Repentance - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2:

“Mama!” Masen ran to me and I picked him up.

“Tell me everything!” Alice squealed.

I walked past her and set my things down next to the coffee table. “Has he eaten?” I asked, trying to avoid her question.

“He has eaten, been bathed, and I read him a bedtime story. Stop stalling!”

I laughed. “Let me put him to bed first, okay?”

Alice shook her head and sat down on the couch and waited patiently.

I took Masen and placed him in his crib, which was next to my bed. His eye lids were already heavy. They always were when Alice kept him. She was exhausting, even to a child. I covered him up and gave him his favorite stuffed monkey.

“Goodnight sweet boy.” I kissed his forehead and waited for him to fall asleep. It never took long. He was a good baby, always had been.

I went back into the living room to see Alice with eager eyes. “We have to make this quick; I have a paper to write,” I said.

Alice ignored my statement. “So, where did you meet him? He’s really handsome, Bella!”

“I ran into him at the library. He’s the strange guy that helped me home a few weeks ago.”

“That’s him?? There is nothing strange about that man, Bella! He’s gorgeous and nicely dressed!”

I laughed. “He’s in law school. I don’t get it. What on earth would he want to do with me?? He knows I have Masen, he knows I live in this dump. I don’t get why he is at all interested in me.”

“Who cares, Bella! At least it’s a free meal, right? You can always use those!”

I shook my head. “I guess. He’ll probably never call anyway.”

“If he does, you’re going and I’m dressing you!”

I started to protest and then I remembered all the wonderful things Alice had done for me, like watching Masen all the time and expecting nothing in return. It was the least I could do. “Okay, I’ll let you. It will be a one time thing though!”

Alice squealed. “Wonderful! I can’t wait! You better call me the second you hear from him!”

I laughed. “Okay, Alice. I promise, but don’t get your hopes up. I’m not,” I joked as I walked her to the door. “Thanks again for watching Masen.”

“It was my pleasure!” She gave me a hug and left.

I tried to put Edward out of my mind and focus on my paper, but I couldn’t get his wicked smile to disappear from the back of my eye lids. I was secretly hoping he would call.

***

The last day of mid-terms finally arrived and I was beyond relieved. It had been a really rough week. Masen had been sick, I missed a few days at work and trying to keep my grades up was becoming very challenging.

I put Masen to bed and sat on the couch with a cup of hot tea. After taking a sip of my tea, I rested my head on the back of the couch and closed my eyes and enjoyed the absolute silence around me. Silence was rare these days.

I don’t know how long I had been asleep. My phone ringing woke me. I didn’t recognize the number on the caller id and my heart pounded in my chest momentarily.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Bella. It’s Edward, from the library.”

I smiled. “Oh, hi. How are you?”

“I’m doing well, glad mid-terms are over! Did you survive yours?”

“Just barely! It has been a long week to say the least.”

“I can imagine. I don’t know how you do it!”

I sighed. “Me either.”

“Well, perhaps to celebrate the end of mid-terms, you’ll let me take you to dinner this weekend.”

“Sure, that would be nice.”

“Great, when is a good time for you?”

“Um...” I hesitated. “You know, I’ll have to get back to you. I will have to check with Alice, to see if she can keep Masen.”

“Okay, well, you have my number now.”

“Okay, I’ll give her a call tonight and get back to you, okay?”

“That sounds good, Bella. I look forward to hearing from you.”

“Goodnight.” I hung up and leaned back into the couch, wondering again why he wanted anything to do with my crazy life.

After making arrangements with Alice and Edward, our date was set for the following evening. I was a nervous wreck by the time Alice arrived late Saturday afternoon. I was sort of glad she was helping me get ready. It felt nice to be pampered for a change and let someone else do my hair. I couldn’t remember the last time I left the house with my hair down. I always only had time to sweep it up into a pony tail. It was just easier that way and it kept Masen from getting strange substances stuck in my hair.

