Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Thanks to Hayz for being my beta.

December 14.

I awoke the next morning stiff and sore from being curled up in the fetal position all night. My eyes were caked with sleep from crying. I felt like I had a hole in my chest. Like somebody had ripped out my heart. I guess I believed I deserved it. I felt that I had torn Edward's out with my actions, so it was only fair to feel the same. I wondered how he had slept, if he even slept at all. These thoughts brought on new waves of tears. Today was going to be impossible to get through. Thank goodness it was Sunday and I didn't have to go to work today.

The car journey to Alice's last night was marginally hazardous from not being able to see the road properly. I had to stop several times to try and control myself. Alice opened the door to a blubbering mess, and had to drag me inside. It had taken her over an hour to console me. She ended up calling Edward in an effort to comfort me, despite my warnings about how aggravated with her he had seemed. She left the lounge room where we were sitting to make the call, so that I couldn't listen to the conversation. I did hear her raise her voice a few times, but when she returned she had a smile on her face. She told me Edward would be ok. For some reason I didn't believe her. It was difficult to get the image of his face as I drove away out of my mind. I eventually somehow made it to her spare room in an effort to get some rest. At first I just lay on top of the covers of the soft bed, my mind constantly teetering on the edge of panic. When the cold finally started to settle inside the house, I crawled under the blankets, not bothering to change into my pyjamas. At some point between three and four am, I fell asleep.

Alice's chirpy voice came floating into the room, calling me to get out of bed. I huddled deeper under the covers, muttering for her to go away. The bed springs groaned as she sat down on the mattress.

"Bella, the day isn't going to go away if you stay under there."

"I don't want to come out." I sounded like a child.

Her voice was gentle. "If you stay there, you'll just dwell and make it worse for yourself. Come out with me. We'll have fun today."

I pulled back the covers. "Where are you going?"

She smiled and began to bounce up and down. "I'm shopping for Jasper's present."

"Haven't you already bought him something?"

"Yes," she laughed. "But there is always more that I can get him."

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"Not really, I know when I'll see it. Besides, we can go get pampered while we're there."

I groaned. Pampering or any girly stuff like that was not my forte. Then I remembered my shopping encounter the other day and I groaned again. "I'm not sure I can handle those crowds again Alice."

She pouted. "Well I'm not staying here with 'Miss Mopey'."

"Let's do something fun, like we used to when we kids," I suddenly suggested. She was right, I couldn't stay in here all day, but I needed something more exhilarating than gift hunting to lift my mood.

"What exactly are you proposing?"

"Snow day?" I said thinking.

Alice crinkled her nose. "May-be." She drew the word out, making it sound like two instead of one. "If that's what it takes to get you out of here."

I nodded.

"Ok," she sighed. "Let's have breakfast, and then we'll head out."

We rushed through breakfast, and changed into our thick snow gear. I had to borrow some of Alice's clothes since I hadn't thought to bring appropriate ones of my own. We headed to a park where we used to sled and have snowball fights when we were adolescents. I couldn't actually remember the last time that I had ventured out here. It had a large hill, with one steep and one gentle slope. Trees lined the perimeter sparsely about ten metres from the base of the hill. It was the main place for kids to come when the snow was thick enough, and today was one of those days. We were the only adults there.

Alice had brought her sled which was big enough for the two of us. Normally, you would put the heaviest person at the front, namely me, but with my knack for being the world's biggest klutz, it would mean we could never make it to the bottom without falling off. So Alice always sat at the front. She didn't mind, she enjoyed steering the sled as close as she could to the trees while I screamed and tried to hide my face in her shoulder. Alice was a daredevil. We took turns with the kids in sliding down the gentle side. Some of them snickered at us until they saw how crazy Alice's manoeuvring was. Others challenged us to races and were excited when they beat us. As the day wore on I could tell Alice was getting antsy with sticking to the moderate side of the hill. When we were younger she would always try to convince me to go down the steep side. I did once and ended up falling off and hitting a tree. I broke my arm from the force and refused to go down again.

"No, I won't do it." I said to her when I saw the gleam in her eye.

"Please!" She begged. "Just once I promise."

