Bella stood at the edge of the playground, frenzied children swarming around her, high off their first day of school and proudly waving paintings and macaroni pictures at their eagerly awaiting parents, but she was only looking for one and there she was heading straight towards her…the only person who Bella would ever put her life on hold for, the only person who mattered more than her own life.
"Momma!" The little girl yelled dropping her teachers hand and breaking into the fastest sprint her little legs could manage. Her long, auburn hair, that Bella was sure had been tied up in a yellow ribbon this morning, was flying out behind her and her green eyes sparkled like emeralds.
Bella's face broke into a wide smile, her heart growing more than she ever thought possible and she bent at the waist with her arms spread wide to catch her daughter.
"Oh, my baby," Bella squeezed her to her body, burying her face in her daughters hair "I missed you so much!"
The little girl giggled, "I missed you too momma but, look!" She waved a large sheet of pink paper, which Bella hadn't noticed before "I drew you a picture!"
Bella took the picture, glancing at the crudely drawn stick figures that adorned the page "Well now this is beautiful, Darcy! I think this may be my most favourite picture ever."
"Ever?" Darcy's eyes lit up even more and Bella nodded enthusiastically "Ever."
She pointed at the smallest figure with bright orange, scribble hair "I know this is you, and this one must be me,"
Darcy grinned and nodded as her mother pointed out the stick person with a large swirl of brown hair and two large, off centre brown dot eyes.
"But who's this?" Bella motioned to the last person, stuck at the edge of the page and drawn completely in black.
"That's daddy."
Bella couldn't help the pit that formed in her stomach at her daughters words, her throat drying out instantly.
Darcy had drawn him, the father she didn't know…who didn't know her.
She coughed to clear the sting that was filling her chest and stood rolling the picture up carefully, forcing a smile as she gently grasped Darcy's hand and led her to the car, strapping her safely into her car seat.
Her eyes kept finding the innocent face of her daughter in the rear view mirror, as she hummed along to an imaginary tune.
"Darcy?" Bella asked as she pulled up to a stop sign.
"Yes, momma?"
Bella swallowed, unsure of how to approach her daughter "Why did you draw daddy today?"
Darcy gazed into her lap, a blush that was oh so familiar to Bella spreading through her cheeks "Well Mister Jasper told us to draw a picture of our family, but when I finished drawing me and you, Katie said…Katie said,"
"What did Katie say, sweetie?" Bella prompted.
"She said that my picture was wrong, because it didn't have a daddy and everyone has a daddy…So I drawed one, but I didn't know what he looks like." She sniffed still staring at her lap.
Bella pulled into the driveway of there small house and hurriedly unclipped her seatbelt, running round to her daughter's door.
"Oh baby!" She smoothed a hand over her hair, her heart breaking a little at the sight of Darcy's tears "Please don't be upset?"
She scooped her into her arms and carried her into the house and into the kitchen, sitting her on the counter top next to the sink.
"I never want you to be sad," Bella smiled grabbing a clean cloth and dabbing the tears from Darcy's rosy cheeks "I only want you to be happy…what can I do to make you happy?"
Darcy shrugged and sniffed again, and Bella frowned "Would you like me to show you something special?"
The little girl nodded meekly, cuffing her runny nose "Well go and watch your cartoons for a minute while momma finds it okay? I'll be right back."
Bella lifted her down and watched her run into the front room, listening as she switched the T.V on.
She walked into the small hallway at the back of the house, opening the closet door and kneeling in front of, a breath that she hadn't realised she'd been holding escaping as he began pulling out shoe boxes, lifting the lids to glance inside before discarding them at her side.
At last she found the box she was looking for, pushing the rest unceremoniously back into the dusty confines of the closet floor and carrying it back to where her daughter was waiting, the tears seemingly forgotten as she giggled at the screen.
"Are you ready for me to show you?" She asked as she slipped onto the sofa next to her. Darcy nodded and scooted closer into her side, her head resting on Bella's bicep.
Bella opened the box, and placed the lid on the small coffee table in front of her, her arm wrapping around her daughters shoulder and using her free hand to grab a stack of photographs.
She sifted through them until she found the set she was looking for, "That's you!" Darcy pointed at a teenaged Bella, no more than sixteen and dressed in a faded pair of jeans and an equally pitiful plaid shirt that was to big for her.
Bella smiled and moved it to the back of the pile, "Who's that?"
