They spoke for what felt like hours when he called the next day.
As he said he would, he did actually ask her out.
But beyond that they discussed him having the three men who followed her tracked down and looked into, because as he had explained, men who followed women around with the intent to scare them, rarely did so only the once.
And though she didn't want to bother with the hassle of reporting it herself because nothing ended up happening, he explained that he intended on handing anything he and his head of security found over to the authorities himself.
Without bringing her into it if he didn't have to.
He called twice more during the week also, just to talk as they had that day, and they texted at times too.
By the time the following Saturday arrived, and with it the reservations for what they were both considering their second dinner date, Bella felt confident in their new found connection and fledgling friendship, and she was excited to see him again.
This time with a little more preparation and forethought for the fact that she'd be on an actual date.
So much so that she had prepared herself for the possibility of his not being quite so gentlemanly, and maybe wanting to join her upstairs in her apartment when he dropped her off this time. Though the thought had her as nervous as it did giddy.
Edward had not at all been prepared for the gloriously beautiful creature seated across from him for a second week in a row.
He had been looking forward to seeing her again all week, so much so that he hadn't been able to resist calling her again and again after his initial 'next day' call.
They had texted on and off all week too, and he'd weathered quite a bit of teasing from Emmett over the pretty girl who had 'knocked him on his ass' with a single unexpected kiss, on the CCTV footage he had seen.
And the little shit hadn't been wrong.
All week he had been smiling like an idiot the moment his phone pinged with a new text, because he wanted it to be her every time.
Yet he still couldn't claim to being prepared for the knockout beauty who answered the door when he knocked.
"Hell-ohh." He stammered.
Edward's eyes dragged up and up the long stretches of exposed leg between the classic black heels and the pretty floral print wrap dress, and up again to take in the crimson painted lips the swathes of brown curls carelessly tumbling over one shoulder.
"Hi Honey!" She teased.
Edward almost bit his tongue clean off when she smiled at him, and stepped clear of her door to pull it closed behind her.
His mind struggled to comprehend that the enchanting beauty before him, with her porcelain skin and dark hair like Snow White, was the same sweet girl he had known all along.
He shook himself off and leaned in to kiss her cheek in greeting, taking a moment to breathe her in and trace her side with curious fingers as he steadied them both.
"No kiss this time?" He whispered playfully before pulling back.
"Sorry Charming, you'll ruin my lipstick." She stepped past him and towards the elevator, smiling at him over her shoulder as she did. "You'll just have to wait until after dinner tonight."
He let out a breathy chuckle and swaggered his way to her side and into the elevator beside her, even going so far as to lean into her a little, his hand hot and possessive, sliding over her lower back.
"It'll be a long wait honey. You look amazing."
She blushed prettily and leaned into his touch ever so slightly. "I should get used to you calling me that I guess, if it's going to stick."
"It's for the best, I suppose. Though I think Siren might suit you better tonight, I still like calling you my little Snow White," he teased, delighting in the way she laughed and blushed for him. "Besides, you keep calling me 'Charming,' so it's only fair."
He was so handsome.
Bella still couldn't quite believe that he was interested in her. Yet apparently he was.
He was older, mature, self assured and utterly charming. He was also as rich as sin, and quite possibly the sexiest man she had ever seen in her life, with his his sharp jaw and wide smile, and pretty green eyes. And his tall, strong frame that spoke to his dedication to working out every bit as much as it spoke to his simply being genetically blessed.
Edward Cullen was a beautiful man.
And he was kind and friendly and funny. And he was on a date with her, not because he wanted to save her from some awful men trying to scare her. But because he genuinely wanted to be.
"So, how goes the friend wooing?" He asked.
Bella laughed softly and sipped at her wine.
He hadn't looked up from his plate at all, when he asked, but she knew from speaking to him a few times already, that he actually cared to know if he asked something. He wasn't just filling in an awkward silence with mundane questions. Because the silence between them never really got to be awkward.
That particular question wasn't even new, he seemed to take avid interest in her making friends with her work colleagues.
"It goes fine. I even had lunch with a few people yesterday." She answered proudly.
Edward smiled up at her and nodded.
"I'm glad. I was beginning to wonder if I should just introduce you to my best girl friend, but she's seven, so it didn't seem all that helpful in regards to you making friends that you can talk to and go out with and such." He said nonchalantly.
Bella laughed at his teasing, touched that he genuinely cared about her settling into life in Ithaca, and making friends. And delighted by his having called his little niece, his best friend yet again, and implying that he might be alright with her getting to meet her too.
"Thank you for the kind thought, but I wouldn't want to steal your best friend away for my own, I think I can handle it." She pointed her fork at his bloody mess of a plate pointedly. "Eat your raw meat."