Alice and I went back and forth several times trying to decide on my wardrobe and we finally settled on two different outfits. We let Masen choose.

The first option was a pair of gray dress slacks with a black turtle neck sweater and black boots. That was my choice. Alice preferred a cream colored sweater dress with a black belt at the waist and black pumps.

We laid the outfits out on the bed and told Masen to pick which one he liked best.

“I like dis one!” he said, as he reached forward for the cream colored dress.

Alice was quicker than Masen and she grabbed his eager hands before he could touch the dress. “Don’t you touch that dress with those dirty hands!” she warned.

Masen laughed at her and so did I. I guess I was wearing the dress.

Once I was fully dressed and my hair and make-up were done, I must say, I was pretty impressed with myself. I was actually looking forward to my date with Edward now. I couldn’t remember the last time I had an adult conversation that lasted longer than a few minutes.

Alice made her final observations of me, circling me to make sure everything was perfect. I stopped her when she came back in front of me. I grabbed her hand. “Alice, thank you. Really. It’s been a long time since I felt pretty.”

Alice’s smile reached from ear to ear. She embraced me quickly. “You’re welcome. I’m so glad I could help. You deserve a night out. Promise me you won’t worry about Masen, or school or anything! Just have a good time and stay out as long as you want!”

I laughed. “I’m sure he’ll be sick of me by the end of dinner!”

“Nonsense, Bella!”

A knock at the door interrupted us. I took a deep breath and went to answer it.

“Hi,” I said. He looked so gorgeous. His smile absolutely made my knees shake. He was wearing a pair of black dress slacks with a gray sweater. The thought of sex vaguely entered my mind before I instantly recalled my last encounter with the subject. I forced the images from my mind. Nobody had ever made me desire sex, since I was raped.

“Hi,” he smiled. “Are you ready to go?”

“Uh, yea. Let me tell Masen goodbye and grab my purse. You can come in.”

Edward stepped into my small apartment and stood by the door while I did what I needed to do. I took Masen from Alice while she officially introduced herself to Edward.

“I’m Alice. I don’t think we actually met last time.”

Edward shook her hand. “I’m Edward. It’s nice to meet you, Alice. Thank you for allowing Bella to go to dinner with me this evening.”

“It’s my pleasure, Edward! The girl never gets to have fun!”

“Alice!” I reprimanded. I didn’t want him to think I was a total loser. She heeded my warning and came to take Masen from me.

“Hand him over before your dress is covered in slobber and who knows what else,” Alice said.

I hugged Masen before handing him over. “Be good for Ms. Alice,” I said, kissing him on the forehead. “I love you.”

“Love Mama!” he said, waving goodbye to me.

I turned to see Edward’s eyes fixed on the scene playing out in front of him. “I’m ready now,” I finally said.

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry; I zoned out,” he responded.

I laughed to myself momentarily. It was as if he had never seen a child before.

We made our way outside. “I’m parked just down here,” he said, directing me to the left. It was easy to spot his car. There weren’t cars like his that often made it to this side of town. He opened the passenger door of the shiny volvo for me.

I slid in gracefully. “Thank you.”

He smiled and made his way around the car. We talked mostly about school on the way to the restaurant. He was a first year law student and was doing pretty well, much to his surprise.

We arrived to a little Italian restaurant I had never seen before. Actually, I couldn’t remember the last time I ate out. It was probably in Forks. Edward parked the car and as I reached up to open my door he said, “Let me get that for you.” He got out of the car quickly and opened my door for me, holding out a hand to help me out.

We went inside the restaurant and I was surprised to see that he actually made reservations for us. The small restaurant was packed full of people. The host led us to a small table in the back of the restaurant. It was a very intimate setting. There were warm colors, lots of greenery and beautiful portraits of Italian villages.

“This place is really nice,” I said.

“I’m glad you like it. The food is amazing. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. Would you like a glass of wine? The house riesling is really good, if you like white wine.”

