Author's Note:

So, finally here is my second fanfic! I have seriously had major writer's block trying to start this story! But finally it started to come to me!

One

Maybe it was because he'd been trapped in the car for way too long with his mother and Jake, his lovable, slobbery golden retriever.

Maybe it was because, he'd drunk two two-liter bottles of water and hadn't made one rest stop.

Or maybe it was that he was only minutes away from the Atlantic surf splashing between his toes, the hot June sun beating down on his head, and Bella, his best friend, whom he hadn't seen since last summer.

Whatever the reason, when Edward Cullen pulled the silver Volvo XC 90 into the gravel driveway of his family's summer home. He practically bounced off the SUV's walls.

"Looks like the Swans have already paid us a visit," his mom commented, smiling up at a hanging basket bursting with red geraniums that were hanging from the hook on the side porch. When she opened the car door, Jake bounded out and promptly began to befriend every bush in sight.

Edward raced up the sidewalk, and juggled the key in the lock. "Hel-lo summer!" he said, letting out a slow whistle as he pushed the door open and stepped inside, the scent of sand and the ocean filing his nostrils.

Dropping his backpack and duffel bag on the tiled floor, he opened the white wooden blinds and squinted in the bright sunlight that flooded the kitchen. After taking a quick, perfunctory glance around the downstairs, he jogged up the center stairway to his room. The door was already open, and except for the brand new plaid blue bedspread and matching floor rug, and drapes, things looked just as he had left them when he'd left last August.

He gave the mattress a good thump and yanked open the window before running back downstairs. After a quick pit stop in the bathroom, he and his mom carried in bag after bag of summer supplies, beach chairs, and enough suitcases to dress a small army.

"Now the fun begins," Mrs. Cullen said, staring at the mountain of bags that filled the kitchen.

Edward rinsed two glasses from one of the cupboards and poured them each a glass of cold water.

"I don't suppose you'd let me out of here for a while?" he asked, putting on his most hangdog expression.

His mom glanced at her watch. "If you promise to go grocery shopping later, I guess I can do without you for a while." She ran her fingers through her caramel hair. "And after all that time in the car I definitely need to take a shower."

Gulping down the rest of his water, Edward splashed some cold water from the kitchen faucet on his face and then pushed open the screen door.

"Give my best to Bella!" his mom called as the door banged behind him. "That is where you're headed, right?"

Edward grinned as he jogged around the corner. Did she have to ask?

~{SL}~

Bella Swan was possibly the coolest person on the planet. And if anyone knew that, it was Edward.

Because every summer for the past eleven years, Edward had spent every single day with her.

The year before Edward had started kindergarten, his parents had decided to rent a beach house in Silver Sands, just slightly north of Virginia Beach.

Back then his parents idn't have lot of money, so instead of renting a place by themselves, they opted to share. The real estate office had paired the Cullens, from Forks, Washington, with the Swans from Phoenix, Arizona. The Swans had two daughters: Rosalie, age eight, and Bella, age five—like Edward. The adults hit it off right away, and soon Bella and Edward were busy bugging Rose, building sand castles, and racing hermit crabs along the shore.

The two families had shared a summer house ever since, until a few summers ago, when Brilliant Gold, the oceanfront place that sat adjacent to Avalon, the Cullens/Swans house, was renovated and put on the market, only to be snapped up immediately by Bella's parents. Edward had been majorly bummed when the Swans told his family they were going to move, but the idea eventually grew on him.

Not only would Bella be next door, but they could hang out on Bella's spacious oceanfront deck, instead of his cramped backyard. Not to mention Bella and Rosalie's old bedroom now vacant, he'd have a lot more room for his stuff.

Bella's pristine white house faced the water, and Edward's seafoam green and cedar-shingled house was situated directly behind it, his backyard butting hers. His view wasn't as glamorous as hers, but on the second floor you could see it a little, mostly in his bedroom.

"Why, Edward!" Renee Swan exclaimed when he rang the doorbell. Bella's mom looked well polished in her Bermuda shorts and yellow sleeveless Polo shirt. She gave him a big hug and kiss, then laughed and wiped the lipstick off his cheek.

"How are you?"

"Fine, thanks."

"And your parents?"

