A/N: Edited 4/29/13

Consciousness drifted to me slowly on Saturday morning and I fought against it. I had slept better than I could remember ever having slept in my twenty-six years of life. Not that I ever had nightmares or anxiety, but I was always restless. Always feeling like there was something missing from my life. That was exactly what had driven me to leave my family and friends behind in Chicago just a week ago. My mom was the most upset about my sudden move, but I could see the understanding in her eyes as she had hugged me goodbye.

It had taken surprisingly little time to pack what I wanted to bring, not having to clean out my old apartment since my parents owned it. I knew my mom felt more comfortable with me leaving stuff there. She wanted me to know that I always had a place to come back to.

Two days of packing and loading a trailer and three days of driving, food breaks, and sleeping in motels later, I ended up in Seattle at my new apartment. I had spent the last four days unpacking, taking some breaks to work once my computer was hooked up in order to maintain my income.

I opened my eyes reluctantly and glanced around my bedroom. I had loved my apartment immediately, but knowing no one in this town meant that I spent a lot of time alone in it. Not that I minded being alone—I do work from home which leads to spending the majority of my time alone anyway. But I was ready to get out and find out what Seattle had to offer me.

This was what led to a chance encounter at a hibachi restaurant and the beautiful girl who was snuggled up against me this morning. I tightened my grip around Bella and breathed in the strawberry scent of her hair. It was like an aphrodisiac. Her head was lying on my shoulder, tucked nicely into my neck. It was amazing how well she fit up against my body, like she was made for me alone.

I thought about seeing her beautiful brown eyes for the first time as I approached the table last night. They were so innocent, yet intriguing, like there was some story behind them and I was immediately dying to find out what it was.

When I was seated next to her, an intense heat took over my entire being and it took all of my willpower to make small talk with the other occupants of the table. But when I tapped her arm to introduce myself and a jolt went through my system, I knew I was done for. She seemed surprised at my touch, having been lost in her own thoughts, and I figured she wouldn't be interested in getting to know some stranger she met in a restaurant.

As our hands met in greeting and the electricity flowed once again, I became lost in her hypnotic gaze. I realized that I had to get to know this amazing creature. Hoping I wasn't making her uncomfortable, I started to make some small talk but immediately wished I hadn't. It appeared that the first words out of my mouth had offended her, even though I meant it when I called her beautiful.

Stunning, exquisite, and superb were more the adjectives that were going through my head, but I thought that might be a little much so I reined it back to "beautiful."

Apparently, my brain was working faster than the rest of me as I realized I had asked Bella to go someplace else to eat, just the two of us. Her smile was breathtaking when she had agreed. Just thinking about her smile had my heart rate picking up again. The things she could do to me with just one look!

Bella sighed in her sleep and snuggled further into me, throwing her leg across mine. I gently stroked her beautiful brown hair while I watched her sleep, realizing that waking up with her next to me was like finding the missing piece of a puzzle. I had to find a way to make her mine.

Dinner had been delicious and enjoyable, but fuck if I didn't get hard just from watching her perfect pink lips wrap around her fork with each bite that she took. Several times, I had to restrain myself from leaning over and kissing her. I was dying to know what her lips would feel like against mine.

During our conversation it was clear that she didn't have a lot of confidence in herself and she was shy. I couldn't figure out how someone as beautiful as Bella didn't know it. She obviously didn't see herself the way others did. It hadn't escaped my attention that a few of the other patrons had been paying a little too much attention to her, but she didn't even notice.

I was so nervous at the end of dinner when I asked her back to my apartment. Not that I was shy, but I also was not the kind of man that would typically be so bold, especially having only known Bella for a few hours. But there was no way I could let her go so soon. I was drawn to her, and I felt strength from the spark of holding her hand. I had to know if she felt it too.

My fingers traced light patterns on her naked back and hip as I remembered the feeling of elation when she told me that she would come to my apartment. She had seemed so confident in her response that I couldn't help but think that she felt the connection as well, and she confirmed as much when we got here.

I remembered the feel of her lips on mine when I kissed her the first time, sending waves of pleasure throughout my body. With my fingers wrapped in her silky brown hair, I felt like I could kiss her forever and never tire of the sensation. I admit that I was a little surprised when Bella blurted out that she was a virgin, but honestly I didn't see the issue. The decision of how fast or slow things moved was entirely up to her. Believe me, I wanted her. But I didn't just want her. I wanted all of her and I would be willing to wait as long as necessary for her.

