“It's not how long it takes, it's who's taking you.”

-Sugar Kane Kowalski - Some Like it Hot

 

Shit! Shit Shit Shit! I stared at Bella's door wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I'd just completely fucked up - probably irreparably - the only good thing I had in my life. No exaggeration. Shit! I had absolutely no idea what to do at this point, but the twisting ache in my gut told me that if I didn't try to fix this problem now then I'd never get another chance - ever.

I turned away from her room and then turned back. A huge part of me wanted to rip the door off its hinges and fuck her senseless. I didn't think she'd complain as she'd practically begged me to do just that. After taking a deep breath, I held myself back and changed my inner monologue from “Shit! Shit! Shit!” to my stand-by of, “It's wrong. It's wrong. It's wrong.” My hands were shaking with the combined effects of pent up frustration, the suddenly urgent need to be inside her, and the desire to wring Bella's stubborn little neck for being such a fucking tease.

The bag of peas was thawing out, dripping water on my shoes. Fine. Whatever. I could always buy a new pair. I could not, however, buy a new Bella. Or unfuck this completely fucked up day.

I stalked back to the kitchen and tossed the peas back in the freezer with more force than necessary before slamming the door closed. Then I opened it up and slammed it even harder just to have a physical outlet for my frustration.

What was a I supposed to do when I came home to find a half-naked woman in my freezer? That was the last thing I'd expected to see when I walked through the door. I mean, she was naked - well, practically. In the freezer for fuck's sake. Who even does that? Only Bella would think of it. And she was about to peel even more off as I watched. I shouldn't have stopped her, but a man can only take so much before snapping and going out of control and she'd been pushing my limits lately. One of these days she was going to kill me. I'd explode from sexual frustration and that would be the end of it. Goodbye, cruel world, and all of that shit.

I should never have moved in with her, but as usual, the temptation was too great for me to resist. I hadn't even expected her to say yes, which goes to show how well I can read her mind: absolutely zero fucking percent. And she'd said yes. What the hell was she thinking moving in with a man she barely knew? What the hell was I thinking when I asked her? I'd always had a soft spot for her, I should have fucking known I would fucking fall in fucking love with her. I practically set myself up for it. Right at the worst possible time in my life, too. Some brilliant rocket scientist I was.

Fuck, if she only knew.

This was, easily, both the stupidest and greatest thing I've ever done. And I'd done a lot of stupid and great things in my life.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I proposed this stupid moving in together scheme. I should have listened to Emmett, always the voice of reason, when he told me it would end badly. But at the time I didn't want to hear him. I didn't think she would affect me so much, so quickly.

I was tired. So damn tired that all I could do was stare at the refrigerator thinking about how fucking good Bella looked in her undies and that ugly, threadbare tank top and how I had to stop myself from taking her right there on top of those stupid peas. Great. Now I was exhausted and delusional and I didn't think getting any sleep was going to happen at this point. I'd managed to catch the last plane out of Helsinki only by sheer will and a lot of running. Then there was the connection in Frankfurt, the layover in New York with customs and the six hour flight back here where I was bombarded by an eyeful of Bella's ass. I rubbed my eyes, pressing the knuckles into the sockets. It hurt, but I savored the pain. It distracted me momentarily from the crazy thoughts fluttering around my head. When bright circles started exploding behind my eyelids I stopped, blinking rapidly and trying to focus on how to proceed next.

I was utterly fucked over. Shit.

I'd put myself on a strict no relationships policy ever since this project started a year ago. For one, I was too cautious to get involved with anyone and for another, I needed all my concentration on the job. Girlfriends, I'd found out, were way too nosy and possessive to let a man do his job in peace. They asked way too many questions. They wanted to know where you'd been, who you were with, why you were out, where you were going... Fuck, even my mother was never as annoying when I was in high school.

I'd stuck to a few one night stands while I was traveling if the opportunity arose, which they did more often than I bothered to take advantage of. And there were a few reliable women back east who, for some reason had no trouble jumping into bed with me whenever I needed. Fuck buddies, Emmett called them. It didn't matter. They were convenient, more than willing, and came with no strings attached. But a steady girlfriend? Not for me. Not right now. There too much at stake and the mission too close to home for me to get seriously involved with anyone. And so of course what was the first thing I did? I went and fell in love with my old high school crush. God, I haven't wanted anyone this badly since... well, since the last time I knew Bella.

And I was so screwed over that I probably wouldn't change a thing if I got to do it all over again. I loved Bella so much that it physically pained me to be away from her for any length of time. How fucked up was that? What made matters worse was that Bella just had no fucking clue about how much I loved her. If she did then she wouldn't toy with me so much or she'd stop the teasing and jump me already before I went fucking nuts. I didn't know how much longer I would be able to resist her and I would have been very grateful if she'd just take the decision out of my hands entirely.

Just to prove that there would be absolutely no respite for me, my phone went off. There was only one person whose calls were set to buzz and I did not want to talk to James right now. But he was becoming more insistent lately. Even going so far as threatening me. Not that I was scared - James had no power over me and I was confident in my abilities. But now I had someone close to me. A distraction and a weakness and I fucking hated being weak. If that asshole knew I cared for someone as vulnerable as Bella then he would have no compunction in using her against me.

And I still wouldn't change a damned thing. I'd take the weakness if it meant I got to have Bella, too. That might not be possible now, though, after today. I probably owed her an explanation, but the thought of lying to her made my skin crawl and there was no way I could tell her the truth. Unless...

Shit.

The phone buzzed again. Fuck. I couldn't get lost in my own stupid shit. Duty called. Again. I dug the phone out of my pocket and flipped it open, “Yeah?”

There are two tragedies in life.

One is not to get your heart's desire.

The other is to get it.

- George Bernard Shaw

 

Edward Cullen's rules for living with Bella Swan (partial list):

1. Always treat Bella and her property with respect.

2. Do not take advantage of the living arrangements by sleeping with her the first opportunity that presents itself.

3. Do not intentionally create opportunities to sleep with Bella.

4. Remember that I have a job to do and do it - not Bella.

5. Clean up after she cooks. At least on most days.

6. Do not make fun of her truck.

7. Resist the urge to have her phone line tapped.

8. Resist the urge to perform background checks on any potential date she may have while we share an apartment.

8a. Or have her tailed while on hypothetical dates.

8b. Also, resist the urge to threaten or harm the (hypothetical) men she would be (again, hypothetically) dating.