I rolled my eyes. Arguing with Alice was like fighting bear off – damn near impossible to win. I could be quite stubborn myself though. We began to squabble while a bunch of children gathered around us. One of them called me a chicken, and several others followed suit, making clucking noises to annoy me further. Alice began to laugh at me for being picked on by kids and I started to get frustrated.

"Fine Mary Alice!" I shouted, using her first name which I knew she hated. "If I hurt myself like last time, on your head be it. You can explain to Edward why I'm coming home broken and battered." I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I realised that I wouldn't be going home to him like I was used to.

She gave me a menacing look. "You're on Swan, except…" she paused for dramatic effect, "you can steer."

I gulped. This was sure to end badly. I struggled enough trying to get down the easy side in one piece. "Ok, let's do this."

My heart started to race as fear made adrenaline pump through my blood. We moved the sled to the tip of the steep edge and I sat in the front taking the rope in my hands. The children were now cheering us on, yelling and screaming for us to go. Alice was standing behind the sled, waiting for my cue so she could give us a push and jump on. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and said 'go.' I was suddenly flying down the hill. My eyes flew open, and I tried my hardest to keep the sled going straight. I heard screaming and realised that it was me. Something didn't feel quite right as I raced towards the trees, but I was too distracted to think. I finally reached the bottom in one piece, managing to avoid all of the trees, and came to a stop. I leapt up, ready to celebrate with Alice when I became aware that she wasn't behind me. I glanced upwards to the top of the hill to see her doubled over in laughter. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what she had just done. I was going to get her back. I refused to take the sled back up, instead I stood my ground angrily with my arms crossed. She started down the hill when she caught on that I wasn't coming up to her. Her grin made me fume more.

"Something wrong Bella?" She asked when she reached me. I glared at her in response.

She walked over to the sled and pretended to inspect it for damage. When she had her back turned to me, I took my chance. I picked up a handful of snow, mushed it quickly into a ball, and threw it at her head. I missed of course, hitting her in the shoulder. She spun around quickly, a fierce stare on her face. Without saying a word, she stooped and made a snowball. I backed away, never taking my eyes off of her. I couldn't help but smirk as she glared at me, watching me closely as I tried to move away. Suddenly, without warning, she hurled the snowball at me. It splattered into the side of my head as I attempted to evade it. My hair was now matted with snow, and ice was trickling down my neck. For someone so small she threw quite hard. I recovered as quickly as I could and made another one. Alice was quicker, but I managed to dodge hers this time; my effort hit her on the thigh. I was in the middle of making another one when something smacked into my back. I turned around and was pelted with half a dozen other snowballs. I instinctually lobbed the one I had in my hand at the group of kids who had thrown theirs at me, hitting one in the chest. Alice roared with laughter and then screamed:

"Let's get them Bella!"

She ran up to me and handed me one of the two snowballs she had clenched in her hands. We chased the kids around, pelting them with snowballs as fast as we could make them; we ended up being hit more often since we were outnumbered. Eventually we fell into an exhausted heap, laughing hysterically. After we had calmed down, Alice looked at her watch and announced that it was time to go. She had to get me home and ready for my 'first date' with Edward. We said goodbye to the children and they asked if we were coming back tomorrow. I told them not likely since we had to work. There was a chorus of 'aw's' to which Alice and I smiled at.

I began to get butterflies in my stomach on the journey back to Alice's house. I wondered what Edward's reaction to me would be. I had my fingers crossed that he wouldn't still be mad. Alice seemed to sense my anxiety.

"You have no reason to stress Bella. Once everything is explained to him, he'll see that your actions were necessary." She seemed very secure in her statement.

"I wish I had your optimism," I said in a low voice.

"You should Bells. Both of you should. It's not all doom and gloom. You two are pretty much the perfect couple."

I disagreed. "Well, apparently not. He doesn't seem secure enough with me to realise this isn't about hurting him."

"That's because he's my idiotic brother. He'll get over it."

