Eye Of The Tiger

Chapter 23

The next morning found Rosalie parked out front of Bella's house leaning against the passenger side of her red BMW. She smiled brightly as Bella came out the front door and walked towards her.Rosalie held the car door open for Bella and noticed Charlie peeking through the curtain of the living room giving her an approving nod. Bella must have said something to him."Good morning."

When Rosalie got into the driver's seat Bella returned the greeting."Morning."

"How was your night?" Rosalie asked.

"Good. I asked Charlie about going out with you on Friday and he said it was fine."Bella told her.

"Did you tell him it was a date?" Rosalie inquired.

"Yes I did. He took it surprisingly well and was happy when I told him that you were always the perfect gentleman to me."Bella said.

"Maybe half gentleman."Rosalie said with a chuckle and when Bella smiled back she felt good that Bella was willing to joke about her penis. It confirmed that she didn't make Bella uncomfortable and that meant the world to Rosalie.

"Yes well I didn't tell him that part. Oh but guess what?" Bella said brimming with excitement. "Charlie said I could get a cat!"

"Bella that's great. Have you found a shelter yet?" Rosalie asked.

"I found one a couple towns over I was thinking of going to. Plus I need to get supplies to take care of it. How is my car coming along? I don't want to be pushy but I don't want to have to bug Charlie for rides." Bella also didn't want Rosalie to get annoyed with her asking all the time.

"I ordered the parts I need to fix some of it and they will be coming in next week. I'm sorry I wish it could go faster but if you need a ride I wouldn't mind driving you wherever you need to go." And spending more time with you Rosalie added in her head.

Rosalie wanted to spend as much time as she could with Bella but she didn't want to be creepy. She had just lectured Alice about being over bearing and she didn't want to chase away her mate by acting like a stalker. It was a fine line because her vampire side wanted to be with Bella every second of the day but Rosalie's human side had to constantly remind her it wasn't healthy or fair to Bella to act that way.

"If you don't mind then could you could take me to the shelter. There is a pet supply store next door so it would be just one stop." Bella said.

Now Rosalie was especially excited. Not only was she getting to spend time with Bella but she would be there to help pick out the cat. It was what she was hoping when they talk about it yesterday. She was being involved in an important decision in Bella's life. At least Rosalie thought getting a cat was an important decision.Rosalie had to remind herself to be cool when she replied. "Yeah, no problem, that's cool, I don't mind, I mean I like cats so seeing some would be great."

Rosalie wanted to smack herself in the head. So much for being cool Rosalie thought. She sounded like a rambling idiot. "I like cats." She mumbled to herself. What did this girl do to her brain? She was the Ice Queen for gods sake but ever since she met Bella she felt less like royalty and more like the court jester.

Bella chuckled. Rosalie was too cute for her own good. "I'm glad you like cats.I like cats too."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and gave Bella an awkward smile."When did you want to go?"

"Well I don't want to leave the poor thing alone while I'm at school and I'm going to your house on Saturday so maybe next Friday? That way I have the weekend with it."Bella didn't want the poor thing to be left alone for the first couple of days it was home.

"Bella you don't have to come over for a sleepover Alice pushed you into without even asking. You need to stand up for yourself and tell her to back off when she gets like that. She is over excited about having a friend and it gets away from her sometimes. She's harmless in the sense she won't endanger your health or get you caught up in anything illegal, well let's hope she wouldn't, but it's ok to tell her no or tell her she's over stepping boundaries. Sometimes she needs to be told."Rosalie told her.

"I know I let her railroad me yesterday and you're right I didn't stand up for myself but I don't mind the sleepover. I want to spend time with your family. Maybe not do all the things Alice wants but I promise I won't be a pushover and just go along with what she says. I never had a friend before either. Alice is a little intense but she seems harmless. Maybe we will balance each other out if we hang out together more. Alice could get me out of my shell a little bit and I could mellow out some of her exuberance."Bella said.

Rosalie wasn't convinced and promised herself that she would just keep an eye on things. She had to remind herself that she needed to trust Bella to handle things on her own. Even though her instincts demanded she protect Bella from everything,including her own sister, Bella wasn't a helpless damsel in distress. If she really thought about it Rosalie realized it was silly to even think she could protect Bella. Bella was a lot stronger than her and could take care of herself physically but maybe Rosalie could give her a little bit of help to be able to protect herself emotionally.

With that thought Rosalie decided she would leave the subject alone for now. As they pulled in to their parking spot next to Emmett's Jeep and saw none of her siblings waiting for them Rosalie decided that maybe Alice took what she said to heart.Rosalie walked around to Bella's side of the car opened the door and offered her hand for Bella to take. She felt giddy when not only did Bella take it but gave her a kiss on the cheek. She was starting to really enjoy having a mate.

They walked hand in hand to school separating when the bell rang with a promise to see each other at lunch.