9. Resist the urge to seek out and destroy all ex-boyfriends. Particularly the football jersey-wearing one.

10. DO NOT GET ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH BELLA.

I didn't know what possessed me to accompany Bella to Alice's gig, but as was becoming increasingly obvious to me, I had no control over myself when it came to Bella. Reason enough right there to avoid her as much as I decently could, but she'd become like a drug to me. I just needed to be near her. She had become such a huge part of my life and the idea of my dependence on her frightened me more than anything else ever could. Well, I could think of a few things worse than life with Bella. Life without Bella, for instance, that would be bad. One of these days I might tell her as much. Not that she'd ever let me. The woman had become frustratingly good at avoiding me when I tried to open up to her. Talk about your gender role reversals.

I sat in the employee tent and watched as Bella finished preparing the food for Phil and his girlfriend. She seemed to be enjoying herself despite the hot weather and I loved watching her work. She was so sure of herself while she was cooking and confidence was something that Bella lacked. No thanks in part to my disastrous refusal two weeks ago. I know that it was a blow to her ego even though that was the last thing I'd intended. I didn't know how to make things right between us, but I knew that I had to try to regain some of the foothold I'd lost two weeks ago.

Bored out of my mind, I suppressed a yawn and wished I'd brought my laptop with me. I'd completely ditched my plans for the day when I tagged along on this little adventure. Now I'd be behind by at least half a day unless I worked all night. And I didn't want to do that, now that Bella had been letting me sleep in her room. I had to take what little comfort I could, I suppose.

God, how did I get myself into this mess?

It was entirely unreasonable that I was living in this woman's home, eating her food, sharing her bed, and I still wasn't any closer to her than when we first moved in. I was more than ready to throw out my self-imposed rules if she would give me a second chance. I'd already had a pretty clear idea of Bella's attraction towards myself - it was impossible to ignore a half naked woman as she threw herself at you. Rule three had gone by the wayside about four seconds after she flung that dripping bag of peas at me, but I managed to restrain myself at the last minute. God, those stupid peas! I never wanted to see another one again.

My problem was not that I wanted to sleep with Bella; it was that I knew without a doubt that I wanted more than sex from her. I wanted it all. Everything. Somehow I fell in love with her and that scared me half to death. What was I supposed to do now? How could I tell her how I felt, when I already told her I didn't want her?

She'd punch me, that's for sure. I probably deserved it.

My second problem was that I couldn't be sure what Bella felt for me. Sure, I knew she wouldn't mind a quickie... at least, she wouldn't have minded a few weeks ago. But for all I knew, that was all she wanted from me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against fucking for fuck's sake, I just... fuck, I'd just held her hand out in the marquis and that was about as intimate as I've ever been with her. And I liked it. I'm a sap.

I knew the longer I waited, the harder it would be to convince her of what I felt even if she would let me get in a word edgewise. That was another consideration - lately she'd been cutting me off whenever I tried bringing the subject up. I didn't know how she knew I was going to talk to her about it because I'd been trying to do it surreptitiously. But the woman's a mind reader, I guess, because she'd been able to side-step my efforts for two weeks running. I considered the possibility of chaining her down to keep her from running from me when the image of Bella in my handcuffs, gagged, naked and spread out on my bed flashed before my eyes. Oh, fuck, yeah. That was...

No. No. No. No. It would not be good to get aroused now. Stop!

I still had so much to do at work and there was still another half a year left on our lease. I had her trapped with me for six months and I planned on making the most of it. Just as soon as this... project was over. But in the meantime I was stuck here at this park, waiting for some idiot (albeit, one of the greatest ball players this side of the Mississippi) who can't pop the question to his girlfriend without having fifty people help him, and also, trying not to blatantly stare at Bella's ass as she sashayed around the grill.

I simply had to try and keep my eyes away from her. That was how I came to be at the park in the first place: I'd let my eyes wander back at the apartment while she was making... whatever it was she was making, when Bella flashed that amazing smile at me and, once again, I was dazzled by her simple beauty. I couldn't think straight and before I realized it, she had me lugging coolers down to that deathtrap she drove. For god's sake, she desperately needed a new car. Anything would be better than that Sanford & Sons' Special. Every time I heaved something onto the bed of her truck flakes of old paint flickered off the body. I'd bet a month's salary that when she drove away there would be a truck-shaped layer of rust on the ground.

I was steadfastly watching the tree line so I didn't see her leave the tent, but I knew that Bella had gone to serve lunch. I took a deep breath and looked over at Alice who was eyeball deep in her wedding binder.

“Things seem to be moving smoothly,” I said.

“Mmm. They are even though we've had a few setbacks.” She looked up at me and glared as hard as she could to let me know that she was thinking of one Edward-shaped setback in particular.

“Sorry. I was just trying to help Bella.”

Alice lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “You would help her a lot more if you'd treat her with more kindness.”

“What?” That was... an absurd accusation. I was always an absolute gentleman to Bella. I did everything I possibly could for her without seeming stalkerish. Hell, I fucking rearranged my life around her! What more was I supposed to do?

“I don't know what kind of mind games you've been playing, Edward, but you should know that I'm watching you.” She shut her binder with a snap and pointed a finger at me. “And I'll tell you this, if I ever see her as pathetically depressed as she was last weekend, I will cut you.”

I stared at her in disbelief. What the hell was that about? “I'm not playing around with Bella. I would do... anything rather than hurt her.”

That seemed to mollify her a bit, but I could tell she was still upset about something. I didn't even want to begin to explore what was behind her sudden outburst because that might lead to some uncomfortable questions that I wasn't about to answer. And, quite frankly, my love life was none of her business. The only person I wanted to talk to about it was Bella and she wanted to hear nothing of it.

“Jasper has had such a bad influence on you,” I said after a moment.

She smiled at that and I started to relax - slightly. I never did enjoy having my life threatened no matter how laughable. I waited until she had her binder back open and yellow highlighter uncapped before I ventured a question.

“Hey, do you remember back in high school when you went around telling people's fortunes?”

She looked up at me blankly before grinning like a mad woman. “I'd forgotten all about that! I had so much fun making those up. You know, Halloween's coming up, I should probably think about what kind of party to have. A gypsy theme would be so much fun and original since everyone's doing vampires this year. Oh! Remember that time when we all drove over to Aberdeen in Tyler's van?”

She started rambling and I quickly lost interest in the subject. I wouldn't be in town for Halloween anyway so I would be saved the excruciating embarrassment of one of Alice's elaborate costume parties.

“Did you know that Tyler was in prison?” I asked, rudely interrupting her solitary walk down memory lane.

That broke her concentration. “He is?”

I nodded, waiting for the 'I knew it' outburst from her.

She blinked a few times. “Any idea when he'll be paroled?”

“No.”

“Hmm.” She flipped open her binder, thumbed through a few pages, and then furiously crossed something out. “He obviously can't make the wedding, then. Too bad. Thanks for telling me, Edward.” She looked up and smiled, her hostility toward me forgotten for the moment.