She smiled at the image before her, a large, well built oaf of a boy caught in a head lock by a slim blonde, both grinning unreservedly into the camera "That's Emmet and his special friend Rosalie, they were my friends at school."
"She's pretty," Darcy stated "like Princess Aurora."
"Yeah she is," Bella continued to flick through the photos, stopping every now and then to answer a question and point people out.
Her heart leapt a little as she neared the end of the pile, finding herself staring at the dark haired woman, with an impish grin that glared happily back at her "Who's she?"
"That's Alice," Bella rested her cheek against her daughters head, letting her finger play over the image of her and Alice, Bella's hands thrown up in protest as Alice tied the bottom of her shirt into a bow, exposing her stomach.
"She was my best friend, we did everything together," Bella paused "That's why you are called Darcy Alice, and she is your Aunt."
Darcy grabbed the picture from her hand and brought it close to her face, saying the name Alice over and over.
Bella pushed the heel of her hand into her eyes, pushing away the tears that had gather before the fell.
"What about this one?" Darcy waved a new picture in front of face.
"Well you're gonna have to hold it still, I can't see who it…" her forced smile faltered as her eyes caught the image of her self with her arm thrown around a boy who stood at least a foot taller than her, a crooked smile dressing his face and a hand woven nervously into his unruly bronze hair as his green eye's focused on her blushing face and his other arm slung loosely around her bare stomach.
"That's Edward," she swallowed hard "that's your Daddy."
Bella sighed, softly closing the door to Darcy's bedroom.
Who knew a five year old could ask so many questions? It had taken hours to answer them all and she had been so excited to learn it all.
Her new favourite color was blue, because that was Edward's favourite back then, she insisted that Bella make sure they had pizza with extra cheese for dinner tomorrow, even though she hated cheese, because Edward used to like it and she'd spent the last hour demanding piano lessons because she wanted to be able to play just like him.
Eventually she'd talked herself to exhaustion and Bella had carried her, still clutching the pictures of Alice and Edward, to her bed.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower full, collecting towels and pyjamas while she waited for the water to heat.
Pulling the band from her hair and letting it fall around her face, she stared into the bathroom mirror.
So much had changed in six years, obviously, yet you wouldn't know it to look at her. Her hair was still as dishevelled and unruly as it had been in the pictures and even the Arizona sun didn't seem to tint her pale skin.
She still felt the same.
Angry that he'd left, that he'd never tried to find her again after claiming that he would never feel the same about anyone else the way he did for her and promising that he would be back.
Then there was the guilt. She knew that it wasn't his choice to leave and she shouldn't have blamed him for something he had no control over. She felt guilty for never letting him know about Darcy, but it had been such a shock, she stopped taking his calls, and replying to his letters and emails, because she didn't know how to say it…I'm pregnant.
Eventually he'd stopped trying.
One day Bella had tried…the same day she had decided to return back to Arizona to live with her mom again.
The people of Forks were becoming curious, her classmates went from not looking at her at all to taking second glances and her Charlie still wasn't talking to her beyond acknowledgement.
She drove a wedge between herself and Rose, refusing her invitations to go out with her Emmett and ignoring her pleads to call Alice or Edward in an effort to keep her secret and eventually their friendship had been reduced to a nod in the halls as she clutched her folders and books closer to prevent wandering eyes.
That day, she felt Darcy kick for the first time and suddenly it all seemed so real and impossible to ignore. It terrified her beyond belief and she had no one left to talk to.
Edward would make it better; he would know exactly what to say…except he had no idea what was going on. No one did apart from her parents.
So she tried. She called the number that he had written at the bottom of his letters only to find that it wasn't in service anymore.
Bella has sunk to her knees in a flurry of tears, only for Charlie to find her hours later still in the same position.
He pulled her to her feet and yelled at her. The first full sentence he'd uttered in her direction since she'd told him about the baby.
"You need to stop this, you need to pull yourself together," He screamed at her through her sobs "It's not about you anymore!"
"I don't know what to do!" She'd sobbed hysterically "Daddy, I'm so scared."
Three days later she found herself on a plane, destined for Skyharbour International and back to her mom.
Bella shook the thoughts from her head, the mirror in front of her now opaque with steam. She stripped and stepped into her bath tub, letting the hot spray rain down over her.