We pulled into her driveway and saw Jasper standing by his car. Alice made a little squeal, and jumped out of the car. She ran up to him and gave him a long kiss. I stood awkwardly by Alice's car, waiting for them to finish when she grabbed him by the hand, and led him to the front door, seemingly forgetting that I was here. I grudgingly followed them inside and immediately met with Alice's high pitched voice telling me to get a move on. When I reached my room, I flung open my suitcase and attempted to find something to wear. My first thoughts were to wear something comfortable since we were just going for a casual dinner, but then I realised that I should dress in something impressionable. This was, after all, supposed to be like the first time I was meeting him. I tried to think of the types of outfits which I used to wear to try and get Edward's attention. I had tended to wear blue a lot since it was Edward's favourite colour. Being attracted to my best friend's brother had it advantages even back then, I always had information on hand.

I remembered that I had packed a royal blue, long-sleeved, v-neck top and rummaged through trying to find it. I also found a pair of basic, yet figure hugging black pants and determined they would do best. I added my favourite brown, knee length jacket to the outfit, and pulled out my flats. I had only bought three pairs of shoes. Once I had the outfit sorted, I took them and my toiletry bag to the bathroom so I could shower quickly and change. It was a challenge not to use up all of the hot water, but Alice still needed a shower as well, so I hopped out less than five minutes later. I attempted to blow-dry my hair and give some life, but it ended up being a ball of fluff, so I pinned it up in a bun. Alice started whining for me to hurry up so she could use the bathroom, so I bypassed on doing my makeup. I only ever really wore mascara anyhow, so there wouldn't be much of a difference there. Alice bounced into the bathroom as soon as I opened the door and pushed me out. I took my wet clothes to the laundry, and went back to my room to grab my purse. I had left my phone at home while Alice and I had been out, so I decided to check it now and see if Edward had left me a message. There were none, and no calls either. I thought to message him, to check whether he was ok, but I couldn't think of the right words to say. I would just have to wing it and wait until I saw him.

I couldn't wait in my room, so I wandered into the lounge room and found Jasper sitting on the sofa reading a book.

"Hi Jasper," I said as he looked up.

"Hey Bella, looking forward to tonight?"

"Yeah, it's a little nerve-wracking."

He chuckled. "Aren't first dates supposed to be like that?"

"I guess. At least you guys will be there."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," he said with a grin, and turned back to his book.

I flopped down into one of the armchairs and picked up a nearby magazine. Although most first dates usually involved a couple doing something alone, Alice had the idea that a group date would be best, so her, Jasper, Emmett and his girlfriend Rosalie were coming as well. This way, Edward and I could be 'introduced' to one another. Her line of thinking made sense. It also meant that we couldn't just slip back into our normal confines of our relationship, since the others would be there to keep us in check. The anticipation of seeing Edward again was building. I couldn't sit still, and kept shifting my position. It seemed to irritate Jasper, but I couldn't help it. The magazine scarcely held my interest either. I flicked through it, only pausing to look at the pictures briefly, before tossing it aside. Jasper surveyed me as I looked around for the television remote, jumping up to snatch it off the coffee table. I settled back into the chair and turned the television on, scanning through the channels at speed. I was jiggling my foot in time with the flickering of the screen.

Jasper suddenly yelled out, "Alice! We need to go! Bella is driving me insane!"

I glared at him with narrowed eyes, but he only smirked at me and went back to reading his book again. I switched the television off and went into the kitchen to look for something to do. There were a few dishes in the sink from breakfast, so I quickly washed and dried those. Once I was done, I hunted for another task but there was none. Alice kept a very clean and tidy house. I decided to rearrange her spice rack according to alphabetical order because it was the only thing that I could think of, and was almost finished when she walked into the room behind me.

"Ready Bella?" She asked with a wide smile plastered on her face. She was dressed more impressively than I was, in a floor length black dress which had large black flowers embroidered into the fabric. It made her already white face look even paler.

"Uh-huh. Yep. I'm ready to go. Let's go," I spluttered out, gesturing to the door.