Wine? I’ve never drank wine. I don’t drink. Maybe this could be an exception. “Sure, that sounds good.”

Edward ordered our drinks for us and we discussed various things on the menu before both placing our orders with the waiter. I ordered the tortellini and he ordered the veal parmesan.

“I meant to tell you earlier, you look really beautiful tonight. I’ve never seen you with your hair down,” he said.

I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. “Thank you.” I concentrated on taking a sip of my wine to avoid his gaze.

“So, are you originally from Seattle?” I asked.

“I grew up in Portland. I’ve been out here since I was 18 though. My parents still live in Portland. My father is a doctor there.”

“Oh, wow. A doctor and a lawyer in the same family. You guys are all set.” I laughed. “What does your mother do?”

“She was a stay at home mom. I honestly have no idea what she does all day now. She is involved with several different charities and youth organizations.”

“That’s nice. Do you have siblings?”

“Yes, an older sister. Her name is Rosalie. We’re pretty different though. She works at an advertising agency in Portland.”

“Are you close with your family?” I asked.

“Um, I was. Not so much lately. You see, my dad wanted me to be a doctor like him. I had planned on it, and um, I just changed my mind during undergrad. He wasn’t happy. He’ll get over it one day. He just thinks I’m making a big mistake. He just doesn’t understand.”

“Oh, sorry for all the questions,” I said, feeling like I was intruding.

“No, its alright. So, what’s your family like?”

“Well, my parents divorced when I was little. I pretty much grew up with my mom in Phoenix until I was 16. I went to live with my dad in Forks, Washington when my mom went on the road with her boyfriend. He’s the Police Chief there. I didn’t really like Forks, but I like Seattle.”

“Police Chief, huh?” He laughed. “I guess I better make sure to treat his daughter right.”

I laughed. “Yea, he’s pretty protective. But, I think you’re doing a pretty good job so far.”

He smiled that crooked smile and I felt a million butterflies flutter up in my stomach.

“So, do you work, or just go to school and take girls out on fancy dates?” I joked.

He laughed. “Well, I work part time at the law library on campus. Everyone knows me there, so I find it hard to get any studying done. I always go to the public library up from your place to study. And, to be honest, you’re the first girl I’ve taken out on a date in almost two years.”

“Oh,” I said, not knowing what to say.

Our food arrived just then and while we ate we talked about our likes and dislikes in music and books. He loved to read as much as I did and we had some great conversation regarding some of our previous reads.

“How is it?” I asked, referring to his veal.

“It’s really good. You should try it. Would you like a bite?”

“I’ve never had veal,” I responded.

“It’s sort of like chicken, but better,” he laughed.

“Okay, I’ll try it.”

He cut a small portion of the veal parmesan and held his fork up to my mouth. I was a bit surprised at first that he was feeding me, but I quickly parted my lips.

“Mmm,” I said, as my lips left the fork. “That is really good.”

He smiled. “I told you so.”

Dinner continued with ease. I increasingly became more and more comfortable around him. I was extremely grateful he never asked about Masen, although I wondered what he thought. We shared many of the same interests, the largest differences being our families’ financial backgrounds. It amazed me how down to earth he was.

We took a long walk along the waterfront before heading back to the car. It got chilly after the sun went down, but it wasn’t too bad. It was a clear night and I was surprised at how familiar Edward was with astrology.

After we got back to my place, he walked me up to my apartment.

“I had a really wonderful time, Bella. I hope we can do this again soon.”

I smiled. “I had a good time too. It’s been a really long time since I’ve gotten to do anything like that.”

He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I was frozen from his touch. I got a whiff of his cologne when he leaned in to kiss me and it absolutely intoxicated me. I finally made the word, “okay,” come out of my mouth before disappearing inside.


****Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews/comments! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! More to come soon!

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**CHAPTER 3 - CLICK HERE**