"I don't wanna go!" Alice wailed clutching at Bella as they stood on the front porch of her house. Charlie sighed from the door, watching as they cried together.
"I don't want you to go either," Bella squeezed her shoulders tighter "I'm gonna miss you so much."
Alice pulled her head up sharply and looked over at Charlie "Please Chief Swan, can I come stay with you? I promise I'll be quiet, I'll stick to curfew, anything?" She pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"Oh Alice," He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both girls "you know that you could never be that quiet, and I'm sorry but you know that you can't stay here. You need to go with your family."
"But I don't want to!" She wailed again.
Bella cuffed her tears and pulled Alice's face up to look at her "It's only a ten hour flight, it's not like I'll never see you again and just think! London will have all those cool shops that you've been telling me about. And when I come to visit you can drag me down Oxford Street and I promise we'll go in every single shop!"
Alice smiled and chuckled "You're such a liar."
"But you love me anyway!" Bella felt herself tearing up again "Now go, it's late and you still need to finish packing…I'll be at the airport tomorrow to see you go, I promise."
"You better be!" Alice grabbed her again and turned to whisper in her ear "I'm sorry Edward didn't come, I have no idea where he is."
"That's okay," Bella shrugged "I'll just see him in the morning, I guess."
"Bye Chief." Alice stepped up and hugged Charlie.
"Good bye Alice, I'm gonna miss you rocketing around here all the time." He patted her back clearly uncomfortable.
Alice sniffed and descended the porch steps "See ya later Bellarina!" She waved.
"Later Tink."
Bella watched tearfully as Alice pulled her little yellow mini from the drive and disappeared down the road.
"Come on Bell's," Charlie pulled her shoulders softly "It's getting late; you need to get some sleep if you wanna be up in time to go the airport."
She nodded and tore her eyes away from the road "Okay. I'm just gonna go upstairs then."
"Goodnight Bella."
"Night, dad" Bella climbed the stairs slowly, shuffling her feet along the landing until she reached her bedroom.
She sank on to her bed, quietly heaving sobs and listening as her dad locked the house before turning in for the night.
"Bella?" A harsh whisper came from behind her; she sat up searching the room "Bells!" It was louder this time.
Bella stood and walked to the window, pulling back the drapes and jumping back in surprise when she saw Edward sitting in the tree that grew along side the house.
"Jesus Christ Cullen, what are you doing?" She scowled moving out of the way as he gingerly stretched a leg over and placed his foot on the sill pushing against the tree to propel his body towards the open window.
"Whoa!" His arms flailed as he fought to balance and Bella yelped and grabbed his shirt pulling him towards her, sending them both crashing to the floor.
"Ouch!" She winced, rubbing the back of her head.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Edward propped himself on his elbows and stared down at her.
"I'm fine but…" Bella blushed.
"But, what?" Edward asked frantically "Are you hurt?"
"No, could you…get off me?"
It was Edwards turn to blush as he realised his body rested on top of hers "Oh, god I'm…"
"Bell's, you okay in there?" Charlie yelled from the other side of the door.
Edward scrambled to get out of the rather compromising position they'd gotten in.
"Ah, yeah dad," She shouted back "I, uh, got my foot caught in the sheets when I stood up and I fell."
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked hurriedly and he began to twist the handle.
Edward scurried across the floor and wiggled under Bella's bed "No!" Bella yelled "I'm fine, but I'm not dressed so stay out there." She winced at the lie.
"Oh, I…uh" Charlie stuttered.
Bella reached into her closet and pulled out a bath robe, wrapping around herself to cover the denim shorts and pink tank top she'd been wearing all day, before opening the door a crack.
She waved her arms and legs "See all limbs still intact, just got a little bump…nothing a little Tylenol won't cure."
"Okay well if you sure." Charlie frowned "Just be more careful okay, we don't need you breaking your leg before you go back to school."
"No more fighting with the sheets got it." Bella smiled and shut the door and listened as Charlie mumbled his way back to his room.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed pulling off the robe "What's wrong with visiting with Alice and using the front door like a normal person?"
"And I thought you like the fact that I wasn't normal?" He scowled back.
"Edward?" She folded her arms across her chest, fighting the urge to smile. "Don't make me ask you again."
"God, I just wanted to see you before I left," He frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets "But if this is how you're gonna be I'm just gonna leave."