“No problem.” I looked around wondering where Bella was and if she was still serving lunch and how much longer this thing would take. “Do you have a problem with me taking a stroll?” I asked, trying my best to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

Alice glanced at her watch. “No, you should be fine. Just stick to the east side of the lake.”

I didn't care where I went just so long as I was out of the tent, so I nodded and stood up. “See you in a while, Alice.”

“If you see Bella would you send her over? I want to go over some of the wedding plans with her.”

“Sure.”

I wandered toward the lake, picking up a nice long stick that I swished around. Ten years ago I would have used it as a light saber. Hell, if no one had been around at the moment I'd probably be making the swooshing noises as I stabbed at the random tree, but I kept my mouth shut and my childhood Star Wars fantasies to myself as I walked in search of Bella. A few minutes later found her sitting by the edge of the water like a naiad. Or did I mean dryad? Either way, some mythical... nymph. In khakis. Beautiful.

Pathetic. That's me.

I quickened my pace a bit and, smiling, sat as close as possible without seeming to invade her personal space. I waited for her to look at me all the while admiring the view she presented to me.

She looked up at me and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hey. All done?” That was just brilliant, Captain Obvious. I started poking at some dirt in front of us.

“Just about. They're still eating I think, but the rest is up to Phil.”

I silently wished Phil luck, but to be honest I thought he must have known what her answer would be if he went through all this effort and expense to get it.

“Is it later yet?” she asked me.

Damn, I'd forgotten. No, I didn't. I just hoped that she had. Fat chance of that happening. I smiled, desperately thinking of something to tell her. “Not quite yet.” Well, that was just... perfect. I started to slap at the water with the stick. This was not turning out to be my day. I couldn't seem to keep myself together.

She looked up at me out of the corner of her eyes. I wonder if women knew how damn sexy that was. Probably. I bet they took lessons in school during sex ed. We got the banana demonstration, they got Bedroom Eyes 101. I should take it up in protest at the next school board meeting.

“I'm sorry I dragged you away from home. I bet you had a lot of things planned.”

I chuckled a bit. My plans for the day were shot when I woke up to her stroking my nose as if I was a cat. “I don't mind. I'd rather spend the day with you than sit inside with my computer.” I watched the blush crawl up her cheeks and my mental score chart finally added a tic in my favor.

“At least I could have let you bring your fishing gear.”

Wait a minute. What was she talking about?

“Do you still fish?” she asked.

“What?” Oh shit! Oh... fuck! Why did she have to remember that? I could feel my face becoming red from embarrassment, something I didn't think myself capable of any more. Shit! I looked over at her to find her staring at me. I tried to smile but I was still mortified to have been caught in a decade old lie. No, it wasn't a decade, it was seven years. Close enough. I took a deep breath and tried to focus. Still, if I considered it from another point of view, this would be an excellent opportunity to tell her the truth.

Assuming she'd let me, that is. No, this can be a good thing. I scrambled to think of the right way to phrase it.

“Yeah, about that...” I began, throwing the stick away and watched it splash into the water. This was it. I turned toward her, taking a deep breath, and then my day turned to shit.

I stared in disbelief as the one person I didn't expect to see today standing not five yards away from us, James Trace. And then, once the shock of seeing him was over, I felt wrath boiling up from within me. In all my dealings with this man, he'd never given the impression that he was physically threatening in any way, but his showing up out of the blue like this sent up signal flares. This should not be happening. He'd brought some people with him as well, a woman and another man, both of whose dossiers I'd read months ago. Their appearance surprised me and was even more unwelcome than James'. Did he bring them as back up because he wanted to get violent, or as a show of strength? I couldn't be sure. But I did know that something had gone wrong if he'd gone through the trouble of tracking me down.

Four things went through my mind as I was trying to regroup:
What was James doing here? How the hell did he know where I was? Was he going to turn violent? How could I get Bella away from him safely?

And then I realized, like a rookie, I'd left in such a hurry that I'd forgotten my gun at the apartment.

God damn it!

I started thinking of emergency plans in case James got hostile, but with three of them and without my gun and with Bella standing next to me, my options were limited. I took a deep breath to calm myself, after all -- I had no reason to suspect James and his companions would become aggressive. James must have gotten tired of my prevaricating at work and decided to up the stakes by trying to intimidate me, trying to force my hand much sooner than I'd have liked. This would not turn out well in the end. Right now, though, my primary goal was to protect Bella at all costs. But after I saw her safe at home, I was going to hunt him down.

I tried to position myself in front of Bella but, stubborn as always, she stayed by my side forcing me to wrap my arm around her and draw her close to me. I'm not sure if that was for my reassurance or for hers, but it felt right.

James smiled and came closer. Again, I tried to maneuver Bella behind me and again she stayed put by my side. I took some comfort from her insistence at close contact with me but it was fleeting at best.

“Edward. Fancy meeting you here,” James said softly.

“James. I'm just as astounded as you are.” You prick, I added silently. I glanced down at Bella and saw her looking up at me in fear. That... hurt. A lot. I tried to calm myself further if being visibly relaxed would help ease Bella's mind, but the effort was almost too much.

James obviously enjoyed my discomfort for his voice was positively jolly as he introduced his companions -- both of whom I was well familiar with, but I was good enough of an actor to not let that tidbit slip. As much as I hated having Bella exposed to such people, I was glad that she gave me an excuse to appear agitated. Perhaps they would take my nervous behavior as a sign that that I was afraid of them. And I was afraid, but only because I wasn't sure of what they were willing to do while Bella was present - I didn't care about myself. I knew I could handle them if it came down to a fight.

“And who have we here?”

God, I hated that condescending phrase. “She's a... friend of mine.” It would be pointless to pretend she was a stranger, but I would never let him know just how much Bella meant to me. I obviously said something wrong because as I glanced down at Bella, she looked almost livid. Wait, was 'friend' too much? Should I have said roommate instead? No way I was telling him where she lived, though if he was able to follow us then he probably already knew it.

Give me a fucking break! I can't be having relationship difficulties when I'm facing down scum like James. I started to get so angry that I could feel my blood throbbing in my forehead. It felt like a vein was going to burst. What was I supposed to do?

“And your name would be?”

I closed my eyes briefly in resignation. There was no getting out of it and I squeezed Bella gently as she answered him, when James once again blew my mind.

“Ah! “So you're Bella! At last! I'm glad to finally be able to put a face to the name.” He looked back at me as he spoke, an ugly smirk on his face.

