Four Summers by Bratty-Vamp

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6710060/1/

-Summer, 1998-

I sat with my knees bracing my notebook, writing and doodling across the faded
blue lines. My free hand held the pages down, even as the flirty wind tried to
tease them open to reveal my secrets. I wrote everything in my notebook.
Poems… short stories… random thoughts and sketchy pictures. It was the world
as I knew it, in my thirteen year old mind and imagination.

And right then, as I sat alone with the hem of my skirt anchored firmly down
under my heels in the sand, that notebook was my best friend. My only friend.

My mother had recently married for the third time. Her new husband, Lonnie,
owned a private beach house on Hatteras Island, on the Outer Banks of North
Carolina. He brought my mother and I to spend our summer here, in what he
insisted would be our new yearly tradition.

I wondered how long it would last.

I could hear the laughter of other children on the beach. A few kids who looked at
least close to my age stayed in homes up and down this stretch of ocean-side
property. Traditions of their own brought them back every summer. And
apparently they all knew each other. Lonnie said I'd make friends in no time. I
kinda hoped that he was right. Otherwise it would be a very long summer.

It wasn't that I was particularly shy or antisocial, but I was used to moving a lot.
I was born in Washington State. My mother divorced my father, her first
husband, and took me away from there when I was just three years old.

Then she married a banker in Arizona. That lasted for five years.

We lived in Tennessee for three years. Mom was engaged to a doctor, but that
didn't pan out.

She met Lonnie after we moved up to Michigan. He was the Muffler King of
Detroit. I always thought that title was funny. He owned a chain of auto-body
shops. My mother was convinced that he was 'the one.' I hoped she was right. I
liked Lonnie.

I had already lived in four different states by the time I was thirteen years old. I
guess you could say that it had made me a little jaded. I didn't really see the
point in going out of my way to make friends, when it was likely that we'd just be
moving along again sometime soon. But still…

I looked up and pushed my wind-swept hair away from my face. A group of boys
nearby threw a football back and forth across the section of the beach. They ran
and jumped and stretched their gangly bodies while they laughed and played in
the sun. A little further down, a couple of girls laid out on blankets while they
tried to get tan. I was envious of the relaxed comfort they all seemed to share
with one another.

I looked down and frowned.

Alone, I wrote on my notebook page. My pen sketched upward, turning the top of
the 'l' into branches that formed a tree. The rest of the letters huddled under its
shade, and I smiled, imagining sitting there too. It was easy to get lost in fantasy
when I wrote, and very easy to ignore the rest of the world around me. So easy
in fact, that I didn't even hear the loud trampling of feet as they ran toward me. I
was shocked and had the air knocked out of me when a long body fell over me,
knocking me to the sand. I blinked up in surprise and was blinded by the sun only
for a second before a giant tennis shoe obscured the light and came crashing
down directly across my face.

"Ooomph," I grunted as I saw stars twinkle-twinkle-dancing behind my eyelids.

"Christ, Cullen! I think you killed the girl!"

"Shut up, dick!" a voice said beside me. It must have been the owner of the shoe,
because I could feel him scrambling to get off of me while he spoke. "It's your
fault you threw such a lousy pass. I was running backward. I didn't even see
her."

"Is she breathing?"

"Of course she's breathing, dumbass!"

My eyes were still closed, but I struggled to sit up.

"Shit. She's bleeding."

"Where's your house?" someone asked near my ear. I squinted my eyes open,
and tried to point behind me, while someone shoved a damp t-shirt over my face
and squeezed my nose beneath the material. I could taste blood that had dripped
down from my nose and tried not to gag.

"Get her up." Another pair of hands gripped me under my arms and hauled me up
to my feet. My balance was thrown off and I couldn't see anything over the
cotton that was bunched up over my face. I staggered a little, and the boy beside
me put his arm around my shoulder to steady me.

"Easy there, girl. We'll get you to your place."

I nodded and let the group of boys walk me up the beach to the house. I was
thankful for the t-shirt that covered my face, feeling mortified by the situation. I
was sure that I looked a mess, and I was horribly embarrassed by all of the
attention. I couldn't exactly see how many boys surrounded me, but by the sound
of their feet on the stairs that led to my back porch, I guessed that every single
one of them had given up their game to usher me inside. And then I was in my
kitchen, and I could hear my mother's voice.

"Isabella? What in the world is going on in here?" she asked, sounding way more
annoyed than alarmed.

I cringed and moved toward the sink to turn on the water and clean myself up.

"Uh… we were playing football and she was in the way…" someone began to
explain.

"Of course, of course…" my mother told the boys. "I'm sure it was just an
accident. Now you all get back outside. You've tracked sand in all over my floor."

I heard their retreating footsteps, and someone yelled out "Sorry!" before the
screen door closed with a bang and the room was silent except for the sound of
the running water. I used the t-shirt that was left behind to wipe my nose and
chin. And then I cupped cool water in my hands and began to wash the rest of
the blood away.

"Well… let's look at you," my mother said, handing me a clean towel to dry my
face. I turned off the water and spun to rest my back against the counter. "Ugh,"
she tsked as her eyes studied my appearance. "You've completely ruined your
dress."

I looked down then, and saw blood had dripped down in a few places on the front
of the white sundress I was wearing.

"You always have been so clumsy," my mother frowned. I lowered my brows, and
winced at the tenderness of the skin across my cheek.

"I was just sitting there," I argued. "He was the one who tripped over me."

"Well, I'll have to see if I can get those stains out before they set. Here. I'll wash
that shirt too." I handed over the sweaty t-shirt, and she gingerly pinched the
material between two of her fingers with a grimace. "Thank God, I don't think
your nose is broken. But you look a fright."

"Yeah," I said. "My head hurts."

"Go get out of that dress so I can wash it," my mother said then, dismissing me.
"Take a couple ibuprofen and maybe lay down for a while."

I nodded and slowly made my way to the stairs to go to my room.

"Did you happen to find out any of the names of those boys that brought you
home?" my mother called up to me, standing at the bottom of the stairs. My feet
paused on the steps, and I shook my head.

"The one who landed on me was Cullen," I told her. "They called him Cullen, I
think."

"Oh. Well… the Cullens have the house right next door. He must be their son.
We'll have to thank them later."

I shook my head as I continued up the stairs. Thank them? The boy had kicked
me in the face. But I guess I should have been happy that she didn't suggest that
I apologize for ruining their football game or something. That would have been
like her. I stripped out of my dress and left it in the laundry basket in the
bathroom before climbing under the cool sheets of my bed. My head was
pounding, and I just wanted to be left alone for a while.

I didn't feel like I had been sleeping long at all, when my mother knocked on my
door to wake me.

"Isabella?" she said. "Get up. I want you to come next door with me." I groaned
and rolled over.

"Do I have to?" I asked, groggily.

"Yes. You have to. Put on something pretty and come downstairs."

I made a face at my closed door before rolling off my bed. Put on something
pretty. I rolled my eyes and obstinately dressed in a pair of shorts and
comfortable t-shirt. My mother was always insisting that I look 'pretty.' My closet
was full of dresses and skirts that she thought a young lady should wear to 'look
her best.' Well… I didn't look my best. I cringed as I looked at myself in the
mirror and ran a brush through my long brown hair. My nose was still swollen and
I had a purplish bruise shadowing the skin under my left eye. I looked like I'd
been in a fight. Surely she couldn't complain if I didn't throw on a party dress just
to walk next door.

She frowned at me when I got downstairs, obviously displeased with my clothes.
She stood there in a pencil-skirt and sleeveless blouse, holding a wrapped plate
of cookies that she'd baked to take next door. Cookies? Iwas the one that nearly
had her nose broken, and she didn't offer me any cookies. At least Lonnie offered
me a smile.

"Nice shiner," he said, playfully cuffing me under the chin.

"Thanks," I mumbled, returning his grin with a small one of my own.

"The boys can be a little rough when they're out there playing. You be careful
now, okay?" he suggested. I nodded. At least he seemed to be on my side.

I followed the two of them up the sand trail that led from our front door to the
next, and listened as Lonnie told my mother about the family that lived next
door. They bought their house a year before Lonnie had purchased his, and they
were supposedly very friendly. Still, I tried to hide behind the two of them as my
mother rang the doorbell. I peeked between my mother and Lonnie's shoulders to
see the woman who answered their summons at her door. She wore her wavy,
caramel colored hair pulled back in a bright blue silk scarf, and had a clean white
dress shirt tucked into a pair of khaki Capri-pants. She was beautiful, and
seemed to step right off the pages of a tourism-guide for perfect vacations.

"Lonnie? Hello! It's nice to see you again!"

"Hello Esme," my step-father grinned. "This is my wife, Renee, and her
daughter… Isabella."

"I heard you got married," the woman smiled. "Congratulations. Renee? Isabella?
Very nice to meet you."

I listened as my mother returned her greeting, and mumbled a "hi" from my
place behind them.

"Carlisle will be upset he missed you. He's been out on the links all day. But will
you be having dinner at the clubhouse later? I'm sure he'd love to catch up…"

"Of course," Lonnie smiled and nodded. "But we really came over to see
Edward…" Edward? I'd only heard him called by his last name right after he'd
landed on top of me.

"Edward? Oh Lord," Esme sighed with a smile. "What has he done now?"

"Oh… nothing!" my mother hurried to reassure her. "There was an accident on
the beach earlier, and it seemed Isabella got caught up in one of the boy's
football games. We just wanted to come over, and thank him for seeing her back
home."

"Oh! Well… hold on. Edward?" she called over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Could you come to the door for a minute?"

"I'm playing a game!"

"Edward Anthony… come here!" she said with a sterner tone.

I heard his footsteps approach, and dropped my head. It was bad enough that I
didn't know anyone around here. This was not exactly the way I'd want to have
to be forced into an introduction.

"You remember Lonnie Bradford from next door? This is his wife, Renee, and their
daughter, Isabella."

"Oh yeah. Hi."

I peeked up from under my hair to look at the boy past Lonnie's shoulder, and
kinda wished I hadn't. He was cute. Like really, really cute. His hair was a strange
reddish color, and it stuck up from his head, tangled by the sea wind and his
rowdy playing outside. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of long, cut-off
denim shorts and some flip-flops. And he craned his head to the side to try to see
me around Lonnie's large frame.

"I think this must be yours," Renee said, pushing forward the folded and washed
t-shirt that she held in her hands. "And I made you cookies."

"Thanks?" Edward said. He took the gifts my mother offered, and looked up at his
mother questioningly.

"They told me there was an accident on the beach today?"

I tried to hide behind Lonnie again.

"Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry about your face," Edward spoke to me. I nodded from my
hiding place.

"We just wanted to thank you and the boys for bringing Isabella home. Can you
share the cookies with your friends?"

"Yeah. Sure," he said. "Mom?"

"Yes," Esme sighed. "Go back to your game."

Edward turned and loped away, back into the recesses of their house. I breathed
easier once he was gone.

"Kids," she shrugged. "Can't seem to tear him away from his video games."

"Boys will be boys," Lonnie told her.

"Speaking of… are you alright dear?" Edward's mother addressed me now, and I
raised my chin to give her a little smile.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I told her.

"Oh Good. I'm glad." I nodded and crammed my hands into my front pockets.
"Well… don't be a stranger now, you hear? The kids are always running in and out
around here. I hope we'll see you again."

"Oh, I'm sure you will," my mother answered for me. The two women continued
to chat a while, and I nudged Lonnie's arm. He looked over his shoulder with his
eyebrow raised, and I tipped my head toward the beach asking silent permission
to leave. He nodded with a grin, and I walked between our two houses, down
toward the water's edge. The beach was deserted now, and the cool wind felt
nice, blowing away the stress I had felt while standing there at the Cullen's front
door.

"Hey! Isabella… right?"

Surprised, I turned and saw that Edward was jogging from the back of his house
toward where I stood. Feeling nervous again, I bit my lip and shoved my hands in
my pockets.

"Yeah?" I asked, tentatively. He stopped when he got a couple of feet away and
grinned. I was struck again by how cute he was. I hadn't even noticed before, but
his eyes were like the color of a seven-up bottle.

"I was just coming to find you."

"Well. Here I am," I told him, waiting to see what he wanted. My stomach
fluttered nervously as he stood studying me with his grass-green, smiling eyes.

"Wow. You've got a black eye."

"Yeah," I said again, looking down and feeling embarrassed all over again.

"I really am sorry about that. Didn't even see you there."

"No big deal," I shrugged.

"Hey. I found this on the beach. Thought it was probably yours."

I looked up to see him pulling my folded notebook from his back pocket before he
held it out in my direction. I reached for it eagerly, and held it with both hands
against my chest.

"You write a lot of interesting stuff."

"You read my journal?" I asked, indignantly. He just shrugged and didn't offer
any sort of apology.

"I was curious."

"That's… incredibly rude," I said with a frown. He just tipped back his messy hair
and laughed.

"Did… anyone else read it?"

"What? The other guys?" Edward asked, then shook his head. "Nah. I just
brought it home. Figured I'd hold it hostage until I got my shirt back or
whatever."

"Oh yeah. Well… my mom washed that. Thanks for letting me use it."

"Had to. You were bleeding all over the place."

"Right."

"It was kinda gross," he teased me. "But I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah. Alright," I said, feeling my cheeks turn pink.

"Well… I guess I'll see you at dinner?" Edward asked. I let my eyes travel up the
beach to the distant clubhouse I could see there. Even though we owned private
houses, we were still offered the amenities of the beach resort that was the hub
of this little vacationing community.

"I guess…" I said.

"Okay. Well, see ya."

Edward turned then and ran back through the sand in the direction he had come
to presumably go finish his video game. I squeezed my folded notebook in my
hands, grateful that I hadn't filled the pages with any embarrassing hearts and
flowers and poetry written about boys that I had crushes on. Because there
hadn't been any boys that I had crushes on… yet.

But when I thought about Edward's clear green eyes, and the way that they
sparkled when he teased me… I kinda wondered if this summer might be the one
to change all of that.

-Summer, 1998-

That night I sat on the closed lid of the toilet and frowned while my mother
tugged the top of my hair back into a barrette, lecturing that a girl shouldn't 'hide
her face.' I wanted to hide my face. I looked ridiculous dressed up like a doll in a
full-skirted pink dress, sporting a black eye. She used a fat-barreled curling iron
to put big bouncy banana-curls in the bottom of my hair, and the style made me
feel like I was twelve again instead of nearly fourteen. My mother was prattling
on about all the people we'd meet at the clubhouse, and how important it was for
me to remember to sit up straight like a lady, and use my best manners.

I knew what my mother was doing. She was priming me for the life she thought I
should lead. Turning me into a mini version of herself, hoping to equip me with all
the tools I would one day need to snag myself a rich husband and live the good

life. In her eyes, she was being a great mother. But most of the time I just felt
like some froofy little poodle that she was grooming for a dog show.

"Quit frowning," she told me. "It will give you wrinkles."

"I'm only thirteen," I reminded her.

"It's never too early to worry about these things," she said. "Your Grandmother
Swan looked like a shrunken head by the time she was fifty. You don't want that,
do you?" I shrugged. I didn't even know my Grandmother Swan. Maybe she lived
a life to earn a well-weathered face. Maybe she worked hard. Maybe she smiled a
lot. What would be so wrong with that?

As I sat for dinner with my mother and Lonnie, I looked around the bustle of the
busy dining room at the clubhouse. Everyone was dressed up for dining, talking
quietly over their tables and to those who sat nearby. It was a comfortable and
friendly sort of environment despite the formality of it all. I was already dragged
around and introduced to Lonnie's friends before our dinner started. Now, at the
conclusion of the meal, most of the adults were making their way over to
socialize by the bar. That left me at our large round table, trying hard to be
invisible and wondering how long I had to stay before my mother would let me
steal away to go back to our house. It was less than a mile away, a short walk
down the dark beach. I could already feel the sand under my toes, and curled my
feet in the pinching low-heeled shoes that my mother had insisted I wear. I
couldn't wait to take them off, and would as soon as I could escape polite
company.

"Hello. Are you Isabella?" I looked up quickly when a tiny little girl with black hair
bounced down to sit in the chair behind me. She looked to be around my age,
and grinned over at me with a wide, welcoming smile.

"Uh… Yeah?" I said, surprised by her sudden presence.

"I'm Alice. Hi." I recognized her as one of the girls I had seen sunbathing earlier
on the beach.

"Hi."

"You're Lonnie's new step-daughter, right?" she asked, quirking her head to the
side as she studied me with curiosity. She didn't give me time to answer. "Lonnie
and my Dad have been friends for years. I'm glad he married your mom. We
needed another girl around here, to even things up a little. There are entirely too
many boys, and they're stupid most of the time."

"Oh." Yeah. I was a brilliant conversationalist.

"So… anyway. Anything you need to know? I'm your girl. All you gotta do is ask.
Have you met any of the others yet?"

"I don't…" I shook my head, not really wanting to mention my earlier
conversation with Edward on the beach. For some reason, it felt private and I
didn't want to share it. "I don't really know anyone…"

"Well, now you know me," she said, flashing a deep set of dimples in her cheeks.
"It's a really easy set-up. We're all here for the summer every year. Some people
rent rooms here at the clubhouse. Some of us have homes. But we're all pretty
much one big happy family. Well… aside from the renters. But they tend to only
stick around for a couple of weeks at most. The families with houses are here for
the long-haul."

"Okay…"

"There's you… then the Cullens. The McCarty's have the house next to them, and
our place is right next to the clubhouse. Lauren stays in a house on the other
side…"

My head was spinning with the names, even as I tried to pay attention to the way
that she lined napkins across the table to indicate the places of houses along the
beach.

"Lauren?" I asked. Alice nodded.

"She's one of my best friends. See? She's the one sitting over there by Edward."

I glanced up and looked in the direction that she pointed out. Sure enough, the
blonde girl that I had seen on the beach earlier with Alice was sitting beside
Edward at a table. A couple of other boys had joined them as well.

"And that's Emmett… and Jasper. He and his sister, Rosalie, live here at the
clubhouse. She's around here somewhere."

"Wait. I thought you said that people rented rooms here?"

"They do. But Jasper and Rosalie's parents run this place, so they live here year
round. Even in the off-season. I guess you could call them locals, but we hang
out with them every year. It's cool too, because Rosalie has like an entire guest
suite that's actually just her bedroom. Can you imagine? It's fun when she has
sleep-overs."

"Yeah?" I shook my head again. "I guess…"

"Come on. I'll introduce you."

I would have balked at the suggestion, but the girl was already standing and had
grabbed my hand in hers to pull me from my chair.

Every set of eyes at the table looked up at us when we approached. Alice let go
of my hand, and I smoothed my palms over the front of my skirt nervously while
she addressed them.

"Guys? This is Isabella."

"Oh. Hey there Elway. I was wondering when you'd get your ass over here," a
large boy with curly brown hair smiled up at me.

"Elway?" I asked, in confusion.

"A football player," Alice said, making a face at him. "Don't mind Emmett. He's
always like this."

"Figured it would be a good name for you, after Cullen sacked you on the beach
earlier."

I felt my cheeks get hot, and looked down.

"That's only because you threw such a shitty pass," Edward said, throwing a
balled-up napkin at his friend.

"This is Lauren and Jasper…"

"Hi," I mumbled. Alice's friend Lauren barely even smiled. She just scooted her
chair over a little closer to Edward, like she was staking her claim or something.

"You don't look so bad," the boy named Jasper said. "By the way you were
bleeding all over the place, I was betting that you wouldn't even be here tonight."

"Oh." I touched the tender skin under my eye with my fingertip, feeling self-
conscious, but also anxious to dispel the idea that I was some sort of weak little
girl. "Well… don't let the pink dress fool you," I offered. "I'm tougher than I look."

Emmett laughed loudly at that, and Lauren just frowned.

"I like her!" Emmett said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well… this is lame," Lauren said then with a huff. "I'm going home."

"Yeah. Let's get out of here," Edward supplied while the others stood as well.

"You ready to go?" Alice asked me. I was actually glad that I was being included,
and not simply dismissed.

"I should probably tell my Mom that I'm leaving," I said, turning toward the bar
area. Alice offered to walk with me, and the other kids made their way out to the
beach.

"Don't worry," Alice spoke, as we walked through the crowded bar area. "Lonnie
will know what's up. This is what we do. We all come to dinner, and then the kids
take off while the grown-ups stand around and drink until God knows when.
Everyone knows everyone around here. It's totally safe."

Alice was right. My mother barely glanced up from her cosmopolitan while Lonnie
sent me off with a "Good night, honey. We'll be home later." I think they were
pleased to see that I had already started to make friends. My mother would have
more time to be a social butterfly, if she didn't have to spend her time trying to
entertain me.

I was a little surprised to see that the other kids were loitering just outside,
waiting for us. Jasper, Emmett, and Edward were discussing plans to windsurf the
next day.

"Lauren and I are going to use the pool, here" Alice smiled. "You should hang out
with us."

I glanced over at Lauren to see if she seemed amenable to the idea of sharing
Alice's company. She didn't say a word. She just picked at her fingernails like she
was bored.

"Yeah. Okay," I said.

"I'm outta here," Lauren told us, after our tentative plans seemed to be made.
"Walk me home, Edward?"

"What? Oh… alright," he said, being pulled away from his conversation with the
boys. "Catch you guys tomorrow," he told the group, before Lauren and he
started walking down the dark beach in the direction that Alice had told me
Lauren lived. Jasper said good night and went back inside the clubhouse. Emmett
and Alice and I began walking toward our homes, down the other side of the
beach.

"Are you sure Lauren doesn't mind if I hang out with you guys tomorrow?" I
asked Alice, as I bent to take off my shoes. She did the same, and Emmett
nudged my arm with the side of his, nearly knocking me off balance.

"Don't pay any attention to her," he told me. "She just likes being the Queen
Bitch around here."

"Shut up," Alice scolded him. "Lauren is really nice. She just doesn't know you
yet. She's fine with it. I promise."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Alice grinned, throwing her arm over my shoulder. "You're one of us,
now."

I smiled in the darkness, glad to have been pulled into the group so easily.

Alice stopped at the first house that we came to and reminded me to meet at the
clubhouse pool by noon before she left Emmett and I to continue walking.

"Catcha later, Elway," Emmett told me, when we reached the back of his house.
"Try not to get tackled on your way home."

"I'll do my best, " I muttered jokingly. And then I continued on my own. But a
short while later when I heard running feet on the sand behind me, I wondered if
the teasing way that we'd parted might actually be an issue.

"Isabella! Hey… wait up."

I paused in my steps and turned to see Edward's shadowy form running to
catching up with me on the beach.

