“What’s wrong?” she asked. Concern took over her features. She thought he was trying to tell her he was going to pass out or be sick. “It’s okay, Edward, we’ll be off the ride soon. I’ll get you a cold drink or something and you’ll be fine.”
His eyebrows shot up confused. Then understanding hit. “No, I’m fine. What I’m trying to say is that I really like you, Dana. More than I ever thought possible to like a woman.”
She looked even more confused. “No, that didn’t sound right. I mean I like women. I’m not surprised that I like you. It’s just that I like you a lot, wait no, I said that already,” he babbled. To his horror he felt himself blush. Damn, he was messing this up. He never lost his cool with a woman before and now he was acting like an idiot. She looked amused, which made it all the more embarrassing for him. “Damn, Dana, can we please forget this ever happened?”
Dana sighed. “Edward, you’re so cute when you get nervous.” She leaned in and pressed her lips to his softly and pulled away before he could do anything. “I really like you, too, Edward, babbling and all,” she teased.
“You do?” His voice cracked.
“Yes, I do.” She smiled shyly.
“Thank God.” He leaned in and kissed her tenderly. Before he could deepen the kiss he felt the seat rock.
“Alright, guys, time to go.”
Edward broke the kiss to see the man smirking at him. He nodded and removed the safety bar. He stood up and held his hand out to Dana. They walked off the platform to find Deana with two excited children who each held a big stick of cotton candy.
“Mommy, can you take me on the bumper cars. The man said we had to sit with an adult,” Elizabeth explained.
Dana released Edward’s hand and picked Elizabeth up. Edward put his arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the bumper cars. She felt nervous and excited and she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the bumper cars.
*******
“I don’t know how you do it,” Edward said, plopping himself onto one of the lounge chairs that surrounded Dana’s pool.
She laughed. “Do what?” She walked around picking up toys and wet towels.
“Do what? Do all of this.” He gestured around them. “It’s only ten o’clock and I’m exhausted,” he said, dropping his head back and closing his eyes.
“I enjoy it,” she said softly. Dana walked around the patio, straightening everything while keeping an eye on Edward. He was turning into a really good friend, someone she could count on.
“I can see why. Your kids are great.”
“Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit,” she said.
“Yes, you can,” he said seriously, making her stop and turn around. He was getting up from his chair and moving towards her.
She instantly felt awkward. He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. “You’re doing a great job with them.”
Dana pushed a strand of hair back. “Thank you, do you want to work on the book?” she asked, hoping for a diversion from this uncomfortable moment. They kissed once on the Ferris wheel, but he made no move since then to do it again. It made her feel self-conscious and nervous.
He smiled. “Sure, but I pick the music this time.”
She rolled her eyes playfully. He chuckled as they walked to her office.
********
He woke up stretched out on a couch. It took him a moment to figure out where he was. His eyes focused on the room and he realized he was still in Dana’s office. She was asleep at her desk. He looked at his watch, two in the morning. Damn, he meant to spend some time kissing her properly, but they got right to work and he started to doze off before he got the chance.
A small sound at the door caught his attention. Cole stood in the doorway with eyes half closed, doing what was unquestioningly the pee pee dance. Edward rubbed his face and walked over to the little boy. He didn’t want to disturb Dana, yet.
“Come on, buddy,” Edward said, taking Cole’s hand and led him into the bathroom. After tucking Cole into his Mickey Mouse bed he checked on Elizabeth and pulled the covers over her.
He made his way back to the office and couldn’t help but smile at Dana. She looked so peaceful. He didn’t want to disturb her, but he also didn’t want to leave her sleeping at the desk. He picked her up carefully in his arms and carried her towards the only room he hadn’t seen yet, her bedroom.
Her room was exactly the way he thought it would be. Clean and organized with a large bed. There were no frills in this room. It was a bedroom and that was it, clean and simple. The kind of room he liked. Too many of his ex-girlfriends had lacey things everywhere, make-up spilling over the bureaus, dirty clothes everywhere. It was a huge turn off for him. Not that he had a lot of girlfriends in the past. He was too guarded to date as often as his family would like him to.
He laid her gently on the bed and pulled a blanket over her. She instantly snuggled into it and rolled onto her side. “Mmm, Edward,” she said sleepily.
Edward froze and stared at her. Did she just stay his name? He was surprised and intrigued. He wondered what else she might say. He looked around for a chair and realized there were none. He made his way around the bed and carefully crawled into bed with her. He lay on his side to watch her sleep.
His eyes wondered over her hair, her face and the shape of her body beneath the blanket. He reached over and moved a lose strand of hair off her face, knowing she would hate that. She murmured something that he didn’t quite hear. He dared himself to move closer to her until he was practically spooning her.
He felt sleep pull at him again. He fought it at first, but it was late and he was exhausted and in minutes he was falling asleep. He closed his eyes, planning on leaving before she woke up. He nuzzled his face into her blonde hair and fell asleep smelling vanilla.
********
Dana woke up feeling a strong arm holding her waist tightly. She felt something warm snuggled against her back and hot breaths on her neck. It took her a moment to figure out what was going on. She looked around to see she was in her room. She didn’t remember going to bed last night. Her last memory was dropping her head onto her arm at her desk.
“Edward?” she said. No movement. “Edward?” she said a little louder. She felt him wake up and freeze. He pulled away from her and sat up.
She turned over and sat up as well. “Good morning,” he said sheepishly.
Dana sighed with relief when she realized they were both completely dressed. “What happened?” she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair, hoping she didn’t have bed head.