in mine. She gave me a smile that compared to the blazing sun, and I couldn't help but smile back. "And even if I really want to know the whole truth, I trust you, I trust you to tell me eventually"

"Thank you Bella, it means the world to me." she took my hand in hers and gave me the most delicate kiss on my hand. It was like she was afraid I would disappear. "Now, let's eat, can't have my lady hungry." she said with chuckle.

We ate in comfortable silence; well I ate while Tanya played with her food. Maybe she wasn't as hungry.

"I've been meaning to ask you, how is your stomach, did you have any other incident?" she asked me worried.

"Well, I'm not completely recovered, but it is probably fine, if it does not stop bothering me I will go to the doctor." I reassured her. I had completely forgotten about that, I do not know why it had last this long.

"I wanted to ask you about your family?" I asked her, I was really curious to know. "I already know that you have sister named Kate, do you have any other family members?"

"I have another sister named Irina, but I'm much closer to Kate, for some unknown reason her and I always liked each other's company more. We live with our cousins Carmen and Eleazar, they are a little older than us, but we get along great. We are a tight bunch and we like our peace so we usually avoid crowds and keep to ourselves." she told me. "I hope that you are willing to meet them soon, they are eager to meet you."

"You have been talking about me?" I asked in a teasing manner.

"I… well… you see…"

I started to laugh, I had made her stutter. She was just so cute.

"I'm teasing you, don't worry. I also talk about you." I told her with a smirk on my lips.

"What do you say about me?" she asked me with real curiosity in her voice.

"Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out. And I would really like to meet your family."

She smiled at that, I could tell that she was happy about that.

"I will find out, I promise you that."

I just laughed at that.

I really enjoyed talking to her, it was so easy. There wasn't any awkwardness between us. I could see myself with her, she made me happy.

We talked for some more time, and then decided to go to the stores, I don't really like shopping but Tanya made this an enjoyable experience. We would tease each other, made each other laugh and she always found an opportunity to take my hand in hers, intertwining our fingers. Every time she did that, peace and happiness washed over me.

After a couple of hours we were done and on our way to my house. She was still holding my hand, not willing to let go, and after all the time that we had held hands I realized that her hands did not warm up, not even a little bit. It did not bother me, but I was worried about her blood circulation.

"Bella, I forgot to tell you, Kate will come by tomorrow and take a look at your car." she told me.

"Oh, that's great, I wouldn't need to bother you anymore," as soon as I said that she turned her head towards me, and seriously spoke, "Bella, if I had my way I would drive you everywhere." Honestly I did not like possessive people in relationships but this did not bother me, it made me feel good inside, knowing that she wants to take care of me. But then again I was an independent person and I plan to stay like that. And something tells me that she will respect that without any question.

Not long after that we were in front of my house, she again made sure to open the door for me then walked me to my front door.

"I really enjoyed our date, Tanya. We should do it again soon." I told her with a shy smile.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself, I had the perfect time with you."

She took a step closer, putting a lock of my hair behind my ear, and then cupped my cheek, looking me into the eyes. She then leaned in and put her soft lips on mine.

To say that I had entered heaven wouldn't be an exaggeration; her lips were so soft, yet so firm. I was on a cloud nine. As soon as she kissed me, I could hear fireworks in my head, lightning bolt going through my body and heat started to form in my lower belly. I tried to deepen our kiss, but as soon as I tried she pulled away with the biggest half smirk half smile that one could muster.

"I told you I would get back at you," she laughed and started to head towards her car. "I will pick you up tomorrow morning, my lady," she said, entering her car and driving away, all while I was standing there frozen.

I could still feel her lips on mine. How do I get out of this state when she had fried my brain? After a couple of minutes, I entered my house, still a little disoriented. I managed to put away all the things I had bought, putting them in the washing machine, and then decided to make myself some diner.

While I was making a salad I decide to text Tanya, "You don't know what you have started", she replied within the seconds "Bring it on!" I just laughed, she was crazy.

My eyes fell on the flowers that she had given me. I knew what roses meant in the language of flowers, but I did not know what meaning Yarrow had. And it was such a strange combination that she must have bought it because of the meaning it held.

I quickly goggled the meaning of Yarrow, and there it was – EVERLASTING LOVE.

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