"Oh. Hey," I told him, holding my shoes up in front of me in a mock blocking-
position. "You're not planning to trip over me again, are you?"

"It is dark out here," he chuckled. "But no. I can see you just fine."

I nodded and dropped my arms to swing my shoes on either side of me by the
straps. He was right. The nearly-full moon offered plenty of light. Edward fell into
step beside me, as we made our way back down to our houses.

"So… did you have fun tonight?" he asked, making casual conversation.

"It was alright," I shrugged. "I don't really like to get all dressed up…"

"None of us do," Edward laughed. "But it keeps our parents off our backs."

"Yeah." He was speaking the universal language of teens, everywhere. We
continued walking in silence, and I noticed that Edward passed up his own house,
not stopping until we'd reached a half-way point between his and mine.

"I guess I'll see you around, huh?" Edward asked then.

"Yeah, sure. I guess," I told him.

"Tell your Mom thanks again, for the cookies…" he grinned and walked backwards
with his hands in his pockets. "They were really good."

"Okay."

"You should be warned," he said then. The teasing look on his face matched the
mock-severity of his words. "Jasper is planning our next attack, hoping she'll
make us some brownies or something when we have to call in the stretcher."

"Funny," I narrowed my eyes at him, but couldn't suppress the grin that his
teasing pulled out of me. "Good night, Edward."

"Night, Isabella."

The next day at noon, I walked into the swimming pool area with a towel tied
around my waist, covering the bottom of my one-piece navy-blue swimsuit. Alice
was already there, and pushed her wet hair away from her face as she stepped
out of the pool to come meet me wearing a red racer-back suit that was similar to
mine.

"We have chairs over here," she smiled and led me to the side of the pool. Lauren
was already laid out, glistening with oil in the sun, wearing a bikini.

"Hi, Lauren," I offered, trying to be nice, as I took up the chair beside her.

"Hey," she mumbled, with her eyes closed. At least she'd somewhat
acknowledged my presence. She looked like she took her tanning seriously, and
was already a warm, brown color. I looked pale and sickly lying next to her. But I
also noticed that she was hairy. Like… really hairy. She was one of those people
with super light-blonde hair, and the thick white-ish hair on her arms looked
almost furry against her tanned skin. Her legs were hairy too. I don't know why,
but it made me smile a little. I imagined that the sun would continue to bleach
her hair while it darkened her skin. By the end of the summer, she'd look like an
albino Wookie. It made me feel a little better as I stretched out beside her.

"Hey… Rosalie! This is Isabella."

I lifted my sunglasses to look at another blonde who had come over to join us. If
lying beside Lauren made me feel better about myself… this girl rapidly made me
feel self-conscious once again. She was absolutely beautiful, and already had all
the right curves to fill out the triangle-cut top that she wore.

"Hi Isabella," she smiled at me warmly. "Jasper told me all about you. Watch out
for flying Frisbees. I think he's putting in an order for cupcakes."

"Brownies," I corrected, smiling up at her. She might have looked like a model,
but her friendly greeting made me like her immediately.

Lauren remained mostly quiet, but Alice and Rosalie made up for her lack of
conversation while they amused me with stories of the past several summers that
they'd all spent together. From the sound of things, Rosalie and Emmett were the
oldest two kids of the group, both already sixteen, and they were sort of a
couple. The idea of that match made me grin. I thought they'd be cute together.
Alice harbored some secret crush on Rosalie's brother, Jasper, though apparently
he was the only one who didn't know about it.

"That's so gross," Rosalie muttered, rolling onto her stomach so the sun's rays
could reach her back.

"What?" Alice asked. "He's cute."

"I'm barfing," Rosalie warned. I laughed.

"Hey girls. Need someone to help you with your sunscreen?" a boy's voice asked.
I lifted my head from my arms to see a sandy haired boy with bright blue eyes
looking down at me.

"Ugh. Go away, Mikey," Lauren told him from her lounge chair. Alice just giggled
and introduced us.

"Isabella? Mike."

"We met yesterday," the boy smiled. "Kinda." I closed my eyes in
embarrassment, wondering exactly how many people had been witness to the
Cullen-tackle.

"The boys are windsurfing," Rosalie told him.

"Okay. Well, see ya later then," he said, smiling at me once more before turning
to walk away.

"Mike lives in town," Alice told me.

"Locals are lame," Lauren added.

"I'm a local," Rosalie reminded her. Lauren didn't retract her statement. If I'd
learned anything at all from Lauren's infrequent additions to our conversation, it
was that she thought everything was 'lame.' I think it was her favorite word.

"I think Mike likes you," Alice whispered. "He was totally checking you out."

I cringed while I rolled over and sat up. I couldn't imagine anyone checking me
out when Rosalie laid out in all of her glory, just a few feet away. I looked like a
stick-figure by comparison.

"I'm hot," I said, shifting the conversation to something I felt more comfortable
with. "I'm getting in the water."

Alice jumped in to join me. Rosalie dove in soon too. I'm guessing that Lauren
thought that swimming was lame. She stayed on her chair. We swam for a while,
and had fun anyway. Lauren baked in the sun while we passed time hitting an
over-inflated beach ball back and forth to each other in the chlorinated water.

"Heads up!" a loud voice called later, disturbing our game. Before I could see
what was coming, a giant body canon-balled next to me. I sputtered on water
and pushed my drenched hair out of my face.

"Emmett! You are such an idiot!" Rosalie laughed. The boy she spoke to was
standing beside her, shaking water out of his curly hair like a dog. And then
splashes surrounded us when the rest of the boys followed his lead and threw
their bodies into the pool too.

"Should have known we couldn't spend one day in peace," Alice complained,
though she was smiling over at Jasper when he pulled his head from beneath the
water nearby. Edward and Mike were with them, and were already throwing
water by the handfuls up at Lauren, who shrieked about not wanting to get her
hair wet.

Emmett suggested a game of chicken, right away, and those of us in the pool
started dividing up in pairs. I sent a nervous look over toward Alice, when Jasper
claimed me as his partner. She just grinned and shook her head over at me.

"You aren't going to try to drown me, for baked goods?" I asked worriedly, as he
grabbed my arms to help pull me onto his shoulders. Jasper just laughed.

"Not today," he joked. "I take this game very seriously. And I know you can take
a hit."

Edward sweet-talked Lauren into the water, and we waited for her to get done
making a production of getting into the pool and situated up on his shoulders
before we all squared off. Rosalie and Emmett came at us first. Jasper had no
qualms at all about knocking his sister forcefully into the pool. Lauren and Alice
squealed and pulled at each other's arms while Edward and Mike laughed beneath
them. We were all a tangle of limbs and laughter, as we joked around and took
turns shoving at each other and trying to split apart the couples. As Jasper
predicted, I did take a couple of good hits. And I'm pretty sure that Lauren pulled
my hair once, trying to get me off Jasper's shoulders. But I held tight, even
though she played dirty. In the end, Jasper and I were victorious.

"Dang it, Alice," Lauren complained, hauling herself back out of the pool. "You
know chlorine is bad for my hair!" I wanted to give Alice a high-five for the way
that she had wrapped her arms around Lauren from behind, and pulled the girl
under-water. At least I didn't have to face the girl's wrath, for having been the
one to do it.

"Aww… come on," Alice tried to cajole her friend. "We're just playing."

"Well, I'm done," Lauren huffed, retreating to her lounge chair once more. With
uneven teams, we all decided to play Marco Polo instead. I dodged Mike's
extended hands, and tried to not be distracted by how cute Edward looked, with
his wet hair sticking up in every which direction. I blushed, and averted my eyes
when I caught myself staring at the sliver of white skin and noticeable tan-line
that was exposed at the back of his shorts when he pulled himself out of the side
of the pool. I was pretty sure that Lauren would scratch my eyes out, if she
caught me looking at her boyfriend like that. And while I felt too weird to ask
Alice about it, I was pretty sure that's what Edward was. Or at least, Lauren
wanted him to be.

When the sun started to go down, we all parted ways and agreed to meet back
up behind Emmett's house for a bonfire later. And so began our typical days and
nights spent on Hatteras Island.

We played on the beach, at the clubhouse, or in the surf. When the weather kept
us indoors, we hung out at the Cullen's house and watched the boys play video
games on their giant television screen. Sometimes we played cards or board
games, instead. The girls had a couple of sleep-overs in Rosalie's room at the
clubhouse. That was just as much fun as Alice had promised. In no time at all, I
felt like a part of their oddly constructed summer family.

At the end of June, we helped Edward celebrate his fifteenth birthday in the
basement of his parents' beach house. In July, we shot fireworks off from the
back of Alice's deck. By August, we were all browned, windswept, and relaxed
from our lazy days spent in the sun. I was already dreading the end of our stay,
when we would all pack our things and go back to our normal lives in various
cities and towns away from North Carolina.

Emmett was the first of our group to leave. Lauren and Alice left just a few days
later. I wasn't exactly sad to see Lauren go. She never had warmed up to me.
But I cried when I hugged Alice, and we promised to stay in touch.

On the day that the Cullens were heading out, I sat outside with my toes in the
sand, writing in my journal yet again, reflecting on the summer I'd just spent
with my new friends. I was surprised when Edward lowered his lanky frame to sit
beside me on the dunes.

"Writing again?" he asked.

"Always," I smiled over at him. The wind blew piece of my hair across my face,
and Edward was the one who reached out to tuck it behind my ear. It was an
uncharacteristically tender gesture from a boy that I was used to seeing rowdy
and loud, and always in motion.

"I'm gonna remember meeting you this way," he said softly. His hushed words
made my heart do a quick little flip-flutter inside my chest.

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to remember your foot smashing my nose," I teased.
Edward laughed. We both turned our heads to look over our shoulders when his
mother called him from the back porch.

"I guess it's time to go," he said.

"Sounds like it," I said, feeling sad. Edward was technically the first person I'd
met when I arrived. And while we hadn't ever spent a lot of time alone, he was
always very nice to me. I was going to miss him.

"You'll be here next summer, right?" he asked.

"Hope so," I shrugged.

"Okay. Well… see you then, Isabella."

"Bye, Edward."

-Fall, 2009-

I stretched over the bar, wiping the shiny polished surface clean of alcohol and
food that had been dropped.

"Hey sweetheart," the kind old man on a stool at the end called down to me. He
was a regular customer. Regular enough, that after only a couple months of
working part-time I already knew his sweet old face, and most of his amusing old
stories.

"Name's not 'Sweetheart'," I snarked down toward him. "It's 'Baby'. What do you
need, Earl?"

"Slide me another beer," he told me. I quickly tilted a glass and pulled back the
lever to produce a stream of the amber-colored lager he preferred. "Gotta love
the quick service in here," Earl said, when I smiled and put his fresh beverage on
a coaster in front of him.

"Gonna have to forgive me when I can't be at your beck and call," I warned him.
"We're going to start getting really busy in a while. There's a game on today."

"I'll be home before then," he grinned. "Rather watch on the t.v. in my own place
anyway. Gets too loud in here, for my taste." I nodded. I knew I'd see him again
the following day by noon. He always came in for lunch.

A couple other co-workers hustled around the tables out front, refilling napkins
and cleaning ketchup bottles. I worked in a sports bar out near the airport. It was
a great location for regulars like Earl, as well as travelers to stop in. I knew it
would be the perfect place to earn a little cash while satisfying my love for people
watching. I loved to guess and make up stories about the customers who came
and went. I enjoyed imagining the roads that they traveled, and the lives that
they led… the places they were going… and the people they'd met on the way. I
knew that all of the roads I had traveled myself, had led me right to this place
and time. They'd help shape the person that I'd become. My story was still being
written, unfolding a little more each day.

Earl finished his drink and slipped a few bills into my tip jar, before leaving an
empty space at the bar for some rowdy sports enthusiast to occupy.

"Get us some help yet?" I asked over my shoulder to the bar manager who had
stepped into the area behind me to make sure things were stocked for the rush.

"Yep. New girl. You'll help train her tomorrow."

Awesome,I thought. It was another story to become acquainted with, and some
help behind the bar. That would be a welcome relief to everyone on the schedule.

I didn't have more time to wonder about the new addition to the payroll. People
began to fill the place up, and the large televisions were tuned in so that
customers could cheer the local football team to victory.

"Hurry up with that order for table thirteen," a waiter named Eric called to the
busy cook in back. "Kick-off's in five minutes!"

-Summer,1999-

"Yo! Elway!" A booming voice yelled from below my window. I laughed and ran to
the open space, leaning out past the frame to look down at the ground below.
Emmett stood, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Kick-off's in five minutes.
Get down here, or I'm coming up!"

My window had been thrown wide open in my bedroom, letting the sea-air chase
away the closed-in smell of our summer home while I hung my clothes in my
closet. Happy to be back, I had gone to see Rosalie at the clubhouse before I'd
even begun unpacking. She was as gorgeous as ever, and just as welcoming as
she'd always been. We had flopped across her bed, and quickly filled each other
in on the school year that had just passed.

It had been nine months filled, for me, with getting used to being a high school
student. That meant a lot of homework, and after-school study sessions. It meant
finally needing to wear a bra, and the first boy who wanted to be my boyfriend
after he'd noticed. No thank you.

Of course, Alice already knew about all of that. She and I had become faithful pen
pals during the time that we'd spent apart. She was going to arrive at the beach
a day after I would. I wasn't sure about when anyone else would get there, but I
couldn't wait.

I ran down the stairs, past my mother who reminded me to slow down in the
house. My back door was flung open, and my feet no sooner hit the sand than

they left again. Emmett had grabbed me in a giant bear hug, and effortlessly
swung my feet off the ground.

"Ugh," I groaned, feeling the breath nearly knocked out of me. "How is it
possible, that you're bigger than you were last summer?"

"So are you!" Emmett grinned, putting me back on my feet to stand. "Lemme
look at ya. Aww… yeah. Would you look at that? Little Elway's growin' up nicely.
Lookin' good, honey. Lookin' real good."

"Shut up!" I laughingly swatted at his barrel of a chest. I noticed then that he
wasn't alone. Edward was standing a few feet away, smiling over at me. My face
warmed instantly when I saw him there.

"Hi, Edward," I said, smiling back at him.

"Isabella." He tipped his chin up, in that way that cool boys do. I might have been
surprised by Emmett's bulked up figure. But I was even more surprised at the
growth-spurt that had seemed to have grabbed hold of Edward over the school
year. He was easily as tall as Emmett now, but still lanky and lean. His wild hair
and sparkling green eyes were just the same. And I didn't know how it was
possible, but he was even cuter than I remembered.

"I was just coming to find you."

"Well… here I am," I grinned, as the butterflies in my tummy woke up after
hibernation, and began tumbling all over each other once more.

"Just got back from seeing Ro," Emmett told me, bringing my attention back his
way. "She told me that you got here this morning."

"Alice should be here tomorrow," I told him.

"I think Lauren gets here next week," Edward offered, scratching at his scruffy
looking cheek. That was a new development, too. He actually had facial hair. And
maybe he did before… but it wasn't enough to notice. I definitely noticed now.

"We were going to throw the football back and forth," Emmett told me. "But we
decided to make sure that you were out of the danger-zone first."

"Very funny," I gave him a teasing, dirty look while I crossed my arms over my
chest.

"It's no laughing matter, Missy," Emmett said, wagging his finger at me before
pointing down at Edward's feet in the sand. "This guy could kill a person, with
those size elevens he's wearing this year!"

"Isabella," my mother said, stepping out to our back porch. "I don't want to have
to iron all your clothes. Please finish unpacking before they become an unsuitable
mess."

"Gotta go, boys," I said, rolling my eyes. "See you later?"

"Absolutely," Emmett grinned. "Hey Mrs. Bradford. Gonna bake us some
cookies?" he yelled over my head to my mother.

"I just might," she said. "But not if you keep Isabella away from her chores. You
two get out of here."

Edward offered my mother a little wave and a smile before they both ran further
out onto the beach to play catch as they'd planned.

I finished unpacking and organizing my things in my room as quickly as I could,
but the beach was deserted when I returned. I was a little sad that Edward and
Emmett had already disappeared, but I decided to use the time alone to write. I
knew that once Alice got to the beach, I'd be sorely pressed for the quiet time to
do so. I was really excited to see her.

"Did you get to see your friends?" Lonnie asked, when I stepped back inside later
and washed my hands to start helping my mother fix dinner. He sat at the table,
reading through a local newspaper. I grabbed salad items from the refrigerator,
and began tearing lettuce to put in a bowl.

"A little, earlier," I said. "I was just writing."

"Your head is always in the clouds," my mother said then, chopping vegetables.
"And are they feeding the children growth-hormones around here? Those boys
are hardly recognizable."

"Kids grow up, honey," Lonnie said, standing and sneaking a piece of cucumber
from the cutting board.

"All the same," she chided, "you watch yourself around those boys, Isabella."

"It's not those boys she has to worry about," Lonnie grinned over at me. "It's the
renters at the clubhouse who are always the trouble makers."

"And how would you know that?" my mother asked, with her eyebrow raised.

"Because my family used to rent," he grinned, leaning down to kiss her loudly on
the neck. I rolled my eyes and walked away to put our salad bowl on the table.
As happy as I was that my mother's marriage seemed to be working out this
time, I really didn't need to see their constant displays of affection. It was a little
gross.

I did the dishes after dinner, and escaped to my room while my mother and
Lonnie cuddled on the couch in front of a movie. The long drive from Michigan
had taken its toll, and I was exhausted.

I was up early, probably because I was so excited about seeing Alice again. The
letters we'd mailed back and forth had cemented a friendship that had begun last
summer. I was anxious to help her with operation "finally get Jasper to pull his
head out of his ass." She was determined she'd have him as a boyfriend this
year. I was happy to help with her mission. It would be fun.

The house was still silent as I pulled a large hooded sweatshirt over my t-shirt
and shorts. I snuck out to the beach, anxious to soak up the fresh, salty air, even
though the morning temperature and wind made it very chilly outside. Lost in
thought, I didn't see Edward out on his back deck until he called my name over
the gulls wake-up cries. I looked up at the sound, and saw him give me a wave
before he jumped down onto the sand and started jogging in my direction. I
raised my own hand, gripping the sleeve of my sweatshirt in my palm, and waved
from my spot near the surf.

"You're up early," he smiled when he stepped up beside me.

"So are you," I shrugged, resuming my walk.

"I was running," Edward said. "I started cross-country at school this year.
Thought it would be good to stay in shape over vacation."

"It's a nice morning for it," I said, nodding ahead at the quiet beach in front of us.

"What about you? Do you run?"

"Only if I'm being chased by a man with a chainsaw," I laughed. "I'm sure I'd fall
down a lot."

"Ah. Then you should run with someone who's willing to help you up."

"Maybe," I smiled. The morning sun made his eyes look dappled and dreamy. I
sighed, and turned my attention to the waves beside us. It was a safer place to
look.

"Did you have a good school year?" Edward asked, continuing our conversation.

"Not bad. High school takes a little getting used to."

"How old are you, again?" Edward asked, turning to walk backward in front of
me.

"I'll be fifteen in September," I told him.

"Ah. That's right. You're the same age as Alice."

I nodded.

"And you'll be sixteen soon," I said, remembering his birthday party from last
summer.

"Sixteen… and never been kissed," Edward said, sticking his lower lip out in a
playful pout.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. A wide smile pulled up the corners of his mouth and
he laughed.

"No. Not really," he grinned and turned to face forward again, letting the wind
push his hair back.

"You're such a liar," I told him, feeling embarrassed that I'd even considered the
possibility that he was as inexperienced as I. Edward just grinned over at me and
shrugged his shoulders with his hands in his pockets.

We seemed to silently agree to turn back, once we'd reached the clubhouse. Side
by side, we started our journey up the short distance back to our summer homes.

"It's so nice out here," I said, closing my eyes and pulling my hoodie a little
closer around the back of my neck.

"It's pretty in the mornings," Edward said. "Nice and quiet. It's not as peaceful
when the crew is around."

"The crew?" I asked.

"You know. The guys," Edward shrugged again. "Don't get me wrong. I have a lot
of fun with them. But… sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the quiet. You know?"

"Yeah, I know." I nodded and bit my bottom lip. I remembered Edward as being
very rambunctious and loud, himself. It seemed that the months spent away from
the beach had calmed him a little.

"I plan to run, most mornings," Edward told me, stopping once we reached the
back of his house. "You know, in case you ever want to join me."

"You don't know what you're asking," I laughed, shaking my head at the mental
image of me tripping up the beach, trying to keep up with him.

"Maybe I do," he said quietly. I looked up at him from under my lashes, and tried
to hold down the happy little butterflies that had taken up residence in my chest.
I felt special that Edward seemed to be willing to spend time alone with me, like
this.

"We could walk again, sometime…" I suggested.

"Yeah. Maybe," he said with a little nod. He reached out and tugged my ponytail
playfully before we parted ways.

Alice arrived right on schedule. Our reunion was punctuated by us squealing, and
jumping, and hugging each other on the beach, and with Alice's loud exclamation
of "Oh My God, Isabella! You really ARE getting boobs!" that made me blush and
look over at the boys, praying to God that they hadn't over-heard her.

"Mike won't be able to keep his hands off you," Alice dimpled good-naturedly.
"Wait. Has he seen you yet?"

"Ugh. Don't start," I rolled my eyes. Mike was flirty enough last summer. I didn't
really look forward to ducking his attention again.

We all got dressed up, and ate dinner with our parents at the clubhouse. And as
soon as the adults moved to the bar, us kids snuck out the back. The boys rolled
up the legs of their dress pants, and us girls were quick to take off our shoes
while we ran into the edge of the dark surf and laughingly kicked water up at
each other.

"It's good to be back," Alice said, breathless and giggling, while putting her arm
around me. Edward came up on the other side, and threw his arm over my
opposite shoulder, easily sandwiching me between the two of them.

"Yeah. It really is," I said.

I was amazed at the way that we all slipped into our familiar routine. Well… the
rest of the group had been doing it for years. But it felt like I had been doing it,
just as long. We all hung out on the beach or at the pool during the day. We
spent our evenings having bonfires, or goofing around at the clubhouse. The only
addition for me, this year, were the quiet walks that I had begun to take with
Edward in the mornings. After that first day, he was waiting for me after his run.
And just like the first time, we walked together down toward the clubhouse
before turning back and making our way back home. Sometimes we talked about
our lives, away from Hatteras Island. Sometimes, we just enjoyed the quiet
sounds of the morning. They were quickly becoming my favorite part of each day,
and I had begun to learn a lot about Edward and the complexities that made him
so much more than just a cute boy. And so I was disappointed when one
morning, around a week after we'd started walking together, Edward didn't show
up like he usually did. He didn't show up the following day either. I had a feeling
that his absence had a lot to do with the fact that Lauren had finally arrived at

the beach. And one day, while laying out with the girls by the pool, my suspicions
were confirmed.

