The Dead of Night

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter 21: Ira & Dante.

I awoke the next morning with a sense of all encompassing jubilee and enthusiasm. Not only had I taken two major steps in my relationship with Eric—kissing him and agreeing to be his girlfriend—but I had also gotten a wonderful night's sleep without any nightmares. My stomach erupted with a swarm of butterflies as I thought about the kiss I shared with Eric the previous evening. It had started out gentle and slow, but rapidly became rushed and passionate—something I'd never experienced with Edward.

More and more, I was realizing that the differences between Edward and Eric were pleasing to me. While Edward had been guarded in my presence, always worried that he might lose control, Eric was free and blissful with me, which made me feel wanted. I showered and dressed quickly, opting for a purple long sleeve shirt and

a pair of jeans, before heading downstairs for breakfast. I wasn't surprised that Charlie was already at work, he was normally gone by the time I awoke, but was a little confused when I found a note taped to the refrigerator.

 

Bella, let me know what you want to do about Thursday –Dad.

My head tilted sideways as I tried to think of what I had obviously forgotten. Thursday? My mind had been so consumed with the McRaes and Eric that everything else seemed to have slipped by unnoticed. Despite all my hard concentrating, I couldn't figure out what Charlie meant, so I decided to ask him about it later.

I settled in at the table with a bowl of cereal and a goofy smile plastered on my face. If I was being honest with myself, I couldn't recall the last time I'd felt this way. Even with the Cullens, I'd felt awkward and inadequate; why was it so different with Eric and his family?

A knock at the front door shook me from my musings, and, after tossing the remains of my breakfast in the sink, I opened the front door. Much to my surprise, I found twin pairs of honey colored eyes staring at me, belonging to the most unlikely pair of vampires: Ira and Dante.

"Good morning, Bella," Ira chimed and smiled at me, her arm linked with Dante's.

"Your car service has arrived," Dante said with a wide grin and gestured to the waiting SUV behind him.

"Car service?" I quirked an eyebrow and inspected the expensive looking vehicle, which I had seen before, waiting in a patch of fresh snow. Sometime in the past eight hours, Forks had been shrouded in a winter wonderland of fresh snow. Despite my loathing for all things cold and wet, my mood couldn't be dampened.

"Are you ready?" Dante asked, after half a minute of silence.

"Oh," I stuttered and my face flushed a bit. "You guys don't have to do this, I mean, I have a truck."

I pointed to my red monster, which looked frozen solid under a bed of fresh snow and ice. Balking at the sight of it, I found Ira and Dante chuckling at my appearance. Rubbing my hand behind my neck, I weighed my options; I could get dressed and spend the next half an hour trying to defrost the outside of my car, and, in the process, probably slip a dozen times, or I could ride with Ira and Dante.