Alice sniggered in response, but I chose to ignore her. We all jumped in Jasper's car since it was pointless taking more than one. He would drop us off at the end of the night. Jasper for some odd reason, and despite the two years that they had been together, didn't live with Alice. When I asked her about it she would tell me that she knew they would one day, she was just waiting for Jasper to realise it. Jasper was apparently very old-fashioned when it came to their relationship, and he liked to move things along slowly which seemed to suit Alice fine. They were one of those couples who you always thought were so sweet it made you cringe. The way they met was unusual. A couple of years ago Alice, on one of her many trips to the shopping mall, spotted him looking at some civil war books and was apparently smitten by him immediately. She told me it was the way that he was so intensely engaged in the book that caught her eye. I figured his wiry but muscular body, deep blue eyes, and longish blonde locks didn't hurt either. She had promptly gone up to him, told him her name, and handed over her number - telling him that she was going to be his next girlfriend. After his initial shock, they had a laugh about it and he suggested they go for coffee. That was it. She made it seem so easy. They wined and dined for a long time before they became physical in even the smallest ways. I don't think that they kissed until about a month after they started seeing each other. According to Alice, there were more ways to be intimate than physically. Personally, I don't know how she did it. I would have been frustrated beyond belief if I had to wait that long.

It didn't take us long to reach the burger joint that we were heading to. As we drove into the parking lot my nerves hit an all new high. I suddenly found it difficult to breathe and could feel my heart pounding against my chest.

"Oh my gosh Bella, are you ok?" Alice asked as she turned from the front seat to see me hunched over with my head between my legs.

I gave a thumb's up sign as I tried to control my breathing. It was hard to reassure myself when all I could think about was Edward's face from the night before. After a moment, I dragged my head up and attempted to get out of the car. There must have been ice on the bitumen because as soon as I made a move to walk away from the car, I slipped and fell on my butt. Both Jasper and Alice were in hysterics by the time I managed to get on my feet again. I checked the back of my pants to see if I did any damage to them. They were wet but I couldn't see any rips in the material so I figured I was fine. The colour of the pants camouflaged any signs of wetness so only I would know. I walked past Alice and Jasper as carefully as I could, with my head held high, hoping they wouldn't realise my embarrassment. Part of me hoped that Edward wasn't already inside and a possible witness, but a quick look around the parking lot told me that Emmett was already here, which worried me slightly. He was supposed to be bringing Edward tonight.

I reached the front doors with the Jasper and Alice right behind me, and I waited for them to enter first. Warm air rushed over me as I stepped inside, bringing with it the smells of grease, fries and burgers. I dared to glance up as I moved in and saw Edward standing with Emmett and Rosalie. My heart leapt at the sight of him. He was wearing a light blue shirt with the top two buttons undone and black dress pants. He ran his hand through his hair when he saw us, and I noticed that it was styled quite messily, as if he had gotten out of bed and left it like that. His eyes refused to meet mine which upset me a little.

"Hi guys. Hello brother," Alice said as walked up to them. Emmett and Rosalie both said 'hi' back but Edward only scowled at her. I stayed back cautiously, waiting to appraise his reaction.

"What's going on Alice?" He demanded.

She didn't even blink. "Whatever do you mean Edward? We're all here to have dinner, aren't we guys?" We all nodded around her. "There is however, someone I would like you to meet."

Edward raised his eyebrows in response. "Who?"

Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, "My very best friend Bella. Bella this is Edward, Edward this is Bella."

His eyes finally met mine. I gave him a timid look as he stared at me in confusion. Rosalie was trembling with silent laughter. Emmett was less inconspicuous. Alice gave them both a dirty look and told them to get a table.

Edward's eyes kept flickering between Alice and I, "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on? Why are you introducing me to my girlfriend as if I don't know her?"

Alice looked at me for help, "Err, Bella, you care to take this one?"

I nodded to her and asked if I could have a moment alone with him. She agreed and set off with Jasper to find Emmett and Rosalie. I took his hand and led him away from the diners that were next to us who were beginning to stare. He dropped my hand as soon as we stopped. It was difficult to look at his face when it was so mixed with anger and confusion. He clearly hadn't gotten past the previous nights events. I forced myself to do so anyway.

"Edward, remember last night when I asked you to go along with whatever happens?"

He flinched as if the memory burned him. "Yeah I remember."

"Well this is what you have to go along with."

"Why? I don't even know what this is."

I took a deep breath and attempted to explain. "Can you think back to the days when we started out? When everything was fresh, new and exciting? Those days were fantastic. I loved spending all that time with you, and I still do. Just lately, I keep getting that feeling that we just aren't like that anymore. I know we're both busy, but it's like we don't even try. It's just easier to let things slide."

"I get it Bella, you're not happy."