"Ugh. I'm exhausted," Lauren groaned as she threw a skinny arm over her face
dramatically.

"Oh yeah?" Rosalie asked, hardly sounding interested.

"Edward made me get up at seven in the morning, just to go running with him,"
the girl complained. I scrunched up my face and stuck my tongue out, facing
away from her. At least then I knew why he hadn't been walking with me. It
stung a little, to be replaced so easily.

I was still harboring that bit of resentment when I went to bed that night. But
with as much as I'd like to have held a grudge, I couldn't. Not when I was woken
up in the early morning near dawn, by the sound of Edward's voice calling my
name from below my bedroom window.

"Isabella!" he whispered loudly. "Isa… shit." I pushed back my hair as I stepped
to the window, and barely had time to flinch to the side and avoid being hit by a
small piece of drift-wood that he had thrown to try to wake me.

"What are you doing?" I whisper-yelled down to him. He stood in the murky-
morning light, with his hand pulled back as he got ready to launch another missle
at the side of my house. The stick in his hands dropped when he saw me standing
there.

"Sorry!" Edward grinned. "You awake?"

"I am now," I said, rubbing my hands up and down my bare arms. "Do you know
what time it is?"

"No. Come outside."

"It's five in the morning," I grumbled, frowning down at him.

"So? Come outside," he told me again. I shook my head as I stepped back into
my room, already reaching for a hoodie to zipper up over the tank-top I'd worn to
bed. I snuck down the stairs quietly, and slipped my feet into my flip-flops before
walking down my porch steps to the beach. Edward was already back there,
waiting for me.

"Ever heard of this thing called sleep?" I yawned. "Some people do it. You should
try it, some time."

"And waste the best part of the day?" Edward shrugged. "Come on. I need your
help."

"With what?" I asked, following behind him as he started walking down toward
the surf. The pre-dawn hour cast everything in calm grey. Edward stopped at a
dark hill of wet sand that was piled near the surf. "You brought me out here to
look at a pile of sand," I said, lowering my eyes with confusion at the mass in
front of me.

"Aww… come on. You're a writer," Edward smiled and pushed at my shoulder
playfully. "Use your imagination."

"My imagination is still asleep," I grumbled. Edward dropped to his knees in front
of me, and started packing some of the sand into a red bucket that he'd pulled
from the pile He flipped the bucket upside down, and shimmied it loose until a

cone shape was left standing behind. "A… sandcastle?" I asked, guessing at his
intention. Edward smiled up at me.

"It will be. If you'd help." I looked up at the empty beach that stretched in front
of us, and at the grey-turning-pink sky over the water. Then I looked back at the
boy that grinned up at me with such an open, friendly expression that it made my
arguments crumble.

"Yeah. Okay," I nodded.

The cold sand made the knees of my pajama pants wet as I worked silently
beside him. Edward lined up buckets of sand to form a base, while I packed wet
sand in the cracks between them to help make the bottom of our castle. As the
sun rose, we created an elaborate and large structure. I was lying on my
stomach, using a stick to scratch windows and tiny details into one side of the
drying creation, while Edward smoothed his hands up a cylindrical turret he'd
created on the opposite side. My attention was drawn upward when a man ran by
us on the beach, his feet making wet thwack-thwacking sounds as he jogged
past.

"Morning," he said as he ran by. I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, and
returned his greeting before looking over to where Edward was thoroughly
engaged with his project.

"Isn't it time for your run?" I asked him. Edward's eyes darted over to mine, and
he shrugged before concentrating on the pointy roof that he smoothed under his
fingers.

"I don't feel like it, today."

"Lauren will be so disappointed," I mumbled before I thought better of it.
Edward's hands dropped down to rest on his legs for a moment while he looked
back over at me.

"Why would you think that?" he asked. I shrugged one shoulder, and tried to
concentrate on the window I was designing, feeling stupid for having said
anything.

"It's just…" I frowned and refused to look up at him. "She told us that you've
been running together in the mornings."

Edward was silent for a moment, and started working again.

"You sound jealous," he said lightly. I blinked up at him, but he wasn't looking at
me.

"What?" I snorted. "Psh. I'm not. I don't…"

"Sure," he smiled down at his turret, teasing me.

"That's crazy," I told him. "I just don't want you to get in trouble, or anything.
Why should I care if you run with Lauren?" But I did care. And it bothered me
that he'd seemed to guess that.

"Lauren is on her track team, back home," Edward said, offering me an
explanation even though we both knew that he didn't have to. "We race. It's good
practice. Makes me faster."

"Sounds fun," I mumbled again, not meaning it.

"You know the best part about running with Lauren?" Edward said, looking up at
me from under his long eyelashes. I tried to look like I didn't care, as I raised one
eyebrow in his direction.

"Hadn't given it much thought," I lied. His smile grew wider.

"If I run fast enough, I don't have to listen to her talk." My heart did a happy
little flutter back-flip at his words, but I tried to ignore it.

"For a guy who doesn't like too much talking, you seem to be doing an awful lot
of it," I said snidely, looking back down at the side of the sand-castle in front of
me. Edward laughed.

"Never said I didn't like talking," Edward finally said. "Just said that I didn't like
talking with Lauren. She's a little annoying sometimes."

I tried to hide my grin as I dug my stick a little deeper into the sand.

"Well… what do we have here?" A loud voice boomed from a few yards away.
Edward and I both looked up to see Emmett lumbering toward us. His hands were
wrapped around a cereal bowl, and he ate as he walked our direction. "Nice
pajamas, Elway," Emmett said, lowering himself to sit in the sand at Edward's
side. I shrugged and turned to sit on my bottom, wiping at the sand on my
knees.

"You're up early," Edward said to him. Emmett looked up at him like he was
crazy.

"Dude… it's like ten. We're going body-surfing today. You in?"

"Yeah," Edward nodded, looking back at our sandcastle as though reluctant to
give up our building venture. I couldn't believe we'd been out working on it so
long. "I'm in."

"This is pretty awesome," Emmett said, turning his attention to our castle. "You
should work for my dad." Emmett's father owned some huge construction
company. "You're good at building stuff."

"It's not so much the building," Edward said, finishing off the tower with a far
away look on his face. "It's just… creating something. Out of nothing. You know?"

"Kinda like your music?" Emmett asked. "You always were good at that creative
shit."

"You play music?" I asked. Edward looked like he might have been blushing, and
Emmett continued speaking.

"You haven't heard mini-Mozart here play, yet?" he asked. "Edward can play just
about any instrument he gets his hands on."

"Not really," Edward shrugged, looking embarrassed. "I play… a little."

"That's really cool," I offered, surprised by the new bit of information. Edward
hadn't mentioned it. But he really didn't seem the bragging sort.

"Anyway," Edward said, dusting his hands on his legs. "If we're body-surfing, I
should get changed."

"You coming with?" Emmett asked me while the boys stood.

"Not this time," I shook my head. "I think I might work on this for a while
longer."

"Okay then. Hurry your ass up, Cullen," Emmett ordered. "Rosalie and Jasper are
getting the boards from the clubhouse. Everyone's gonna meet up in about thirty
minutes."

"Thanks for the help, Isabella," Edward said, giving me one last grin before they
turned to leave.

I got back on my knees, and etched a few more details into the sand after they'd
gone. But the kingdom we'd created seemed to have lost some of its magic as I
worked on it alone. With a sigh, I dropped my drawing stick, and stood to go
inside for a shower.

An hour later, I made my way back out to the beach with a book in hand. I
frowned to see that someone had kicked in the side of the sandcastle that Edward
and I had built. It was ruined.

And I wondered if maybe Lauren had gone body-surfing with them.

-Summer, 1999-

The summer flew by like the one before it, punctuated with inside jokes and sun-
burnt noses, sleep-overs and unrequited crushes. And yes- I was finally able to
add myself to that not-so-fun part of it all. But at least Alice and I were able to
commiserate together. I never admitted the feelings that I had developed for
Edward, but she knew. She continued to try to make Jasper see her as anything
but the little girl that he knew her as. And I continued to cherish the quiet times
that Edward seemed to set aside for only me.

Sometimes we went for walks. Sometimes we sat quietly on the beach, and he'd
read while I'd write. For whatever reason, that softer side of Edward seemed to
enjoy the quiet comfort that filtered between us in those early morning hours,
when everyone else was asleep and oblivious to the friendship that was nurtured
by the sunrise and hush-hush lull of the waves on the beach.

"I think Jasper likes one of the renters," Alice said, plopping miserably into the
empty chair beside me at the clubhouse where we'd all had dinner.

"She'll be gone in no time," I offered as consolation. Boys and girls came and
went. They flirted at the edges of our group while they were around, and then
disappeared just as quickly as they'd come. All of the boys had noticed a
particularly cute girl who'd been staying at the beach for the past week, but
Jasper had been following her around like a puppy.

"But… why her and not me?" Alice pouted.

"Who knows why boys act the way they do?" I asked, stealing a glance over
toward Edward's table. We never really talked about it, but I still couldn't figure
out why he spent so darn much time with Lauren. He had admitted to me, that he
was annoyed by her sometimes. And yet, she was always there. I saw that
Edward seemed tense, sitting with his back toward me. His legs were spread
wide, and his feet bounced beneath him in irritation. I smirked to see that his
pants had ridden up at the cuffs, showing that he hadn't bothered to wear socks

with his dress-shoes. His father sat across from him, with a scowl on his face,
obviously lecturing his son about something, while Edward ran both of his hands
behind his head and tugged at his hair.

"I'm calling it a night," Alice said then. "I can't take another five minutes of
watching him chase that girl around."

"Yeah. I think I'll head home early, too," I told her. "Wanna stay over?"

"No. I'd be miserable company," Alice said, smiling a little at my offer. "But
maybe we could get Rosalie to drive us into town tomorrow? We could shop a
little."

"That sounds good," I smiled. I noticed that Alice hadn't mentioned inviting
Lauren, but wasn't really shocked by it. She and I had become closer friends,
each seeking out the comfort of a gentle heart that shared the same misery.

I looked back over at Edward's table. It didn't seem that he'd be escaping the
clubhouse too soon. Emmett and Rosalie were nowhere in sight. I slipped away
on my own, and walked the strip of beach back to my house.

Enjoying having the place to myself for a while, I didn't even bother to change
out of the dress I'd worn to dinner. I just dropped my shoes by the door and
flopped down on the couch in the living room with a book. And like I usually did
when engrossed in a good story, I lost time while I lost myself in the fantasy
world that poured out of the pages under my hands. It was almost midnight when
my attention was drawn up to the sound of my mother and Lonnie, returning
from their evening out.

"Oh," my mother hiccupped-giggled when she saw me there, peering at them
from my spot on the sofa. "You're home early," she said. Lonnie held her close to
his side, keeping her upright.

"It's not that early," I said, glancing over toward the clock on the wall.

"Aren't you usually out with your friends?" she asked out loud, lowering her
eyebrows.

"Not tonight," I shrugged.

"Well… lock up before bed," Lonnie told me, ushering my mother up the stairs. I
promised I would, and went back to my reading.

For a while.

Until the squeaking bedsprings and quiet moans from upstairs distracted me from
my book.

"Sick," I whispered to myself with a frown. No one wants to listen to their parents
having sex. I was getting sleepy, but knew that there was no way in hell I'd be
going upstairs anytime soon.

With a groan, I rolled off the couch and pulled the blanket on the back with me. I
wrapped it around my shoulders, and made my way barefoot outside to the
beach, where I could hopefully escape the sounds that my mother and Lonnie
made. I shuddered with the mental image, and stood still with surprise when I
came close enough to recognize a shadowy form on the beach.

"Edward?" I asked tentatively. The full moon in the sky lit the ends of his hair,
and I frowned as I saw him hastily wipe at his face when he heard my voice.

"Yeah?" he asked, with his voice sounding scratchy. My heart did a painful lump-
bump in my chest when I realized that he was crying.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, moving to sit down in the sand beside
him.

"Nothing," he said, still not looking at me. "What are you doing out here?"

"Running away," I said simply. Edward sniffled a little, and wiped his nose on his
shirt sleeve.

"Great. I'll come with you."

I tucked my skirt under my heels, and rocked back on my bottom with my
blanket wrapped around me.

"Cold out here," I said.

"Summer's almost gone," Edward replied. I nodded sadly. "Share that blanket?"

I pulled one edge of the blanket away from my body, and Edward scooted closer
to me on the beach, wrapping it around his opposite shoulder. We sat with the
sides of our bodies touching, huddled together under the stars.

"What are you running away from?" Edward asked quietly, turning his face to
look at me.

"The disturbing sounds of my mom and Lonnie doing it," I said, feeling my cheeks
warm as I said the words out loud. Edward chuckled. "Don't laugh," I scolded.
"I'm scarred."

"Go Lonnie," Edward said, sniffling again. I could hear the smile behind his words,
and was happy that my discomfort seemed to cheer him a little. "Your mom is
kinda hot."

"Disgusting!" I said, knocking his arm with my elbow.

"What? She is," Edward smiled then, and shook his head while he stared out over
the ocean. "You look a little like her, you know."

I tucked my head down toward my chest, and rubbed my cheek against the
nubby edge of the blanket to hide my grin.

"Well… she'd be happier if I looked more like her," I said softly. "Or if I acted
more like her. If I liked the same things…"

"Shit. Story of my life," Edward muttered lowly. I peeked over at him, and saw
that his expression had darkened again.

"So… what are you running away from?" I asked quietly.

"Same old thing," Edward said with a long sigh. "My dad and I… don't always see
things the same way."

"Things looked a little intense at dinner," I told him. Edward shrugged under our
blanket.

"It's always nice to hear that I'm turning into such a big damn disappointment to
him."

I cringed and bit my lip over the raspy delivery of Edward's words.

"I'm sure you're wrong," I said, trying to sooth him.

"And I'm sure I don't want to talk about it," Edward said. I nodded and wiggled
my toes into the cold sand.

"I'm sorry."

"No. Don't be. I'm sorry. It's not your fault," Edward shook his head and looked
over at me. His eyes were wide and sparkling in the moonlight, apologetic and
exposed. "We're just… different. And I know that bothers him."

"My mother made me take etiquette classes this year," I said then. I don't know
why. Edward's eyebrows lowered, and it made me want to continue. "Every
Wednesday night I had to get all dressed up and go to this ridiculous class with a
bunch of other girls. And Mrs. Cheney taught us how to sit properly, and speak
properly… showed us how to set a proper table."

"Sounds very… proper," Edward smirked then.

"Sometimes I feel like my mother is just priming me for becoming some sort of a
creepy Stepford Wife," I admitted, looking away. "I… I don't even know if I want
to get married some day. I mean… there's stuff I want to do. Places I'd like to
visit. My mother calls me a 'dreamer' like it's a bad thing." I shrugged. "I'm just
not sure that I want her life."

"Wow," Edward said then. I felt his breath on my cheek, we were sitting so close.
Shyly, I turned my face to look at him. I was worried that maybe I'd said too
much, and that I'd annoyed him with my silly rambling. But he looked at me,
almost tenderly. "I think you and me, are probably a lot more alike than I knew,"
Edward said then.

I couldn't help it. I felt completely wrapped up in the moment. Wrapped up in the
blanket, and wrapped up in the stars… and totally and completely wrapped up in
Edward. My eyes darted down to his soft, blushed lips, and I felt my breath catch
in my throat. Edward lowered his eyes, to look at the way that I had pulled my
bottom lip between my teeth.

"Isabella…" he whispered, leaning forward.

"Edward?" We both jumped guilty apart at the sound of his mother's voice, as she
called out from the back of their house. "Edward? It's time to come in!"

"I'll be there in a minute, Ma," Edward called out, in reply. I blinked rapidly, and
tried to control the nervous tingles that raced up and down my arms and legs. I
felt shaky, and strange, and light all over. Edward lifted himself to stand, and
then offered his hand to help me up. I let his fingers wrap around mine, and tried
to smooth my dress down as I stood up on weak legs. Edward reached down to
retrieve my blanket from the sand with his free-hand. I noticed that he didn't let
go of my other.

Our fingers stayed tangled between us, as we both walked side-by-side toward
our homes. When we got to the half-way point, Edward was the one who gently
slid his hand away from mine first. And then he handed me my blanket. I took it
in my hands, and hugged it against my chest, as I looked up at him.

"Isabella?" Edward asked, turning to face me. "Don't let her change you. Alright?"

"Hmm?" I asked, distracted by his nearness and the sweet whisper of his words.

"Your mom," Edward told me. "Don't let her change you. I think… you're pretty
terrific, just the way you are."

"I think you're terrific too," I breathed. Edward's smile lit the darkness. And I
knew that his parting words would stay with me, even when I had to leave my
summer friends behind me once more.

-Fall, 2009-

I clicked my laptop closed and stretched my arms above my head, groaning as
my spine snapped and popped into alignment. I'd spent my entire afternoon
hunched over, writing. It felt good. But now I only had a short time to get
dressed before my shift started at the bar.

I hummed as I made my way around my tidy efficiency apartment. Yeah, it was
small. But I was the only one in it, so it was more than enough room for anything
I needed. I had a small kitchen and one bedroom. The living room doubled as my
office. Not like I did much entertaining, anyway. I wasn't really here to entertain.

One year.

I'd given myself one year to really make a go of trying to become a serious
writer.

After high school, I spent four years attending a community college. After which,
I'd worked for two years writing for a small-town newspaper. The editorial work
was hardly suited to the type of writing that I actually wanted to be doing. But at
least it was good, practical experience.

I worked hard and saved every penny so that I could afford to take this year off
to live in the city. My part-time job at the bar made sure that my meager savings
account would get me by, while I tried to write my first actual novel.

I was still a dreamer. But at least I was willing to chase after my dreams.

"Running a little late?" my boss asked as I hung my coat in the storage room
behind the bar. I glanced over at the time clock.

"I don't start until four," I pointed out.

"Yeah. Well, you're usually here earlier."

He was right. I usually came in at least a half-hour early. I liked to eat a quick
meal and study the people around me. Their stories wove through the one I was
creating in my mind. With no time for that now, I hastily pulled my long hair into
a ponytail and tied a short apron around my waist. I would work the front of the
house before resuming my place behind the bar, later.

"How's it going, Earl?" I asked, spinning past his table to deliver a Reuben
sandwich and steak fries. I pulled a bottle of ketchup out of my apron pocket for
him, before he could ask.

"Not bad, honey," he smiled up at me. "Better if I could get a refill, too."

"Be right back," I told him, moving to check on another table of customers.
College boys. And from the look of it, they'd had quite a lot to drink already.
Their table was littered with empty bottles that the waitress before me had
neglected to clear away before her shift ended.

"Can I bring you guys another round?" I asked, carefully lining the glass bottles
on the tray I held.

"Sure thing, gorgeous," one of the guys answered, placing an over-eager hand a
little low against my back. I moved away too quickly, in an effort to dislodge his
unwelcome advance, and cursed under my breath when one of the precariously
stacked bottles fell from my tray toward the floor. I cringed, expecting the sound
of breaking glass. Instead of shattering, it thumped hollowly against the linoleum
and began to spin by my feet. I stood there, transfixed, just watching it spin.

-Summer, 2000-

"This is lame," Lauren huffed, pouring sand out of her tennis shoe. I rolled my
eyes over at Alice who giggled behind her hand. We were all playing touch
football, and Lauren sucked. She might have been fast, which is why Mike and
Jasper had chosen her for their team. But she couldn't catch for shit.

I brushed my hands off on my shorts and went over to join Alice, Edward, and
Emmett in our huddle.

"Pass the ball to Elway," Emmett told Edward. "Then you hand the ball off to Alice
here. She'll run her little ass into the end zone while we block."

"Okay," I nodded, concentrating on the part I would play. We all split into our
formation, and I started running when Emmett yelled for me to 'go!'

Laughing, I'd made it quite a ways down the beach before I turned to see Edward
snap the ball forward in my direction. I'd caught it, just as I'd been instructed.
But I'd no more than handed the ball off to Alice before Mike wrapped his arms
around my waist and threw us both down onto the sand.

"Ooomph," I landed with a thud, with Mike on top of me.

"Hey!" Emmett complained. "It's touch… not tackle, Mikey!"

"I think he's trying to 'touch!'" Lauren laughed nearby.

She was right.

"Get off," I groaned, pushing at his shoulders.

"Quit trying to feel up my teammate," Emmett growled, shoving Mike playfully. I
shook the sand out of my hair and let Edward pull me back up to my feet.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"I've taken harder hits," I grinned up at him.

Easy. Everything was easy. Our return to the beach was easy. Our familiar fall
into our roles within the group had been easy. Avoiding Mike's not-so-subtle
attempts at showing interest in me? Not so easy. Ignoring my own huge-ass
crush on the boy who helped me up from the sand? Not easy at all.

But everything else felt easy.

"She's not made of china," Lauren pointed out, obviously annoyed by the
attention I was receiving. I frowned and pulled my hand away from Edward's. He
had returned to the beach, and while he treated me the same as he always had,
that seemed to aggravate Lauren even more than it usually did. She was
positively mean at times. It had been a long couple of months, ignoring her thinly
veiled insults and barbed comments. I was getting sick of it.

"What is her problem, anyway?" I asked moodily while Alice and I packed up the
blankets we'd brought down to the beach for us all to sit on to eat lunch before
our game.

"She's just pissed off at Edward," Alice whispered. We both looked over our
shoulders to be sure that they were far enough away to not over-hear our
conversation. "She thought that Edward would ask her to go with him to his prom
this year. But he went with some other girl instead."

I frowned and concentrated on helping Alice fold the blanket as it snapped and
waved in the ocean breeze.

"I didn't even think they lived very close to each other," I muttered, trying to
map out the distance in my head. Edward was from Chicago, and Lauren lived
somewhere in Indiana.

"About five hours away," Alice shrugged. "But Lauren would have driven. He just
didn't ask her to."

"Oh."

It seemed like a stupid reason to be mad. But I guess that Lauren felt more
entitled than I would have guessed. I'd learned that Emmett had driven up from
Georgia a few times, to visit Rosalie. Other than that, none of us got together
during the off-season.

"Well, Lauren cancelled," Rosalie said, flipping her phone closed later and tossing
it onto her bed. I sat on the floor with my foot in Alice's lap, while she painted my
toenails a bright blue color that was sure to make my mother angry.

"Did she say why?" Alice asked, not looking up.

