"I don't know," I admitted. My dating history gave me few reference points to work with. Not that any normal rules of dating applied here. "That's not necessary, you know. I don't expect you to… I mean, you don't have to pretend for me."
“我不知道。”我坦白道。我的约会史没给我提供多少可供参考的注意事项。而且也没什么正常的约会指南可以用在现在这个状况。“这没什么必要，你知道。我不希望你……我是说，你不必为了我而假装。”
His smile was patient. "I'm not pretending."
他耐心地笑着：“我没在假装。”
I pushed the remains of my cereal around the edges of the bowl, biting my lip.
我把剩下的麦片扒拉到碗边，端起来倒到嘴里。
"Are you going to tell Charlie I'm your boyfriend or not?" he demanded.
“你到底有没有打算告诉查理我是你的男朋友？”他诘问道。
"Is that what you are?" I suppressed my internal cringing at the thought of Edward and Charlie and the word boy friend all in the same room at the same time.
“你是吗？”一想到爱德华和查理还有“男朋友”这个词将出现在同一时间同一地点，我不由得强抑住一阵暗自的畏缩。
"It's a loose interpretation of the word 'boy,' I'll admit."
“‘男孩’这个词确实不太确切，我会承认承认这一点。”
"I was under the impression that you were something more, actually," I confessed, looking at the table.
“我在想，事实上，你不仅仅是我的男朋友。”我坦白道，看着桌面。
"Well, I don't know if we need to give him all the gory details." He reached across the table to lift my chin with a cold, gentle finger. "But he will need some explanation for why I'm around here so much. I don't want Chief Swan getting a restraining order put on me."
“好吧，我不知道我们是否有必要向他展示这些血淋淋的细节。”他隔着桌子伸出手，用一根冰冷温柔的手指托起我的下颌。“但他会需要一些解释，为什么我会如次频繁地出现在这附近。我不想让史温警长对我颁布一个限制令。”
"Will you be?" I asked, suddenly anxious. "Will you really be here?"
“你会吗？”我问道，忽然不安起来。“你真的会在这里吗？”
"As long as you want me," he assured me.
“只要你需要，我就在这里，不离不弃。”他向我保证。
"I'll always want you," I warned him. "Forever."
“我每时每刻都需要你，”我警告他。“永远。”
He walked slowly around the table, and, pausing a few feet away, he reached out to touch his fingertips to my cheek. His expression was unfathomable.
他慢慢地绕过桌子走过来，然后，停在几英尺之外。他伸出手，用指尖触摸着我的脸颊。他的表情深不可测。
"Does that make you sad?" I asked.
“这让你难过吗？”我问道。
He didn't answer. He stared into my eyes for an immeasurable period of time.
他没有回答。他看进我的眼睛里，看了很久，很久。
"Are you finished?" he finally asked.
“你吃完了吗？”他最终问道。
I jumped up. "Yes."
我跳起来。“是的。”
"Get dressed — I'll wait here."
“去换衣服——我在这里等你。”
《暮光之城》与图书题目相得益彰的是，“暮光之城”系列别具匠心的封面设计则很好地传达出了每本书内在的深远寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅尔指出《暮色》封面上的苹果代表“创世纪” 内善恶树上的禁果。象征贝拉和爱德华之间人类与吸血鬼禁忌的爱恋。在书的开头引用了“创世纪”217页的内容：“只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。”这同时也代表了贝拉如何分辨善恶——选择是否吃下那颗禁忌的果实，这比喻了选择跟爱德华在一起或远离他。