Edward turned and headed back towards the window, Bella's heart sank "No!" She reached out to him "Please don't go?"
He smiled and turned back to her, shuffling his feet nervously "I was wondering…"
"What?" Bella prompted quietly.
"You remember when we were younger and we used to go to the lake to swim in the summer?"
"Yeah, I remember." She nodded "What about it?"
"Well, I wondered if you wanted to go there with me." He glanced up at her through his eyelashes, his cheeks tinged pink "You know, for old time sake."
"I" Bella started, glancing behind her at her bedroom door, pulling her lip between her teeth nervously "I'd love too."
"Cool, come on" Edward smiled gleefully grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the window.
"Wait, I can't go out the window!" Bella exclaimed, yanking her hand free "I'll break every bone in my body!"
"Don't be ridiculous! What are you gonna do, use the front door? I'd like to see you explain that one to Charlie!" he scoffed "Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do, it's my co-ordination I've got issues with."
"I won't let you fall Bella, I promise." He smiled, straddling the window, one hand outstretched towards her.
"Good, cause" if you do I'm taking you with me." She placed her hand in his and proceeded to let him guide her down the tree and to his waiting car.
They drove in silence for the thirty minutes it took to get to the lake. Bella's stomach flipped in excitement and anxiety.
Edward was Alice's older brother and she'd known them both for years, spending weeks of her summer vacations to Forks with them. He'd become an older brother, always looking out for her, protecting her from the boys at the reservation who decided to pick on her. But she was finding it harder and harder to think of him like that and her mind began to wonder to murkier, dirtier depths where he was concerned.
He made her nervous, her palms got sweaty and her heart rate soared and she blushed uncontrollably whenever he was around.
Now they were alone and she felt it all, only ten times worse. She was sure he'd hear her heart banging against her chest.
She breathed deep and tried to clam down, the smell of vanilla, mint and cigarette smoke clouding her head.
Bella closed her eyes and frowned trying to clear the fuzziness "You've been smoking?"
"Yeah, I've been trying to quit but I don't know. It helps when I'm nervous." He shrugged.
"What are you nervous about?" Edward pulled off the road and turned of the engine.
"A lot of things." He shrugged again and unclipped himself.
Bella fumbled with her seatbelt, finally releasing it looking up to find Edward at her door, holding a hand out to help her from the seat.
"Um, thanks." She blushed again and gazed at the floor as she let him pull her up.
"Come on," He said twisting their fingers together "Let's go to the jetty."
Bella frowned at their intertwined fingers, stumbling behind him as he led her towards the water. She didn't register that the soft crunch of grass under her flip flops and turned to slaps against the boards of the jetty, and she didn't notice that Edward had stopped until she bumped into him, almost sending both of them into the water.
"Careful!" he chuckled, grabbing her waist and steadying them both.
His hands lingered on her sides and Bella cleared her throat. She kicked of her flip flops and sat at the edge, her feet gliding through the still, dark water.
"I get nervous about flying," she stated, grabbing Edward's attention away from the dark sky "I always worry about turbulence, ice on the wings or engine fires. I drive everyone crazy when I make the trip between my mom and dad and I can't have a window seat, especially if it's on or in clear view of the wing. I'd rather not see the falling or the flames or whatever."
"And then I annoy the people next to me because when I get nervous, I just talk," She gesticulated wildly "And my hands go everywhere and a couple of times I've had people ask me to be quiet and once someone even requested to be moved, but I can't help it. It's like I channel Ali…"
She was cut off by Edwards hand over her mouth. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks flamed as she turned and found that he had sat next to her, his jeans rolled up to knees and his shoes carefully placed next to hers..
"Do I make you nervous?" he grinned and Bella nodded, his hand still clamped firmly across her face.
She instinctively licked her lips, the tip of her tongue, brushed against the palm of his hand. His grin fell and he gasped, pulling his hand back and rubbing it against his denim clad thigh.
"I'm sorry," She stared at her lap "about the hand, I didn't mean to, um…"
"Lick me?"
"Oh god!" She threw her head into her hands and groaned in embarrassment.
"Chill Bella, I'm kidding!" He grabbed her wrist and brought it to the gap between their legs, tangling his fingers with hers again.
"Flying never gets me nervous, I tend to sleep most of the time," He squeezed her hand trying to calm her down "Except this one flight we went on, when I was twelve. It was a really long flight and we had a stop over about halfway, and when we got back up in the air we hit this air pocket."