"Let me guess," I said wryly. "Sleep-overs are 'lame?'" Rosalie laughed and
crawled over to lay her head against my thigh. She picked up the remote for her
stereo, and started skipping through songs while I put my unpainted foot forward
for Alice's brush.

"That girl is a piece of work," Rosalie huffed. "I don't really care if she's here
anyway. I don't want her shedding all over my room."

I snorted loudly, and covered my face with my hands. I'd accidentally let it slip
once, that I thought Lauren looked like a blonde Chewbacca. Rosalie had run with
the wookie-references ever since.

"You know why she's in such a bad mood, lately," Alice said mildly, reminding us
not to get too catty. "It's because of the whole Edward-thing."

"What is up with those two, anyway?" Rosalie asked, moving to sit up beside
Alice. "It's not like she owns him. She's not his girlfriend or anything."

"I don't know…" Alice shrugged. "I think maybe he used to be interested. You
know. She told me that they used to do stuff."

"Stuff?" Rosalie asked, raising her arched eyebrow.

"Stuff, stuff." Alice bit her lip and nodded.

"Like… it?" Rosalie asked, sounding incredulous. My eyes opened wide. Of course,
I hadn't even considered that they might have done it. I mean… Lauren and
Edward were both seventeen now. And I knew plenty of people from back home
that had already been having sex by that age. Earlier, even.

"No way," Alice shook her head, and I breathed a large sigh of relief. "I mean…
I'm pretty sure they didn't," Alice amended. "I think Lauren would have bragged
about it, if they had."

"Have you guys ever done it?" Rosalie asked, smiling mischievously between Alice
and me. I blushed and looked down.

"Why… have you?" Alice countered, not answering the question either.

"Sure," Rosalie shrugged. My mouth fell open, and she giggled. "Emmett stayed
the whole weekend after prom," she smiled. Alice and I remained silent. I guess I
can't say I was shocked. It was just the first time that the subject had even been
broached between us girls. And it wasn't like I had a damn thing to add to the
conversation. My experience in anything of a romantic nature was sadly lacking.

"If you could… you know… with anyone… who would you do it with?" Rosalie
asked.

"Brad Pitt," Alice and I both answered in unison. Then the three of us laughed.

"I meant… in real life!"

"Alice is saving herself for Jasper!" I blurted out. "Ow!" I shrieked when Alice
pinched my pinky-toe hard.

"Well… I'll bet Mike wouldn't mind having a chance with you," she said then. "He
was practically dry-humping you on the beach!"

"Ugh," I groaned, falling backward and pulling a pillow over my face.

"You're gonna have to do something about him," Rosalie said, stealing the pillow
away so she could look down at me. "If you aren't interested in Mike like that,
maybe you could give him a hint by flirting with one of the renters at the party
tomorrow night, or something."

I frowned. The party. I knew that the girls were looking forward it, but I really
wasn't. Rosalie had invited tons of people… our entire crowd as well as a bunch of
renters and a few locals. It was meant to be a sort of graduation party for Rosalie
and Emmett, since they'd just finished high school. Honestly, I'd get out of it, if I
could. I liked things smaller, more quiet, and simple. I also didn't like the way
that Mike had been looking at me this summer. Rosalie was always with Emmett.
Alice was going to use the party as her first real opportunity to let Jasper know
she liked him. I knew that Lauren would probably do her best super-glue
imitation with Edward. That meant that I would be forced to try to avoid Mike all
evening. And he was nice boy. I genuinely didn't want to hurt him. I just didn't
like him, like that. The butterflies in my stomach seemed to be particularly
attached to only one boy, whether I liked it or not.

As predicted, my mother had a complete hissy fit over my blue-toenails, and
made me remove the color while she sat and watched and lectured me on the
difference between looking like a young lady and 'a walking-corpse.' I appeased

her by dressing in a pretty cardigan and a pleated short-skirt that was really
dressier than I would have liked to have worn to the party. I even let her curl my
hair. Satisfied that I looked like a 'respectable young lady' once more, she let me
leave with the girls after only a few reminders to 'behave' and to call if I was
going to be out too late.

I held the back of my skirt against my thighs as I crawled into Jasper's back seat.
Edward was already there, and Lauren gave me the evil-eye as she took in my
appearance from her place between us.

"I thought we were going to a party on the beach," Lauren sniffed. "Not for tea at
my mother's Bridge Club."

"Shut up, Lauren," Mike chided, turning to look at me over the front seat. Alice
sat happily nestled between him and Jasper. "I think you look really nice."

"Thanks, Mike," I muttered, looking out the side window. I felt like an idiot, and
the night had only just begun.

Things only went downhill from there. Rosalie and Emmett pulled up in her
father's car, and someone played music loudly from one of the other vehicles that
parked on the beach. Coolers were brought out, and beers were passed around. A
few of the local kids who got there earlier, were already well on their way to
being buzzed and acting obnoxious. It wasn't a bad set-up, I just wasn't in the
mood for it. And I felt completely awkward.

"Here. Brought you girls a couple drinks," Jasper said, pulling two wine coolers
from his jacket pockets before handing one to each Alice and me. I had never had
alcohol before, and knew my mother would probably lose her mind if she ever
found out. But I twisted the lid off the innocent looking pink beverage, and took a
long drink, anyway. When in Rome…

"I don't like the way those guys are checking you out," Jasper said, taking a swig
from his beer and looking over at a group of boys who stood nearby. Alice had
taken pity on me, and had dressed up just a little too. I knew that her efforts
were mostly for Jasper, though. We'd definitely already garnered our share of
attention from the boys Jasper stared down. "Hope I don't have to get in a fight,
tonight," he said. I smiled. Jasper was a protective guy like that. All of our boys
were. They wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch, if they thought that someone was
really bothering one of us girls.

"Maybe they'll take the hint, if they think we are already here with our
boyfriends," Alice said, smoothly sliding her arm around Jasper's. I bit my lip, and
tried not to smile when Jasper stiffened for a moment as if he was shocked. Then
he tilted his head down to look at her, and a slow, easy smile pulled at his lips.

"Yeah. Yeah. That might do the trick," he nodded. I did an internal fist-pump for
my bold little friend. She had gone out with the intention of getting Jasper's
attention. It looked like she had just gotten it, in spades. And from the goofy grin
on Jasper's face, it didn't look like he minded one little bit.

"I'm going to go see what Rosalie is up to," I muttered, stealing away to leave
Jasper and Alice alone. It was a lousy excuse. Rosalie and Emmett had been
sucking each other's faces off all night. I was pretty sure that was still the case.
And I really didn't want to have to guess at what Edward and Lauren were up to.
I was still bothered, imagining the 'stuff' they might have done before. By the
way that Lauren had been throwing herself at him all night, I could imagine that
she wanted to get things back to the way that they used to be, between them. I

really had no desire to see that. The idea of those two together made me feel sick
to my stomach.

"Where ya going?" Mike called out, as I walked down the sandy beach on the
outskirts of the party. The nearby bonfire provided a warm glow against the
rapidly-darkening sky.

"Just walking," I told him. I had hoped for a few minutes of peace and quiet.

"Aww… come back to the party," Mike said, slurring a little. He reached for my
hand and started tugging me in the direction of the other kids. "Everyone's gonna
play a game. You gotta play too."

I noticed that he sounded like he'd had a little too much to drink, and decided it
was probably better to re-join the rest of the kids rather than stay so far away
from the group, alone with Mike. The beer seemed to be making him brave, as he
held my hand and grinned. I smiled a little, and reluctantly let him drag me back
over to where the kids were making a circle in the sand. I looked down at the
smooth plywood board that someone had placed on the ground, as everyone
began sitting around it.

"Oh look," Lauren said, smirking up at me. "The love-birds have decided to join
us. Aren't they such a cute couple, Edward?"

Edward looked up, and seemed to stare a minute at the way that Mike still
clutched my hand possessively. He shrugged his head away from Lauren as she
pushed her fingers through the side of his hair above his ear, and I indelicately
pulled my hand away from Mike's. I didn't want to give anyone, least of all Mike,
the wrong impression.

"What are we playing?" I asked, gingerly lowering myself to sit on my knees in
the circle.

"Spin the bottle," someone in the group answered. I lowered my brows, and
looked up at Alice. She was grinning like a loon, and not-so-subtly gesturing to
Jasper sitting beside her.

"I… don't know how to play," I mumbled.

"Hell, it's real easy, Elway," Emmett said, standing at the head of the game. "We
take turns spinning this bottle on the board. And when it's your turn, you gotta
plant a big ol' kiss on whoever the bottle is pointing to."

"Of the opposite sex," Jasper was quick to interject. "You know… if it points to
someone of the same sex… then you have to kiss the person to their left,
instead."

"Unless you girls want to kiss each other," a local boy guffawed loudly. "I'd be
down for that." A couple 'hell-yeahs' and high fives were issued among them
while I cringed. I'd really honestly rather make-out with Rosalie or Alice than ever
have to kiss one of those losers.

"Sounds stupid," I said, shaking my head. "I don't want to play."

"You have to play," Lauren said loudly. "We can't play if it's not an even number
of boys and girls around the circle."

"I don't have to do anything," I leveled her with a stare that fully illustrated the
way that she'd gotten on my nerves all night.

"Fine. If you want to be a baby…" she sneered up at me. "Go ahead and ruin the
whole game for everyone, Isabella."

"Please play?" Alice asked from across the circle. Her eyes darted to Jasper again,
and I knew that she was hoping for the opportunity to kiss him. I sighed and
closed my eyes, resting my bottom heavily on my heels behind me. She knew I'd
do anything for her. I just had a really, really bad feeling about all of this.

"Isabella's right," Rosalie said then. "This game is stupid."

"This stupid game is the same one we played, when I got to kiss you for the first
time, three summers ago," Emmett grinned down at her.

"Fine," she huffed. "Just don't be mad when I have to kiss someone else, Emmett
McCarty!"

"You fuckers better keep your tongues in your mouths," Emmett warned the boys
who sat around the board, pointing the mouth of the bottle at each of them
menacingly. I was pretty sure they were all hoping that the bottle wouldn't point
in Rosalie's direction during their turns, even with as pretty as she was. Emmett
was not someone they wanted to mess around with.

Alice winked at me over the board, happy anticipation dancing in her eyes. I
knew what she was hoping, and crossed my fingers inside my pocket that fate
would be kind. The need to support my friend was part of what kept me sitting
there, despite the nervous dread that made my own heart thump painfully behind
my ribs. There were eight girls playing. The odds were good that the bottle
wouldn't even point to me.

I sat there wishing, watching other kids take their turns. I wished for Alice, that
the bottle would point just right. When it was her turn, I watched her quickly
mask a look of disappointment when the bottle pointed to a cute freckled boy to
my left. She was a good sport about it though, and leaned over to kiss him lightly
on the lips. Then another boy went and made a show of kissing one of the renters
in attendance. I bit my lip when Rosalie took her turn. We all laughed when
Emmett stopped the bottle before it could spin past him.

"Cheater," Rosalie grinned, and sat on his lap before giving him the kiss he'd
arranged.

When Emmett spun the bottle, it landed on Alice. He blew a big wet raspberry on
her cheek while she shrieked and wiped her face with the cuff of her jacket.

I held my breath when Edward spun the bottle. Around and around and around it
went, until it finally pointed to a pretty red-headed girl across from him.

"Get over here, Red," he said playfully, leaning across the board. I stared, and
smiled to see that his kiss landed just at the corner of her mouth. It made me
happy to see that Edward wasn't exactly trying to lay a big kiss on her. But
Lauren didn't seem to care that it was innocent. She glared at the other girl and
Edward before reaching out to take the bottle for her turn.

And when it landed on Jasper, I knew before she even reached for him, exactly
what she would do.

Lauren fisted his t-shirt in her hands and tugged him forward, very obviously
giving him an open-mouthed kiss. I even saw her tongue as she pushed it against
Jasper's mouth. And Alice saw it too. Lauren was obviously trying to make
Edward jealous with her disgusting display, at the expense of one of her very

best friends. Alice bit her lip, and looked mad enough to cry. The game had
turned ugly, and I just wanted to take my friend and go home.

"This is ridiculous," I said loudly, directing my harshest glare over toward Lauren.
"I don't want to play. I'm done."

"Aww… you can't go yet," another boy called out. "Look! Mike spun one for you!"

I had been so busy being upset with Lauren, that I hadn't even seen Mike reach
out to take his turn. And sure enough, the open mouth of the bottle was pointing
right toward me. My mouth fell open in surprise, and I looked up to see Mike
eagerly shifting on the sand to his knees, ready to claim his prize.

"I don't…" I looked up at Alice, and saw that she was blinking angry tears away,
with her cheek turned to the game. My eyes darted over to Edward, who was
looking at me with curiosity. My pulse pounded in my temples, and my mouth
went dry. And suddenly the wine cooler in my stomach bubbled angrily with the
desire to get out of there. "No!" I said, more sharply than I intended. "This game
is stupid. It's just… stupid!"

I stood up and hurried away from the game, walking angrily down the dark
beach. I knew it was too far to walk home, but I'd give it my best shot. I just
wanted to get out of there. I was pissed. Completely, pissed. Lauren had ruined
everything for Alice, and my heart broke for my friend. And… I couldn't. I just
couldn't kiss Mike. I was angry at myself for making such a scene, and I had to
fight to keep myself from crying over the injustice of the whole situation. Maybe I
was acting like a baby, but I didn't care.

"Hey… would you wait up? Shit," I heard Edward's voice behind me. I kept
walking, not wanting to deal with his teasing at the moment. "Isabella? Stop…
just stop!"

I finally had to stop when his hand tightened around my arm and spun me in
front of him.

"Just… leave me alone, Edward," I said, wiping at my face with the sleeve of my
sweater. "I don't want to play that stupid game. Just… go back to Lauren… and
let me go."

"Lauren?" Edward asked. "Look… I know she's acting like a bitch. Okay? But you
were right. You don't have to play the game if you don't want to."

"She's so… mean. God! Poor Alice," I moaned. I wanted to go and tear Lauren's
dumb-blonde hair out by the roots. "She knew… she knew that Alice likes Jasper…
she… God!" I stood there huffing, and trying to get control of myself. But I was
angry, and it was all bubbling out of me. "I swear if I have to be anywhere near
her right now, I'm going to hit her," I warned. "Just… let me go home. Okay?"

"Well… shit," Edward said, rubbing his hands over his face. "Yeah. Okay. Just… let
me get Jasper's keys and I'll give you a ride home. Alright?"

"Fine," I mumbled, standing where I was and rubbing my own hands up and
down my arms. I continued to mutter under my own breath even after he'd gone.

A few minutes later, Jasper's car pulled up along beside me on the beach. I got in
the front seat, and saw that Alice was already sitting in the middle looking
absolutely miserable.

"You okay, Ali?" I asked, putting my arm around her. Alice sniffled once and then
put her head against my shoulder as she softly began to cry. Edward pressed his
lips together, but wisely didn't say a word as he drove us back down the road to
where our houses were.

He pulled up into the parking space beside Alice's house, and kept the engine
running while I helped Alice from the car.

"Want me to come in for a while?" I asked, rubbing my hand up and down the
middle of Alice's back.

"No," she said, wiping at her face again and offering a watery-smile. "But thanks.
I just want to take a hot bath and get in bed."

"Okay," I told her, giving her a last hug before she walked into her house. "Call
me later if you want to talk or anything." I leaned into the open passenger-side
window of Jasper's car then, and gave Edward a weary smile.

"Thanks for the ride home," I told him. "I'm just gonna walk from here."

"Oh. Alright," he said. I patted the car door with my palm once, before walking
down to the dark beach behind Alice's house. I hadn't gone far, when the
headlights of the car dimmed, and I heard the car-door shut. "Isabella?" Edward
called out. I kept walking, listening as he hurried to catch up.

"You don't have to walk me home, Edward. It's not far."

"I just… wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"It's late," I said tiredly. "And I know you probably want to get back to the
party."

"Why is it that I always seem to be chasing you down the beach?" Edward asked
then, falling into step beside me.

"I don't know. Why do you?" I asked, turning on my heel to face him. He
stumbled a little, when I stopped so suddenly.

"What's up with you and Mike?" Edward asked then.

"Really?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. "You followed me down here
to ask about me and Mike?"

"Well… yeah," Edward said, running his hand over the back of his neck. I frowned
at him.

"Nothing is up with me and Mike," I said, turning to walk once more. "I thought I
made that a little obvious, when I ran away screaming instead of kissing him
during that stupid damn game."

"That was pretty funny," Edward chuckled, hurrying to catch up with me once
more. But I spun around and threw him off balance again.

"I'm glad you find my utter embarrassment so funny!" I glared at Edward, taking
the brunt of my anger out on him.

"I don't mean you…" Edward hurried to reassure me. "I wasn't laughing at you,
Isabella. I just meant… the poor guy looked like you kneed him in the balls or
something. You devastated him."

"Well… I didn't mean to," I said, feeling suddenly contrite. "I didn't mean to make
him feel bad."

"I just wanna know why it was such a big deal," Edward shrugged. "I mean… it
was only a little kiss, Isabella. He likes you."

"I don't like him. Not like that."

"You don't have to like someone, to kiss them."

"Explains a lot about you and Lauren," I said waspishly.

"Hey!" Edward frowned and sounded defensive. "This doesn't have anything to do
with me."

"You're right. It doesn't. I'm sorry I said anything," I said, turning to go once
more. "I should have known that you wouldn't understand."

"I'm trying to," Edward said, walking up beside me again. "If you'd give me a
chance. I'd really love to know what's going through that head of yours."

"You want to know?" I asked, stopping again. "Really?"

"I'm out here, aren't I?"

"You'll laugh."

"I swear I won't."

"Fine," I said with a huff. "But if you laugh… someone really will get a knee to the
balls tonight."

"I'll do my best," Edward said, fighting to get the smile off his face while cupping
himself over the front of his shorts. I snorted, tempted to laugh, too.

"Okay," I finally said, looking up at the sky. I closed my eyes, and took a deep
breath. "I really didn't want my very first kiss to be with Mike Newton. Alright?
There. I said it."

Edward didn't say anything, and I lowered my head to look over at him. I fully
expected to see an amused look on his face. But he mostly just looked shocked.

"You're shitting me, right?" he asked then.

"No," I shook my head. "That's why I didn't even want to play that game." I
shuddered, just imagining having to have kissed any of the boys in that circle.

"You've really… never kissed anyone before?"

"You sound shocked," I told him, continuing on our walk.

"Well yeah. That's because I am," Edward admitted.

"Well now the cat's outta the bag," I told him, finally turning when I reached the
bottom of my porch steps. "Isabella the loser is almost sixteen, and never been
kissed. Full story at eleven."

"Quit making a joke of it," Edward frowned, leaning against the bottom of my
porch rail. "I think it's…"

"Pathetic?"

"Sweet," he said, correcting me with a small smile.

"Whatever, Edward," I said, shaking my head and starting up the steps. Edward
stopped me with a hand on my arm, and pulled me to step back down toward
him. "What?" I asked.

"I just want to know something," Edward said, dropping his voice so that it
wouldn't carry indoors to where my parents were probably waiting up for me.

"What?" I asked again. Edward licked his lips, and stepped up closer to me.

"What would you have done," he asked, "if I was the one to spin for you?"

I frowned and looked up at his face. His features were softened by the glow of
the moon, and I didn't see a trace of teasing where I expected it to be.

"You didn't," I whispered. "So it doesn't matter."

"I wanted to," Edward said then, stepping even closer. "I wanted the bottle to
point at you." My heart thump-thumped under my cardigan at his softly disclosed
secret.

"You're just saying that becau…"

I didn't get to finish my sentence, because Edward leaned down and silenced my
words by pressing his warm mouth against mine. I was so shocked, that I let my
arms fall limply down by my sides, and didn't even consider that I should be
kissing him back.

It was nothing like I'd expected or imagined. Edward reminded me of the sweet
little kissing fish that my last home-room teacher kept in a bowl on her desk. His
mouth opened and closed over my top lip, and then my bottom, with the barest
of sucking pressure that somehow made even the tips of my toes tingle where I
stood frozen, and rooted in the sand.

"There," Edward breathed against my mouth before pulling away. I stared at his
moist, dark lips while he smiled softly down at me.

"You… You…" I stammered.

"Kissed you," Edward nodded a little.

"Kissed me," I replied, dumbly. Edward chuckled and shook his head a little.

"You let me," he whispered, still smiling.

"I have to go inside," I said, feeling tingly, and happy, and stupid and drugged. I
considered for a minute that I might have been slightly drunk from the one wine-
cooler that I'd managed to drink at the party. But I knew better. I was drunk off
the boy in front of me.

"Go on, then," Edward said.

"I'm going," I repeated.

"Alright," he grinned.

"Okay," I said, still not moving. Edward laughed a little, and it was a throaty,
quiet, happy sound that made me want to throw my arms around him and do it

all over again. But he'd made the decision to help me on my way, and stepped
back away from my porch.

I floated up the stairs, and barely mumbled a goodnight to my mother before
making my way to my room. When I landed on my back across my bed, my
thoughts still spun dizzily around me.

Spinning, spinning, spinning… just like a bottle on a sheet of plywood.

-Fall, 2009-

"Yo. Bella," my boss called for me. I finished busing my last table, and wiped my
hands on a towel while I walked over to where my boss stood beside a tall, thin
brunette wearing glasses. "This is Angela," he told me, pointing to the girl. "Show
her the ropes back here, alright?"

"Sure thing," I said, saluting him smartly before grinning at the new help. "Hi," I
told her.

"Hi," she said, sounding shy.

"Ever work in a bar before?" I asked. The girl blushed a little, and looked down.
"Well, don't worry," I told her. "I didn't, before I started working here. It's really
easy. Here… I'll show you."

I spent the next couple of hours letting Angela shadow me behind the bar. Earl
offered his unwavering support and complimented her tentative efforts from his
regular stool in front of us.

"Good job, Honey. Real good job," he told her.

"It's not Honey. It's Sweetheart," Angela replied saucily, giving him a wink. Earl
laughed.

"She's a fast learner!"

"That she is," I grinned. And I was glad for it. The crowd was beginning to pick
up, and I was going to need Angela to help me keep up with the new drink
orders.

I stayed busy, working my side of the bar, while she worked hers. People shouted
orders above the din and passed money by the fistfuls over the bar, while Angela
and I worked fast to serve them all the drinks they asked for, in good time.

I was so busy, in fact, that it barely registered when I tall woman with strawberry
blonde hair asked Angela to make her banana daiquiri.

Shit. Shit.