Nuzzling her neck while we danced, I was overcome with her scent and the taste of her skin when I kissed her below her ear. I felt her shiver at my touch and I longed to give her more pleasure. Every touch of her fingers on my torso made me want her even more. My morning wood got impossibly harder as I remembered the taste of her, the feel of her mouth on my cock, and the glorious sight of her coming on my cock while screaming my name. I would never tire of hearing my name fall from her lips in the heat of our passion.

I wasn't sure where we would go from here, but one thing was for sure. I wanted Bella in my life and I would do whatever was needed to make that happen.

"Mmmm," Bella sighed into my neck, feeling my hands continue their light rubbing of her flesh. I shifted my position a bit so I could wake her up the rest of the way with kisses. I feathered her face with my lips and continued to breathe her in.

"Good morning," I whispered between kisses when I noticed her eyes flutter open.

"Yes, it is." She smiled at me and I couldn't control the grin that took over my face.

No longer able to resist, I kissed her gently on the lips. I thought she was going to pull away from me, worrying about morning breath or some other shit, but I was pleasantly surprised when she kissed me back and I felt her suck my bottom lip into her mouth. Our tongues danced together, wet and hot, for a few minutes until we became a frenzied mess of tangled bodies and limbs. Bella's breathing became heavy and I could feel evidence of her arousal on my thigh that was nestled between her legs. I'm sure she could feel my erection pressed against her thigh, and I moaned every time she moved and rubbed against it.

"Edward …" she began between kisses.

I stopped and looked at her, concern etched on my face that this was not what she wanted. "What is it, baby?" I couldn't help myself from using the term of endearment.

Her face blushed and she looked toward my chest instead of meeting my eyes. I gently lifted her chin so I could see her beauty. "Don't hide those beautiful eyes from me. Tell me what's on your mind."

Her blush deepened further, giving her whole face a perfect pink tint. I wanted to kiss her cheeks, but was unsure of what she was going to say.

"It's just …" she started, and then her fingers were in my hair and she was kissing me again. Leaning her forehead against mine, she finally uttered, "I want you, Edward."

I let out a large breath that I hadn't even realized I was holding. Thank god, at least we were on the same page. But first I had to make sure she was ok. I had been worried about her pain last night although she never asked me to stop or even slow down but I didn't know if she would be sore now.

"You're not sore?" I asked. She shook her head. "Thank god, because I want you so bad right now," I said with a relieved smile. Her smile could have lit the entire room.

We wasted no time getting back to where we left off, with hands roaming and mouths exploring. The feel of her hot mouth on my chest was nothing short of spectacular. When my hand made its way down between her thighs, we both moaned at the contact. She was so wet already and I wanted to be buried inside of her. My fingers circled her slick clit a few times before dipping down toward her entrance and back. My other hand was tangled in her hair as our mouths met with enthusiasm. On the third pass of my fingers, I let two of them slip inside of her. The feel of her wet heat sent shockwaves through me while she moaned out again. I pumped my fingers a few times while my thumb pressed on her clit. It felt like her walls were sucking me in, begging me for more.

Another moan escaped her before she whispered, "Now, Edward … please."

She didn't need to ask me twice. I pulled my fingers from her and placed my palm on the inside of her thigh, nudging her leg to open her up to me. She was still on her side, so I hovered over her a bit and let my cock rub up and down her wet slit. I kissed her with passion as I started to gently slide into her. It didn't take long until I was fully sheathed in her throbbing pussy. I stayed that way for a few moments to allow us both time to get used to the sensation. To be honest, I didn't think I would last long if I didn't take a minute to get in control.

Bella's hands gripped my back, pulling my body even closer to her. "Are you ok?" I asked, worried that it may still be painful for her.

A slow smile came over her face. "Much more than ok." Her response made my heart flutter, while the feeling of being surrounded by her once again sent pleasure throughout me.

I gently lifted her leg a little higher with my first short thrust and found myself buried even deeper within her walls. "Uhh … Bella, it's never felt this good." It was the truth. I'd been with a few women before, but not once had I felt this complete when having sex. It had just been sex; a means to an end for the most part. With Bella, I felt like I was home. There was an intensity that had been missing for all those years.

My thrusts began to lengthen, but I kept them gentle and in control, making sure my pelvis rubbed her clit on each stroke. Bella's nails were scratching my back, my neck, my scalp, which felt fucking amazing, only adding to the sensation of pure bliss. Her breathing picked up as my mouth met her neck. I sucked, licked and nibbled any place that I could. Her hips angled a bit and she managed to take me in even deeper as she began meeting my thrusts. "God, so deep, baby," I whispered near her ear before taking her lobe into my mouth. I knew I wasn't going to last much longer. My orgasm was already building low in my stomach and I could feel my balls tightening.

"Uh … Edward … I'm …" she stuttered as I felt her walls start to flutter around me. "Edward!" she screamed, as her orgasm took over.