He shot her a crocked smile, and her stomach flipped again "And of course I'd spent the night before with Emmett watching "Alive". I was convinced we were gonna end up crashing in the mountains and I'd get eaten!"
Bella giggled hysterically next to him.
"It's not funny!" Edward exclaimed "My dad actually had to sedate me for the rest of the journey."
"I know, I shouldn't laugh I'm sorry," She tried to calm her laughter and level her breathing "so…"
Edward turned to her, eyebrow raised.
"If it's not the flying that's got you nervous what is it? New country? College?"
Edward sighed, and ran his thumb over her fingers "It's a nice night isn't it? I'm gonna go for a swim."
He jumped up and Bella quickly followed "You can't do that! It's dark and the waters cold."
"It's not that dark, the moons out and it's pretty clear," His eye's glanced over the sky and he pulled his t-shirt over his head "you gonna join me?"
"What? No!" She exclaimed "and I really think you should re-consider what you're about to do."
"This is probably gonna be the last chance I get to do this for a long time, I'm doing it." He pulled the button of his jeans free and pushed the fly down, letting them drop to the floor.
"Did you bring a suit?" Bella asked, frowning.
"Got my birthday suit if that counts!" He chuckled and pulled at his boxer shorts. Bella yelped when she realised what he was doing and her hand flew to her eyes.
"Geez Cullen, a bit of warning, you could have scarred me for life!" She squeaked trying to keep her voice calm and her cheeks cool.
She heard him chuckle and then a loud splash as he jumped into the water, swiftly followed by spluttering and a sharp yelp.
"Edward!" She yelled "Edward? Are you okay?"
Her eyes rapidly scanned the now rippling water, finally landing on an Edward standing hip deep in water, his damp skin almost sparkling in the moonlight.
"Shit its cold!" he exclaimed.
She swallowed hard as she watched the water run down his skin, tracking through the lines of his lean muscles and dragging her eyes further down.
"Bella!" Her eyes shot back up to his face and she realised she'd been caught ogling; a wide grin spread across his face "I said are you coming in?"
"I didn't bring my suit." She said softly.
"It's not like we haven't done this before," he scoffed "I'll even turn around."
"Oh such a gentleman!" She growled sarcastically "The last time we did this without suits I was nine and we kept our underwear on."
Bella bent to his pile of discarded clothes and caught his boxers on the edge of her finger, swinging them "You seem to have already disregarded that particular rule."
"I didn't realise skinny dipping had clothing non-optional rules."
"It's just not the same as it was back then." She dropped the underwear back to the floor.
"Believe me, I'd noticed," Edward said softly and Bella wasn't sure he'd meant for her to hear "Come on, I promise I won't look and we'll stay in the deep water."
"But there might be ringworm or I could get Necrotizing Fasciitis." She shuddered.
"I doubt it, but if that were true then you're already screwed because you put you're feet in already." He cocked his head at her "Leave your underwear on and I'll turn around while you get in."
Bella huffed "Fine, but turn around."
Edward turned, shaking his head and began to palm the surface of the water.
Her heart raced as she quickly removed all of her clothes, using her hands to cover her modesty.
"Just jump in, it's cold but you'll get over it quicker if you just go for it."
"I will not "just go for it" I have no idea how deep that water is, I might break my ankle or something." She slipped her foot into the water squeaking and pulling back momentarily, before taking a deep breath and taking long strides into the cold.
"Be careful, there are some jagged rocks around the edges." Edward called over his shoulder.
"I'll be fine, just stay facing the other way!"
She continued to wade in, the water lapping gently against her skin and Goosebumps dimpling it.
'It's cccold" she stammered as the water hit her stomach, bringing both arms around her exposed chest.
"It'll be fine, you'll get used to it." Edward turned to face her, his gaze quickly dropping to where her arms covered.
"Edward!" Bella crouched in the water.
He held his hands up in defence "Sorry, I thought you were submerged."
"I don't think the water goes any deeper." She shivered.
"I remember it being deeper than this…and wider," he glanced around his surroundings "this is more of a pond than a lake. I wonder if there are any fish."
"Fish?" Bella screamed and jumped up her arms flailing "I hate fish!"
Edward froze and his eyes wide and mouth gaping. Bella frowned and followed his gaze, looking down at her breasts.