I stiffened and felt Bella react with me. There was the threat I'd been expecting only it wasn't against me, it was against her. Fuck! I'd never spoken about Bella at work. He knew. Somehow he knew. Bella didn't even know and yet James did. The man was good, I'll give him that much. Bella, who normally has the self-preservation of a hutch rabbit, must have finally sensed his hostility because she inched closer to me. I held her tight against my side feeling her tremble lightly. I would make James pay for causing her fear. My eyes narrowed as I concentrated on the man before me, envisioning snapping his neck between my hands. If only.

“...I have a feeling we'll be good friends. Now if you'll excuse us, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you two were doing. Edward, I expect I'll hear from you soon, yes? If not, well, I can easily pop around to your place and we can chat there.”

That bastard. I couldn't even speak anymore so I just nodded and watched them walk away. I wasn't about to turn my back on them for a second.

How the hell did they know we were here? That was what was bothering me the most.

There were a million things I needed to do now but first, I had to get Bella back home. As soon as they were out of sight I blew out a long steady breath trying to calm myself down. Bella was silent as she watched me and I was grateful that she was allowing me time to wind down before she started the inquisition. When she saw that I was capable of coherent speech again she began as I expected.

“What was that?” She looked nervously at me. I hoped she wasn't as afraid of me as she seemed earlier.

I could feel a pounding headache coming on and I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to relieve some of the tension. “That was... an unforseen complication.” And a wordless threat against you. Laurent was brought especially for that reason. I knew that much from what I'd read of his record. Fuck, I was so stupid to get Bella involved in my life. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I grabbed her hand and started walking towards Alice. Shit! Alice! And all those people... But no, James and his friends wouldn't try anything with them, their threats were only for me and Bella to hear. Dammit, that got me started again on wondering how they'd followed us. He wasn't supposed to know where I lived. Bella stumbled as she was trying to keep up and I immediately slowed down, ashamed of my behavior and by literally dragging her across the field. “Do you know how much longer we have here?” I asked, wondering if we'd be stuck for hours and if it would be noticeable if I just threw Bella over my shoulder, tossed her in her junk heap and drove her out of here. Maybe I should call someone to give me a lift. No, that would leave Bella out here by herself. Not going to happen.

“I think we're here for another hour. Why? Who were those people? Are you in some kind of trouble? Do you owe them money?” she asked quietly.

I nearly laughed. I was in all kinds of trouble, but nothing of the sort that she was probably thinking. I was in trouble because I got involved with someone I shouldn't. I was in trouble because the person I'd been assigned to pursue wound up tracking me and threaten my... well, I'd like to think of her as my girlfriend, but it would have been helpful if she agreed to it first. My job was now on the line. Her life was at stake. And here I was stuck out in the middle of nowhere, at a garden party I wasn't invited to, with the women I loved menaced by thugs, and with no end in sight. How much more trouble could I be in?

I stopped abruptly and she almost walked right into me. I turned to face her, wanting to tell her everything, knowing that she was worthy of my trust, but I still couldn't. “Bella, do you trust me?”

Her eyes were inscrutable as she examined my face. “Yes, of course I trust you.”

I brought her hand up, running my thumb over her soft skin. Impulsively, I kissed her knuckles.

Where the hell did that come from? But the flushed look on her face was worth it.

“I'm going to be very horrible and ask you to please, please keep trusting me - no matter what.”

“Can't you tell me what's going on?”

I took a deep breath and shook my head. “I want to, Bella. But I can't.” I also had a confidentiality agreement to keep.

She frowned at me, the tiny crease between her eyebrows. “Do you trust me?”

Oh, yes. Guilt. That's what was missing. Thank you, Bella.

“I do.” The knuckle kiss seemed to have worked, at least she didn't remove her hand from mine, so I moved up, tentatively stroking the side of her face with the tips of my fingers. The need to touch her in any way was starting to become overwhelming in the aftermath of James' visit. Shell shock, I suppose. But she wasn't stopping me. “I trust you more than anything.” And to my surprise I discovered that was entirely the truth. I fought back another urge to blurt out everything and another one to take her in my arms and kiss her breathless. “But I can't tell you. Not now, at least. Soon.”
The crease between her eyebrows deepened as she thought. “Does this have anything to do with what you were going to tell me earlier?”

Trust Bella to bring a smile to my face. “No, that was something else - something better.” At least, I hoped so. A declaration and an early birthday present is better than three hulking bad-asses, right? “Look, I had no idea James would come at me like this. Not here, not with you around. I don't even know how he knew where we were, which is, frankly, disturbing. I don't know if I'm doing right by you now.” Trust James to wipe that smile off my face. Fuck, I'd forgotten about him! Bella had my head spinning so much that I couldn't see straight. I shook my head in frustration. And we were still standing in the field. We had to get moving.

“You realize that I have no idea what you're talking about, right?”

“Good.” Then I remembered that I would be leaving the country in a week and Bella would be alone in the apartment. Damn, she would be so vulnerable. James would be traveling, too, so I wasn't worried on that front, but the others were wild cards. “Bella, promise me that if you see any of those people again - James especially - that you'd do whatever it takes to stay away from them. Never let yourself be alone with any of them for a moment. I need you to stay safe.”

She hesitated, and I wanted to punch myself because her hesitation meant that she still didn't fully trust me, no matter what she'd said earlier. Eventually she nodded, but that wasn't good enough for me.

“Promise?”

She took a deep breath. “Yeah, I promise. I'll stay away from them.”

Finally! “Thank you.” I leaned down, wanting to taste her lips, but remembered myself at the last second and settled for kissing her forehead. How disgustingly fatherly. I sucked.

That was the wrong thing to do because, once again she was glaring at me with fire in her eyes. “Do you do that on purpose?”

Damn it. “Do what?” At least I didn't kiss her on her lips like I wanted. Then again, if I was going to get in trouble, I would have liked for it to be for something worthwhile.

She gestured angrily at her forehead, her eyes glaring at me. “That! You're... on and off all the time! I can't keep up with you.”

I took another calming breath because I was so close to telling her exactly what I thought about Miss Panties in the Freezer's on and off statement. “Just give me some time, that's all I'm asking.”

She blinked. “What? How much time?”

Fuck. I needed about another four months, but I didn't know for sure. Nor could I decently ask her to wait. I knew she didn't date anyone yet, but it would be only a matter of time until she started and that idea ate away at my gut. I hated traveling so far away from her because I never knew what her boyfriend situation would be like when I returned and I was too chicken-shit to ask her about it whenever I checked in. “I can't answer that. I suppose I can't ask you to wait forever, can I?” I couldn't of course, but a part of me was hopeful that she'd throw herself in my arms and say she'd wait until the stars fell down or some stupid shit like that.

Naturally she trampled that hope into the dirt by stomping off toward her truck.

