Changing our forever.

Changing our Forever 5

EPOV

I took off my shoes and snuggled under the covers, marveling at the warmth emanating from the blanket. It was a lot like being in a sauna or a hot tub, but could thankfully be done comfortably while wearing a decent amount of clothing. I pulled the covers all the way over my head, wanting my face and lips to be warm too. I wondered how long it would take for my body to absorb enough heat energy to feel like a human would to Bella. I was thrilled with the idea that she could snuggle comfortably with me without getting too cold. My body reacted at the thought that we would no longer need to keep a barrier between us when I held her at night. The down side is that, without the barrier, she might actually feel my reaction. I definitely had no desire for her to understand just how hard it was for me to hold her in my arms all night long.

I heard Charlie ask Bella if she had seen me today. I realized suddenly that I couldn't hear his thoughts either! How odd. It must be genetic, if she inherited it from her father. Carlisle would be very interested to know this. I could get general impressions of his thoughts though. He wasn't completely silent to me like she was. I could sense his approval as he mentioned me. That was good news. Now I just had to be careful not to do anything to change his impression of me. I smiled as I heard Bella extolling my virtues. She mentioned me helping to carry bags. I felt guilty for not helping the girls carry the bags into the house. Not that the bags were heavy, and my sisters wouldn't have felt it even if they were. It still would have been the gentlemanly thing to do. Unfortunately, I was too busy tryingto take the mental equivalent of a cold shower, trying to diminish any evidence of my state of arousal before joining the family. I was fairly certain Emmett would feel the need to call attention to it if he witnessed such a loss of control on my part. Not only would that be extremely embarrassing for both me and Bella, but he would harass me endlessly about it over the next few years.

Charlie's mind projected concern and nostalgia as he encouraged Bella not to rush into anything. This was followed by relief as she reassured him and deftly changed the subject to other friends. I had a feeling he was still adjusting to the idea that his little girl was now a teenager rapidly approaching adulthood.

His thoughts became filled with frustration as he discussed Billy's prejudice against my family, followed by sadness at the reminder of decades of friendship, and ending with resolve as he agreed to call him up after dinner. He enjoyed the rest of his dinner in a state of happy contentment. After dinner, I heard him pick up the phone in the living room and start dialing as Bella cleaned off the table. I concentrated on the conversation, extremely interested in the outcome and knowing Bella would expect a recap when she joined me upstairs.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Billy, this is Charlie."

Pause. "Hey, Charlie."

"Listen, we've been friends for so long, I don't want to throw away our friendship over one issue. I've missed spending time with you. I know we don't see eye to eye about the Cullens and was wondering if you would agree to disagree about them. I won't try to convince you they're good, and you won't try to convince me they're evil. We just won't talk about them at all. Our time together will be a Cullen-free zone. What do you think?"

"I've missed you too, Charlie. I think I can agree to disagree. I've hated that they've come between us and ruined our friendship too. We won't talk about them at all to each other. Sounds good."