On the ride to Port Angeles, Bella's nerves began to show. She wished she had planned a date that didn't require an hour drive. "Okay, let's play a game."
"A game?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.
"It's called twenty questions."
"Let me guess, you ask twenty questions?"
Bella rolled her eyes. "Well no, not me. We ask each other questions back and forth."
"Why?"
"To get to know each other better. Also, to pass the time."
Rosalie scoffed. "You know there would be less time to pass if you let me drive? You handle Athena like you're driving Miss Daisy."
"Wow, what a racist movie reference."
"It's not racist in this instance."
Bella looked at Rosalie. "Two words. Green Book."
Rosalie gave in with a nod. "Okay, I concede to your twenty questions. I assume you want to go first?"
"No, ladies first!"
Rosalie's eyebrows shot up. "Okay...What's the point? Is this a 'what is your favorite color' kind of game?"
Bella laughed. "It's whatever you want. You ask a question, I have to answer. I ask a question, you have to answer."
"Within reason."
Bella glanced over and took in the look on Rosalie's face. "Within reason," she agreed.
Rosalie watched the trees drag by. Can't she drive any faster? "Who is your favorite author?"
Bella took a moment to think it over. "Couldn't have asked for my favorite book..." she muttered. Bella's face lit up. "Ian Doescher."
"I don't know him."
"Well, you're truly missing out. He rewrote the original Star Wars trilogy in the style of Shakespeare."
"Excuse me?"
"The Empire Striketh Back? The Jedi Doth Return?"
Rosalie mumbled, "If I jumped out of this car right now, it probably wouldn't even hurt."
Bella laughed hard. "Well, you asked. What TV show do you, or could you, watch again and again without getting sick of it?"
"Supernatural."
"Saving people, hunting things," Bella said gruffly, "The family business." Rosalie stared at Bella. Bella felt her heart try and slam its way out of her chest. "What? I've been known to watch it. I am cultured."
"Your favorite author writes Shakespeare Star Wars."
Bella tapped her temple. "Culture. Your turn."
"Where would your friends or family be most surprised to find you?"
"On a date with a vampire," Bella quipped. Rosalie tried not to smile but couldn't help it. "Ah, there's that smile. Why do I have to work so hard for one?" The smile slipped away, and Bella mentally chided herself. "What's the most recent thing you've done for the first time?"
"Gone on a date with a werewolf." Rosalie took a moment. "What do you like to do in your free time?"
What do I do in my free time? "I guess I like to hang out with strays."
"That's an interesting way to refer to your pack."
"Not my pack -rude, by the way- but actual strays. There are lots of them in Forks. The random cats and dogs around town show up at my house. Now, I feed them."
"I would bet they show up at your house because you feed them."
"Potato Tomato."
"That's not the-" Rosalie sighed. "Your turn."
"What's your favorite quote or saying or whatever?"
Rosalie put her chin on her hand as she looked at the guardrail crawling by. "I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken - and I'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken pieces as long as I lived." Rosalie looked down at her hands. Bella didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, so she looked out the window and committed the quote to memory. She wanted to know every thought Rosalie had, but she could tell this one needed to be left alone right now. She repeated it in her mind again and again. She wanted to look it up later. Rosalie broke into Bella's thoughts, "Would you rather have a lightning fast car or lightning fast internet?"
"Car."
"I literally never would have guessed that," Rosalie said as she glared pointedly at the speedometer.
"You know what, if you can be nice, you can drive home."
"I could run home faster than this."
Bella smirked, "I also run faster than this. Maybe I just enjoy your company." Rosalie opened her mouth to snap back. "Oh look, we're here!" Bella pulled off the highway and followed a sign that said, 'Car show this way.' "Now," Bella hedged, "I would just like to point out that I know nothing about cars. I fully expect you to talk my ear off about everything you see here that excites you." Bella parked in the blocked off lot. She turned to look at Rosalie and caught the golden eyes staring. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing."
The parking lot was gravel. What was I thinking, she's wearing heels? "Will you be okay in the gravel in heels?"
"Not all of us are newborn deer, Bella." Rosalie walked off ahead of Bella. She jogged to catch up.