I knew that our blender was a temperamental beast. You had to twist the lid on
just right, or disaster would ensue. I hadn't had a chance to explain that to
Angela yet, as no one had ordered a frozen drink since she'd been there. My
hands were full of the whiskey sours I'd just mixed, and I hurried to place them
down on the bar and get over to the side where Angela was dumping the
ingredients for the woman's daiquiri. Rum. Triple Sec. Lime Juice. Bananas. Ice.

"Angela… no!" I cried out, too late. Angela pressed the button to mix the
concoction and I quickly threw my body between her and the demonically –
possessed machine, immediately being sprayed with a shower of icy, sticky,
banana goo. A yellow clump of the stuff actually hung off the end of my bangs,
and dripped heavily down my nose before plopping to a large splatter near my
shoe after I'd collected myself enough to reach forward and press the 'off' button.

Angela looked like a deer in headlights, and stared with a horrified expression at
the way that I was ridiculously covered from head to toe with the frothy, fruity
mess. I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. And then she started laughing.
And a few customers who had witnessed the entire incident, started laughing too.

The woman who ordered the drink was not laughing.

"I'm sorry Miss," I told her, trying to recover what was left of my dignity as I
slipped on the floor and tried to make my way back to the bar. "If you just give
us a minute, we'll get this cleaned right up, and I'll be happy to make you a new
one."

"I don't have time for a new one," the woman snarled, hitting her hand on the
bar. "My flight leaves in an hour."

"I'm really sorry," I said again, breathlessly, trying to remain upright, while
swiping at the dripping mess that ran down my face.

"What's the hold up?" a man asked, walking through the crowd to look at the
woman.

And I was frozen.

Not just stuck frozen by the ice-cold daiquiri blend that I was drenched in.

Frozen as in… I couldn't blink. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move at all. Because
the man who addressed the disgruntled customer at the bar was a man I'd never
thought I'd see again. And even though I hadn't laid eyes on him in years, I knew
exactly who he was.

You never forget your first kiss. You never forget your first love. And you never
ever forget the first guy to ever break your heart.

Edward Cullen stood in the crowd in front of the bar, with his hand on the
woman's arm.

"What's taking so long?" he asked her, not looking over at me. His voice. God.
Even if I hadn't seen him, I would have known that voice anywhere.

"You know how nervous I get about flying, Edward," the woman whined then. "I
just wanted a daiquiri. But the staff here is obviously incompetent…"

"Incompetent?" I squeaked, without intending to. I threw my hand over my face,
and the motion was the last one to test my precarious balance on the wet,
daiquiri covered floor beneath my feet. My tennis shoes went out from under me,
and I fell onto my ass with a big, wet, thump.

"I can get you another drink," Angela said to the woman, skating through the
puddle to stand above me. I stayed where I was, afraid to try to get up. "Maybe a
beer?"

"If I wanted a beer, I would have asked for one," the woman said nastily. "Never
mind. Edward? Let's just go."

From the corner of my eye, I could see the reflection of his face on the mirror
behind the bar, as he leaned slightly over the counter, trying to peer down at me.
I turned my head, and buried it in the crook of my arm that rested across my
knees.

"Are… you okay down there?" he asked. I swallowed hard, and nodded. Like a
trooper, I raised my arm above my head and gave him a thumbs-up. Damn. I
groaned at my own stupidity. Satisfied that I wasn't dead or dying, he let the
woman at his side drag him through the crowd, and back out the door.

I stayed where I was on the floor for a while, just trying to get control of my
nerves.

"Hey Bella?" My boss asked, finally coming over to check on me.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking up at him while pushing my wet hair away from my
flaming cheeks.

"You okay?"

"Just thought I'd uh… stock the napkins," I said, mentioning the first supply I saw
on the shelf beside me.

"Why don't you head on home for the night, huh?" he asked. "Maybe take a
shower? I can take over here."

"Thanks," I exhaled shakily. I stood to my feet, and rubbed one hand across my
sore backside with a wince.

"See you on Monday," he told me then. I assured Angela that I was fine, and not
angry at all about the accident, before I pulled my coat on and made my way out
the back door to get in my car and go home.

"Isabella Swan," a voice called out from the night, making my hand pause on my
car door handle and my entire body tingle with awareness. It was the last voice
I'd expected to hear again, but for some reason, I wasn't really surprised to hear
it. I shook my head with a chuckle, before slowly turning to face him.

"Edward Cullen," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back
against my car door.

"I knew that was you," he smiled, stepping from the side of the building toward
where I stood. "I… knew it."

"Don't see how," I said, raising an eyebrow and sweeping my hand over my
sticky, wet clothing. I looked like a drowned rat. While he looked… absolutely,
breathtakingly, just-as-I-always-remembered-him gorgeous. Only better. Older.
More mature. And he was dressed in an immaculate suit that made his shoulders
look wide and his hips look narrow. I realized I was staring, and so I dropped my
eyes in embarrassment.

"Your hand," Edward said, finally getting close enough to touch me. I shivered at
the familiar way that his fingers felt, as they wrapped around my wrist, warm like
sunshine in June. He held my hand up toward his face, and examined the pink
line that made a crescent shape near the base of my thumb. "I wasn't sure til' I
saw this…" Edward said, and I could feel his soft breath on my skin. "But when I
saw it… I knew. I was there when you got that scar, Isabella."

-Summer, 2001-

"I don't care!" My mother shrieked. "Just do whatever you want, Isabella!"

"Just because you're mad at me, doesn't mean you have to raise your voice to
her," Lonnie said angrily.

"You spoil her rotten," my mother complained loudly, giving me an excuse to
leave through the backdoor. "You let her do anything she wants down here.
Running around with those beach kids. It's not suitable for a young lady to spend
so much time…"

I didn't hear the rest. I stomped angrily down the beach and sat with a huff in the
sand. I wasn't alone long. Edward joined me, and bumped my arm with his
elbow.

"Hey. I was just coming to find you."

"Well… here I am," I muttered.

"Those two are always fucking or fighting," Edward said, looking over his shoulder
toward my house. I cringed.

"I think I prefer the former," I groaned. "At least then it's over in fifteen minutes,
and it's safe for me to go back inside."

Edward snickered, and I couldn't help but laugh a little too, even though I felt
miserable.

"So… do you get to go?" he asked. Edward turned his face to look at me, and I
was momentarily lost in his clear bottle green gaze.

"Uh. Yeah. I guess so," I nodded. It was the newest reason that Lonnie and my
mother were arguing, though it didn't take much these days to set them off.
Jasper and Rosalie had invited our whole gang to go up to Corolla to stay the
weekend at their grandparent's house. And it wasn't like we'd be alone up there
or anything. Their relatives would be around the whole time. I had been intrigued
when Alice told me about the wild horses that could sometimes be seen on the
beach up there, just less than a two-hour drive away. And the boys were all
looking forward to racing on four-wheelers, an activity we couldn't enjoy down
here on our somewhat crowded beach.

"It's perfectly acceptable," Lonnie had argued on my behalf when my mother
refused to let me go. "I know the Hales. I'll give them a call. If the kids are going
to be chaperoned…"

"By a couple of old codgers who don't know any better…" my mother argued. She
wasn't as dumb as her dresses. "And the girls will be sleeping on the floor in
sleeping-bags!" she shuddered delicately. "It's just not fitting for a young
woman…"

"Sleeping on the ground for a couple of nights won't kill Isabella," Lonnie said,
sounding exasperated. "She's a goddamned kid, Renee! Let the girl breathe. The
entire monarchy won't crumble if she puts down the tiara for a night."

I knew that his words weren't meant as a slight against me, but were directed
toward my mother's ceaseless struggle to turn me into some sort of pretty-
pretty-princess. I buried my toes in the sand and wrapped my arms tight around
my stomach, trying to ward off the unease I felt, as well as the chilly ocean wind
that blew around us. Edward frowned over at me for a moment, studying the way

I sat, before he sighed and put his arm across my shoulders and pulled me into
his side.

It was the first time he'd touched me, since I'd been back for the summer.

Neither of us had mentioned the kiss we had shared, that fateful night that we all
played spin the bottle. It was as if it had never even happened. Though, I knew
that Edward remembered. It was there, in the unguarded looks he sometimes
gave me when he thought I wasn't looking. But then he'd catch me spying, and
shutters would close over those eyes, before he looked the other way and went
right on back to pretending.

I pretended too.

I pretended I wasn't dying inside, just a little each time he moved past me like he
didn't care. He was still very friendly. Don't get me wrong. He was just also very,
very cautious around me. I could practically tape off the invisible lines that he
used, to keep an exact distance between us whenever he was in my general
vicinity. Smiles that didn't reach his eyes. Looks that didn't move his lips. Laughs
that sometimes felt hollow and fell short in the wind. Something was definitely
missing.

At least I didn't have to pretend to be happy about seeing him with Lauren
anymore. He hardly even spoke to her. The few words they shared around me,
were terse at best.

Lauren had shown up in her usual flurry of "this is so lame" and "that is so lame."
The only thing I thought was 'lame' was her over-use of the word. Oh… and also
her new pixie-short hair-cut. She bragged about some modeling job she got, for a
hairstyle magazine. I laughed snidely in my own mind about how the hair on her
arms was longer than the tresses on her head. It made me feel better, even
though it was sort of bitchy. I still hadn't forgiven her for that stunt she'd pulled
with Jasper, the summer before.

Though, at least, all was well as far as Alice and Jasper stood. I had been packing
my bags readying myself for the summer to come when Alice called. I smiled at
the familiar number on my cell phone screen.

"What do you want?" I answered with a grin on my face.

"Oh My God, Jasper has called me four times this week!" Alice announced without
preamble. She and I had stayed in touch through our long school year.
Apparently, she and Jasper had been staying in touch too. "He says he can't wait
to see me," she gushed. "And… and… he's getting his grandparents to let us come
have Edward's birthday party in Corolla this year. It's going to be so much better
than the stupid parties we always have in his parents' basement. Say you'll be
there, Isabella. Start working on your mom, now! It's going to be like, the best
weekend ever!"

"I'll try…" I offered, already rubbing the sore spot above my eyebrow that her
suggestion had created. I knew my mom would never go for it. Lonnie. Lonnie
was my best bet. And so I started slyly making hints during our long road trip
from Michigan.

"You know…" I'd said, staring out my window. "There is a lot of North Carolina
that I've never seen. A lot of… culture. History," I said, making my request seem
loftier than what it actually was. "Alice says that there are wild horses, that can
be seen up north of where we stay…"

"Oh yeah," Lonnie grinned. "You should definitely get up that way, if you get a
chance."

I smiled at the passing scenery, knowing that my path was at least paved for
now.

"Just so you know, I absolutely loathe this idea," my mother said, standing in the
door way of my bedroom at the summer house while I packed a bag. I made a
show of packing a dress that I knew I wouldn't need, just to make her think that
the weekend held possibilities that it did not. I told my mother that the girls
planned to shop, and eat dinner at a fancy little bistro that we searched for on
the internet. In reality, I imagined that we'd all just sneak beers down by a
campfire while at least half of our group hoped to sneak off for some
unsupervised alone-time in the nearby dunes.

Alice was totally planning on losing her virginity to Jasper. I just hoped they
picked an appropriate time and place so I wouldn't accidentally have to see his
bare ass, in the process.

"I want you to call, at least before bedtime, Isabella," my mother frowned and
crossed her arms over the front of her floral-printed chest. "And those boys
better stay in their own rooms."

"They will, mother," I said, rolling my eyes. Grandma and Grandpa Hale weren't
going to allow anything inappropriate to occur under their roof. When they knew
what was going on, that is.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, young lady," my mother narrowed her
eyes. "You are almost seventeen years old. I remember quite well what children
your age get up to, when parents aren't around."

"And I'm not you," I said, perhaps more vehemently than I should have. She
glared at me, and I sighed and forced myself to adopt a lighter tone. "Mom?
Seriously? I don't even have a boyfriend. I promise you, I'm not going to go away
for a weekend and come back knocked up. Okay?"

"Just be sure you don't," she snipped, before turning and storming away with a
quick click click click of her heels on the hardwood floor.

I sighed and carried my bag downstairs. Lonnie stood just off the kitchen, closing
a box on the counter.

"I packed you kids some provisions," he told me. "Sandwich meat. Snack foods…
stuff to get you by. You know. Just in case the old folks are only stocked with old-
people food."

"What. Like cottage cheese and prunes?" I grinned, trying to look down in the
box. Lonnie finished closing it with a snap.

"I also packed a bottle of wine in the bottom," he whispered. "I seem to
remember what it's like to be your age, too."

He grinned widely when I stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Don't get in trouble now, you hear?" He asked lightly, pretending to not be
embarrassed by my show of affection. "And you owe me big time for this."

"I know," I whispered back. "And… thanks Lonnie."

Soon Jasper came in with Edward, and they picked up my bag and the box Lonnie
had packed for us, before promising to drive us all safely, and ushering me out
the door. Good thing they didn't ask my mother for cookies. She might have
killed them, if they had.

We drove in two cars. Rosalie, Alice, Lauren and I took the lead, and the boys all
followed. I was grateful for the chance to listen to "chick music" as we drove
down the highway, with the windows rolled down to blow our hair into a summer-
time riot. I was also grateful that I didn't have to spend two hours in a cramped
car with Edward, trying my best to pretend not to notice him pretending not to
notice me.

It was an uncomfortable impasse, but I was getting used to it.

We had to leave the road, and drive two miles on sandy terrain to get to the
Hale's private beach house. I wasn't sure how the old couple managed it, being
so far off the beaten track. But it seemed that they had everything the needed,
delivered weekly to their door. And they adored the private get-away that they
called home.

Grandma Hale was amazing. She was an artist. She showed us her studio,
surrounded by windows that faced the beach. Gorgeous water-color landscapes
perched on precarious wooden easels. The girls would share the room adjacent,
on the lower level of the house.

The boys were all sequestered to the attic space, that was mostly used for
storage. They didn't seem to mind though, and they all stomped heavily upstairs
to set up their sleeping bags.

"It's beautiful here," I said, looking out over the beach. We weren't far away from
our summer homes, but I somehow felt freer, and more able to breathe from this
stretch of shoreline. It felt like a whole different universe.

"I know," Alice said. "I told you… this weekend is going to be amazing."

"Let's get in our suits," Rosalie suggested. We all eagerly complied, and then ran
out to the beach with a bright yellow Frisbee in hand.

We started throwing it back and forth across the sand. Soon, we were ankle deep
in the cold Atlantic surf. By the time the boys joined us, we were laughing and
waist-deep in the water while we jumped and threw the cheery little disc between
us.

"Go long, Elway," Emmett said, pulling his arm back. I had to jump to catch the
Frisbee, and gasped for air when I surfaced with my trophy held tight in my
hands.

"MVP, bitch," I yelled victoriously, holding the Frisbee up high.

"Holy shit!" Mike yelled out. "MVP is right! I think I see nip!"

I looked down, horrified to see that the top of my suit had slid sideways. I wasn't
exactly showing nipple, as Mike had announced, but it was pretty close. I yelped
and dove back under the water, adjusting my suit to cover me completely. When
I resurfaced, the guys were still laughing. Edward's cheeks were ruddy red, and
he tried to pretend not to stare at the top of my suit. Guess he wasn't as
oblivious as he would have me believe.

Jasper tackled him, and knocked them both underwater before I could dwell too
much over the hungry look on his face. I was still smiling through the rest of the
game.

That night, we all pulled on thick sweatshirts over our shorts and t-shirts, and sat
outside around a small campfire. The grandparents liked to go to bed early, a fact
I'm sure that Rosalie and Jasper were already well aware of, and so we took our
small party just down the beach so as not to disturb them with our noise.
Everyone cheered when I was able to produce the bottle of wine that I had
brought along.

Rosalie was already aware of what was up, and had snuck a corkscrew from the
house. Emmett popped the top, and we all took turns passing the bottle around,
drinking directly from the top.

My mother would have been mortified.

I was delighted when Edward returned from a trip to the car, to see that he'd
brought a guitar along. For as much as Emmett liked to tease him about being
musical, I'd yet to have evidence of that with my own eyes and ears.

Edward sat on a piece of driftwood across the fire from me, and quietly began
strumming gentle chords. My heart swelled at the sound, and I closed my eyes to
listen. It was an old Beatles tune that was familiar. Then one song changed to
another, and I was surprised to hear Jasper start singing. He had a really nice
voice, and the combination of the wine, the music, and the surf made us all feel
relaxed and happy.

"You may say I'm a dreamer…" Jasper sang. My heart jumped up in my throat,
and I looked over the tiny sparks that danced above the campfire to see Edward's
eyes were trained on me while he played.

"But I'm not the only one…" Emmett joined him, just a little drunk and a little off-
key.

"I hope someday you will join us…" the rest of us started in. "And the world will
be as one…"

Jasper's arm was around Alice. Rosalie sat across Emmett's lap, lightly pushing
her fingertips up and down his arm. Mike sat nearby, next to a scowling Lauren.
Everything felt just about perfect.

"This kumbaya bullshit is lame," Lauren suddenly exclaimed, ruining the happy
mood around us. "I might be more impressed if you could actually play a song
from this century."

"I might be more impressed, if you could shut your fucking mouth," Edward
retorted rudely.

"Bite me," Lauren nearly yelled.

"You wish," Edward returned, with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey guys…" I said, hearing my voice come out just a little sluggish. The wine
was doing its work. But I kinda wanted more. I rose up on my knees, and
reached for the bottle near Emmett's leg. "Keep it down. Okay? We don't want to
wake the grandparents."

"Shut up!" Lauren screeched at me. She must have thought that I was reaching
for her or something, because she moved forward and shoved my shoulders
back, hard. I was thrown off balance, and landed heavily on my hip in the sand.

"Ow," I mumbled, feeling a sharp sting on my hand. Sharp. Sharper. "Ow!" I said
more loudly. I raised my hand up, only to see the end of the corkscrew that I'd
landed on, sunk deep into the skin beneath my thumb.

"Oh…. Oh… sick," Jasper turned and immediately barfed on the sand behind him.
I looked at the shiny metal that dangled from my palm, almost as though I
couldn't understand that it was actually stuck in my skin. Then I pulled it out, and
watched, mesmerized, as a shiny crimson ribbon made its way down my arm
toward my elbow. That started Jasper wretching again, and Alice held him by the
shoulders.

"It's alright. Shhh… shh… it's just a little… blood," she tried to calm her queasy
boyfriend.

"Fuck. Are you alright?" Edward was by my side, hoisting me to my feet. "I think
you're gonna need stitches."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Just… get me to the house. Alright? I'll get a
bandaid or something. If you guys have to take me to the hospital, my mom is
going to flip."

"Okay. Okay. Let's just go get you cleaned up, alright? I'll look at it," Edward
said, holding his arm tight around me as he led me up the dark path back to
Rosalie and Jasper's grandparent's house.

"The bathroom's that way," I pointed, directing him through the lower level of the
house, to the bathroom I knew was attached to our room. Edward walked me
inside, and held my hand under a stream of water at the sink.

"Ow," I wimpered while he turned my hand under the spray. I was suddenly glad
for all of the wine that I'd had to drink. I had a feeling this would hurt like, ten
thousand times more without the antiseptic quality of the alcohol in my system.

"Its deep," Edward said, holding my palm close to his face. "But it's not too long.
You might be okay with just a bandage."

"Thank you," I breathed, a little more unnerved by his nearness than by the cut
on my hand. Edward found some gauze in the medicine cabinet, and laid a thick
square over the wound before wrapping the roll around and around my hand. I
giggled at his efforts.

"I'd make a hot mummy," I smiled goofily, holding my padded hand up for his
inspection.

"Shut up," he grinned around the piece of tape that he tore in his front teeth, and
smoothed it over my ridiculous looking bandage. "If this gets infected… we really
will have to take you to the hospital. No more going into the water for you, young
lady."

"I think I've already given quite enough of a peep show for one weekend
anyway," I said, laughing and still tipsy from the wine. Edward didn't laugh
though. His face had become serious. And that same flash of hunger that I swore
I saw on his expression earlier in the day, had stolen over his features once
again. His eyes looked dark, and stormy. He looked positively torn. With a ragged
breath, he raised one hand and pushed my bangs away from my face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding serious and concerned.

"Are you?" I asked, boldly putting my own hand out to lie on the center of his
chest. Edward swallowed hard and stared into my eyes, before shaking his head
just a little.

"It's so damn exhausting," he said in a near whisper. His voice was gravelly and
rough, and made me shiver.

"What is?" I asked quietly.

"Trying to keep away from you."

-Fall,2009-

Edward released my hand and stepped back, noticing quickly how closely we had
been standing. He pushed his hands into his pockets like the boy I remembered
from the beach, though only a shadow of that child lurked behind the eyes of the
man who stood in front of me now.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I could ask you the same," he smiled, polite and distant once again.

"Well… I work here," I said, stating the obvious. "I meant… I thought I heard you
had a plane to catch?"

"No. That was my… that was Kate. She left. She took a cab to the airport."

"You've been back here waiting for me?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"I wanted to be sure it was you," Edward said. "I figured you'd have to come out,
sooner or later."

"Still chasing me around?" I asked, unable to hide the little smile that tugged at
the corner of my mouth.

"It would appear so," he grinned too, looking down. I watched a familiar pass of
his hand on the back of his head. His hair was shorter now, but the same unusual
color I recalled with perfect clarity each time I wrote a piece of my memory into
the pages of my book.

"So… you didn't answer my question," I said then. "What brings you to Seattle?"

"Uh… I'm working here too," he said. "For the past month. My dad wants me to
get the staff settled in his new office."

"Oh?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "So you went to work for your dad, after all,"
I said.

"And you're a … bartender?" Edward asked, sounding a bit defensive.

"Part-time," I told him, straightening my spine. He sounded judgmental, and if
anyone had the right to be, it wasn't him. "I'm giving myself a year to write."

"You're still writing?" he asked quietly, looking almost awed.

"Always," I smiled, again. "I'll never know unless I try. Right?"

"Yeah," Edward nodded, looking down. We stood there in silence for a minute,
before it all became just a little too surreal to be comfortable.

"I should get going," I said, turning back toward my car. Edward nodded again.

"Can I come see you tomorrow?" he asked then, stunning me with his request. I
hesitated for a minute, wondering if I'd ever actually have the will-power to resist
him. The years hadn't afforded me strength in that task.

"I don't work tomorrow," I said quietly.

"Oh."

"But maybe…" I said, biting my lip. "Maybe we could meet up for coffee, or
something?"

"That would be great," he said. "Or lunch?"

"Anything that isn't remotely related to bananas," I said, flipping my soggy
ponytail over my shoulder.