I shook my head. "That's not it Edward, not at all. I am happy. I just know we can be happier." I paused for a moment. "I was thinking about all of this the other day and it occurred to me that we never did the dating thing in the beginning. We never had the chance. So I decided to give us that chance. This... this is sort of my Christmas present to you Edward."

"Leaving me to stay with Alice - that's your idea of a present?" His voice was loud enough to turn heads.

"No Edward. I'm staying with Alice purely because if I stay with you in our home, then it wouldn't be like we are dating for the first time. It would just be the two of us going out more often. There are twelve nights left between now and Christmas night. I plan on spending every single one of those nights with you, just doing something different each time. That is your present. I want us to feel all the excitement that we missed out on, and I'm hoping it brings us back to how we used to be. I want to feel excited when I see you. I want us to look forward to things."

"So basically, you're doing this because you think our relationship needs some life to be injected into it?" He seemed calmer.

"Yes."

His face lost some of the strain that had framed it since he saw me. "Why the theatrics last night then? I thought the worst -" his voice caught.

"I'm so sorry Edward. I didn't know how to break it to you any other way. I wanted to keep this a surprise, but I also tried to make sure that you wouldn't think the worst. I guess I did it all wrong. I never meant to hurt you."

He hesitated for a moment and then said 'I forgive you,' while stepping forward and embracing me in a hug. Then he sighed, "You should have told me, and then I wouldn't have thought the worst."

I pulled my head back to look at his face, "Would you have let me go if I did tell you?"

He didn't hesitate in answering. "No."

"Well that's why I didn't tell you. You can make things terribly difficult sometimes. You should know I would never leave you for real. I'm yours Edward, and always will be. "

"Always?" He asked, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. There seemed to be a deeper meaning to the question.

"Always."

We stood there for a moment before a small cough interrupted us. We both jumped.

"Are you two ready to start this thing or not?" Alice asked, eyeing us disapprovingly.

I giggled, "Yes." Edward simply smiled.

"Well, come on then. Some of us want to eat," She stated as she grabbed my arm, yanking me away.

I couldn't help but laugh at her face, as she told us off. She glowered at me again when I didn't stop. "There will be no more of that Bella." She said sternly.

"No more of what?" I asked, turning my head to look at Edward behind me. I caught his him looking at my rear, and he grinned when he saw he had been caught. It made me blush.

Alice tugged on my arm, "No more of that!" She said pointedly, "You two have to play by the rules."

I snapped my face back to hers, "What rules?"

She gave me a devious grin, "You'll see." I didn't trust the look that she gave me. I knew she was up to something.

We reached our booth, and Alice slid in next to Jasper. Emmett was seated next to Rosalie on the other side, which meant Edward and I both had the end. I sat next to Alice and watched as Edward fixed his eyes on me as he sat down. It made the butterflies return to my stomach, but in a positive way. I couldn't remember the last time that he payed me this much attention, and I wondered what was running through his mind.

"Apparently Alice says there are rules," I announced casually to Edward.

He turned his head in Alice's direction with an intrigued expression on his face, "Really?"

"Yes, but we're going to choose what to eat first," she said, indicating the waitress who had come over to take our orders.

I ordered a chicken burger with fries, and knew what Edward would order before he had even opened his mouth: a double meat, bacon deluxe burger with the lot, plus fries and salad. It occurred to me there was comfort in the expectations and routine that we had with each other, and to step outside of those boundaries could be frightening. Last night was an example of how it could go wrong, but I knew that it could be good too. I just needed to push us outside of our normal limits.

When we all had made our selections, I turned to Alice and asked her about the 'rules' again. I saw her steal a glance at Emmett before she spoke.

"Well for starters, there will be no more physical contact."

I gaped at her. Was she serious? Edward was staring at her like she had stolen a piece of candy off of him.

"At least for tonight," she added.

Rosalie piped up, "And no kissing until the third date."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"It has to be realistic Bella. If you want to experience things like a couple normally then you have to do this. Many couples who are just starting to date don't kiss on the first or second date," Alice explained.

I groaned in response and turned on her. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before? Why now?"

"You would have backed out of an excellent idea, that's why. There's more though." She stated.

"There's more?" Edward seemed to finally find his voice.

Emmett let out a bellow of laughter. "No sex."

