Chapter 8

Present Day.

It has now been an entire year since the day my life changed and I am definitely in a better place. I found a great little house right near Campus, I've taken up Yoga, of all things and I seem to be pretty good at it. Emmett moved out and moved on also...he moved on right across the street from me.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit weird… Em has been promoted to Police Lieutenant and thankfully for him, his hours of work have become more relaxed with not too many overnights. We have been spending more and more time together. I've recently discovered a love for cooking...and Em, well, he's always loved eating so we take turns at sharing our kitchens and dinners.

I feel drawn to him, it's like we gravitate towards each other. I don't know if it's out of habit, but we have always been close. He's still as gorgeous as he was when we were teenagers and he looks incredible in his uniform. I adore him. Sometimes I catch him looking at me. Little glances here and there. I blush when our eyes meet over the table. He makes me feel fourteen again.

Tonight is going to be different because we have opted to go out for dinner together rather than lounge around at home. Of course it's not the first time that we have been out and about together but this time it's like feelings are changing. Going out to a nice little restaurant, to me feels like we are crossing a bridge to something new. I have no idea how I'm supposed to behave.

I think he feels the same way. I've always been pretty good at reading my friend. Tonight I'm going to cross that line between friendship and more and it's utterly terrifying to think about. Can he and I deal with any more potential hurt in our lives? How will we cope? The two of us have had the total of one relationship each in our lives. We have never been with anyone else. I've always loved Emmett, but came to terms years ago that he was with Bella.

So I'm standing in my closet, in a pretty little black dress trying to decide if I ought to wear my hair up or down and which shade of red lipstick constitutes slutty or first-datey. This really shouldn't be as hard as I'm making it out to be. It's not long before the doorbell rings. It's Em, I can see his truck right outside, he would usually just use his key. It feels like a date already. I feel my cheeks flush as I open the front door to him and step back into the hallway. His eyes rake up and down my form which causes me to blush even more. "You look awesome," he tells me.

"Thank you" I manage to tell him, and he's gone to an effort tonight. His black dress pants fit him perfectly and his gray shirt complements his broad chest. It's tight in all the right places. He smells fresh and clean. "You don't scrub up too bad yourself, Mr McCarty." I managed.

We head on out to dinner - a candlelit table for two is waiting for us at one of Seattle's best steak houses. I feel shy with him, which I know is ridiculous but Em, ever the gentleman, gently takes my hand across the table and strokes his index finger across my knuckles lightly.

"Rosie," I love it when he calls me that. He's the only one who has ever been allowed to. "I'm not quite sure what's going on here, but I know you feel it too. I can't help but think that we are making a mistake but I know I'll kick myself if I don't try and find out."

I let out the breath I've been holding and smile. "I know. So...what do we want to do about it? Are we going to try us and see what happens? Do we date, take it slow? I feel the same Em, but I'm so confused. I know what I want, but I'm afraid."

Emmett nods and entwines his fingers in mine. He seems so far away across the table. "I want to try if you do. I love you, Rosie."

My smile hurts my face. "I absolutely want to. I've always loved you, Emmett, you were the first boy I ever loved and I've never stopped loving you. I think we can make this work."

Em grabs his chair and pulls it around to my side of the table so that we are sitting close. He reaches over and strokes a long finger down my cheek. I gently lick my lips before taking the plunge and leaning in to kiss him softly on the lips. Our first kiss. Butterflies are having a riot in my stomach and my whole body is tingling.

Who says you can't have a second chance at first love, and a fairy-tale ending?

So here's to the future, and here's to us. Fate, love and heartache brought us here, to this very moment and will hopefully lead us to our happily ever after.

THE END.

Notes: So, I hope you've enjoyed this little tale, especially to my recipient, LadyLibre - I've read some of your stories and I'm a fan. Thank you for the prompts... I had never written Rosalie before and writing this has actually somewhat changed my perspective of her. It was nice to be able to incorperate more than one of the prompts and to technically be able to write more than one pairing in a story.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read. Its' much appreciated.