"What does that even mean?"
"This is going to be a long night, isn't it dear?" Bella didn't know about that, but she didn't mind being called 'dear.' Or deer? Whatever.
Bella had never been very interested in cars. She liked that they moved. She liked when she turned the key and the vehicle turned on. Her beloved truck hadn't always done that. Bella was willing to rethink her entire outlook on vehicles after seeing Rosalie light up when she described them. Rosalie was a mechanical genius. She floated from shiny vehicle to shiny vehicle, and Bella hung on her every word. She had never heard Rosalie talk so much, and she would move her whole life into a car lot if it would only keep Rosalie talking.
Bella looked at her Imprint. She didn't know why her wolf had chosen Rosalie, but she was beginning to think it had been right. "What?" Rosalie asked after catching Bella watching her for the third time.
"Nothing. Tell me about this one." Bella pointed to a white car with a sporty shape.
"This is a..." Rosalie considered it. "I'm going to say somewhere between 1990 and 2000 Lamborghini Diablo. With this weather, I don't know why someone would bring it this far north. The rust alone could ruin this car."
The man on the other side of the car looked up. "We don't live up here. I take it to car shows across the country. This is a Tennessee car." The man appraised Rosalie. He didn't even look at Bella. Bella's wolf growled internally. "Well, look at you. Beauty and brains." He smiled. Bella started to shake. She took a deep breath. Can't shift here. Can't shift here. "So, you two here with your boyfriends?"
Can't shift here.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked as Bella's shaking escalated.
Rosalie laid a cool hand on Bella's arm, and she stilled immediately. "Actually, we're on a date."
The man looked surprised, but he recovered quickly. "My apologies, ladies. You two make a cute couple." Bella's spirit soared at his casual use of the word 'couple.' "Is there anything you want to know about the car?"
"No, thank you." Rosalie linked her arm through Bella's and led her away. "Want to tell me what that was about?"
"No, I do not." Bella tried not to focus on Rosalie's arm wrapped around hers. A squeal echoed through speakers across the car show. The sound felt like it split Bella's head in half. Bella bent overhead in her hands.
Rosalie put her arm around Bella's shoulder and stood her back up before too many people could look at them. "Shh, it's okay."
"Wolf hearing, you know?" Bella winced.
"Trust me, I get it."
Sorry, everyone! Crackled across the speaker system. It's 9:30, and voting closes in five minutes! Pick your favorite cars. Winners will be announced at ten PM sharp!
"We should probably head out soon, huh?" Bella asked. Rosalie took her arm off Bella's shoulder.
"Excuse me?" Rosalie looked offended, "I would like to vote and see the winners!"
She is so cute when she's mad. "Yes, but I told your parents we'd be home by eleven. It takes an hour to get home."
"When you drive. I can do the trip in half that."
"I'm starting to be offended by your insults."
Rosalie started walking toward the voting booth. "Well then, pup, I can tell you that you can't handle this." Rosalie looked over her shoulder at Bella, who felt the surprise on her face. She bit her lip as she watched the vampire walk away. I am in over my head.
After the winners were announced (a Mustang, a Corvette, and a souped-up Civic maybe? Bella wasn't sure) Bella and Rosalie made one last loop through the show. Rosalie looked at every car like she wanted them all to be hers.
"Alright, Aphrodite, we gotta go. Home by eleven!" Rosalie looked crestfallen until Bella handed her the keys. "Come on lady, show me what you got."
Watching Rosalie drive was one of the most thrilling experiences Bella had ever had. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest as she watched Rosalie expertly shift through the gears until the Jeep was pushing 120. She turned sideways and pulled her legs up under her. With an arm around her headrest and her back against the door, she just watched Rosalie. Rosalie slowly started to smile. She finally turned to look at Bella. "Okay, why are you staring at me?"
Bella shrugged. "I like your face." Rosalie was taken back by Bella's blunt answer. She continued to look at Bella as she expertly guided the Jeep through the sparse Washington traffic.
"Well, thank you. What do you never get tired of?"
"What?"
"Does 20 questions have a time limit, or can we keep playing?"
