Ch 9. Sorry it has taken me ages to get this up. I'll honestly be surprised if anyone bothers to read this. If you're still waiting to see what's going to happen next, thank you for sticking with me and I apologize for the long wait. Well, here it is.

Bella:

I stretched, and opened my eyes to yet another cloudy day in Forks. I sat up in bed to see Edward relaxing in the rocking chair in the corner of my room. He smiled at me and held out his arms for me to come join him. I flung back the covers, and ran over to him.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" He asked me, pulling me onto his lap.

"Pretty well, how was your night? Did I say anything interesting in my sleep?" I asked him, hoping I hadn't said anything as crazy as I had last week. Alice had made me watch twelve hours of America's Next Top Model while Edward was out hunting. I had gone on and on about how I, not some girl named Lilliana, was going to be the next top model. Edward had gotten endless hours of amusement from it.

"Nothing new, just your regular speeches." He answered, rubbing my back reassuringly. By this he meant, saying my name and telling me how much you love me for an hour or two while you're sleeping. Joy. "So, what do you want to do today?" He inquired about our plans.

"Well, it's Saturday, so I guess some grocery shopping." I had been neglecting the shopping for as long as I could, and the fridge and cupboards were getting frighteningly bare. "Would you like to come with me?"

"If you'll have me," He replied charmingly. I got up and began searching through my closet for some clothing to wear. Another thing I had been neglecting to do was laundry. Even with all of Alice's additions to my wardrobe, it was becoming limited with the amount of clothes that needed washing.

"Looks like some laundry is in our future too. However, you're not allowed to help with that." I picked out an outfit I had sworn to Alice I would never wear as it was ridiculously fancy. Unfortunately, it was the only complete outfit I had clean.

"And why, may I ask, am I forbidden to help with your laundry?" Edward asked, still sitting in my rocking chair.

"Because I'm not comfortable having you fold my clothes. " I responded, keeping my face away from his so he couldn't see me blushing. I was trying to skirt around the obvious fact that I wasn't comfortable with Edward folding my underwear.

"Why aren't you comfortable having me fold your clothes, Bella?" He asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I blushed even more. "I wouldn't have to fold, you know. I could just load the machines." He went on, trying to convince me to let him help at least a little bit.

"Fine, you can load the machines, but that's it." I said, trying to relax now that I'd gotten my way.

"You didn't answer my question." He went on, trying to figure out what I was thinking. He couldn't seem to grasp why I might have reservations about his help on my laundry. "You can tell me, Bella. I promise I won't laugh, think it's weird, or even argue with you. I just want to know." He could be so persuasive.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you…folding….my…folding my…" I stuttered, unsure of how to say what I needed to with the least possible humiliation.

"Folding what, Bells? " He asked calmly, trying to make me comfortable enough to say it. His hands moved to my back to rub calming circles into it to get me to relax.

"Folding my….underwear." I cringed in embarrassment, hoping Edward would not make me face him so he could see how badly I was blushing.

"Bella…" He sighed, wrapping his arms around my waist once more, and burying his head into the side of my neck. "You are completely absurd." He sighed once more before turning me in his arms to face him. "Why are you embarrassed?" He asked, searching my red face.

"Well…it's just so…weird. I mean you're my boyfriend and boyfriends do not do their girlfriend's laundry. Or at least I don't think they should. It's awkward and it makes me uncomfortable…" I grimaced, thinking of just how awkward it could be.

"Okay, I'll only start the machines. That and fold towels and hang up shirts. That way the workload is a bit more even." He compromised, knowing exactly what would make me agree.

"Thank you." I muttered, into his shoulder, where I had rested my head after my laundry outburst.

"Anything to make you happy, dearest." He replied, lifting my face to give me a kiss. "Now go get ready, we have some grocery shopping to do!" He released me from his hold, and I headed off to the bathroom to get ready.

20 minutes later

"Ready to go?" I asked Edward, coming back into my room after getting ready for the day. The room was empty. I glanced around to make sure I hadn't missed him. No Edward. "Edward?" I called out. This was very unlike him.

"Downstairs, Bella." He called. I walked downstairs to see Edward, already changed, waiting by the door. I grabbed my coat, and headed out the door, pausing to lock it with the key under the eave. When I turned around, I couldn't help but laugh. Edward was climbing excitedly into a minivan.

"Edward, what is that?" I asked in between giggles.

"It's a minivan, Bella, what else?" he replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Now hurry and get in so we have plenty of time to shop!"

"Edward, I'm a bit confused." I said, shutting the minivan's door behind me. "Why are you so excited about going to the grocery store?" I looked at him, puzzled.

"Bella, don't you know? It's my first time going grocery shopping." He said, driving us quickly to the store.

"Oh, I guess I just didn't think about it. In that case, you can push the cart." I said, getting out of the van and going to the cart collector to grab one that worked okay. I pushed it towards Edward, who caught it by the handle easily and pushed it into the store after me.

"Well, let's get the warm things before the refrigerated." I guided him through the aisles, stopping to grab the items on my shopping list and dropping them into the cart. I tried to hurry, because Edward was drawing a lot of attention to us. All of the women in the store would stop and stare as we went by. Even the old ladies were ogling Edward. We headed to the refrigerated section.

"Okay, let me get some meat and milk, and then we're out of here." I said, grabbing some milk before heading over to the meat section.

"This is sort of fun Bella." Edward sounded surprised. I looked behind me to see him riding on the cart and pushing it with one foot as if it was a skateboard. "Whoo!" He called out, racing past me. I ran to catch up with the cart. I ran to catch up to him.

"Very mature, Edward." I teased him, catching the cart by the handle and slowing in to a stop.

"Well, I try." He said sarcastically, climbing out of the cart and grabbing my hand. We continued to the meat section, arms linked. I grabbed all of the things Charlie and I would need for a while, and we headed to the cash register.

"Will that be all for you today?" The cashier asked, clearly staring at Edward as she finished ringing up the groceries.

"Yes, thank you." I said in an irritated tone, handing her the proper amount of cash. Edward was the best boyfriend, but sometimes all the women that stared openly at him got on my nerves. I took my change, and we left the store.

"Relax, Bella." Edward said to me, as we both got back into the van after putting the groceries in the back. "She's not even a quarter as beautiful as you are. She even thought that." He said, instantly making me feel better as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to the house. "So next is laundry, correct?" He asked.

"Only after we put the groceries away." I replied, smiling at his enthusiasm for my everyday chores.

I was going to include laundry with Edward into this chapter, but I'm afraid that will make it too long. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed shopping with Edward. He sure did. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, but I make no promises. R&R as always.