I rolled my eyes. Figures. But she was getting farther away from me and no matter what she felt towards me, I was determined that to stay nearby until we got home.

I jogged up behind her. “Wait! I'm not letting you out of my sight until we reach the apartment.”

Boy, did she look pissed off now. “Why? Are you afraid someone's going to jump out of the bushes and eat me?”

That sounded good. A wild urge to push her into the bushes and eat her up was definitely on the forefront of my mind now and I had to mentally shake myself to answer her absurd question. “No. But I'd rather not risk it.”

She started to walk faster, but I was able to keep up easily. “You're unbelievable,” she muttered.

They were breaking everything down by the time we got back and Alice nearly toppled Bella over shouting about Phil's girlfriend accepting his proposal. I snorted. Good for Phil. At least someone was happy today. I roughly started packing Bella's gear, but made sure to keep her always with in sight as she appeared to be in a daze, walking from the tent to the truck without seeming to see what was before her. I had everything in the truck and stowed away within twenty minutes and asked Bella if she was ready to go. And, more importantly, if I could drive, which, to my surprise, she agreed to.

I turned in my seat so I could safely back out of the parking spot when I caught Alice standing nearby watching me. I lifted a hand to wave goodbye, but stopped when she drew her finger across her throat in a slicing motion then pointed it at me making her message clear. She was going to cut me. I shook my head as I put the truck in gear, probably with more force than necessary. This day just kept getting better and better.

I was standing in the hallway nervously waiting for Bella as she fiddled around in the kitchen. I'd already brought everything up to the apartment but I let her do the unpacking while I spoke to Rosalie and then set up a family dinner with my parents, who were surprised at my dinner request. Meanwhile, I hastily splashed some water on my face then stared at myself in the mirror wondering if what I was contemplating was going to be the death knell of my teetering relationship with Bella or the kickstart it needed. Well, the day was already blown. I promised Bella a few answers and I intended on following through on that.

“Okay, I think that's enough for now,” Bella called out as she walked out from the kitchen. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing. Um, I was wondering... I'm going to my parents tomorrow for a family dinner. Would you like to come?” I mentally kicked myself. That was probably the most pathetic way to ask her out. No wonder she was looking at me as if I was deranged.

“What's going on?” she asked warily.

I shrugged. “Sunday dinner. And my mom's been asking about you.” Which was true once she realized that I was bringing her as a guest. “She'd like it if you came. I'd like it, too.” Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.

She sighed to herself. “Yeah, sure, I'll come.”

Such lack of enthusiasm was pretty fucking daunting but I had already steeled myself for the next part and I wasn't backing out of it. “Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about.” I took her hand and led her to the piano. “Come on, have a seat.”

To make my apprehension worse, she stood for a minute before finally sitting down on the piano bench - as far away as possible. That was a real confidence boost. At least this time it was early enough in the evening that our irate neighbor wouldn't interrupt me. Small ray of light, that. I placed my fingers on the keys, took a quick peek at her face then set my future in motion.

I'd had music lessons as a child, of course. I'd been playing forever, it seemed. I loved it. Sometimes, when I feel moved to, I'll do a little composing. Nothing much, just little melodies here and there. I wrote one for my mom as a Mother's Day present years ago. I wrote another after I'd spent a particularly gorgeous day at a lake. And I'd written this particular song, a lullaby really, for Bella because I loved her and I didn't have anything else to give her, other than myself and she clearly wasn't taking that. Her birthday was coming up in a few weeks and I'd be out of town. This was about all I could do.

I poured myself into the song as I played, not daring to look at her until I was certain I wouldn't fumble the notes. And when I did look at her - miracle - she had tears in her eyes. “Do you like it?” I asked.

She stared at me in surprise. “You wrote this? It's beautiful!”

I nodded, preparing myself for anything to happen. “You inspired it.”

Her mouth dropped a bit and my eyes were immediately drawn to her luscious lips. “You wrote a song for me?”

“Well, you're very hard to shop for.” I smiled at her, but she seemed to be staring at the piano in shock.

“But a song? That goes... beyond presents.”

“You don't think it's overkill?” I mean, it's not like I set up a fairyland inside a tent or anything, but I never knew how Bella would react in any given situation.

She made one of those tiny annoyed noises that I loved to hear. “Yes! But, I love it. It's beautiful, Edward.”

“Of course it is. It's you.” Oh shit, now I made her cry. I watched in horror as tears slid down her cheeks. “What's the matter?”

She looked at me and I so wished I could decipher her expression, but it gave me some small hope. “I could never, ever give you anything like this in return.”

“I'm not asking for anything. Except, maybe for some time.” Can't blame a guy for trying one last time. I still hadn't answered anything she'd wanted answering, but I did manage to put myself out there for her. At least she knows where I stand, right? Maybe now she'll give me a chance. I waited anxiously for her answer.

“Anything,” she whispered. She put her face in her hands, hiding herself from me. I hate it when she does that. “Edward, you are too perfect. How come you're still single?”

Perfect? That was a news flash. I stopped playing and looked into her beautiful, expressive eyes. I wanted her to have absolutely no doubt whatsoever about what I felt for her. “I'm already taken.”

She gasped a little, but didn't try to pretend she didn't know what I was talking about. Encouraged, I leaned in and kissed her. It was a small kiss - chaste, but the few seconds when my lips were connected with hers was pure heaven. I didn't want to stop, but if I didn't then I couldn't be answerable for my actions and I didn't want her to think I was more of a monster than she already did. Well, a perfect monster, I guess. When I pulled away, she was was flushed and gasping and so beautiful that looking at her nearly took my breath away. “Do you know how long I've been wanting to do that?” I asked when I pulled myself together.

“Mmm? About ten years?”

Damn, I must have been more obvious than I'd realized. “Just about. How'd you guess?”

That confused her and her eyes cleared up a little from their glazed look. “Guess what?”

“On how long I'd had a crush on you.” Well, that was only partially true. My old school crush had long since turned into something more, but one thing at a time. Baby steps, that was the ticket. I didn't want to scare her off now that she'd finally allowed me to speak. Talking, though, was rapidly becoming lower down on my list of things to do and I was mentally crossing items off of my rule list faster than I could remember them. She was so close to me that I could almost taste her. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to focus on the present and not where I'd hoped things would eventually lead.

“On me? I thought you were talking about my crush on you. Since forever it seems.”

That small bit of hope just doubled upon itself and started planting shoots. “And you never said anything?” I really shouldn't accuse her as I'd kept my trap shut as well.

She turned indignant. “Of course not.”

“Why?”

“Isn't it obvious?”

“No, it isn't” Fuck, it was like pulling teeth getting a straight answer out of this woman! If I didn't love her so much I'd strangle her in frustration. “Please enlighten me.”