His laughter stayed with me, even as I drove away.

-Summer, 2001-

I didn't question Edward about the statement that he'd made in the bathroom.
But I didn't feel like I necessarily needed to. He remained close by my side as we
made our way back out to the beach. The invisible walls that he'd put between us
previously, seemed to have been knocked down like the walls of the sandcastle
we'd built, years before. I grinned over at Lauren because I was pretty sure that
she was responsible for both.

Edward lowered himself to sit beside me by the fire, and the others all looked at
me with concern on their faces while I held up my wrapped hand.

"All is well," I told them. "I can't believe you're so squeamish over just a little
blood." Jasper still looked weak, as he laid on the sand with his head on Alice's
bent leg. She brushed her fingers through his hair while he tried to get some of
the color back in his face.

"Yeah, dude," Mike razzed him. "Aren't you supposed to be going to med school
or some shit like that? I never met a doctor so freaked out by the sight of blood."

"I'm going to be a chiropractor, you dipshit," Jasper mumbled.

"Sorry about your hand," Lauren said, sounding anything but.

"You're forgiven," I said, meaning it just as much as she did.

"Maybe we should all call it a night," Emmett said. Rosalie looked like she had
already passed out across his lap. "Gonna get an early start up the beach," he
reminded us. We all nodded, and stood up to douse the fire before making our
ways to our respective rooms. I didn't imagine the warm brush of Edwards
knuckles against my hand, as he passed me to go upstairs.

"Night," I whispered.

"Good night, Isabella."

I woke with a groan, and stretched my body across the hard floor beneath me.
Sunlight filtered in through the open windows at the side of the room, and my
hand throbbed, reminding me of the night before. I brushed my teeth, and took a
couple ibuprofen that I found in the bathroom before tiptoeing past the girls to go
upstairs. I was stopped by the sound of quiet talking in the room across from
ours though, and peeked my head around the corner to see Edward standing in
front of an easel, with Rosalie's grandmother giving him pointers on brush
strokes.

I should have known he'd be awake before the rest of us. That boy never slept. I
also should have known that he'd end up in this studio. The space seemed
designed for him, and his creative tendencies.

"There's juice and pancakes upstairs," Grandma Hale said, noticing me standing
there. I nodded, and smiled my thanks before leaving them to their early morning
art session.

It wasn't long before the sweet older lady came upstairs to join me. I sat at her
breakfast bar, nibbling on a pancake that I held in my hands.

"Oh dear," she told me, making a clucking noise. "We have syrup for those."

"No need," I smiled. "The chocolate chips make them sweet enough." Indeed,
they tasted almost like dessert, they were so good.

"Mmm. Chocolate chip pancakes?" Edward asked, sliding silently onto the stool
beside me. "I might never go home."

"Don't flirt with an old lady," Grandma Hale batted at his arm. "I'm not sure my
poor heart can take it."

Edward grinned at both of us with his mouth full of food. I sipped my juice, and
tried not to stare at how this relaxed environment seemed to bring out the best
of him. He seemed comfortable, less brooding than he'd been so far this summer,
and absolutely irresistible.

"Considering running away, again?" I asked quietly, once the old woman left us
alone.

"You have no fucking idea," Edward said, with a roll of his eyes. But my
statement caused a shift, again. His shoulders slumped a little while he ate, and I
bit my lip, sorry to have said anything at all to chase some of the sunshine from
his pretty green eyes.

"I smell food!" Emmett thundered into the room, and we were soon joined by all
of our bleary-eyed companions as they made their way toward the kitchen for
breakfast. I stole away, to pack a bag to take with me up the beach. Grandma
Hale said that the wild horses weren't always reliable about showing up, but I
wanted to be ready, just in case.

I put my camera, my notebook, and a paper-back book into my bag, and had just
finished with my shower when the other girls returned to take their turns in the
bathroom. And then we were all ready, and headed outside for our trip up the
beach.

I wasn't sure where they got them from. I couldn't imagine that Jasper's
grandfather actually owned all four of the large four-wheelers that were parked
out on the beach. I nervously looked at the well-seasoned vehicles, imaging the
terrified look on my mother's face if she knew I'd be riding astride one of them.

"Ride with me," Edward said, walking up beside me. I grinned over at him, but
didn't miss the shitty look that Lauren gave me before having to jump up to sit
behind Mike.

"Will you go fast?" I asked, worriedly. I put my bag over my shoulder so that the
strap was pulled securely across my chest.

"You better believe it," Edward smirked. "Here… better tie your hair back." I
fussed with it for a moment, before Edward slapped my hands away and took the
hair tie from my fingers. I was having a horrible time of trying, with the bulky
bandage that was still taped around my hand. "Let me," he said. I winced a little
as he pulled it into a ponytail, and then smiled crookedly up at him when he
finished.

"How's it look?" I asked.

"Like shit," Edward frowned and patted at a bulging place he'd left near the crown
of my head. "I guess my talents don't extend to hair-dressing."

"Can't be good at everything," I shrugged.

"Nice 'do," Lauren offered with a mean smile.

"At least I don't look like a boy," I replied. She didn't have a chance to say
another word though, because with that, Edward turned a key and made a few
adjustments, and we shot off like a rocket down the beach.

I laughed with exuberance, feeling the wind tear at my hair and cheeks as we
bounced and bounded down the sandy dunes. My arms must have been near to
squeezing the life out of Edward, but he didn't complain at the way I wrapped
myself around his back. The ride was terrifying, and exhilarating, and my heart
beat so rapidly, I wondered for a moment if he might feel it through the thin t-
shirt he wore across his back. I could feel life, coursing deliciously through my
veins. I felt like we were flying.

After what seemed like a very short while, I saw Emmett gesture to a bend up
ahead. And then we all slowed and eventually stopped to park the four-wheelers
near an ancient-looking twisted up tree that rested heavily across the beach.

"Are we far enough out?" Jasper asked. Alice sat up, and tried to straighten her
hair behind him.

"Should be," Emmett grinned, spinning in his seat to lift Rosalie off of hers.
Lauren climbed down from her perch behind Mike, fingering through her short
hair-style and complaining, as usual.

"Have fun?" Edward asked, turning to look at me over his shoulder.

"Oh yeah," I smiled widely and nodded. His eyes turned serious for a moment,
and he pulled one finger down my flushed cheek.

"Hmm," Edward murmured, pursing his lips. "I think that maybe a little bit of
freedom suits you."

"You too," I whispered, loving the way he looked at me, carefree and warm and
teased by the wind.

"We'll have to hike for a while," Mike pointed out. We all grabbed our things, and
followed his lead up the beach.

It was easy to pretend that day, that we were the only people left on earth. No
distracting noises of cars on nearby roadways, or the clatter of excited tourists
interrupted the push-pull come-to-me sounds of the ocean at our backs. We
strolled through the long dune grass, letting it tickle our bare legs while the soft
sand beneath us made our feet heavy and our hearts light. And when we found a
smooth area on a sandy hill, we all lowered ourselves to sit, and wait.

Lauren wasted no time, stripping out of her clothes to lay out in her barely-there
bikini. I worried that any horses in the vicinity would be chased away by the
obnoxious smell of her banana-scented tanning oil.

I couldn't help but snicker when Emmett rolled over onto his stomach, and made
a noise that sounded suspiciously like a wookie-growl, while hiding his face in his
arms. The sound I tried to stifle turned into a full-blown laugh when he peeked up
at me from between his beefy forearms and winked. I guess Rosalie must have
let him in on that little joke.

Lauren's pathetic ploy to get attention didn't work at all. Edward laid on his back,
reading a book he'd brought along, without even looking her direction. I smiled
with satisfaction, and rested my messy head on the sand to do the same.

Because of the energetic nature teens, it wasn't long before Jasper and Mike
decided they'd sat still long enough. They walked a little ways away, and began
throwing a football back and forth. Emmett jumped up quickly, and joined them.

I think Lauren fell asleep. I maliciously wished that she'd burn into a cinder.

Alice and Rosalie headed back to the beach to look for shells.

"Hey Edward?" I asked quietly, rolling over to grab my bag.

"Hmm?" he asked, not looking up. It didn't surprise me that he, alone, seemed
content in lying still.

"I'm gonna head that way for a while," I said, pointing in a direction over the
dunes. "I might try to write. These guys are just a bit too noisy."

"Yeah. Okay," Edward nodded with his eyes on the page. I silently began to walk
away from the group.

When the sounds of the boys laughter faded away behind me, I figured I'd
walked far enough. I laid down on my belly, all but obscured by the patchy, long
grass around me, and opened my notebook.

For a while I became lost on the pages. My imagination created a world in which I
was peacefully trapped inside a sea-side water-colored landscape, and I was
happy there, because I was in love with the boy who had painted me.

The words poured out of my pen effortlessly, and the sound of the scratching nub
against the paper musically spurred me on. That was, until, a rustle to my left
brought my eyes over my shoulder.

I lowered my eyebrows when I saw Edward, crawling on his hands and knees
toward me. I was confused to see him creeping up as he was, and opened my
mouth to ask him what in the hell he was doing. He held his index finger over his
pursed lips though, and raised one hand to point beyond me. I turned my head
then, and held my breath.

On a sandy ridge, just a little ways away, stood a beautiful, untamed, wild horse.

He nickered and nudged the grass under his whiskered lips, while his tail twitched
behind him in the salty breeze. I held myself as silent as a statue, afraid that any
movement might scare the amazing creature off. Edward was stealthy as he
made his way to my side though. Soon, he lay on his stomach beside me. My
hand reached for his, and our fingers tangled together between us, while we both
watched another horse, smaller and lighter in color, stamp-stamp his way over to
join the first.

They circled each other, and skipped from side to side, rubbing their flanks
together lightly and whinnying while they tossed their heads in a playful fashion.
And then just as fast as they'd come… they turned and ran away.

"Wow…" I said in awe, finally expelling the breath it seemed I'd been holding
forever.

"Amazing, right?" Edward whispered. We had no need to still be silent, but it just
seemed right.

"I've never seen anything like it," I said, still looking the direction they'd gone in.
"Do you think they'll be back?" I was a little sad that I hadn't had my camera in
hand to capture their image.

"I doubt it," Edward said. "I've never seen them so close."

"Guess we just got lucky," I said, rolling to my hip to smile at him.

"Guess we did," Edward smiled back. His thumb brushed lazily against the side of
my hand, and I was glad that he hadn't let go.

"How did you know they were here?" I asked, lowering my brows in confusion.

"I was sitting over there, watching you for a while," Edward explained
unapologetically. "I love watching you write. I find it very… fascinating."

I blushed, and looked away. Edward dropped my hand then, and sat up beside
me. I mimicked his pose, and closed my notebook before shoving it into my bag.

"Gonna show me what you were writing?" Edward asked.

"Not a chance in hell," I grinned, shaking my head.

"Why? Was it about me?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," I shrugged noncommittally.

"Would you?" Edward asked, reaching over to tug my ponytail. "Someday? Write
a story about us?"

"What makes you think that you're so special?" I asked, playfully.

"I'm not," he shrugged. "But… this place is. It would be cool to be able to read it
someday, and remember it all."

I nodded, seriously thinking about the suggestion. Even without the lines
recorded on paper, I doubt I'd ever forget this moment.

I leaned back to rest on my outstretched hands behind me, and wondered out
loud about the horses again. Edward tore a few blades of grass out of the sand,
and bent forward, braiding them together.

"Can you imagine?" I asked wistfully. "Being so free… and un-caged?"

"Yeah, like that's even a possibility," Edward said wryly. Clouds had settled over
him again. I could tell by the sound of his voice.

"You're so different this year," I sighed, shaking my head. That statement
brought his eyes back up to mine, and Edward frowned.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

"You just…" I licked my lips and concentrated on the sand beneath my feet so I
wouldn't have to look at him. "You're very serious. Darker. More… weighted
down?"

"I never wanted to bring you down," Edward said, sounding sad and tired.

"I care about you," I said softly, putting my hand on his arm. His fingers had
resumed their twisting motions, tying knots into the blades of grass to bind them
together. "I used to think that… you felt like you could talk to me."

"Well… you're pretty much the last person on the planet that I want to talk to
about this stuff," Edward said darkly. I snatched my hand back, burned by his
words, and Edward looked up at me, instantly contrite.

"Shit. I'm sorry Isabella," he said, hanging his head. "I didn't mean it like that."

"What did you mean then?" I asked, trying to keep the pain from my voice.

"It's just that…" Edward sighed and focused on the grass again. "Here… is pretty
much the only place I can get away from it for a while. Everything is good here.
You… are good here. And I like to be able to not think about it all for a while."

"Okay," I said simply. I didn't know any other way to appropriately reply. Edward
tied the ends of his braided grass string, and measured it around his arm before
biting the excess off and spitting it to the ground. I stared at the circle it made
around his wrist as he tied it into another knot to secure it.

"My dad… is coming down on me hard, lately," Edward finally explained. I sat
there beside him, willing to listen to as much as he wanted to reveal. If I could
help shoulder some of the burdens that seemed to be stifling him, I wanted to. In
any way that I could. "I graduated this year. And he's just pressuring me about
everything. He wants me to go to Columbia. Because he went to Columbia. He
wants me to work for his business… do you even know what my father does for a
living, Isabella?"

"No." I shook my head, saddened by the rough and desperate sound of his voice.

"He buys companies, and fucking tears them apart," Edward said harshly then.
"Tears them into little bitty pieces, so they can be sold to the highest fucking
bidder and made into… whatever. Now I ask you… does that even remotely sound
like anything I'd want to fucking do, with my life?"

"No," I said, shaking my head again, more vehemently this time. Edward was an
artist. He was a musician. His soul was nurtured by creating things… not breaking
them down. Even I knew that about him.

"No," he repeated my word sadly, and hung his head.

"You don't have to do that," I said, whispering across the space between us. I felt
his shoulder against mine, but it felt like we were miles apart. "You told me

once… do you remember? You told me not to let my mother change me, into
something I'm not."

"It's a lot easier to dish out advice, than to take it," Edward said, turning his face
toward me, and giving me a sad, sad smile. "We all have ties that hold us down.
Right?"

"Some ties are meant to be broken," I said, firmly believing the statement.
Edward laced the fingers of my hand with his again, and rose to stand in front of
me. Our joined hands pulled until our arms formed a straight line between us. I
watched as Edward shook his arm a little, and his braided, knotted grass bracelet
spun down his sun kissed arm, over our connected fingers, and stopped when it
finally nestled against my own forearm.

"And some," Edward said, "you hope to God will always be there to anchor you
where you need to be."

I swallowed hard at the weight of his words, and we were both pulled out of the
spell we were under by the sound of Rosalie's voice calling to us, from over the
dunes.

"Come on, you guys!" Rosalie yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth to
make her voice reach us. "Emmett is threatening to start hunting if we don't get
him back to the house to eat soon!"

"You ready?" Edward asked, helping me stand to my feet.

"Yeah. I'm ready," I told him.

"Let's go before Emmett mistakes Lauren for a bear, and clubs her over the
head," Edward said, leveling me with a mischievous grin.

I laughed out loud. Apparently Edward was in on the joke, too. And then I quietly
amused myself with the thought of Lauren, roasting over a spit.

-Fall, 2009-

I wasn't sure what time to expect Edward, and so I went to the bar around noon.
I wasn't surprised in the slightest, to see that Edward was already there, waiting
for me. He sat at the corner of the bar, listening intently as Earl favored him with
his charming brand of conversation. I stood for a minute in the doorway,
appreciating the sight of the warm, cable-knit sweater that pulled over the new
definition of Edward's back. His hair was messier today… less styled… more
casual. When not wearing a business suit, it was easier to see him as the boy I
once knew.

"Ah. I see you've met Earl," I said, walking up to join both men. One young, and
one old, grinned up at me from their huddle at the bar.

"Earl was just telling me all about how the two of you met," Edward smiled.

"Not much of a story," I shook my head.

"Anything can make a good story," Edward reminded me of words I'd once
spoken. I wondered if it was coincidence, or if he really did remember. We had
been separated for so long… and yet somehow, seeing him right there in front of

me, it felt like we'd never been apart. The thrumming of butterfly wings in my
chest seemed to agree.

"We could have lunch here?" I suggested, looking up toward the open window of
the kitchen. Edward drew my attention back to him by placing his hand on my
arm.

"Maybe… somewhere else?" he asked. I licked my lips and nodded. Yeah. Maybe
it would be nice for us both to step away to someplace new and different where
we could be alone.

I pulled my coat tighter around my frame, and Edward retrieved his from the
stool beside him. He pulled it on quickly, when we stepped into the cold,
November wind.

"I have my car over here…" he pointed down the street.

"I can drive," I said. "Maybe someplace near the waterfront?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "That sounds good."

Together we chose a casual seafood place, and we both ordered warm bowls of
chowder to chase away the chill outside.

"So…" Edward asked, placing his spoon beside his empty bowl. "Ever plan to tell
me exactly how you ended up in Seattle?"

"I'm originally from Washington," I told him. "A few hours from here." Edward
lowered his brows.

"Did I ever know that?" he wondered.

"Doubtful," I said. "I moved away when I was three."

"Then… how?"

"I came back to live with my father, when I turned seventeen," I explained then.
Edward nodded and looked back down at the piece of bread that he tore beneath
his fingers.

"Well… I have to admit, you were the very last person I ever thought I'd run in to
out here," he said. "We used to play that game, you remember?" he smiled.
"Where we'd all predict where each other would end up later in life?"

"And you didn't predict you'd find me behind a bar," I laughed, filling in the rest
of his thought.

"I think I just always imagined you in a warmer place," he insisted, with a shake
of his head. "Someplace sunny."

"Really?"

"Don't laugh," Edward implored. "I think that in my head… I just always imagined
you as… I don't know. Some mystical sort of creature that only existed in the
summer time. Like… you washed up on the beach in June and brought the sun
with you. Then you disappeared with the tide in September."

"And I'm the one who wants to be a writer?" I snorted, amused by his fanciful
thoughts. Edward just shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.

"I'm not sure where I imagined you to be…" I said after a pause to think about it.
"But I always knew you'd go far."

"I hope you enjoy disappointment," Edward said then, with a lower voice. "I
stayed exactly where I was."

-Summer, 2001-

We laid out under the stars that night. We didn't even bother with a bonfire. We
all stretched out on our backs under the stars, like driftwood strewn on the beach
after a storm. We'd all come from various places, and ended up tumbled here,
together. And somehow, we all just fit.

"Twenty years from now," Mike said, "we'll all have our own homes on the beach.
And we'll bring our kids here for the summers."

"And they'll probably sneak around, and do exactly what Alice and Jasper are
doing right now," Lauren muttered. Rosalie giggled. Jasper and Alice had left the
group a while ago. Until now, none of us had spoken about their silent departure.

"Emmett will have taken over his father's construction company, by that time,"
Edward threw his offering up to the dark sky.

"And Rosie here will be fat, with baby number four on the way," Emmett
chuckled. I giggled then too… imagining my friends as an older, happy married
couple.

"I'll never be fat," Rosalie insisted. "But you'll probably lose your hair."

We all agreed about that one.

"Edward here is going to own his own place," Emmett said then. "A coffee shop or
something. Where dead beats and artists can hang out and read crappy poetry on
Wednesday nights, while Edward plays jazz piano. He'll name it… like…'E's Place',
or something chill like that."

"This is fucking stupid," Edward snorted, and rolled to sit up, sufficiently ending
his participation in our game.

"Bella will write the next great, American novel," Rosalie threw out, trying to
lighten the mood. "And we'll all want her autograph."

"You'll want my autograph," Lauren added then. "I'm going to be an actress."

We all absorbed her statement in silence, until Emmett's voice broke across the
dark beach.

"Hey, Edward?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't they still filming the next Star Wars movie?"

We all started laughing then. The sound bounced over our heads, like fireflies
dancing in the night. When we calmed, Lauren spoke up once more.

"I don't get it."

And we all started laughing again.

In our room, the girls pulled our sleeping bags close together and whispered far
into the night. Jasper and Alice really had "done it," and I held her hand in mine
while she whispered and giggled and told us about the romantic way that he had
propositioned her on a blanket up the beach. I was happy for my friend, and even
more happy that she kept the most private details of the event to herself.

"It's not that big a deal," Lauren grumbled, unhappy to be out of the center of
attention. "I've already done it like three times… back home."

"It is a big deal," I whispered to Alice, and squeezed her hand tightly in my own.
"It's a big deal when you are in love."

"I know," she whispered and smiled at me in the dark.

I was awake longer than the rest of them, and silently slipped my legs out of the
comforting warmth of my sleeping bag to make my way upstairs for a glass of
water. I stopped in the hall though, when I heard a quiet scuff-shuffle coming
from Grandma Hale's studio across the hall. When I looked around the corner, I
was surprised to see Edward in there, standing alone by the windows. He had lit a
small candle near his sleeping bag on the floor, and the warm golden glow around
it was a contrast to the blue-white light that poured through the windows from
the moon outside.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked quietly. Edward jerk-turned, surprised
by the sound of my voice, and smiled sheepishly at me over his bare shoulder. He
was standing near the open window, bare-chested, and beautiful.

"I like it in this room," he told me. "And Mike snores like a goddamned freight
train."

I giggled and walked up to where he stood, silently contemplating the beach
beyond the window frame. The glass was pushed up, and the chilly ocean air
made me rub my hands up and down my arms. I looked up at Edward, staring at
his features, quiet and serene.

"What?" he asked, feeling my stare but not looking down.

"I just… wish I knew what was in your head, sometimes," I told him. Edward
chuckled, and ducked his chin toward his chest.

"I could say the same."

"Really?" I asked. I always thought that I was pretty-much an open book.

"Yeah," he said then. "Sometimes you get a really far away look on your face.
And I always wonder where you go."

"I usually just… day-dream," I shrugged. "Mostly, I think my mind is always
making up stories, when I get like that."

"What about?"

"Everything," I said again, looking out at the silver-crested waves. "Anything can
make a good story."

"I feel like I should know you better," Edward said then, making my heart twist
and flip in my chest.

"So ask me anything," I told him. "I don't mind. I'll be honest."

"Sometimes honesty hurts," Edward said quietly.

"I'd still prefer it," I told him.

"Okay. Honest…" Edward reminded me. "What were you writing about, today on
the beach?"

I laughed quietly then, and moved away from the window.

"If we're playing this game, you have to let me ask you questions too," I said.

"Fine," he shrugged, moving over to sit cross-legged on his sleeping bag. He
patted the space beside him in invitation, and I lowered myself to sit too.

"And you'll answer honestly?"

"Sure," he said.