Edward scoffed at her indignantly and pointed his own fork at her in faux menace. "Sorry bells, you can try all you like, but I have to warn you that Lily is very much my biggest fan, and I've worked hard to earn that place, so you can't have it!" He turned his attention back to his plate and sliced into the slab of thick beef steak easily, lifting the chunk before his face with a wicked smile.
"And just so you are aware? This is a perfectly cooked steak! It's delicious and you should try it before you mock it!"
He groaned dramatically as he closed his sinfully perfect mouth around his fork, and winked at her for emphasis.
Ordinarily such poor table manners would be a turn off for her, but the way he had groaned sent tingles racing for her core. Instead of disgusting her, his antics made her belly clench and flutter.
"It's not cooked at all, it's bleeding Edward! You're an animal."
"Rare, not uncooked and yes. I am. I'm A lion, and you haven't seen a thing yet Baby." He winked and her skin heated instantly telling her even more than his cocky grin did, that she was blushing hard.
She knew that she was in serious trouble with Edward Cullen, and it was only their second date.
Edward took her for a walk down along the long pier after dinner.
He didn't know if she had seen it yet herself, but she hadn't mentioned it in any of their many conversations during the week, so he could assume that she hadn't yet had the privilege.
Even if she had, she likely wouldn't have seen it at night, with the lights of the city shining bright like stars and their glimmering reflections just as brightly over the water, to make it twice as pretty.
He hope she hadn't had opportunity to look upon the Ruins of The Canyon Keep lit up for miles around with the massive lights that allowed it to double as a bit of a lighthouse type of beacon for the ships on The Bay, either. Because that's what he wanted to show her more than anything.
The City at night was as beautiful as it was dangerous. And his darling girl had only been introduced to the danger.
Edward hoped to change that.
They didn't really need to speak, it was a beautiful night, and the quiet between them never seemed to be awkward.
He simply held her hand, her fingers laced through his, after tucking his jacket around her mostly bare shoulders and arms. And strolled along beside her.
He studied her as she studied all of the sights until they reached the very end of the pier and turned to truly take it all in at a glance.
"It's really pretty."
He hummed in agreement to her awed whisper and tugged at her until she stepped into him, and snuggled into his arms where he had wanted her all damned night.
"Beautiful and dangerous and home." He rolled his eyes where she couldn't see, at his own ridiculous romanticism, and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Technically Chicago is actually home, I suppose. Much like Forks is for you... But Ithaca, New York is where my life is, so it deserves the title too I suppose."
She hummed contentedly and cuddled into him just a little bit more, letting her hands slide around his sides to cling to his back, as his arms firmed around her.
The wind had a slight chill to it, and he could smell a storm rolling in from further out in The Bay, so they really couldn't stay long. But for the moment he was happy to chase the cool night away for her.
"What's Chicago like?"
Her voice was soft and dreamy, and it made him smile to think she cared enough to ask about his childhood home, and the power centre of his Family.
"It's everything that Ithaca is not." He smiled thinking on it. "It's cleaner, more colourful. The streets are better designed so even in the ancient sections it's spacious enough to get around easily. And my favorite chinese restaurant is located there."
She tipped her face enough to look up at him in wonder. And he was struck once more, by how truly beautiful she was.
She sighed softly and smiled, she was clearly enchanted by the idea of his home. And he was very obviously enchanted by her.
"It sounds beautiful." She sighed.
Edward hummed low in his throat and lifted his hand to trace her cheek gently. "It's exquisite... Indescribably so, in truth." He wasn't just talking about his home or his hometown, and it was clear that he didn't need to explain that, by the way she all but melted into him.
He leaned in and pressed the softest of kisses to her lips. More than pleased to have the opportunity finally, to chase the last of the red colour from them with his own.
--
For weeks Edward wined, dined and romanced her.
Taking her to dinner, surprising her at work with flowers, or popping in during her lunch break with a coffee or a lemon tea. He showed her around the city. He had even pulled her to a stop along the walking mall one day, to dance with the buskers. Embarrassing and amusing her with equal measure.
He recognised within the very first days of getting to know her, that Bella Swan was something truly special. If he was honest with himself, he could admit that he truly had been enchanted from and by that very first touch of her soft lips against his own.
And he wanted to make it work, no matter what it took.
He wasn't a man to seriously consider dating in the long term, not that he wasn't interested at all. It was just that until he met Bella, he hadn't really found someone he had any interest in making that effort for.
Edward was not a bachelor at twenty seven years of age because he never wanted to settle down. He actually did want that - marriage and children and something to focus himself on that was not his families company, which run like a well oiled machine with or without his marketing inputs.
He just didn't see the point in wasting his time, and another's, if he knew from the get go that it wasn't going to work out.
Bella was different.
She had peaked his interest in a way no other ever had.
But she was also young and new to The City and in her job too. He didn't want to pressure her too quickly or spook her away, by pushing too fast into a more serious, and mature, sexual relationship.
They were together, openly and exclusively. They just hadn't slept together, because he wanted them to have something that was built on more than just their physical compatibility.