"They're good. My mom and I drove down today. My dad's going to drive down on Friday."

"I'm afraid Bella couldn't wait for you to get here start on her tan." Renee shaded her blue eyes and squinted down at the beach. "She's out there somewhere. Just follow the sounds of Muse, or whatever it is you kids are listening to these days."

Edward laughed. "Okay, see you later."

He was psyched. With a clear blue sky and a sizzling sun, it was a perfect beach day. And he was on his way to see his best friend. Summer had officially begun!

As he walked across the boardwalk and down the rickety wooden steps, the salty taste of the ocean air met his lips, while above him a lone pelican soared on the soft summer breeze.

The residents of Silver Sands had a long stretch of shimmery beige sand to themselves. Edward loved Silver Sands more than anything. It was the kind of place families came back to year after year, and where shopkeepers remembered you.

Where I'll have the chance to do some serious hooking up, Edward thought excitedly, smiling at a group of girls sunbathing on a nearby beach blanket.

Everywhere he looked these days, girls caught his eye. Tall ones, round ones. Might as well just say every girl, it was easier and true.

It took him only a few minutes to spot Bella's blue-and-white umbrella, tilting back toward him in the bright sun. Slipping off his flip flops, he jogged down the beach toward it, wincing as the hot sun burned his toes.

But he came to a halt when he go near the umbrella. He'd made a mistake— this wasn't Bella's after all. A shiny new cooler sat propped up in the sand next to a portable iPod speaker set, playing a familiar song Edward had heard that morning. Spread out underneath the umbrella was a blue and yellow beach towel.

But these were details, minor details, considering the beautiful female specimen reclining at his feet.

Not to mention her tiny, pale blue bikini.

Now that was a major detail.

The girl's hair was long, and a chocolate brown with a hint or red and blond highlights…the color of Bella's turned only after they'd been at the beach for weeks. And her legs were long too; in fact they were so long, Edward couldn't help but stare at them like a damn drunken sailor. The beach goddess lay with her face and neck under the umbrella's shade, her softly curved body glistening in the sun. All he could see was a pair of ruby red lips, slick with lipgloss, and a tiny, strong chin.

Edward's heart began to beat faster. This girl was hot! And it was the beginning of the summer, too soon for any other guys to have hit on her yet. Maybe he would be the first.

Taking a breath, he wiped his palms on his wrinkled, ketchup-stained shorts, cursing himself for ordering those extra French fries on the drive down. But who would've guessed he'd see a girl like this? He'd been expecting only—

The girl sat up and ripped off her sunglasses. "Edward!"

Edward staggered backwards in the sand. "Bella?"

She leaped up and flung her slender arms around his neck. "About damn time you got here. I've been bored out of my mind!"

Stupified, Edward let himself be hugged, then he yanked himself away and gaped at the brown-eyed brunet standing before him.

"Bella!" he repeated once he found his voice, poking her shoulder accusingly. Now that he was only inches away from her, there was no doubt it was her. He hadn't spent eleven summers with her for nothing. But from far away…man!

"Who were you expecting?" she teased, hugging him again.

The smell of warm pineapple mixed with coconut oil tickled his nose as he shooed away the little bikini strings that fluttered around her neck.

Speaking of necks, his had started to pour out sweat. Had he actually been thinking about hitting on Bella? His childhood pal? Bella was his buddy, for Pete's sake. Sure, he wanted to hook up… but not with her!

He shuddered. What if he had used some lame opening line? Not to mention the laugh Bella would have had at my expense!

Edward stared at her.

"You just looked different from a distance, that's all," he said. The sick residue of suntan lotion stuck to his hands, and he wiped them on his shorts. "Older."

"Older? Really?" Bella broke out in a huge smile, then peered intently at Edward. "You look older too."

"I do?"

Bella reached over and squeezed his biceps. "A little taller, a little beefier."

Edward flexed his arm, proud that she'd noticed.

"Well, I have been lifting for a couple of months."

Bella giggled. "I said a little. But it's true." She gave his bronze hair an affectionate tousle.

"And you hair! It's a lot shorter too!"

Edward reached over and mussed up her hair in turn. "Looks like someone's been hitting the Clairol."