“Well, look at you! You're Edward Cullen! Everyone had a crush on you. Even Alice was dazzled by you. Mr. Banner wanted to have your babies.”

My newfound hope withered a little as she spoke. So it was as I'd thought. She wasn't interested in me as much as she was in some old fantasy of hers. Well, I could give her her fantasies, after all I shared some of them, but at what cost to my peace of mind? Could I have just one perfect night with her, only to spend the rest of my life trying to forget it?

The answer to that was no, but I still had some hope left. Perhaps, she might learn to love me. I'd have to come completely clean with her, tell her as much as I was able to without compromising the job at hand. Bella was intelligent and fair, surely she'd be able to see why I'd hidden so many things from her once my work here was done. “I'm not interested in them. I only care about you.”

That lit a spark of temper in her. “Well, I wasn't about to humiliate myself in front of you... I thought you might .”

I had to suppress a laugh at that. If she wanted humiliation then I'd show her how it was done. “You have no clue, do you?”

“What?”

“About how adorable you are.” The look righteous indignation on her face was priceless and I couldn't keep myself from leaning in to kiss her again only now I wasn't able to stop. I laid tiny kisses all over her face, planting kisses across her cheeks. This was not nearly enough to satisfy me, but the fact that she wasn't stopping me made my whole day that much brighter.

Then she abruptly pulled back leaving me kissing the air in front of her like a jerk. “Wait. What about you? Why didn't you say anything?”

She couldn't still have doubts about my feelings for her. “Isn't it obvious?” I asked, teasing her with her earlier remarks.

“Edward, after today, nothing is obvious to me.”

My heart started pounding in my chest. This was the chance I'd been hoping for - I'd already thrown my rules out the window I may as well go all the way with it. I just had to try my best not to fuck up. I stood up, needing to do something, and shoved my hands in my pockets needing to keep them from manhandling her some more. “Earlier today, before we were rudely interrupted...” I could have kicked myself for bringing that up. Geez, what a moron. “Well, you asked if I still fished.”

The look of confusion on her face told me that was the last thing she expected. She was staring at me so intently that I started blushing again. Only Bella Swan could make me blush like a fourteen year-old. She was something. I took a deep breath and jumped off the proverbial cliff, “I never fished.”

“Huh?”

“I don't fish. I never have. I think it's the world's most boring sport imaginable. Even more than curling.”

The frown line appeared on her face again. “But all those times at Newton's...”

“I just wanted to see you. So I'd think of reasons to go down and shop when you were on shift. Camping supplies, bug spray, fishing tackle... Fishing lures were the cheapest so I just started buying those. If they had a need for another employee I would have applied for the job.” Actually, I'd filled out five different applications, but I was never hired because of scheduling conflicts - my parents would have slaughtered me if I gave up my summer college programs to work at a glorified bait shop. I'd even considered running Mike over with my car just to get him out of the way. Well, not running him over... nudging him a bit with the bumper, perhaps. Nothing life threatening, just enough to break one or two of his legs.

I never claimed to be brilliant, but I was smart enough to know that was a dumb idea, tempting though it was.

“Are you serious?” she asked me. As if I would lie about something like this. Give me a break.

“I can't believe you never knew. I always felt so transparent around you. I thought you were just being polite, but I kept going back anyway.”
She squeezed her eyes shut looking like she was in pain now and the knife in my gut twisted even more. I waited until she looked at me again before I spoke again. “I've liked you for a long time. I developed a huge crush on you in eleventh grade. In biology class, you remember?” That was the class where we shared a table and I found Bella to be madly distracting. Funny, I'd hung around her for years before that and thought she was sweet and cute, if a bit clumsy, but the first day of school when she sat next to me it was as if a switch had been flipped and all my hormones jumped into Bella Mode. She hardly ever looked my way. Drove me fucking nuts! “I couldn't stop watching you.” I reached out and touched the soft skin of her cheek. “This part, right here, is especially tantalizing. Usually it was the only part of your face I could see because you kept your head down a lot. I'm surprised I didn't fail.”

She jerked her face back and stood up to face me. I braced myself for the castigation I was sure would follow but again she surprised me. “Why didn't you say something?” she asked quietly.

“I was going to. When Alice threw your birthday party, I gathered up my courage and I was going to ask you out on a date...” I might have also needed an illicit drink - or two - to help me gain that courage. “And then I knocked you into the glass table and you were gushing blood everywhere. Not exactly an ideal situation. After we took you to the hospital, well, I figured I'd be the last person you'd want to go out with.” I lifted her arm and pushed up her sleeve so I could see her scar. Damn, it hurt to look at it. I didn't like thinking I was the cause of so much as a papercut on her. I gave it a boo-boo kiss and was encouraged by a small gasp she let out. “I mean, this is pretty permanent, but it's not exactly how I wanted you to remember me...”

“And how should I have remembered you?” she asked breathlessly.

If I'd had my way, we'd never have been apart from that day to this, but that was too much information for tonight so I shoved that thought aside and simply leaned in to kiss her again. She reached around me and pulled me close. Oh fuck, she was trying to kill me. If this was just a tease then I was going to jump out of the window or something because, though kissing her before was fantastic, it was fucking incredible when she actually participated. It was pointless to try to hide my erection - this one little kiss was about to set me off like a seventeen year-old virgin. I started to feel light-headed and shaky so I pulled away from her before I did something that I would deeply regret later on, like take her against the piano... Oh, fuck, that was the wrong thing to think of... I was breathing hard “Bella, I'm a man and I'm only human. It's been the most difficult thing in the world to lie next to you every night and not be able to touch you the way I want to.” I wanted to feel her inside and out, up and down, backwards and forwards...

Again Bella surprised me by grabbing my collar with both hands and pulling me down. What the hell?

“Why. Didn't. You. Tell. Me?” she demanded.

Aggressive, sexy Bella was not doing anything for this raging hard-on I had going. I straightened up hastily, “What would you have done if I had?” I asked, curious to see if she'd give an honest answer or if she'd take pity on my heartache. Instead she launched herself at me with a furious growl. She was so fast I'd only managed to catch her by sheer instinct. The piano bench was overturned and the force of her lunge had us barreling backward into the kitchen, but I paid no attention to that because she was kissing me with such fiery passion that I could feel the heat of it all the way to my fingertips and toes. The portable island was the next thing to go crashing down. I had just enough presence of mind to try to keep it upright, but lost that battle when I realized it meant breaking away from the wild woman who was trying to devour me and why would I want to do a stupid thing like that?