"Of course, we can." Bella thought about the question. Her honest, instinctual answer was, Your company, but that seemed too much. "Hmmm. Pass."
"What? Why?"
"Because I can't think of one thing."
"Okay, give me a few."
"Fine. My pack. Your family. My pets. My dad." Bella looked out the windshield. "You." She swallowed hard.
"Your turn," Rosalie reminded Bella.
"Who taught you the most about life?" Rosalie's hands tightened on the steering wheel, and Bella wished she could take the question back.
It was silent in the car for so long that Bella was sure Rosalie wasn't going to answer. "His name was Royce."
"Want to tell me anything else about that answer?" Bella felt the tension in the vehicle and she didn't want to exacerbate it.
Rosalie inhaled and exhaled before answering. "No. What's your favorite band name?"
"Name? Not my favorite band?" Rosalie nodded, the corner of her mouth turning up the tiniest bit. "Butthole Surfers." Rosalie grimaced as Bella laughed out loud. "Come on! That's funny!" Rosalie looked seriously at Bella. Bella felt her heart leap in her chest. Rosalie patted Bella's hand.
"We'll work on it, I promise." Rosalie glanced down, like Bella's speeding heart had caught her attention. Rosalie wrapped her cool fingers around Bella's wrist so that her fingers rested on Bella's pulse point. At Bella's quizzical look Rosalie half shrugged. "I haven't been this close to someone alive in a long time. Well, not without wanting to drain them. It's nice." Bella's heart continued to race. She tried to seem relaxed, not wanting Rose to take her hand away. Rosalie held on to Bella's wrist until she needed to take her hand back to shift gears on her way into the Cullen's long drive.
After Rosalie parked the Jeep Bella quietly said, "Wait." To Bella's surprise, Rosalie listened. She jumped from the Jeep and walked quickly to the driver's side. She opened the door and offered her hand. Rosalie didn't take it, but Bella was undeterred. She walked Rosalie to the Cullen's front porch. They walked in silence, matching step for step as they took the short stairs up. Bella pulled her phone from her back pocket. "10:58. I told you I'd have you home by 11:00. I have to impress your dad." Rosalie gifted Bella with another one of her rare smiles. It was more upturned corners of her mouth than anything, but Bella filed it away in her memories. It was a gift, and she would save it. "I had a good time tonight."
"I did too." Rosalie held her hands in front of her. She didn't fiddle with her keys. She didn't lean in. Bella was looking for any of the tell-tale chick-flick signs. She wanted to kiss Rosalie more than anything, but Bella could feel waves of anxiety coming from her imprint. She was dying to push boundaries and close the space between them, but an instinct told Bella not to. She reached for one of Rosalie's cold hands instead and took it tentatively in both of hers. Bella felt warmth flood her whole body from the contact.
"I mean it. I had a great time. Can we do this again?" A rare bit of anxiety crept into Bella's mind. What if she says no? Her wolf instincts squashed that idea. A quiet sound escaped Rosalie. It seemed to emanate from within her chest, like a small bass note right before the rest of the song begins. It sounded like purring.
"Yes." Rosalie grinned, and Bella felt a tingling sensation take over her whole body. She squashed the desire to kiss Rosalie, knowing that now wasn't the time. Maybe soon, but not now.
"It's 11:00. You better get in the house before you make a liar of me to Carlisle." Rosalie gently removed her hand from Bella's and opened the door. Bella turned away, ready to leave.
"Bella?" Rosalie asked, half turning back.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Bella smirked. "For what?"
Rosalie met Bella's eyes. She smiled a real, genuine smile. "I'll tell you later." Bella looked at Rosalie, knowing she meant it. Bella took one step back towards the edge of the porch while Rosalie was still looking at her. She backflipped off the porch. "Show-off." Rosalie scoffed.
"You like it," Bella taunted with a wink. She turned around and walked to the car, a bounce in her step. She heard the door shut quietly behind her, and as soon as it did she jumped straight up, trying to burn off her extra excitement. She wanted to cheer, but with all the super hearing beings inside she simply got into her Jeep, turned it on, and drove home.