I thrust into her a few more times, with the feeling of her contracting muscles sending me over the edge. With my face buried in her neck, I groaned her name over and over again as I came in several long spurts, finally stilling inside of her as we both rode out the waves of pleasure.

Eventually I collapsed next to her, trying to catch my breath and regain my strength, and pulled her leg over my hip. I was still buried inside of her and planned to stay that way as long as she'd let me. When my breathing returned to normal, I peppered her face with kisses and she tightened her hold of me. I wondered if we could just stay in bed all day.

As if she was reading my mind, I noticed her lean up to look at the alarm clock on the table behind me. I had no idea what time it was, nor did I care, but maybe she had somewhere she needed to be or someone was going to be missing her. "Please tell me you don't need to go," I pleaded. I knew without a doubt that I would see her again, but I didn't want to give her up just yet.

"No, it's just …" she trailed off with a sigh. "I'm sure my best friend, Alice, will be calling me if she hasn't already. I don't want her to worry about me."

"How about I make us some breakfast while you check in with Alice?"

"You really don't have to do that."

"But I want to." And I meant it. I wanted to spend more time with her.

"Ok, that sounds good."

I gave her one last kiss before reluctantly extricating myself from her limbs and the bed. I threw on a clean pair of boxers, and took out an extra pair and my favorite T-shirt for Bella. "You might be more comfortable in this," I told her, handing her the clothes. Plus, it would mean that she wouldn't be walking out the door too quickly, since she'd still have to change into her own clothes. "The bathroom is through there. Help yourself to anything you need. There should be some unopened toothbrushes under the sink."

She turned the T-shirt over in her hands and chuckled, with a light blush rising to her cheeks.

"What?"

"Nothing … I just never met anyone else who likes the BoDeans as much as I do, and you just handed me their T-shirt."

This girl never ceases to surprise me. The BoDeans had been one of my favorite bands for a long time. Just then she started singing, "If I can hold you tonight …"

"I might never let go," I sang in response. A wide smile crept across my face as I realized that she had just quoted my favorite song to me, and it couldn't have been more fitting. I leaned over and kissed her forehead, telling her I was going to start breakfast.

Hopefully scrambled eggs and toast would do because there wasn't much else I could do in my kitchen yet. I loved to cook but still hadn't had time to finish unpacking and organize the kitchen the way I wanted it.

I had the toast in the toaster and was just pouring the eggs into the pan when Bella came into the living room. My dick was immediately standing at attention when I saw how adorable she looked in my clothes. I quickly turned to the counter, hoping she wouldn't notice. She grabbed her phone out of her purse and sighed as she looked at it. "Something wrong?"

"No, she already left me several messages and it's not even nine o'clock yet. But that's just Alice," she said with a smile. Bella headed over to the couch to make her phone call. I tried not to pay attention, but I was dying to hear what she would tell her friend.

"Good morning to you, too, Alice," Bella said with mock enthusiasm. "No, I'm not … yes … um, I went to the hibachi place down the street but didn't stay there … La Bella Italia … yes … Alice, calm down! ... I'll tell you everything later … alright … yeah, see you then. Bye."

"Juice or coffee?" I called out once I heard her hang up the phone, thankful that the distraction of cooking had calmed my body down.

"Coffee would be great, thanks." Bella brought last night's forgotten beer bottles into the kitchen and dumped them into the sink.

"You didn't have to do that," I said, grabbing two coffee mugs and placing them on the table.

"I'm used to being the one doing the cooking. I had to at least feel helpful," she said with a playful smile.

We both sat down and started in on our eggs. It felt so comfortable having Bella sitting next to me, like this is the way it was supposed to be. We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, while I stole a few glances at her. I never thought a simple T-shirt could be so sexy, but something about Bella wearing my shirt made my heart go into overdrive.

I finally broke the silence. "So, do you have any plans for today or tonight?" I was really hoping that I'd be able to see more of her.

"Well, Alice is coming over later for a little while, not until after lunch though. No plans other than that."

"Can I see you again tonight?" I hope she feels the same as I do and wants to spend more time with me.

She blushed and smiled while still looking down at her plate. "Yeah, that would be really nice." She finally looked up and I could see the smile in her eyes. "How about I cook tonight? You could come to my apartment. It's only a few blocks away."

My relief was palpable, and I couldn't stop the smile from taking over my face. "That would be really nice."

We agreed on five o'clock and she told me her address while we cleared the dishes from the table. She insisted on helping clean up, so I washed while she dried and put things away. I tried not to stare when she was reaching up to put the dishes in the cabinet, but my eyes were drawn to her slender body leaning slightly over the counter. We worked together like a well oiled machine, and soon my kitchen was neater than it had been before I started cooking this morning.