I gawked in disbelief and Edward's jaw dropped as everyone laughed around us. This wasn't turning out how I expected. How on earth were Edward and I going to enjoy ourselves with all these restrictions?

Alice was still giggling when she said, "Or groping. Make that no sexual contact in general, at least not for the first week. Unless you two would sleep together on the first date?" Her face was smug.

"No!" I answered immediately, perhaps a little too fast because it set everyone off laughing again. "Who came up with these rules?"

"I had a chat with Emmett yesterday, and he helped iron out the finer details." Alice replied.

"Yep," Emmett agreed. "We figured you would need some limitations, so you don't go wandering around like you have been together for years."

"But we have been together for years," Edward insisted.

"No you haven't," Rosalie sniggered. "Tonight is your first date. So you two have to pretend you don't know each other."

Jasper finally piped up, "And don't forget the phone numbers."

"Oh, yes! You have to give each other your phone numbers at the end of tonight." Alice chimed in.

"I have Edward's number in my phone." Not to mention memorised in my head.

"No you don't," Alice said adamantly. "I deleted it from your phone tonight when you were in the shower."

Edward's eyes flew to Emmett. "You didn't!"

"Yup!" Emmett responded brightly, looking proud of himself. Emmett must have gotten a hold of Edward's phone before we arrived. The look of dismay in Edward's eyes gave me the impression that he may not know mine.

"So, just to be perfectly clear," I asked, counting off on my fingers, "No touching until tomorrow, no kissing until Tuesday and no sex until next week?"

"And you don't know each other!" Rosalie threw in.

"That's just about it," said Alice.

"I swear that you're adopted," Edward said to Alice suddenly. "No sister of mine would do this to me."

Alice stuck her tongue out at him.

Emmett reached over and slapped Edward on the back. "Come on buddy, it's all in good fun."

Edward muttered inaudibly and met my eyes. We stared at each other in horror. What had we gotten ourselves into? Anxiety crept back into my chest. I hadn't anticipated this, and it threw me off balance. Thankfully our food arrived to provide a distraction. I kept peering up at Edward and he did the same. He was smiling at me now at least, which meant he wasn't mad at me for the way that things were turning out. It started to irritate me that I was forbidden to touch him. I constantly felt the need to reach out and touch him, which was probably a reaction to the fact that I couldn't. So many times my hand reached involuntarily out to grab his and had to stop. If anything, the rules were beginning to make things intense. A thought suddenly hit me.

"Alice, who is going to enforce these rules?"

"You are," she answered promptly. "Edward likes to break rules, so it's up to you to make sure he sticks to them. It is your present after all."

I gulped as Edward gave me a slysmile. 'Sure', I thought to myself. Keeping Edward in check would be an easy task. If he behaved that is.

Conversation started to flow around me as our plates were cleared, and my mind began to wander. I began to think about how the rules might change our dates. It annoyed me about how I didn't think of this when it was quite obvious that it couldn't have worked any other way. I watched as Rosalie ruffled Emmett's curly hair and felt a pang of jealously. They had always been an open couple, never shying away from displays of public affection. You got the impression that they did more in public places than you cared to know about. Emmett had settled down somewhat since he found Rosalie. Before her he was a bit of a player, always having two or more girls on the go at one time. They met last year when the big media company which they both worked for threw their annual Christmas party. Both of them had worked there for years and had never crossed paths before that point. Afterwards Emmett couldn't stop blabbering to us about the leggy, gorgeous blonde that he had talked to all night. Rosalie had refused to give him her number, so he illegally pulled her employee record and got it that way. If any other person had done that, it would have had stalkerish tendencies written all over it. Emmett being Emmett however, made it seem sweet and seductive. He chased her until New Years Eve, where he somehow found out where she would be for the night then crashed the party. According to his story, Rosalie finally gave in and threw herself at him. Rosalie on the other hand told us that he kept her cornered for most of the night so that she couldn't kiss anyone else at midnight. Emmett's persistence must have paid off because she finally agreed to see him, and they haven't looked back since.

"So, what did you buy Bella for Christmas?" Alice asked Edward. Her words brought me back to the conversation at hand.

"What do you mean Alice? I haven't bought Bella anything." He said with a grin as my heart stopped beating. Alice threw him a sceptical look.

