A/N: So, are we all liking Edward a bit more now? Not as much of an ass as he originally seemed. As my amazing beta, Kneon, said "... everyone is going to LOVE this Edward, maybe not at first but give him at least a couple of chapters." Thank you to everyone for the love you've shown it so far with comments, favourites, and follows. And to those of you who haven't done any of those but are enjoying reading - as someone who's also chronically bad at commenting, I see you and still thank you for reading along. If you'd like updates, teasers and BTS info, come join us in my fb group, hmerdan's Fiction Spot.

EPOV

"Yeah, when I first saw that bikini top on her, she's poppin' right out of the South Georgia water. Thought, 'Oh, good lord, she had them long tanned legs'. Couldn't help myself, so I walked up and said…" Emmett and Jasper sang loudly in the locker room after practice. At least Jasper had the decency to wear track pants while he danced around. No one should have to watch Emmett's dick jiggle while he impersonated Nelly.

"I can't believe Slim and Tex found another fucking song to torture us with. It's Old Town Road all over again," Demitri grumbled beside me on the bench, tying his street shoes.

"You're not much better, Sandstorm," Riley guffawed, waving his hands around like he was holding glow sticks in a rave.

"I'm confused," Felix called out from his locker. "Alice isn't even five feet, and Rose is pale as fuck. Where are these long-tanned legs coming from?"

"Ali's tanned and Rosie's long. Duh," Emmett snorted. "And you better get used to this, Mase! Especially if you're dating a country girl."

"She's not a country girl," I shook my head. "She just grew up in a small town."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't see a pickup truck," Jasper challenged.

I glared at him for a few seconds before responding. "Her sister's boyfriend's a plumber," I answered tersely, remembering the Pack Plumbing Services logo on the door. Of course, that he was right made Jasper and Emmett bust a gut. "Look, can you at least put that away? No one needs to see your junk!"

"Pfft! Junk, he says!" Emmett scoffed, gesturing to his crotch. "This is grade-A material here. Rosie would not appreciate you calling it junk."

"Come on, lighten up, Mase!" James said, slamming his locker shut and taking a seat beside me. "It's not that bad."

"Should I be telling Vicky that you're enjoying watching Slim Carty's dick bounce around the locker room?"

He shrugged, "She'd probably just ask me to tape it for her."

"No one tapes the goods except my Rosie!" Emmett yelled, dragging on his gym shorts. Thank God.

"Okay, boys!" Carlisle announced as he entered the dressing room. "Great job out there today. Stef, Vlad - I want to see more aggressive forechecking during games. We need to pressure the other team and force turnovers. Masen, McCarty, Brownrig - You three need to be more patient with the puck and not force passes when they're not there. Let's work on making smarter decisions on the ice." He continued to go through notes as we all listened with rapt attention. "Remember to communicate on the ice and support each other. We're a team and we need to work together to be successful. Now, I want you all to take it easy and get some dry land training in tomorrow, and I'll see you all at the rink on Saturday for morning skate at nine." Once he received a resounding 'Yes, coach,' from the room, he nodded and left us to pack up and leave.

"So, Ali wants to have y'all over for dinner tonight," Jasper said as we walked with Emmett to our cars. "She wants to hear about this Bella girl."

While I got along with the entire team, the three of us were definitely closer than any others. Emmett and Jasper were a few years older than me and had played for the Michigan Wolverines before getting brought into the draft. The Leafs had picked up Emmett, while Jasper had gone to his home state Dallas Stars. When the Marlies picked me up, they put me on a line with Emmett where we proved to be such a powerhouse duo, Coach Cullen called us up as soon as he could to put us on a line with Garrett. We also developed a close friendship during that time, so when Jasper got traded from the Stars, it was only natural for the three of us to bond. Especially when Jas and I shared mutual horror stories about all-boys school.

"Yeah, Rose was asking about her, too," Emmett added. "When do we get to meet her?"

"Have you forgotten you already met her?" I scoffed.

"No, we met the older sister of a prize winner," Jasper explained. "And she spent it mostly in the background letting Seth and his boys get the attention."

I couldn't help but smile, thinking about how sweet Bella could be with her little brother. "Yeah, she's something special."

"Aw, look at that smile, Tex," Emmett gushed. "I think our boy's in love."

"We've been on one date!" I groaned. "Not even, she said it wasn't a date. It's a bit early to throw around the L word."

"Ali and I knew we were in love after the first date," Jasper shrugged.

"And I knew I was in love with Rosie the minute I saw her," Emmett added.

"Yeah, but Rose called you an asshole right after that," I pointed out.

"Which made me love her even more." Emmett shot me with a huge grin. "The point is there's no timeline. Let it happen. And bring the Vanquish tonight, I wanna get Rosie all revved up on seeing that piece of machinery."

I couldn't help but laugh as I climbed into my Volvo. Classic Emmett, going from serious to perv in under a second. "I'll see you guys tonight. Tell Alice I'll bring a bottle of wine." Emmett was about to speak, but I put my hand up. "Yes, Slim, I'll also bring a case of beer and the Vanquish."