I suggested that we take our coffee into the living room and maybe find a movie to watch. I flipped through the channels as we chatted, never landing on anything in particular as our discussion was much more interesting. We ended up facing each other on opposite ends of the couch, my feet resting outside of her legs and her feet in my lap. I had been absentmindedly rubbing her adorable little feet for a while as she told me about how she loves to write, mostly in her journal as a way to express herself. I completely understood what she was saying, and I explained that that was how I used my music.

After a while we got into a sort of "get to know you" game, firing off questions to each other about anything from favorite color, last movie we'd seen, favorite high school subject and everything in between. Before I knew it, it was noon and Bella had to leave to meet up with Alice. As she was changing her clothes in the bedroom, I had to remind myself that it would just be a few hours until I could see her again. That didn't stop me from missing her the second she was out the door.

Before she left, we exchanged cell phone numbers and she thanked me again for dinner and breakfast. I gave her one last heated kiss, filled with all of my emotions, and then she left.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair as I plopped down on the couch, a goofy grin on my face and my heart pounding a mile a minute in my chest. I knew I had a lot to do today but all I could think about was that beautiful brunette, her captivating smile, and the electricity that flowed between us with every touch.

I don't know how long I sat there lost in my daydream before my phone started ringing. Glancing quickly at the caller ID, I answered, "Hi, mom."

"Edward, sweetie, I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay."

"I was actually going to call you today to check in. Everything is fine so far. My computer is hooked up and I have most of my unpacking done already."

"That's great. Have you been able to meet any of your neighbors?"

"I met the lady that lives across the hall yesterday. She seemed nice."

"Oh, is she around your age? Maybe she can show you around."

That made me chuckle. "No, mom. She's a grandmother. But at least it's a friendly face in the hall, you know … someone I can borrow a cup of sugar from."

"Oh. You know I just worry about you being so far away on your own, sweetie. How are you going to meet anyone?"

"I actually met someone last night."

"Really?"

"Really." I smiled just thinking about her. "Her name is Bella and she lives a few blocks away. I'm going to see her again tonight. She invited me over for dinner."

"That's great! You sound happy. Tell me about her!"

"Mom, come on … I just met her! Give me some time. I promise you'll be the first to know ALL about her if things get serious." Serious for Bella, that is. I already knew that this was serious for me, considering I couldn't stop thinking about her, I wanted to know everything there was to know about her, and I was already counting down the minutes until I would get to see her again.

"Ok, fine. I'll let it go for now. Call me soon, sweetie."

"I will mom. I love you."

"I love you, too, Edward."

I spent the next hour or so working on getting my kitchen in order and tossing empty boxes into the dumpster. It felt great to make more progress on the apartment and make it feel more like home. I hung some pictures on the walls and organized my DVDs while trying to distract myself from thoughts of Bella's timid smile, soft skin, and even softer lips.

Eventually I gave up and started getting ready for our date. As I let the hot water of my shower work the nerves out of my muscles, I wondered if Bella was as nervous as I was. Then I tried to figure out why exactly I was nervous. I mean, she must be interested in me if she invited me over for dinner, right? Of course, I wanted to make a good impression on her, but when I really thought about it I realized that I was drawn to her for who she was and I hoped she was drawn to me for me. It's not like I had to try to be someone else. Either the connection from last night was there or it wasn't.

I pulled on my jeans and a button down shirt and I tried to tame my hair but gave up on that rather quickly. Glancing at the clock, I noticed that I had about an hour to get over to Bella's apartment, which was perfect. I grabbed my wallet, keys and cell phone and headed out of the apartment.

I made my way to the liquor store and browsed a bit for a nice bottle of wine. I found a pinot and purchased it, then made my way to my next stop. I knew the grocery store would have exactly what I was looking for. Several bins of flowers sat out front, but a bouquet of purple lilies and white tulips in the back caught my eye. I paid for the flowers and then nervously made my way to Bella's apartment.

Her building looked nice and I loved that it was only a five minute walk from my place, but I hated that there was no lock on the main door. I mean, anyone could just walk in there, and I wanted my girl to be safe.

My girl? God, I hope so.

As I approached her door I heard laughter and some loud music. I realized that I was about ten minutes early, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I shifted the bottle of wine under my arm and held the flowers in the same hand. I held my breath as I knocked on the door. The most beautiful brown eyes met mine when the door opened and I couldn't control the smile that took over my face at the sight of her.

A/N: Reviews are always welcome. Come find me on Facebook (Kitchmill Fanfic) or Twitter (at kitchmillfanfic).