My brain started losing all capacity for rational thought and that part of me that was my old seventeen year-old virgin self was doing a victory lap. I kissed her back hungrily, but she seemed to be everywhere at once. The sensations she drew out of me as her tongue roamed over my skin were intoxicating and I delighted in the way she moved under my hands as I was finally allowed to touch her. I nibbled at her neck, nuzzling my face in her hair, breathing her in.

“Ow.”

Damn, I hurt her already. “What is it?” I asked trying to catch my breath.

“S'nothing. Just the counter. Hurts.” She went back to paying strict attention to my jawline with her mouth.

The counter? I looked over her shoulder and saw that I was driving her into the edge of it. Well, I couldn't have that, could I? It would leave a mark. I pulled her toward me and reached down to cup her ass, pressing myself against her urgently. The way she was moving against me started to drive me wild and I didn't know how much longer I could last. I held her tightly against me hoping to quell her erratic movements. She was fiddling with the buttons of her shirt but I wasn't about to miss the pleasure of peeling the clothes from her inch by inch. No matter how much I tried to distract her she was still determined on taking off her shirt. “Will you please stop trying to undress yourself?” I asked in exasperation. I leaned in and kissed her deeply before murmuring in her ear, “I want to do that part.”

“Please,” she whimpered against my mouth.

Oh, fuck yes!

I picked her up and headed straight to my room. I was not taking any chances of any bothersome neighbors interrupting us as I had no intention of keeping things quiet as all my plans involved making Bella scream out as much as I could. I kicked the door open with my foot and Bella smacked at the wall until she found the light switch.

“I want to see you,” she explained. Her eyes were nearly black with desire and she was looking at me as if I was something to eat, which worked perfectly into my plans. But first I had to compose myself a bit.

I gently set her down on my bed and took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm down before I did any premature... pouncing. Okay, do not fuck this up, I told myself. If you mess up now you will regret it for the rest of your life. I looked at Bella, who was staring at me looking just as breathless as I felt. All sorts of naughty thoughts raced through my mind and I honestly tried to concentrate on her and not the delicious array of positions I was mentally choosing from, but it was becoming more difficult by the second. No, I wanted this to be good. Good for me, great for Bella. Besides, if I totally fucked up I would never get a second chance so tonight had to be perfect. The need to touch her even slightly overwhelmed me and I stroked her cheeks softly, trying to still my shaking hands. I am so screwed.

“Big bed,” she said, looking down with a blush.

I was desperate to find out how far down that blush went and another one of my goals was to see her flushed and spread out on my bed, panting.

“I'm a tall man. My feet dangle off of small beds,” I explained when she looked at me.

She looked surprised. “Are you uncomfortable in my room?”

How to answer that without getting slapped? Of course I was uncomfortable in her bed. My dangling feet were the very least of my problems. Try the raging hard-on I got every morning when I woke up next to her, or the massive erection I got when she wrapped herself around me - all bare legs and arms, wearing nothing but a thin shirt and some panties - or the complete and total boner that sprouted just listening to her talk in her sleep. Yes, I'd say sleeping in her room was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever experienced. And I wouldn't trade it for a million dollars. How fucked up was that?

I laughed at myself. “I love being with you. If you slept in a cardboard box, I'd still want to be with you.” The time for truth had come and at once all my confidence had seemed to melt away. Bella had always been open in her attraction to me but I was never quite sure how far that went. It shows how far gone I was in that it no longer mattered to me, all I wanted was this moment with her in my arms and in my bed. I'd have to take the consequences as they came. She may not love me, but the least she could do was allow me the privilege of loving her.

“I love you, Bella. Let me love you.” It was all I could demand of her. She didn't say anything, but looked at me wide-eyed. Silence betokens consent, doesn't it? At any rate she made no objection as I laid her back and covered her with kisses, licking her skin as I unbuttoned her shirt. She was wonderfully salty from her efforts during the hot day and I lingered over my favorite parts, wanting to take in everything at once. She was trembling in my arms and jumped when I would touch her in an unexpected place. I filed those sensitive spots away to explore later when I had more time.

She finally growled a bit and sat up, flinging her shirt away from her. “You're driving me crazy, Edward!” she said before attacking my clothes. “Get it off!”

That I could do. I didn't suppress my smile as I complied with her wishes and soon she was running her hands over my chest, sending waves of heat through me. By this time I was straining uncomfortably against my pants, but when she pulled me down on top of her I stopped her from reaching toward me.

“Wait a minute, you're not done yet.” I said, nibbling at her neck.

“Not even close,” she murmured as she twisted her head and licked her way up my jaw line.

I shuddered against her and closed my eyes, relishing the feel of her tongue on my skin, her legs pressing me against her, her hands on my back. She was using her nails, roughly scratching me. God, that felt fucking incredible, but it was becoming too much. With a growl I pushed her back and grabbed her hands, holding them over her head. She was sweating and panting, her breasts rising and falling with each gasp she took. I stopped to memorize her like this before dipping my head down and sucking on a nipple. “Let me do this, please.” I needed to show her how her how much I loved her.

I could feel her frenetic heartbeat beneath my lips as I slid down her body and it sounded almost as rapidly paced as mine. I took my time savoring her, lingering on her throat, biting at her nipples before running my tongue over them. My fingers were busy learning how she felt as she writhed against me, breathless and trembling. Too soon I reached her center and breathed her in. I looked in awe at her stretched out in before me with her hands balled up in my sheets and I could see how ready she was. I wanted to draw this out and learn every inch of her by heart, but I doubted my restraint. There was no way I would be able to control myself once I got started. I could only hope I wouldn't shatter the minute I entered her and embarrass myself for eternity. Seeing Bella like this, her mouth open and panting, knees up and legs open wide, eyes glazed with desire; this was all of my fantasies come true. She was whimpering - the most delicious noises came from the back of her throat -- and I watched in fascination as she reached down between her legs and spread herself for me, showing me exactly what she wanted. How could I say no to that?

The taste of her assaulted my senses. Her flavor against my tongue combined with the scent of her arousal drove me into a frenzy and I drank her in, not knowing how to stop now that I started. Her cries were coming faster as I flicked my tongue over her, sucking at her clit, gently nibbling at her tender flesh with my lips and teeth and soon she was writhing against my mouth. I watched her as she came - so very beautiful and all mine, mine, mine. At least for tonight. “You taste just as good as I imagined you would.” I said, breathing her in again. “Bella, I-”

But I was cut off abruptly as she sat up and grabbed me by my hair, dragging me up towards her. I nearly stopped her so I could continue my Bella-mapping, but she ruined what self-control I had by licking herself off of my lips and chin. Oh, fuck. She was trying to kill me, I knew it. I was a dead man. A lucky, fucking, dead man. I stripped my clothes off as fast as I could, kneeling in between her legs and still I waited, panting with the effort of holding back, giving her one last chance to say no before I lost myself completely.