And he knew that their physical compatibility wasn't in question at all. Not with how their body's seemed to ignite so fully for each other, with nothing more than a kiss, or a light exploration of hands.
It had been weeks of regular dates, and hours of telephone calls, dozens and dozens of text conversations and hilarious meme wars. She had taken more photos of him and them together, than he could ever remember having been forced to endure before.
They had made out like teenagers and come dangerously close to rutting against each other like a pair of frisky dogs a time or two too.
He had met the two women she had made friends with at work, and she had wound up speaking to Alice over the phone because she happened to have walked into Edward's place uninvited while he was talking to her one night.
And now their families were both starting to hint at wanting introductions.
It was definitely time for the next step.
He just hoped that he had done enough to have her as emotionally invested in their relationship as he was.
He didn't want to be the man that she cut her proverbial adulting dating teeth on.
He wanted to be her happily ever after, as he suspected she was his.
"Dinner at my place tonight? Let me cook you dinner, beautiful. Love E."
The small squeak that she made in her throat went completely unnoticed thanks to the exclamations and actual squeals of the two women she hadn't even noticed sneaking up behind her.
"About fucking time! That's it, we are coming around to help you get ready!" Her friend Jessica was apparently so pleased that she felt clapping for emphasis was necessary.
"Oh yes, this-" Angela tapped the note in her hand and then stroked idly at the bouquet of flowers that had only just been delivered to her with said note. "Is definitely cause for a girls afternoon! Lunch too, we need to go find you the right lingerie."
Bella shushed them both and tugged them down in a half assed bid to get them low enough to hide behind her cubicle walls. It wasn't exactly private, but they were surrounded by proofreaders on one side of the open floor, and cover designers on the other, in a publishing house. - For an office full of people, it was exceedingly quiet!
As it was everyone always knew and tittered like gossiping hens, when Edward popped in to see her and when he sent her flowers too!
She did not want them all knowing that she hadn't yet slept with her boyfriend, anymore than she wanted them aware that he might be inviting exactly that, finally.
Jessica and Angela knew because they were her friends, and she had asked their advice a few times, on how to get Edward interested in sleeping with her... It was Angela who pointed out that she was being silly thinking that maybe he just didn't want her like that, but rather that he likely wanted far more than just that.
And it was Jessica who told her to be bolder, though subtly to begin with, with him each time they kissed to try to get things moving in that direction herself.
That did not mean she wanted everyone else knowing or having an opinion.
And they didn't know that Edward's invitation necessarily meant what they were assuming it did either!
She was nervous and excited that it might, her stomach was fluttering like absolute mad.
But her mind was snagging far more on the fact that it was written in Edward's hand, so he had personally gone to the florist this time.
And he had signed it Love E.
It was that word she was hanging onto, more than the invitation and implied invitation, that her friends were excitedly making plans for.
"He might just mean dinner, and not-"
"Oh no, My darling girl!" Jessica interrupted with her fingers pressed to Bella's lips. "He means more than dinner. A man doesn't cook for his woman, or invite her to dine at his home without also inviting her to spent the night. - There you can relax fully and drink an extra glass of wine without needing to drive anywhere. That's the point."
"Jess is right Sweet Girl. This is an invitation for far more than dinner. So, you need to call him and say yes, and thank him for your flowers. And then during lunch the three of us will be doing some shopping." Angela nodded determinedly.
Bella sighed softly and fingered at the card in her hands gently as she thought it over.
She was ready. She had been ready for a month now, since their second date, in fact.
But the most Edward had allowed them that night, and every other time since, was a lot of kissing and heavy patting.
She had soaked through so many pairs of underwear in his presence, and she knew full well that he had been hard every single time too, but he held them to that strict limit.
She had even taken to seeing to her own needs nearly nightly, with her trusty little vibrator because of it.
Because of how much she wanted him.
But she'd never been with a man before either.
Boys, her age and just older, sure. She had even had a serious boyfriend in University, who she had spent quite a good number of nights with.
But it was just different with Edward.
He wasn't a teenage boy or a frat boy or maybe he had a phase like that, she didn't care though. He didn't have roommates who she needed to be consciously aware of being quiet because of. And she seriously doubted he'd feel the need to try to make her loud just so that he could brag later either
They weren't drunk at some house party, randomly hooking up.
Nor were they teenagers stealing condoms from the nurses office, planning their moment around his parents being out of town either.
And it was different because she suspected that she might just be falling for Edward too.
"Alright." She whispered. "Please help me to prepare? I will need advice too... If that's alright?"
Both women beamed at her and pulled her into a tight hug between them. They even pressed smacking kisses to her cheeks for good measure, making her laugh in exasperation at them both.
It was going to be a long day, because now she was thoroughly distracted... But it was a good kind of distracted she supposed.
Just to clarify, all the specific places mentioned, are entirely made up by me.
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