"Oh my god!" She quickly sank chin deep into the water "First fish and now this, I don't think this night could be any worse!"
"I think it's been pretty good so far." He stared down at her.
"Well you would say that, you're a teenage boy who got to see boobies."
"Boobies, huh?"
"Turn around, I'm getting out" Bella scowled and turned back towards the bank.
"What's the point, I just saw it all anyway?" Edward chuckled.
"You're such an asshole; I don't know why I bothered coming."
"Aw Bella, I'm kidding!" He called after her "I was just trying to lighten the mood, please don't go?"
"I've had enough, I'm not something to be ogled and laughed at."
"Well I seem to recall you did exactly that earlier, or was it the naked guy standing behind me that you were staring at?"
"Fuck you!" She hissed.
"Bella!" He called again "Do you wanna know what I'm nervous about?"
She turned back to him; her arms clamped firmly across her chest again "Can't we do this on land?"
"I'm scared of leaving this place," He continued "of forgetting everything that I have here."
She saw him swallow and start towards her, the water incredibly low on his hips.
"Just stay there," she held her hand up "I don't need visuals."
"I don't want to shout at you." He stepped further.
"Fine, I'll come to you but…keep it covered!"
She pushed through the water, feeling with her feet and motioning for him to back further into the deeper water until they stood less than a foot apart.
His eyes drifted to her chest again, and she pulled her arm tighter around herself "Eyes on my face perv!"
Edward coughed a little and crouched lower into the water.
"You were saying?"
"Um…oh right," he shook his head "I'm scared of leaving it all behind."
"But you're not leaving it all," Bella shrugged "you're family will be with you and I'm sure Emmett will visit…especially seeing as he can drink legally over there!"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Edward smiled.
"I know you'll miss you're friends, but if they really are your friends they'll keep in touch."
"Will you?"
"Will I what?" Bella frowned.
"Keep in touch?"
"Sure, I mean you'll be with Alice so I'll probably…"
"Not just Alice," His cheeks warmed "will you keep in touch with me?"
"If you want me to?"
"I do, I…" Edward sighed and pulled his at his hair "Shit! This is coming out wrong; this is such a bad idea!"
Bella frowned "What's a bad idea?"
"This!" He exclaimed wildly "It wasn't supposed to be like this, it was supposed to be easy, and I mean how hard can it be? Huh?"
He grasped his hair in both hands, talking frantically in to the darkness "I can think it, and I can say it when I'm on my own but with you it's just….Gah! This is stupid, I love you, and it's just three little words really shouldn't be that hard to say…"
"Edward?" Bella whispered, her heart thumping.
"Honestly, .You, they have got to be some of the shortest words ever yet when you try to say them out loud it's like trying to say (this is actually the longest word in the English dictionary as far as I know) and I can say that no problem!"
"Edward?" She repeated gripping his wrists.
He didn't seem to hear her "But this is just is just stupid, oh my g…"
Bella slammed her mouth against his, the force sending him stumbling slightly and she felt him freeze momentarily, and gradually his lips began to move against hers.
She had done it to shut him up…or at least that's what she told herself, but she couldn't pull away.
A moan escaped as his tongue glided along her lip, allowing him entrance. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth biting down softly.
Edward pulled away first and Bella wrenched her eye's open, gasping for air. Her fingers were twisted into his hair and his hands squeezed at her waist.
"Sorry about that!" She gasped "But you wouldn't shut up."
"I…I" He stammered.
"Did you say…did you…?"
His eyes widened as it dawned on him. He'd got so caught p in his outburst that he hadn't realised he'd actually said it.
"You said "I love you", who were you saying it to?" Bella pulled her hands from his hair, but stayed in his grip.
"Well do you see any other beautiful, wet, half naked girls here?" he exclaimed.
"Well. I…" Bella looked around.
"No, Bella, the answer is no, there isn't anyone else here." He brought a hand up and pushed her hair back "Ever since you began high school it just changed."
"What did?"
"You, I mean I was used to you coming to forks every summer and then practically living with us, and then for two years you didn't come back."
He paused "And then when you came back in freshman year you'd, well…" he looked at her breasts "grown! Ouch!"
"And to believe I actually thought you were being serious!" She slapped him again.
"I am, but they're kind of distracting!" He grazed a knuckle over her nipple and she gasped at the sensation.
"Edward!" She growled.