She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to her, kissing me breathless. “Please, Edward. Yes.”

One thing about Bella Swan that I'd learned over the last few weeks was that her body temperature must have been at least a degree or two higher than average because she always seemed very warm to me. Tonight, however, she was so unbelievably hot as she wrapped her legs around me. I entered her with a groan, the heat of her body enveloping me completely and I was nearly overcome with how fucking good she felt and then again when she started moving against me, impatient for release.

No, it was too soon! “Wait... stay still... I'm going to lose it.” I took a shaky breath and buried my face in her hair, taking in all of her, never wanting to let go. “You don't know how good you feel... so good... ” Then she flexed around me, sending me reeling and I was no longer in control of myself. “Oh god...”

That was the last of any coherent thought I had before I started a frenzied thrusting. I didn't even consider using the old mental standbys to make myself last longer. All I wanted at that point was to live in the moment and to take Bella with me. I watched her face as I moved within her. Never had I seen anyone as glorious as Bella. She was responding beyond even my wildest fantasies, completely uninhibited, wrapping her legs around me in a tight embrace, raking her nails across my back. Pleasure and pain mixed together, driving me closer to a place I never hoped to be before. I needed to be as deep inside her as I could and my movements started become more purposeful, driving into her with as much force as I could manage. The look of unrestrained lust in her eyes and the wild cries from her throat spurred me on and I whispered some of my deepest desires to her, making her react in a near frenzy that set off a chain reaction within me. I was already close to the edge of my self-control when she started licking at my chest.

“F-fuck, Bella!”

She let out a cry as she rocked against me, arching her back as her release came. I was close behind her as she gripped me over and over inside of her. I was out of breath and gasping as I collapsed on top of her. Oh, fuck. I was dead. I'd died and this was heaven and I was one lucky son of a -- She rocked against me once more and I shivered in pleasure.

I recovered enough to lift myself up and look at the amazing person below me. There were so many things I wanted to tell her, but I was afraid she would stop me before I got them out. I wanted to tell her again that I loved her, that I would cherish her if she'd let me, to ask her to give me a chance, and maybe ask if she might learn to love me back... I finally settled on something that was the truth but she couldn't find objectionable.“You're so beautiful,” I whispered as her eyes started to close.

She smirked. “You have that backwards. You're the beautiful one.”

I stopped myself from replying sarcastically.. Was there anything I could say to her that she wouldn't argue about? “Silly Bella.” I kissed her forehead and ran my fingers through her hair. Soon she was wrapped around me and fell fast asleep. Part of me was impressed with myself for wearing her out, but mostly I was put out that she was already sleeping. I wasn't nearly done playing and hell, I was eager to explore more areas of her that I hadn't seen yet. Well, we had all night. I closed my eyes and held her, stroking her arm and whispering how much I loved her against her hair. It might have been cowardly to say it while she was unconscious but at least I wasn't shot down. And I was hoping some of it would sink into her stubborn head like osmosis. It seemed like the only way to get through to her.

I watched her sleep for a while before turning off the bedroom light and heading to the kitchen. I righted the cart we'd knocked over and gathered up the pots and pans to put on the counter. I didn't know Bella's stacking system and she was particular about where things went so I didn't waste my time putting them away. Pouring myself a glass of water, I leaned against the counter and tried to wrap my brain around the day. I'd never had such a roller coaster-filled day before. I didn't know what to think about half of it. James, of course, needed to be taken care of, but that wasn't going to happen this evening. I glanced at the clock. It was only eight thirty. I had some time tonight to set some things in motion at least.

Bella's phone rang from her purse but I didn't move to get it. I knew it was Alice from the obnoxious ring tone, and I also knew that she'd call back. Probably at least ten times until Bella finally answered. I briefly thought about dropping the phone out the window...

“I don't want to get that,” Bella complained from my doorway. She was wearing another one of my shirts and smiled bashfully at me. Was there any reason to be shy now? I couldn't think of any.

“Then don't,” I said. There was still that naked, wild monkey sex in the kitchen to take care of.

She sighed wearily. “I have to. It's Alice. She knows I'm around and she won't give up. She's like the Terminator.”

The image of Alice threatening me this afternoon flashed before me. “Right. The pint-sized bulldog.”

She shot me an irritated look before answering her phone. “Hey, Alice, what's up?”

Would it be wrong of me to stand around listening? Probably. I moved to the kitchen where I would be out of the way. I grabbed my glass from the counter and refilled it from the tap then leaned in the doorway to admire Bella as she chatted.

She was over by the window with her arm crossed over her chest - a classic defensive position if I ever saw one. She glanced at me, a blush already spreading over her face. Alice must have been giving her hell about today. She smiled shyly at me as she tried to her best to be persuasive. “-was just tired so I took a nap, that's all. I was up early this morning, remember? Um. No, I can't tomorrow night I have a- well, I have plans for dinner. How about lunch instead?” The woman was a phenomenon, she couldn't even lie convincingly over the phone.

Excellent. But watching her standing by the open window reminded me of how vulnerable she was. We were high enough that we didn't have to worry about people peeking into the apartment from street level and we'd never closed the blinds in the living room before. Now, after the events of this afternoon, I was suddenly unsure about our privacy. There was a park across the street. Would there be a good observation point somewhere out there? I made a mental note to check it out tomorrow as I crossed the room and snapped the blinds shut.

Bella looked at me curiously as she continued her conversation with Alice. “I'm going to dinner with Edward.” She smirked at me as she spoke.
I lifted an eyeb row and took the opportunity to distract her by playing with the hem of the shirt she was wearing, lightly caressing the skin underneath. Bella slapped at my hand but I ignored her, concentrating on the tickle spots I was finding. She wriggled out of my reach, holding her hand over the mouthpiece of her phone. “Stop it!” she whispered before returning to Alice. “It's nothing like that. Just dinner at his parents' place... Yeah, that's fine. I'll meet you there. Bye.” She hung up then tossed the phone over her shoulder where it ricocheted off the wall before falling onto the floor. “You are not helpful,” she said as she stalked toward me.

“Those aren't really disposable, you know.”

“Alice thinks we're having a torrid affair now.”

I smirked at her. “Alice always was an astute observer.”

She stopped in front of me and looked up, so close that I could see the flecks of gold in her eyes. She bit her lip as she thought for a moment. What on earth was bothering her now? “Did you mean what you said?”

I nearly sighed in frustration. “Bella, I meant every single word of it.”

Her whole face lit up. “Well, in that case--” She threw her arms around me and kissed me until we joined her phone on the floor.

---