"Okay. Fine. Today, on the beach, I was writing a story about a girl who was
created in a water-color painting."

Edward looked up at the rickety easel behind us, obviously finding truth in the
evidence of my inspiration.

"Would you ever let me read it?" he asked.

"Honestly?" I grinned. "Probably not."

"Why not?"

"Maybe I'll show you. Sometimes it's better to share, after it's finished," I
shrugged. Edward nodded.

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"It's my turn to ask a question now," I teased, shoving at his bare shoulder.
Edward grinned and looked down.

"Okay. Hit me with it."

"Tell me which instruments you really can play. And don't act all shy about it."

Edward smirked.

"Honestly?" he said. "I only ever took piano lessons. But I can play guitar alright.
I'm decent with a harmonica. The violin isn't bad. Drums…I've never really gotten
into brass instruments, though."

"Cool," I smiled up at him. "Your turn."

"Honestly…" Edward said, reaching down and touching the hem of my shorts with
his finger tip. "Was I really the first guy who ever kissed you?" The tickle of his
finger brushing the soft skin of my leg made me tingly all over.

I swallowed hard and bit my lip.

"Why is that so hard for you to believe?" I asked. "I was already honest about
that one. You know the answer. Ask something else."

"Okay then. Who got your second kiss?"

I looked up at him then. The small flicker of the candle brightened the ends of his
hair and danced in his eyes. The secluded, private little world that we shared,
surrounded by the moonlight, the ocean breeze, and by art inspired me to be
brave.

"You did," I told him, with a whisper. Edward lowered his eyebrows, clearly
confused.

"I think I would have remembered, Isabella," he chided me, and I giggled.

"It just hasn't happened yet," I smiled, reaching up to push his hair away from
his forehead. His features softened then, and he licked his lips as his eyes
dropped to mine.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

Edward lowered his head then, and captured my lips soft, soft, softly under his. I
let my fingers tarry at the back of his head, and pushed my fingertips against his
scalp, urging him closer. He moaned deep in his chest, and leaned over me.

And then, somehow, my back was to his sleeping bag on the floor, and Edward
was pressed above me. Hard and soft, rough and gentle. I wiggled beneath him,
and he held my face still with both of his palms against my cheeks while he
kissed me over and over and over again until I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Open your mouth," he whispered against my lips. And so I did.

"Let me touch you…" he pleaded. I did that too, but only a little. Not because I
wouldn't have given him everything he wanted, but because, somehow, he kept
his hands very respectfully controlled. His fingers skimmed up and down my
sides, just under my shirt, tickling across my ribcage but never taking advantage,
while my own hands played a happy song up and down the skin of his back.

"You saved your second kiss for me…" Edward moaned, sounding breathless and
awed. I reached up, and sucked his lower lip between mine.

"I'd save all of my kisses for you. If you wanted me to."

His body stilled then, and he lifted his chest away from mine. His hair hung over
his eyes, and his shoulders glinted like gold, blocking the candle-light above me.

"Don't," he said then, with a raspy, broken breath. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?"

"Don't give me promises that I can't give you back."

He rolled away from me then, and sat up. I propped myself up on my elbows and
frowned at the long curve of his back, as he bent away from me like a reed in the
wind on the beach.

"I'm… sorry," I said, suddenly feeling very pathetic, and foolish. I was cold once
more, and drew my knees up under my chin. Edward reached for the candle jar
and blew the tiny flame out, casting us once again in blue-grey shadows.

"See?" he asked, with a harsh whisper, still facing away. "I told you that this
honesty shit hurts, sometimes."

"I don't care," I muttered pathetically into my knees. "I'd still rather have it."

"Isabella," Edward said, and finally turned with a sigh. "I wish things could be
different. I do."

"Honestly?" I asked.

"Honestly," he nodded. "But… shit. We both live different lives when we aren't
here at the beach. You're going to be seventeen this September. I can't… I just
can't expect you to like… stop living your life when you get back home. It's not
realistic."

"You don't want me to save all my kisses for you."

"If I asked you to do that, it would be the most selfish thing I've ever done," he
finally explained, looking sad and much older than he really was. What he said
made perfect sense. I didn't have to like it. It didn't seem like he liked it much,
either.

Making a decision to keep whatever it was that we had, and enjoy it in the fullest
for the small amount of time that we had left together, while we still could, I sat
up on my knees in front of him and ran my hands up his chest to rest against his
broad shoulders.

"Then let me save the best ones for you," I said.

"The best ones?" his shoulders relaxed under my palms, and he smiled a little
once more.

"The best ones," I nodded. "The summer ones. The beach ones. The water-
colored ones, and the first ones…"

"Damn it, Isabella." He pushed forward until I was lying beneath him again.

"Is that a promise you can make?" I whispered against his mouth, when he
began to kiss me again.

"Yes," he said, gripping my hips tightly with his fingers. "I can save you the best
ones, Isabella. Always… the very best ones."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

I snuck my way back to my sleeping bag before dawn, with bee-stung lips and
sleepy eyes. Edward tucked himself into his sleeping bag on the floor of the art
studio, surrounded by all of the things I wished for him in my dreams.

"Happy Birthday, Edward," I whispered. I was glad that I was the first person to
tell him so.

-Fall, 2009-

Edward and I strolled along the wooden-planked pier, with the collars flipped up
on our coats. Spit-spatters of mist fell around us in the air, a little too lazy to

form actual rain. It clung to our hair, and chilled us to the bone. But neither of us
were willing to part ways, just yet.

"Your cheeks are red," Edward murmured. "Almost like I remember them."

"It's cold," I grinned, rubbing the tip of my chilly nose against the wool of my
collar to warm it. "Not quite the sunburn you recollect."

"A lot of things have changed," Edward nodded, looking ahead of us while we
walked. We'd spent hours chatting at lunch. Now the halogen bulbs on the light
posts overhead, began to splutter and pop with a hum as they lit the path that
we strolled down together. Something on the ground caught his eyes, and he
bent to pick it up. It looked like a little silver charm, broken from a child's piece of
jewelry. I couldn't see exactly what it was as he turned it under his fingers and
looked at it with a sweet, youthful smile on his face. Before I could ask him to
show it to me, he tucked it into his coat pocket like one of the many treasures he
had found, washed up on the shore. Yes. A lot of things had changed. But so
many things felt exactly the same.

"So…" Edward said, pressing his hands deep in his pockets. "Any special guys in
your life?"

"Not right now," I said, hiding my chin in my coat, giving only a moment of
thought to the relationship that had ended months before. "Dodged that bullet."
Edward laughed.

"I'm sure your mother is freaking out, that she hasn't gotten you married off, by
now."

"Ugh," I rolled my eyes. "My mother is currently married to husband number five,
and running a flower-shop in Missouri."

"Shame," he muttered. "I always liked Lonnie."

"Me too," I sighed.

"Is that when you moved back here?" Edward asked, turning to walk backward in
front of me. It was a classic-Edward move, and it reminded me of the morning
walks we used to share on the beach.

"Yes," I nodded. "They got a divorce right after I turned seventeen. She started
dating some baseball player… and I decided to come live with my dad. I'd just…
had enough. You know?"

"I can imagine," Edward said. "So… you finally just… ran away."

"I guess I did," I said.

"What about you?" I asked, turning the tables. "Married, three kids?" Edward held
up his left hand, and wiggled his fingers to illustrate the absence of a ring. "Well…
what about that woman I saw you with earlier?"

"Kate?"

"Kate?" My feet stalled beneath me, and Edward paused in his steps too. "Kate?
As in the Kate?" I asked. "I can't believe that I didn't make that connection
before. Is she the same one…?"

"Yeah," Edward said, with a serious expression on his face. He turned again and
began walking, and I hurried to fall into step behind him.

"You've been together a long time." My words sounded hollow in my own ears,
while I tried to process that.

"More time spent off-again, than on," Edward said. He scowled down at the
boards under our feet, lost in some somber thoughts. "I broke things off with her
before I left for school… But we sorta started back up again, after I graduated
and started working for my dad. She was here for the weekend. We… well…" he
pulled his hand harshly over his hair, making it stick up like I remembered it so
well. "We're supposed to get married next fall."

"Oh." It was stupid for his statement to cause the pain that it did. My chest felt
tight, and my throat constricted. After all of this time… I was amazed at how
much I still cared. But if I had given it any real thought at all, I would have had
to admit that I had never really stopped.

"It's… complicated," Edward told me then, shoving his hand back inside the
shelter of his coat pocket. "Her father is one of the largest share-holders in my
dad's company. And well… they've all been planning this for quite some time."

"Shit," I frowned. "Are you talking about a marriage, or a business merger?"

Edward turned to look at me, studying my face for a moment, and scowling.

"Both, I guess."

-Summer, 2001-

When we got back to our summer homes and our familiar stretch of sand, no one
even said a word about the change between Edward and me. We were a couple,
but it seemed as though we always had been. Everyone else had just been
waiting for the two of us to catch up to what they already knew and accepted.

He held my hand at our bonfires. I was always his partner when we played
chicken. Mike didn't even think of trying to tackle me on the beach anymore.

And our days and nights were filled with the very best kisses.

Fourth of July kisses, and we -snuck-some-beers-from-the-clubhouse kisses.
Morning sunrise kisses, and sunset-I-want-you-so-much kisses. Laughing kisses,
and lets-not-talk-about-the-school-year kisses. Sunny kisses, and rainy-day-
board-game-kisses. And the most powerful of all… the I-really-want-to-but-I'm-
not-quite-ready kisses.

"Next summer," Edward panted above me, thrusting his hips gently against mine
and making me sore and wanting, under our blanket on the beach.

"Next summer," I promised, wrapping my legs tightly around him until he
shuddered and groaned into my neck.

I loved him.

He never said it, but my heart knew that he loved me too.

With the end of summer looming over us, we all had dinner at the clubhouse.
Edward ate at the table with my mother, Lonnie and me. I twisted my fingers
beneath his under the linen tablecloth, glad that he gave me someone to talk to,
while my Mother and Lonnie stubbornly remained silent with each other.

"Ready to take off?" Edward whispered near my ear. I nodded, happy that he
wanted to rescue me from the uncomfortable stand-off between my mother and
step-father.

"Just…" Edward looked up to where his parents were dining and sighed. "I… my
dad wants to talk to me first. Wait by the door?"

I nodded, and walked over to the side of the dining room as requested.

"Stay over with Rosalie, tonight?" Alice asked, sliding up next to me. It had
become her favorite sport. She claimed to be having a sleep-over with the girls,
but always somehow ended up in Jasper's room, just down the hall.

"I… sure," I shrugged, looking worriedly over at Edward and his father. It was
obvious by the set of their shoulders and animated hands that neither of the men
were happy. Edward's father wasn't quite loud enough to be heard above the
dinner-time music and chatter of the diners. But I could hear the harsh timbre of
his voice. He looked up at me then, and caught me watching. The man practically
glowered at me, and gestured his hand with an aggravated motion toward where
I stood. Edward cringed, and his head lowered, before he began pulling at the
hair on the back of his head.

"I'm going to… get out of here," I told Alice, walking toward the door. It looked
like Edward might be a while. And by the nasty look on his father's face when he
had indicated toward me, I had a horrible feeling that I was the source of the
discord between them. "I'll see you later, okay?" I asked.

"Alright," Alice told me, hugging me once before I stole away out the side door.

Edward didn't catch up with me before I made it home. Still in my sundress from
dinner, I replaced my heeled shoes with flip-flops and packed an over-night duffel
bag for my stay down at the clubhouse.

I made it as far as the back of Emmett's place, when a boy's voice called out for
my attention over the dark beach.

"Where you going, Princess?" he yelled out. I made a face and frowned. I hated
the nickname, and resented the boy for thinking he was familiar enough to label
me with it.

"Back to the clubhouse," I said, keeping on my steady walk.

"Why don't you stay out here with me, for a while?" he asked, running up beside
me on the beach. I glanced over at him. He was one of the renters. I recognized
him from the dining hall.

"No thank you," I replied, quickening my steps. "My friends are waiting for me."

"I could be your friend," he said, grabbing my arm. "I could be a real good
friend." Alarmed, I stumbled back against him and dropped my bag.

"Let go," I warned loudly, shoving his chest with my free hand.

"You heard her," a familiar voice growled from just ahead of us. "Get your fucking
hands off her."

I was pushed aside roughly as Edward's dark shape lunged at the boy who had
grabbed my arm. He shoved the boy backwards, and lost his footing in the sand
when the boy swung his arm in a wild arc and punched him in the jaw.

"Edward!" I shouted.

Edward went sprawling in the sand, but was back on his feet in no time. He
tackled the other boy, and started pummeling him with his fists. Over and over
again, he hit the boy, until I finally found my bearings and went to try to pull him
off.

"Stop!" I cried, worried about the damage that Edward was doing in his rage.
"Edward… stop!"

The shrill sound of my voice finally brought his attention to me, and he rose to
stand shakily above the boy who moaned on the sand.

"Stupid tourist trash," Edward said, kicking sand in the boys face. "Come near her
again, and I'll fucking kill you."

"I didn't mean anything by it," the boy complained, hurrying to his own feet, and
lumbering away. Edward stood glaring at his retreating form, breathing heavily. I
put my hand on his shoulder, and tried to calm him.

"What the hell were you doing out here all alone, anyway?" Edward asked,
turning his ire toward me. "I told you to wait for me!"

"Don't you yell at me, Edward Cullen," I frowned, moving away. "I walk out here
all the time, and it's just fine."

"Well… you can't… you can't…"

Edward slumped down to the sand on his knees, and wearily dropped his head. I
sank to the sand beside him, concerned about his defeated pose.

"I'm okay," I whispered. "Edward? Look at me, please."

"I just… don't know what I would have done if anything happened to you,"
Edward said then, turning to pull me in his arms. I hugged his shuddering form to
my chest, doing my best to reassure him that I was just fine.

"It's okay," I hummed into his hair. "It's okay." His arms wrapped around my
waist, and he held me tightly against him.

"You're… the best thing in my life," Edward said then. "The only thing…"

"I know," I murmured. "Shhh… I know." I kissed the top of his head, and held
him tight. His nose turned and skimmed across my collar bone. And then his lips
were there, hungry and seeking. Up my neck, across my ear, capturing my
mouth with his.

His kisses tasted like desperation. These were laced with all sorts of feelings that
I wasn't quite used to with Edward. I tried to pull the ugly away with my mouth,
and my arms, as I shifted to lay in the sand and kept him above me.

"Oh God," Edward moaned, shaking. "Just let me…"

His hand slipped the strap of my dress down my arm, and his mouth found his
way to my breast. I shuddered at the new sensation, with the sand scratchy
under my back and my bare legs.

"Sorry," he whispered and bit at my skin. But he didn't stop. And I didn't stop
him.

"I just want to…" Edward said, kissing my mouth again while dragging his fingers
up my thighs. The material of my skirt hid his hand while his fingers sought out
my most sensitive, private parts. "Please…" Edward begged against my teeth,
while his fingers fluttered and rubbed against my panties. He'd never touched me
like that before. No one had. But I didn't want him to stop.

"Yes," I swallowed hard and nodded, with my eyes squeezed shut tight. "No one's
ever… no one's ever…"

"Shhh," he whispered sucking at the skin on my neck. "I know. Just…"

And then his beach-cool fingers pushed aside the fabric and touched my warm,
warm body. I bucked my hips upward at the first touch, and my moan mixed with
the surfy-sighs of the ocean.

"You're so beautiful," Edward told me. And I felt beautiful.

"I want to be with you… so fucking much," he moaned. And I moaned again too.

"You are… perfect… amazing…" And the way he touched me made everything
perfect and amazing. And amazing and perfect. Perfectandamazing,
amazingandperfect, until it all tangled up and became the same sentiment and
then just sort of exploded outward in a flash that left my toes curling in the sand
with my back arched off the beach.

"Shhh…" Edward placed small, satisfied kisses against the top of my dress while I
came back to earth. He pulled his hand away, and smoothed my skirt down
across my legs. I was still struggling for breath, when he laid down heavily beside
me, with his head nestled into the crook of my neck.

"Your father doesn't like me," I said. I put one hand over my face, shocked that
after what had just occurred, those had been the first words out of my mouth.

"You're wrong," Edward shook his head against me. "He just… he thinks you're a
nice girl, Bella. He doesn't want me to hurt you."

"You wouldn't."

"I probably will," Edward argued. He kissed my shoulder once more, before
rolling up to sit on the sand beside me. I fixed the straps of my dress, and then
lifted up to sit the same way with my knees tucked to my chest.

"You're a distraction," Edward said, looking out at the water. "A beautiful,
intense, summer distraction. And my father doesn't want me to be distracted,
right now."

"Distracted from what?"

"From all of his plans for me," Edward said, sadly.

"Oh. Right."

"He's just afraid… I dunno."

"Go on."

"He's afraid that if I spend time with you… I'll stray from the path he has laid out
for me. Things are different back home, and my father wants me to remember
that."

"You start Columbia in the fall," I said.

"And yeah. Well… then. There's also…"

"What?"

"Kate," Edward said softly. He wasn't looking at me, but I could hear the hard
edge of his voice, and it made me draw my knees tighter to my chest.

"Who's Kate?" I asked, nervously.

"She's just…"

"Edward? Who's Kate?" My tone offered him no luxury of beating around the
bush. He'd introduced this new bit of information. Now I wanted to know it all.

"She's this girl, back home," Edward said, with his shoulders slumping sadly.
"And… I guess she's kinda… my girlfriend. Or whatever."

"Or whatever?" I asked sharply. The title he'd given the girl caused the
remainders of the warmth in my body to leech away from my feet and be pulled
off in the receding tide. I felt as though he'd poured a bucket of ice water over
me. "You have… a girlfriend?"

"I told you…" Edward shook his head and turned to face me. "I told you that I had
obligations at home. Things that tied me down. You knew that there were other
girls…"

"Other girls, Edward!" I said then, rising to my feet to stand, angrily. "I thought
that meant you'd be dating girls. Not like… not like you had a steady girlfriend.
Oh God. And I let you… you just…what? Cheated on your girlfriend? With me?"

I felt sick and humiliated when I stomped over to pick my bag up from the sand.
After what I had just shared with him… this was a very hard lump of reality to
swallow.

"Please, Isabella," Edward said, hurrying to stop me with his hands on my
shoulders. "It's not like that. I mean it. I don't love her. I don't. Not like I…" he
stopped then. I looked up at him, but I knew he wouldn't finish the sentence. He
wouldn't say anything that would make me feel more tied to him, than I already
did.

"Let me go, Edward," I told him.

I angrily made my way up the beach, wiping at the traitor tears that fell down my
cheeks.

"I'll break up with her!" Edward yelled behind me. I didn't turn to look at him. I
didn't want him to bring me back. "I mean it! I'll tell my father! I'll tell them all!"

Alice didn't go to Jasper's room that night. Rosalie and she shared ice cream with
me and let me cry on their shoulders.

"I thought you knew," Alice told me. "I mean… she's the same girl that went to
his prom with him last year. You know… the one that Lauren was so pissed off
about."

"I didn't know that she was his girlfriend," I sobbed. "I mean… she's still his
girlfriend."

"Emmett said that she's just a girl that his family has known forever," Rosalie
tried to console me. "They're always thrown together for family functions. Edward
doesn't even talk about her. He loves you Isabella… he loves you."

He had a really funny way of showing it.

The next two weeks were awkward at best. Edward and I were around each
other, still part of the same group. But we weren't a couple anymore. I just…
couldn't do that. Lauren was obviously smug, when she noticed the difference.

"Guess you learned the hard way, too," she said snidely, straightening her hair
while looking in a small compact mirror. Who carried a mirror with them to the
beach? I mean… seriously.

"Lauren," I sighed loudly. "The best part of the summer is when you leave."

"Bitchy much?" Lauren asked, closing her compact with a loud snap. "Sorry if you
can't handle the truth."

"No. Guess I can't handle the truth," I said, wiping my sandy palms on my shorts
while I glared at her. "Not when it comes from a spiteful, vindictive bitch who has
a big black lump of tar where her heart should be. You are a mean, nasty person,
Lauren. And that's all you are ever going to be!"

Rosalie and Alice watched with surprised looks of shock on their faces. Lauren
had it coming, for a long damn time.

"You'll be writing for a two-bit gossip rag, sniffing at my heels for a story once I
make it big," Lauren called down toward me as I walked away. "You'll be dying to
write all about me!"

"Yep," I nodded, still walking the other direction. I probably would be writing
about her some day. Every story needs a villain.

We left that summer, before the others. My mother and Lonnie weren't getting
along at all, and so it came as no surprise when I was told we'd be leaving a
week earlier than we'd originally planned. I was tossing my last bag in the trunk
of our car, when Edward jogged up beside me, and asked if we could have a few
minutes to talk before I left. My mother nodded stonily, and I retreated with him
toward the side of my house.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving early?" Edward asked, with sad
looking eyes. I shrugged.

"I wasn't trying to keep a secret," I told him. "I wasn't sure you'd care…"

"Of course I care," Edward said, frowning at me. "I was just coming to find you."

"Well… here I am." I smiled sadly. They were the same words we'd offered each
other, so many times before.

"Look, I…" Edward pushed his hands into his back pockets and rocked on his
heels, looking out over the beach. "I'm really sorry about how everything went
down," he told me. "I never expected this summer, to end up like this."

"Yeah. I know," I mumbled. My heart hurt every time I had to leave him. Even
though he had broken it, I still hurt to have to go.

"Will you be back next summer?" he asked, reaching forward to tug my ponytail.
I shrugged his hand away. He was making it harder than I wanted it to be.

"I… hope so," I said. "What about you?" I asked then. "You'll already be away at
college."

"I'll be here," Edward told me. "And… things will be different. You'll see."

"I don't even know what you mean by that," I said, shaking my head sadly.

"Some ties are meant to be broken," he said, letting his fingers skim down my
arm to touch the leathery grass bracelet that I still wore. My throat constricted at
his words, and I couldn't bring myself to pull away as he wrapped me in a warm
hug.

"I never wanted to hurt you," Edward said then, against my hair where he gave
me a soft kiss. "I'm gonna fix it. Honestly."

"I'll miss you," I said, hating the way that my heart already clung to the hope he
offered. "I really will miss you, Edward."

"Save the best kisses for me," he said. Even though it felt wrong for him to ask…
I knew that I would.

And then my mother called my name, and we left.

-Fall, 2009-

We continued walking, even though it was getting dark and we were freezing. We
talked about safer things, like college.

"Graduated from Columbia?" I asked.