"Sick!" He smiled. "See ya, boys!"

As I pulled out of the training centre to head home, I couldn't help but have Emmett and Jasper's words bouncing around my head. Could I fall in love with Bella? Absolutely. Was I in love with Bella? … Well, that was just a giant question mark. I guess it depends on Sunday.


"Take her to Jacobs & Co.!" Emmett shouted. "It's fancy as fuck, she'll love it."

"I already told you, Em. Bella's not a fancy type. She's more casual," I explained as we sat around Jasper and Alice's King West townhouse after dinner. Despite telling Bella I had a plan; I was still figuring out what to do. "Plus, there's an asshole in her hometown named Jacob, so I'd rather avoid that reminder."

"What about dinner and dancing?" Alice suggested. "It's classic. Take her to dinner at Lavelle, then go down to 44 so we can meet her too!"

"It's more of a day date. She needs to head back to Peterborough. And I'm not ready to introduce her to all of you!" I chuckled.

"Why? Because she's another puck bunny turned gold digger who's gonna demand you buy a luxury condo and then whine like a little bitch when you don't let her choose it, only to use your credit card to place a hold on an engagement ring?" Rosalie snorted.

When Emmett had introduced me to his then-fiancee, Rosalie had become protective of me quickly. She had her own falling out with her parents when she refused to become a Stepford wife to Royce King Jr, the son of one of her dad's business associates. Once I had told her about my parents, she brought me under her wing. She had despised Tanya from the beginning, but never said 'I told you so' when her true colours shined. Even when Rosalie had been the one who discovered the engagement ring. It was standard practice for her to pull a credit report on her clients, which is when she saw the large hold placed on one of my accounts.

"Rose, she's not a puck bunny or a gold digger," I shook my head. "The only hockey player she follows is her thirteen-year-old brother, and the girl got mad at me for paying thirty dollars for shawarma. And she's the one that picked the place!"

"You said she's smart. And she's studying finance. That means she knows money," Rosalie shrugged. "Maybe I'll feel better once I meet the girl."

"I'm sure she's absolutely amazing!" Alice stated firmly. "She'll fit in perfectly with the other WAGs. Oh! Which reminds me, I should talk to her about her social media presence." While the team had its own official social media and PR teams and most of the players had a PR person as well, Alice, who was a fairly successful fashion and beauty influencer in her own right before she met Jasper, had taken it upon herself to help any of the wives and girlfriends on the team with their social media.

"Okay, time out!" I yelled. "It's our first date. Rose, it's too early to grill her. Alice, it's too early to discuss social media strategy. Slim, Tex… it's just too early to inflict you two on her period." I let out a deep sigh after getting all that off my chest. "I just want a nice, simple, memorable first date idea that doesn't go too late into the night."

Everyone sat quietly for a minute, silently stunned by my outburst. I just wanted them to let me do this in my time. Finally, Alice piped up. "Does she like chocolate?"


Standing in the Union Station Great Hall, I kept switching between looking at the arrivals board and tracking Bella's train on my phone. On Friday, I had called to tell her to dress warmly and comfortably, and she confirmed her sister would need their car. I tried to convince her to let me pick her up, but Bella, being independent, refused and insisted she would be fine taking the train. Well, if she wouldn't let me pick her up, the least I could do was to meet her at the train.

"Hey, you're Edward Masen!" An older man called out from the nearby Tim Horton's lineup with his pre-teen son, probably about the same age as Seth. "Great game last night!"

"Thanks, man!" I grinned. I'd been running off the high of winning seven to four, having gotten two goals and one assist. The only thing that could make this weekend better was seeing Bella.

"You gonna do it again tomorrow night?" He asked.

"We'll try our best," I laughed.

"Mr. Masen," his star-struck son piped up. "Can I get a photo?"

"Sure, kid." I left my spot in front of the screen and went to the pair in line. "What's your name?"

"Danny," he said, looking up in awe.

"Well, Danny, it's great to meet a fan." I threw my arm over his shoulder while his dad snapped a photo of us with his phone.

"Thanks, man!" The father bubbled once he snapped the photo.

"It was my pleasure…" I replied but trailed off when I realized I didn't get his name.

"Gord," he said, answering my unasked question.

"It was my pleasure, Gord. Have a safe trip!" I smiled and said goodbye to the pair before turning back. Directly behind me was the most welcome sight I could imagine.

"Are you running around, trying to impress more teenage boys?" Bella questioned, her arms folded and an adorable smirk on her face.

"Always," I grinned back at her before sweeping her up in a giant hug.

"Edward!" She squealed. "Put me down."

"Do I have to?" I laughed, but placed her back on her feet, still not letting go. "Hi."

"Hi, yourself," she smiled at me. "I'm assuming your big date plan doesn't involve hanging around Union Station."

"Definitely not," I beamed and released her from the embrace, still grabbing her hand. "Come on, I have a whole day planned. But first, let's eat."