Iron Rose

Chapter 16

~Steve's POV~

I haven't known Bella for barely a week, but I think I'm in love with her. She's so beautiful, inside and out. She's been through so much, and I hate that I couldn't've been there for her during it all. Now, I will always be there for her. I wonder if she feels the same way about me. I see her interact with her friends, who we now know are the wolves. They are like brothers to her and she is a sister to them.

I watch her sleeping form next to two of her friends. The guy talking, Sam the alpha, asked some of the guys to take Bella to her room. Wow, she must be here a lot to have her room. I ask Sam about it, he says that when everything became too much for her, she would come here. Emily, Sam's wife, spoke up.

"Bella is a part of this pack, this family. Always has been, always will be. She needed somewhere to stay from time to time, so we made her a place here."

When he headed to leave, Tony didn't want to leave Bella here by herself. I volunteered to stay, both for myself and to ease Tony's worries. Natasha also volunteered, saying we could take shifts watching out for her. I agreed, and Sam was okay with both of us staying the night. He said it was more protection for Bella.

~Bella's POV~

I woke up to the sun streaming in through the window. I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, it read 8:27. The ones who still go to school would have left by now. I threw on some clothes, brushed my teeth, and walked into the kitchen. I noticed that Steve and Natasha were sitting at the table with Emily.

"Good morning. I didn't know you guys stayed last night." I pointed out that last part to Steve and Natasha.

"Tony was being a worrywart. So, to ease his worries, we stayed." Natasha answered.

"Bells, there's some breakfast casserole in the oven for you. I left it in there to keep it warm." Emily offered.

"Thanks, Em." I walked over to the oven and fixed me a plate full of the casserole.

As I was eating, we continued to make some small talk. I wanted to get to know Steve and Natasha some more, so I asked if they wanted to head to Port Angeles for lunch and some shopping. Natasha agreed, but Steve seemed hesitant. Maybe it was the shopping part, so I told him we could stop by a bookstore if he wanted. From our short conversation at the tower, I knew he liked books. After that assurance, Steve agreed. I told Natasha that she could get ready in my room and borrow some of my clothes. Em said that Steve could borrow some of Paul's clothes that he has left here. Steve politely refused the offering, insisting that he could go to my house and get ready there, so us dames, as he put it, could enjoy some quality time together.

I dragged Emily and Natasha to my room. Nat and I took turns in the shower, I had Emily do my hair and Nat offered to do my makeup. I told them that we needed to take a girl's trip.

"That sounds lovely. We could do a spa weekend or something," Emily proposed.

"I like that idea. I've never been to a spa before," I responded.

"I have, and it is the most relaxing thing I have ever done that was domestic. I find sparring to be relaxing as well as target practice," Nat revealed.

"Can you teach me? To defend myself, I mean," I asked.

"Of course. Once we get back to New York and this Cullen mess is dealt with, I will teach you to fight," Nat accepted.

I thanked her and we went back to getting ready. After forty-five minutes of getting ready and gossiping, Nat and I went to meet Steve at my house. The drive to both my house and Port Angeles was pleasant. Nat and I took over the radio, we both were singing to some of our favorite songs. Surprisingly, Nat and I had a lot of favorite songs in common. Steve was in the back laughing at our antics. Steve was actually liking some of the songs and asked for the names of them. He had this book, and I question him about it.

"This notebook is filled with things that I need to catch up on. I also put in some things that I have discovered that I enjoy to find similar things in the future."

"My promise is still in effect, Steve. After the Cullens are taken care of, I can help you adjust to the twenty-first century, I reminded him.

"Thank you, Bella. That means a lot to me," he answered.

Nat smiled at our small conversation. I have a feeling that she knows that I like him. I wonder if he likes me too. I will have to ask her about it later. We arrived in Port Angeles, I guided them around the small shops. We walked into a few, and as promised, I led Steve into a bookstore. I explained to him that the library I had back at Tony's would need some updating and rearranging. He pulled out a few books he said that seemed interesting, and I did the same. Before we left, Tony gave me his credit card and told me to but whatever I wanted.

"Bella, do you mind if we run into a dress shop? I need a few new dresses, and I think you need some too," Nat pointed out.

"I don't mind as long as Steve doesn't. You are right though; I need some new clothes. Most of my clothes are either in the trash or in New York. The clothes in New York are also very limited," I replied.

"Why are your clothes in the trash?" Steve pondered.

"Alice Cullen liked to drag me shopping and bought me stuff that I didn't like, want, or need. She made me wear the stuff she bought by taking all of my clothes and leaving the ones she bought," I explained.

After that, we moved on to the dress shop two doors down. Nat pulled some dresses for me to try on, not before asking if I liked them. All the ones she pulled were my style. Simple, yet pretty. I found a dress that I think Nat would love. It was deep red, short just above the knee, it had a very deep V-neck with some simple straps. Nat loves it and tries it on. Steve shockingly has been a big help; he admits to being an artist. He loves drawing. After learning this, it doesn't shock me that he always finds the best accessories for each dress. Nat gets two dresses and one pair of flats that go with both outfits. Nat and Steve teamed up and convinced me to buy all five dresses and the matching shoes and accessories.

After the dress shop, we went to lunch at 'Bella Italia'. It was an Italian place that I have eaten before. When lunch was finished and paid for, we went to do more shopping. For the second time today, Nat and Steve teamed up and to convince me to buy some more clothes. At the end of our shopping excursion, I ended up with eight new dresses, twenty new outfits, ten new pairs of shoes, some bras and underwear, and five sets of pajamas. I felt bad for spending Tony's money like this, but Nat kept assuring me that he wouldn't care. On the car ride back, Steve drove, Natasha rode shotgun, and I was in the back. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

Revised 4/17/20