Bella ducked away. "Only my hairdresser knows for sure." She dropped back down on her beach towel. "When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago," Edward said, sitting down beside her.

"You can't believe the major ordeal we had on the way down," Bella began. "Not only did we have bumper-to-bumper traffic, but the geniuses who work on the roads decided that was the perfect time to close one of the damn lanes. And then my mom got mad because I made her stop for a pit stop." She popped the cooler open.

"Any way. Who cares about all that crap? I'm just glad we're here."

Edward leaned back on his elbows. "Me too." He popped open the soda Bella handed him.

"Think you can handle tonight?" Bella asked, her brown eyes twinkling.

Edward patted his stomach and grinned. "I'm always up to the challenge of a junk food bonanza."

Ever since they were little kids, their parents had allowed them to go crazy on their first night together, eating anything they wanted and staying out way too late.

Bella leaned into him. "I've got so much to tell you, I don't know where to begin," she said. "Can you believe we haven't seen each other in ten months? How are things in Forks? My schedule was freaking crazy, and everyone says junior year is going to be even—"

Just then two girls wearing bikinis and sunglasses jogged by. One of them turned her head and smiled at Edward. He returned the smile, puffing out his chest slightly.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, breaking off.

Edward shook his head slightly. "Nothing."

Bella leaned in closer. "Are you sure? You look all stiff. And what's with that damn silly grin?"

Edward let his chest and face muscles relax. "Didn't you see those girls?" he said under his breath.

Bella looked around slightly. "What girls?" Bella asked, following his gaze down the beach.

His smile faded slightly. "The two girls practically eye fucking me!" he prompted.

Bella got up on her knees and shielded her eyes from the sun. "Where?"

"Bella!" Edward pulled her back. "Way to be subtle."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Don't get your damn shorts in a bunch, Edward. No one saw me."

"Lucky for you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Without warning, Bella grabbed his hand. "It'd been even worse if they saw me whip your ass!" She arm-wrestled him onto the beach towel.

"Oh, you wish!" Edward cried, but Bella had taken him by surprise, and within seconds she'd pinned his wrist to the ground.

Bella licked her index finger and made an invisible mark in the air in front of him. "Swan, one. Cullen, zero."

"Yeah, well, you took me by surprise," Edward grumbled, rolling away from her.

"Oh, don't go all sulky on me." Bella said, nudging his thigh with her toe. "I'm sure those girls were dying to meet you. Really." she paused. "That's why they ran in the opposite direction." She said, then began giggling.

Edward tried not to laugh—but one look from Bella, and he couldn't help himself. "You think that's pretty fucking funny, don't you?" he said with a grin.

"Think?: She giggled again, her long hair spilling over her slender shoulders, her eyes dancing. "I just forgot how much I love to bust on you."

"Yeah, yeah." Edward said. Bella could tease him about girls all she wanted, but the truth was that if any summer was going to be filled with hooking up, this one was it. After all he was sixteen, soon to be seventeen, he had his driver's license, and his bod—specifically his chest—no longer resembling a carrot stick.

Edward gazed longingly at the sea of bikinis that paraded by. Then he looked at Bella, wondering how he could have possibly mistaken her for a hot new babe, rather than his childhood best friend. She straightened out her beach towel and was humming along with the song on the her iPod.

He'd heard that excessive heat could warp your brain and make you think things you wouldn't normally think.

That must be what happened today when I first saw her, he decided.

In any case, Edward would be sure not to let that happen ever again.

Bella glanced at him. "If your wrists are sore from arm wrestling, dunking it in salt water would probably help," she said sweetly.

"I've got a better remedy." Edward bent over and scooped her up in his arms.

"Put me down! This fucking instant!" Bella shrieked, swatting at his chest.

"No can do," he said, hoisting her higher. "I forgot much I love to bust on you!"

With smooth, even strides, Edward ran to the water with Bella in his arms, dodging beach umbrellas, coolers, and sprawled-out legs. The two of them fell in a heap in the surf, laughing and splashing each other.

"You'll fucking pay for this!" Bella sputtered, but her eyes were laughing, giving her away.

Edward's eyes laughed back.

Summer—it was finally here!

R/E: You know what to do! Review!