"Yes you have!" She persisted. "Even Mum and Dad know you have."

"Alice," he replied sweetly. "How could I possibly have bought Bella anything if I just met her?"

"Fine!" She snapped. "If you're going to play the game, you may as well get to it. Shouldn't you be telling Bella all about yourself? How about what you do for a living Edward. Let's start with that."

"Well," he started as he leant forward on the table and pressed his hands together. "I work at a small law firm in town. I only started a year ago, but I'm working my way to passing the bar exam. I'm hoping to be made partner one day. What about you Bella?"

I smiled. "I work at the Wildlife Conservation Park. Most of my work involves tagging and tracking animals, so we can keep records of population numbers."

"How interesting, do you enjoy your work?"

I had to laugh. It was weird to have Edward ask me questions to which he already knew the answer. "Yes," I said finally. "It's very rewarding when you see that something you are doing is working. We've increased the number of wolves in the area significantly in the past year alone by ensuring they aren't being hunted. How about you Edward, do you enjoy your work?" My voice sounded very formal.

"It can be tedious at times, but when you achieve good results it makes it worth it."

"Gee you two are boring!" Emmett whined. Everyone laughed at that.

Edward began to ask me other questions about myself, about my likes and dislikes, and shared some of his own. Sometimes an answer would surprise one of us, which would lead to a series of other questions. Like when he asked what my favourite colour was. It used to be red, but in recent years I became more attached to green, no doubt by forever being drawn in by Edward's eyes. I was surprised to find that he had a keen interest in vampire movies. We had never watched any together. Despite being surrounded by our friends, we became completely engrossed in one another. Only the occasional snicker from the others brought back the awareness of their presence. Before long however, Alice announced that it was time to go home. I reluctantly got up and Edward came and stood as close to me as he possibly could without actually touching. An electric current appeared to flow in the gap between us, as if making up for the fact that we were not allowed physical contact with each other. This heightened my urge to reach out and grab him. One glance at his face told me that he was experiencing the same discomfort. Edward looked sideways at me. He seemed to be struggling to say something, but appeared reluctant about speaking in front of the others. Jasper must have noticed his predicament and suggested that we meet them at the cars outside. Alice mouthed 'no touching' as she walked away, which made Edward and I laugh. Once they were out of ear shot, he spoke to me.

"Well I actually enjoyed myself tonight, despite being comedy fodder." He had the goofiest grin on his face.

"Same," I answered coyly. For some reason I began to feel shy and found it hard to keep eye contact for more than a few seconds.

"I would like to do this again sometime," he hinted. The way he was gazing at my face made me blush.

"I would like that too." I couldn't think of anything else to say. This was definitely a new experience for me. More silence passed and added to the awkward tension in the air.

"So I guess I should ask for your number… unless you don't want to give it to me?" He joked.

I gave him a disbelieving look. "Of course I want to."

He responded with the most dazzling smile. We both got our phones out and did the customary exchange. I tried hard not to type in the digits of his number before he spoke them out loud. I had pressed that number into my phone too many times to count. As we moved to walk out of the restaurant we saw Emmett's face pressed up to the glass, staring in at us. When he saw us coming he let out a booming laugh and ran off.

"Guess they don't trust us," I said to Edward.

"Well we'll have to show them then, won't we?" He replied.

I nodded and we walked to the car where Alice was waiting impatiently. Edward opened my door for me said goodbye to us. I watched as he walked to Emmett's jeep and shared a laugh with him. We waved as we passed, and I felt a slight twinge as I realised that I wouldn't see him again until tomorrow night. Not being able to wake up next to Edward would take some getting used to. We had almost reached Alice's house when I felt my phone vibrate, it was a message from Edward.

"I was hoping to see you again soon. Do you have plans for tomorrow night?" It read.

I had to giggle. I texted him back, informing him that I was heading out to see a movie that was just released, and suggested that he could join me. He replied that he would love to watch a movie with me, and suggested that he would pick me up at around 7pm. I deliberately didn't mention which movie it was that I intended to see. I wanted to see his reaction tomorrow. I went to bed feeling much more relaxed than the previous night. I had tried to play my part well tonight and I was keen to see how things panned out on the next date.