"Um, at first I put it down to hormones, I mean you said it yourself earlier. Teenage boy…" he pointed to himself and then to her "Boobies." And she turned to leave.
He grabbed her wrist "But then the other guys started noticing you, and I listened to the things they would say about you and I got angry, and not just because you were my little sisters best friend, but because I wanted to be the only one who could think like that about you, do the things they were talking about to you."
"I thought it was wrong, I mean I've known you like forever, so I just didn't say anything, but…"
"But what?" Bella prompted breathlessly.
"But every time I'm around you I get nervous, my heart beats so fast like it's trying to break out, my hands get sweaty; the way you smell drives me insane and when you do…that!" He pointed at her mouth, as she chewed on her bottom lip "God knows why but it is the most god damned sexy thing I have ever seen."
"So what you're trying to say is…"
"I'm in love with you Bella, and I couldn't leave here without telling you that."
Bella hugged herself, frowning as she processed everything he'd said.
"I don't know." She finally whispered "I feel something when I'm with you, something that I don't feel with anyone else but I don't know what it is…I don't think I can say…"
"You don't have to, Bella," He cupped her cheek "I just couldn't leave and not say it, I didn't want to regret letting you slip away."
She let her eye's fall shut "Will you…Maybe…Can you kiss me again?"
"Are you sure?" His eyes were dark as he stared back at her, and she simply nodded.
He pulled her arms from her chest and rested them over his shoulders, pulling her body closer to his and lifting her slightly, brushing his lips against hers. "I've waited so long for you to ask me that."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
His mouth moulded against hers, his tongue flicking out against her lips, desperate to deepen the kiss and she accepted willingly, moaning throatily as he nibbled and sucked, his hands ghosting over her breast threatening to touch but never applying the pressure.
"Please?" She whispered.
"Please what?"
"Just touch me already!" She arched her back into his hand, and he kneaded the soft flesh, dragging the pad of his thumb over her pert nipples sending shock waves down through her stomach and settling between her thighs.
She ground her hips against his and he growled "I told you to leave your underwear on!"
"I…Didn't want to ruin them" She gasped as he rocked back against her, his hand pressing flat against her ass and keeping her pressed tightly against his hardness.
"Fucking Shit!" He hissed and grabbed her waist, her weightlessness in the water making it easy for him to lift her round his waist.
"Oh god!" She moaned as she felt the head rub against her clit "Holy !"
"You like that?" He teased repeating his action, and her head fell against his chest biting down hard to stifle another moan, rocking against him causing his tip to slip into her core.
"Please?"
This time he didn't ask, he pushed in slowly, Bella throwing her head back with one low guttural growl.
"It…It…wasn't sup…supposed to, ugh, be like this." Edward breathed out against her damp skin, his head pressed tight against her breasts as their hips moved together.
"What…do you, oh god! Do you wanna stop?" She pushed away from him, her legs still wrapped tightly around his waist and hands gripped at his shoulders for leverage.
"Fuck no!" Edward shouted, his head lolling back as their movements became more frantic, the water lapping and rippling around their bodies.
"Shit, Edward." Bella hissed as his hand found its way between them "Please don't stop, please don't!"
"That's it baby." His bent forward, biting at the puckered flesh of her breast, feeling her shudder and tense underneath him, sending him spiralling to his own end.
Bella pulled herself to him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders, his head resting on her chest as they regained their breath.
"I love you Bella." He whispered.
"For now anyway." She smiled softly, kissing his nose and slipping from his body, wading her way back to the jetty.
Edward followed her silently, save for the gentle sloshing of the water.
"That's not true," He grabbed his jeans and slipped into them, pocketing his boxers and holding his t-shirt "I don't think I'll ever not love you."
Bella pulled her tank top down over her stomach "By this time tomorrow you'll be nearly six-thousand kilometres away, this time next week you'll be in a new school making new friends and then by this time next year there will be someone else's name on the end of "I love you" and I'll just go back to being the annoying little girl who used to eat all of your marshmallows."
She paused to look at his face, her stomach churned painfully and her nose stung as she fought back tears. She didn't realise this would hurt so much…a crush shouldn't cause this much pain.
"And it will be as if this never happened…we'll all go back to normal."
Edward twisted the hem of his shirt around his fingers, "I'll never feel for anyone the way I do for you," he said finally meeting her eyes "and one day, I'll prove it to you."