"With honors," Edward smirked wryly. "Then grad school. Got my MBA. I was still
pretty set against working for my dad. But… he was paying for school. So, you
know… I went. And then I graduated. And I sorta fell into it all anyway."

I told him about my four years of school, and the newspaper that I worked for
after. I told him about living with my father in Forks, and the culture shock of
being in the Pacific Northwest.

"I don't mind fishing," I told him. "But I never could get talked into going on any
hunting trips."

"Yeah, I can't see you with a gun," Edward teased. "Though you always were a
saucy little thing."

"Saucy?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at the funny description.

"You never let us guys give you any shit," he told me. "You were tough. Emmett
called you Elway for a reason."

"And my nose hasn't been straight since," I laughed. Edward turned toward me,
and raised a cold hand to cup my cheek. His thumb dragged down the center of
my nose, while he studied my face thoughtfully. I was warmed by his touch,
despite the chilly temperatures.

"There's not a thing wrong with your nose," he said with a husky voice, standing
closer to me than he should have been. "You always were … so pretty."

"Were?" I laughed, pulling away.

"Were," he nodded, grinning again. "You're positively gorgeous now. The years
have been good to you, Isabella."

"They've been good to you, too," I admitted, feeling my cheeks warm. I tried to
hide the telltale blush in my collar.

"Yeah well," Edward told me. "I actually did get a broken nose."

"Really?"

"Rugby," he told me. "I played a little in college."

"Any other hobbies?" I asked him, looking over at his handsome profile that
belied his claim of a broken nose.

"I don't really have time for hobbies," he frowned.

"Come on," I groaned. "Please… please tell me that you at least still play music.
Or… that you have some fantastic room set aside in a house somewhere, where
you paint or make sculptures… or something."

"Nope. Just a very cold, very sterile, high-rise apartment in Chicago," Edward
shook his head. "Lots of glass and chrome."

"You're breaking my heart here," I said, only half-jokingly, clutching at my coat
over the center of my chest. "How have you even… lived?"

"I'm not really sure I have been," Edward said seriously then. We had stopped in
front of the boarded up windows of a storefront facing the bay. I looked up at him
sadly, realizing the truth of the moment. It was there in his eyes. He was exactly
what he was meant to be, and nothing that he should have been.

"It's not fair," I told him then, with a whisper. "You said things were going to be
different… I hoped, that things would be different."

"You didn't come back," Edward told me. "I was there. The next summer. I broke
up with Kate. And… I thought that maybe we'd… that you'd… " He shook his head.
"But you never came back."

"I wrote to you," I said. "I guess maybe your father didn't give you the letter?"

The rain chose that exact moment to show the nasty side of its personality,
pouring over us in a sudden sheet that didn't even afford us enough time to duck
for cover under the awning of the abandoned storefront beside us.

"Fuck!" Edward yelled, looking up. I wasn't sure if his exclamation was in
response to what I'd just asked, or for the cruel weather. His hair was plastered
to his head, and water ran in torrents down his face. If I didn't know any better,
I'd swear that the rainwater looked like tears.

-Summer, 2002-

Dear Edward-

I don't have your home address, and so I'm mailing this to the beach, and I hope
that you will get it.

Things got bad when we got back home to Michigan. My mother and Lonnie have
separated, and they are getting a divorce.

I wish I could be with you, and all of our friends on the beach.

But I'm moving back home to Washington.

My mother said something about wanting to send me to an all-girls school. She
thinks it would be the best way for me to learn to conduct myself as a 'proper
lady.'

Fuck that.

How's that for proper?

Some ties are meant to be broken. I guess my time for breaking them, is now.

I wish you luck, dealing with your own ties.

Get my number from Alice, if you'd like to stay in touch.

I'll miss you.

And I'm still saving you the best kisses.

I love you. Honestly.

-Isabella

-Fall, 2009-

We held hands while we raced back to my car down the street- freezing cold, wet,
and breathless.

"My apartment?" I asked with my teeth chattering as I turned the key in the
ignition and cranked the heat as high as it would go. "It's nearby."

"Yes," he nodded, with his teeth chattering too.

We had to get out in the rain again before we could make our way indoors and up
the stairs to my apartment. We should have been miserable, but we laughed
while we dripped puddles onto the floor and slosh-sloshed our way up the stairs
with wet shoes.

"Oh my God, I'm cold," Edward groaned, when I shut my door behind us.

"Do you want a shower? Or…?"

"Dry clothes?" Edward asked. "Do you have anything that will fit me?"

"I might," I nodded, leaving him by the door while I ran into my bedroom. I
grabbed the largest sweatshirt I could find, and my warmest flannel pajama
pants, before I returned to give him the items I'd procured.

"The uh… pants were my dad's," I told him. "They're really comfortable, so I stole
them. They should be big enough."

"Thanks. Bathroom?" I pointed to the doorway just on the opposite side of the
room, and Edward smiled his appreciation while he went inside.

"Want something to drink?" I called.

"Coffee?" he suggested through the door. Coffee. I slipped and slid around the
kitchen, starting a fresh pot of bubbling brew to warm us.

"What do you want me to do with these wet clothes?" Edward asked, with his
voice muffled while he changed.

"Drop them in the basket," I said, trying not to imagine him naked and wet on
the other side of the thin bathroom door. If I found him attractive as a boy… it
didn't hold a candle to the feelings that churned deep inside when I looked at him
now, as a man. "I'll throw them in the dryer when you're done."

He returned to the kitchen, with a thankful smile on his face as he closed his eyes
and inhaled the aroma of the coffee I'd made. The sweatshirt was a little too
snug, and it only barely reached the draw-string waist-line of the pajama pants
that were just a little too short. His hair stood up in a spiky mess on top of his
head. But he looked comfortable, dry, and arrestingly beautiful. My apartment
was a lot smaller, with him in it.

I took a deep breath, and dodged around him to go to the other room.

"I'm just going to take a quick shower," I said. "Make yourself at home. The
mugs are in the cabinet next to the sink."

"Mind if I look around?" he asked. I told him to feel free, and hastily closed
myself into the bathroom to try to chase away the icy sting on my skin, while
trying to gather my wits.

Edward Cullen was standing in my living room.

Edward Cullen, was standing… in my living room.

The only boy I'd ever really loved, and never thought I'd see again, was standing
in my living room. Wearing my father's too-short pajama pants.

I giggled while I stood under the shower, and didn't even try to suppress the
happy flutter of butterflies that settled in my chest. They'd been asleep for a long
time. That's the way I had always felt when I was with him, when we were
young. I guess that's the way I always would.

I re-entered the room a short while later, with my hair brushed straight over my
shoulders.

"You… kept your hair long," Edward said, smiling over from where he stood
beside my bookcase with a coffee mug in his hands.

"I always liked it, like this," I said, shrugging.

"Yeah, me too," he smiled. I turned toward the door with the laundry basket in
my hands. "I'm just going to take these across the hall to the laundry room," I
said.

"Okay."

It was only a short trip, and I returned right away to see Edward looking up and
down the spines of my books. His fingers trailed across them reverently, as he
read the titles that had enthralled me through the years.

"You've quite a collection," Edward murmured. "You always did like to read."

"Yes," I said, nervously shifting my feet from side to side. It felt almost too
intimate, seeing the way he delicately touched my personal things.

"And what's this, I found over here?" He grinned, moving past my bookshelf to a
small picture frame that I kept on my desk. I closed my eyes. I had forgotten for
the moment that it was even there. It had served as inspiration to me, as I
wrote. It was a picture that my mother had taken of all of us kids, sitting on my
back porch steps at the beach. Tucked under the matting in the corner, was the
faded and brittle grass bracelet that Edward had woven and slid onto my wrist in
Corolla. "I made that for you. Didn't I?"

"Did you?" I asked. I always assumed he'd just idly woven it while we talked.

"Of course I did," Edward scoffed. "You have to admit… my delivery was pretty
smooth."

I grinned, remembering the way the circle had twisted and slid from his arm to
mine.

"It… uh…" Edward cleared his throat and ran his fingers over the back of his head
in a motion that was dear to me. "It makes me happy to know that you kept it."

"It always sort of reminded me that things come around, full circle. You know?" I
asked, walking up behind him and letting my fingers trail down the glass that
covered the picture.

"I'm beginning to see that," he smiled at me. And he was close, close, too close
for a smile like that. I took a deep breath and moved away.

"Did you stay in touch with any of them?" Edward asked, looking at the young
faces of the children we once knew.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Alice and I tried for a while…"

"Yeah. Me either," he said. "It was… just too hard."

I nodded in silent agreement, and Edward moved to sit on my sofa. He placed his
empty coffee mug on my side table, before leaning forward and pressing his
elbows to his knees, and his face in his hands.

"This is… so damn strange," Edward groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.
"When I woke up this morning, I never would have imagined that I would be
sitting where I am… having this conversation with you."

"Me either," I said, quietly sitting beside him.

"How can you be so cool about it, then?" Edward asked.

"Cool?" I asked, laughing lightly. "I'm a nervous wreck here." I held up my shaky
hand to show him the evidence of my jumbled nerves, and Edward reached for it,
pressing it warmly between his two palms. I calmed, almost instantly.

"Feel that?" Edward whispered. He stared down at our hands, while his fingers
traced around the edges of mine.

"It's like," I said, swallowing hard. "I know I haven't seen you in eight years.
But…"

"It feels like we're just coming back for the summer," Edward finished for me.
"Right where we left off. With only a school year between us."

"Easy," I said, swallowing hard.

"Too easy," Edward frowned. He slowly released my hand, and I tucked it under
the side of my leg to try to save the warmth of his touch that still lingered.

"How long are you here?" I asked, staring down at the floor, already dreading his
answer. I knew it wouldn't be long enough.

"Until the end of the week," Edward said, clearing his throat. "My work is here is
almost done."

"The summers always did pass by too quickly," I muttered, standing up. Space. I
needed some space between us. We were saying goodbye already, and it felt
exactly the same.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Edward asked quickly. I walked across
the room, and leaned my back against the wall near my bedroom doorway.

"Honestly?" I asked. The side of Edward's mouth pulled up in a crooked grin.

"Honestly." He told me.

"I'm thinking that this hurts," I told him. "It hurts to feel the same… when
nothing is the same."

"I'm sorry," Edward said, dropping his head to look down at his folded hands
between his knees.

"Tell me what you are thinking about," I told him, trying to keep my voice even.

"Are we still being honest?" Edward asked.

"I prefer it."

"I'm thinking that my father was right about you," Edward said, looking up at me
with a soft, amused smile.

"How so?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Edward stood up, and
walked over to where I stood. Close, closer… too close. He didn't stop until the
tips of his bare toes touched mine, and I had to crane my neck to look up at him.

"He said you were a distraction," Edward said quietly. "A dangerous distraction."

"I haven't even seen you in eight years," I argued, putting my fingertips to his
chest, and gently pushing him a step away. I couldn't breathe with him standing
so close. I couldn't focus on anything present, when all I could think about was
the sun-kissed color of the dune grass in his green eyes, and the soft tickle of the
June wind that he expelled with each breath that ruffled the top of my hair.

"I know," Edward told me, undeterred by my efforts. "And yet… after only being
with you for eight hours, I'm already dreaming of running away, all over again."

-Fall, 2009-

I sucked in a deep, painful breath of air. His words wrapped around my heart,
and choked it into the familiar staccato rhythm that it always adopted when I was
young and naïve and so in love with the boy who stood in front of me.

"Dreams," I murmured. "I've always been a dreamer."

"I used to like thinking that you dreamed of me."

I stepped to the side, dragging my back against the wall in an effort to break
away from him. Edward let me scuttle away like a crab in the sand, and pushed
his hands up over his head through his hair when he chuckled.

"Sorry," he muttered with a shaky laugh.

"I should see if our clothes are dry," I offered as I escaped from the net he'd
dropped around us. I hurried quickly across the hall and pressed my hands to the
top of the silent dryer while I dropped my head and took deep breaths. Once I
felt the edges of panic start to recede, I opened the door and retrieved our warm
clothing. Edward's sweater… his pants. In another world, I'd be familiar with
pulling these items from our joined laundry. But in this one… I held the material
to my face, breathing deeply, and just tried to calm myself.

Once I felt that I'd adequately controlled my feelings once more, I turned and
went back to my apartment. Edward was sitting on my couch again, and looked
up at me apologetically.

"I freaked you out," he said simply.

"No…"I shook my head.

"Honestly?" he raised his eyebrow in my direction.

"Okay. Then… yes," I said. "This is just difficult."

"Agreed."

"You should probably get dressed," I said, holding his folded clothes out on my
arms in front of me. Edward nodded slowly, and stood up to walk toward me. His
hands paused on the material. Though he gripped it in his hands, he didn't pull it
away. He just stared down at his sweater with a frown marring his handsome
features.

"But I don't want to," he said then, quietly.

"Why not?" I asked, biting the corner of my mouth.

"Because then I'll have no excuse to stay."

"You shouldn't stay…"

"I want to."

"But you shouldn't. Want to."

"But I do."

I closed my eyes, and released the items I held, forcing him to take them.

"Why?" I let the pain I felt carry the word out of my mouth. It was almost a
groan, but I couldn't hold it back.

"Because every single thing that I've ever really wanted, and was told I couldn't
have, is right here in this room," Edward said then, sounding as pained as I felt.
"Those summers I spent knowing you? They were… damn it… they were the best

summers of my life. And… I'm so fucking afraid that if I walk out that door right
now, I'm never going to feel that way again. Don't make me leave. Please…"

"Edward…" I don't know if I whispered his name, or merely thought it. I don't
know if it was meant to dissuade him, or encourage him. But I felt his dry clothes
fall against my bare feet just a second before he pushed his long long fingers into
my hair and turned my mouth up to his.

It was one of the best kisses. A we've-been-away-for-too-long kiss. A your-
mouth-was-made-for-mine kiss. A holy-hell-nothing-has-ever-felt-this-way kiss.
And it was an I-never-once-stopped-loving-you kiss.

The rest of the world disappeared when he groaned into my mouth and pulled me
against his hard body. I wrapped my arms around him, eager to ignore
everything else but the way he felt, consuming me as he was. New ties lashed
around us, and held us together. And it didn't matter that he lived in Chicago.
And damn it, it didn't matter that he was engaged to someone else. It didn't
matter that he'd called me a distraction, because I wanted the distraction too. I
wanted to be lost in him again, and I was.

We trip-stumbled into my bedroom. And with hands that shook like the
adolescence that we left behind, we pulled at each other's clothing until we laid
our naked adult bodies in a tangle on my bed. It was always going to come to
this. Our roads were always going to lead us to this moment. And that sense of
fate and rightness helped me ignore all the conflicting messages that sent
warnings to my brain that this would all hurt so much when, like at the ends of
every summer that we shared, he would have to go.

But I wanted this moment, if it was all that we had. And so I grabbed onto it with
both hands, and I wrapped my legs around it, and I pulled it to me like the surf
to the shore. I tasted salt from my tears, instead of from the ocean. But Edward
kissed them away and used his hands to warm my body like the sun on my skin.

"Am I dreaming?" Edward asked, holding my shoulders beneath him while he held
his trembling torso above me.

"If you are, then I am too," I whispered.

"I don't want to wake up," he said, leaning to kiss me again. His lips traveled
across my face, and down my neck. I twisted my hands in his messy hair as he
made his way down my body, reacquainting himself with every way I had grown
since we'd last seen one another.

"Do you have protection?" he asked into my stomach.

"I do."

The children that lingered in our wants didn't question the adult responsibilities
we still adhered to. I rolled away long enough to get a condom from my side
table, and Edward tore the wrapper hastily between his teeth, like a piece of
grass.

And then it was on him. And he was on me. And we both kept our eyes wide open
when Edward slid inside. We were finally home.

"I always wanted you." Edward pushed, and pulled. He sucked at the tender skin
on my chest, and ground his hips against mine where we needed the physical
connection to match the emotional one that had brought us here.

"I always wanted you too." I pulled, and I pushed. I suck-swallowed the salty
taste of his skin beneath his jaw and pulled my fingers roughly down his strong,
masculine back. We lost ourselves in the arch and the thrust and the touch and
the kiss. In the sighs, and the moans, and the crash of the wave that eventually
swept over us, until we laid sweaty and spent, and struggling for breath in the
aftermath of what we'd just done.

"I always loved you," I whispered, staring at my ceiling, brushing my fingers
through his hair. I didn't feel nervous about saying the words. I was sure he
could hear my heart telling him the same, as he rested the side of his face
against my damp chest.

"I still do…" Edward said quietly there, speaking back to the lub-dub under his
ear.

We talked into the night, wrapped in my sheets. He laid on his side facing me,
with his hands tucked under the pillow beneath his head.

"I always wanted to be your first," Edward told me.

"I wanted that too," I promised, a little sad that it wasn't to be.

"This isn't something I ever do," he vowed. "Kate… I'm not in love with her. But I
don't…"

"Me either," I insisted, pushing my fingertips against his lips.

He asked me to tell him a story, and so I did. I made up a tale of two children
who ran away together. I wove colors and sounds, tastes and smells into my
words until my imagination ran dry and the story drifted away with no conclusion.

"We make a great story," Edward whispered across the night.

"We do."

"But how will it end?" he asked me, with confusion and maybe a little fear in his
eyes. I lifted my hand to run it tenderly down the side of his face. He lowered his
heavy lashes to his cheek, absorbing the comfort of my touch.

"I don't know," I admitted. I was afraid to try to guess.

Sometime later, we both fell asleep with our fingers tangled together between us.
And when I woke in the soft-lit morning before dawn, I wasn't surprised at all to
find that I was alone. Though I expected it, I still ached. I pressed my face into
the pillow that still smelled like him, and cried until I couldn't cry anymore.

When I finally pulled my head away and moved to get out of bed, my eyes landed
on a piece of my own stationary that rested on my bedside table. With
trepidation, I reached for it, and held it up in front of my face to read the
scrawling slant of the letter that Edward had left behind.

Isabella-

Thank you for reminding me that some ties are meant to be broken.

Don't write our final chapter just yet.

I'll be back next summer.

All my heart-

Edward.

Through teary eyes, I caught the glint of silver on my table that had been hidden
beneath the page he'd written upon. It was the charm that Edward had found
during our walk. He'd left it behind with his letter. I smiled as I held the tiny
silver horse in my hand.

Edward didn't stay around to say goodbye. And maybe it was easier that he
hadn't. The pain that his absence left behind, dulled a little more with each day
that passed. Just like the school years between the summers of my youth. Still, I
kept the charm as a reminder of the amazing way that we had found one another
again. I tied it to a piece of green ribbon that reminded me of Edward's eyes. And
I wore it beneath my clothing every day, nestled against my heart.

I wore it while Earl teased me at the bar. I wore it while I decorated the small
Christmas tree I'd brought to brighten up my apartment. I wore it while I worked
at my desk, with the window thrown open to catch the breeze and outside sounds
of spring. And I wore it when the warm June sun tempted and teased me into
following it outside to window-shop near the waterfront. Without giving it
conscious thought, I found myself wandering down the same pier that Edward
and I had walked together, before the rain forced us both to seek shelter at my
apartment.

I smiled when my feet stalled, to see that the once-boarded-up windows where
we had stopped before, were now thrumming with life and color from within. A
new chapter, for a new business owner. The word "EASE" was etched upon the
glass, framed by musical instruments that were being sold inside. A music shop.
It was perfectly appropriate.

The tinkle-chime of a small bell rang in my ears when I opened the shop door and
stepped inside. Long rows of guitars hung along the wall, encouraging music
lovers to take one home and create wonderful songs. Comfortable pods of chairs
and sofas were arranged near the front… perfect for artists to come together to
write and work on melodies. I browsed for a moment, letting my fingers trail
across the shiny drum sets that were on display closer to the counter.

"Be right with you," a voice called from the office area in back. My heart tugged
in response. It was a voice I'd know anywhere.

Edward stepped from behind the wall, and paused only a moment when he saw
me standing there. His face immediately broke into a happy, sheepish smile, and
he ran the back of his hand across his neck.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked by way of greeting. I wanted to run to him, but
my cautious feet held me firmly where I stood.

"I wanted to surprise you," Edward told me. "I needed… time. To figure
everything out. To get this off the ground. I didn't want to show you, until it was
finished."

"Should I go?" I asked, tilting my head toward the door.

"Never again," Edward shook his head quickly. He walked with fast steps around
the counter then, and wasted no time reaching for me. Our lips met, and the
butterflies in my chest danced happily in the way that only Edward ever inspired.

"I was just coming to find you," he told me, just like he had so many years ago.

"Well… here I am," I told him, smiling against his lips.

Funny how we always seemed to find each other.

-Summer, 2018-

"Tell me a story, Mommy." Emma tugged my hand to lead me to the beach
behind the clubhouse, with her favorite picture book tucked under her little arm.

"Alright," I told her, settling onto the sand beside her. Edward raced up and down
the beach in front of us, with our son, Masen, on his back.

Who knew that Mike Newton would be right all those years ago?

Edward's music store didn't afford him the time or salary to be able to leave for
months at a time. And while I did eventually get a couple stories published, I
wasn't famous by any means. We lived modestly. We never bought a house on
Hatteras Island, but we did enjoy renting space in the clubhouse for two weeks
every summer.

Jasper Hale turned out to be even too squeamish to finish school to become a
chiropractor. He was now the manager and part-owner of the vacation resort
where we stayed. I was sad to learn that he and Alice didn't make it. But Jasper
lived there year-round with his pretty wife, Maria, a local girl he'd met after he
dropped out of college. He helped us reconnect with his sister and Emmett, after
our first return trip to the beach.

Rosalie and Emmett were married. And while she never was able to have
children, they did adopt two rambunctious boys who currently chased behind
Edward and our son at the shoreline, throwing a football back and forth. Emmett
took two weeks away from his construction company each year, so that their
vacation could coincide with ours. Edward consistently gave him a hard time
about his receding hairline.

"Hey! Watch out," Emma yelled as she ducked away from the ball that came just
inches from hitting her in the head. She picked it up, and threw it back toward
Rosalie and Emmett's youngest son, who blushed and apologized for missing his
brother's pass.

"Sorry," he called out. "Didn't see you there."

"Watch out for that one," Edward muttered, kissing his daughter on the cheek
before lowering himself to sit at the sand beside us. His eyes were bright-bright-
green as he looked out at his son, playing ball with the other boys.

Mike Newton owned a sporting goods store in town, and rented beach equipment
to tourists.

Rosalie heard that Alice was happy and very successful, working for a large
cosmetics company in New York City.

No one really heard whatever became of Lauren. But you know… every year there
are tales of Big Foot sightings in the remote forest regions of the Pacific
Northwest.