I woke the next morning to the sound of our front door slamming. I wrestled one eye open to see the clock on my desk glowing an ungodly hour in the morning. As my brain protested waking up, I heard Charlie's cruiser turn over and growl to life. Realizing he was headed out fishing for the day, I groaned and rolled over in bed determined to fall back asleep.

I lost all interest in sleep as my eyes locked with Edwards.

"Good morning," he whispered. I inhaled deeply, the scent of his breath flooding me. In contrast my mouth was heated and dry. I'm sure my morning breath could not compare to his.

"Hey," I whispered through my fingers.

"What are you doing?" he chuckled, pulling my hand away from my mouth. I brought my other hand up quickly, determined to block him from horrible, human morning breath.

"Believe me, I'm saving you!" I stage whispered. He grabbed my second hand into his, a full smile now on his beautiful lips.

"You're ridiculous," he stage whispered back, kissing me firmly on my lips. I was torn between kissing him and the knowledge that I really did need to brush my teeth. Especially if I was going to be kissing someone who had vampire smelling abilities.

I tried to wrestle my hands free of his and he playfully growled at me. I shook my head from side to side, half-heartedly avoiding his kisses. He continued to plant them on my mouth as I squealed behind closed lips. I was determined not to breathe on him and he was making it very difficult. His eyes lit up with humor, and I realized I was really in for it.

I pulled my hands free fully covering my mouth while trying to get untangled from my sheets. I kicked useleslly as he pounced before I had a chance to escape. He straddled me, pinning me to the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" he laughed.

"Edward! I HAVE to brush my teeth, I smell disgusting." I wiggled fiecely, looking for an escape ... although… his playfulness was really sexy. I was torn between letting him pin me down and personal hygiene. He pretended to consider letting me go. I made big pleading eyes at him.

"Nope," he decided popping the p. His hands traveled up my sides and I squirmed with the ticklish sensation. I realized my fatal mistake when I saw eyes light up with mischief.

"No, no, wait!" I laughed through my fingers, pleading. His held his hands dramatically over me, pausing to curl them like a villain before grinning evilly and attacking me. He tickled me until I couldn't breathe from laughing and squirming. We collapsed onto the bed together, chuckling and me breathless.

"I can't believe you did that," I huffed, pretending to be upset. He just smiled at me, knowing full well he was going to get away with it.

"I didn't want you to leave," he pouted. I turned to look at him fully. Did he really just pout like a child? Yup, there was a sad, pouty lip and everything. I laughed and his face broke into a grin. After we snuggled for a few more minutes, I really did need to have my human minute. Nature calls and all that. I extricated myself from his embrace with a kiss and a promise to come back smelling better.

As I was in the bathroom, it occurred to me that after he changed me, I wouldn't have to leave him for moments like this ever again. We could spend every second together in each others arms. I wouldn't even have to sleep any more. I couldn't wait. I finished up on the toilet and brushed my teeth quickly, swiping a few quick brush strokes through my hair before pulling it back into a pony tail. I rushed back to Edward. He was still in my bed, propped up on one elbow. I skipped over to the bed in a heart beat, eager to reunite with him.

"Did you miss me?" I teased.

"Always," he said seriously.

"Well now I smell better! It's new and improved Bella." I was feeling silly high on the euphoria of realizing I wouldn't have to be separated from him once I was changed. "I bet I even taste better," I teased offering him my lips.

He leaned in and kissed me. The intensity of the kiss surprised me and I parted my lips, enjoying his enthusiasm. His hand cupped the back of my neck, holding me to him. After a moment, he released me panting for air.

"You always smell amazing. Morning breath or not. And you taste amazing," he smoldered at me. And I knew he wasn't appreciating my minty toothpaste flavor. Something fluttered deep in my stomach as we looked at each other. It would never cease to amaze me that he could make me feel this way with nothing more than words. I focused on his mouth, the supple curve of his lip, the hard line of his jaw. The way his lips felt against mine. The way he tasted. Suddenly, my nerves were tingling, thinking about kissing him.

"I have something I wanted to ask you," he said. I wondered if he was intentionally trying to take things down a notch before we jumped each other. Some of the tension in the air melted as I tried to settle down. I got up and re-settled into the chair at my desk, not trusting myself to sit with him on my bed. A quick look of confusion flitted across his face, before he continued.

"Can we talk about last night?" he asked.

"Sure," I said neutrally. My face was under control, but I'm sure my increased heart beat gave away my nerves. I really hoped he wasn't upset about what happened last night. I mentally prepared myself. I can be a grown up. I can talk about this. I held my breath waiting for him to tell me that we couldn't do what happened last night. Or worse, that he was angry with me for crossing a line and trying to touch him. I was already kicking myself for pushing things too far when he spoke.

"I just wanted to make sure we're okay," he finally offered.

"What do you mean?"

"I know that I stopped you from, um, touching me, and I just wanted to talk about everything that happened." My cheeks flamed red with shame. He was upset about what I tried to do. Before I even knew he had moved, I was flying through the air and settled on his lap.

He stroked my cheeks. "Don't be embarrassed, please." His breath washed over my face, calming me. I looked into his earnest eyes. "I love what we're sharing together. I just didn't want there to be any misunderstanding between us," he clarified.

"I understand. And I'm sorry, I won't push so hard. I know we're still testing our limits, and I know that you have boundaries that I crossed. I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable," I said dropping my eyes to my chewed nails.

"That's why I wanted to talk. I don't feel that way at all," he said softly. I raised my eyes to his in complete surprise.

"Really?" I pushed. I needed to know exactly what he was thinking. He laughed, pushing his hand through his hair. I watched the silky locks sift through his fingers, magically arranging themselves into messy perfection.

"Last night was amazing, and perfect, and amazing," he said.

"You said amazing twice," I laughed, relief flooding every part of me.

"I know. That's how amazing it was," he smiled at me, and I felt some tension lift. We were doing this together, and I felt my love for him glow brighter. "I didn't want you to take my 'snickerdoodle' the wrong way," he said. "I just wasn't prepared for you wanting to touch me like that, and I hadn't even considered that being an option before last night. It caught me by surprise," he finished.

"Of course I want to touch you," I whispered. His self-loathing was so deep, and it hurt me that he was so vulnerable. "I want you to know how much I love you. I want you to feel the way I feel about you." My fingers drifted along the strong line of his jaw, willing him to feel my love.

"I'm beginning to realize that," he smiled at me and the whole room lit up around the edges. His smile was full of love and trust and I felt like a small corner of his insecurity had been lifted away. "So, I just wanted to let you know that I would love for you to show me your love in that way, in the future. If you want to that is."

I unconsciously licked my lips thinking about touching him. I really, really wanted to do that. His eyes locked on my lips. I watched in fascination as his eyes darked a half shade. Woah.

With a visible effort he set me beside him on the bed. "We'd better head out of here if we're going to make it to our activities today," he said still watching my lips. I got the feeling he was trying to convince himself more than me. But his words officially distracted me.

"What activities?" I asked, curious that I had no idea what he was talking about.

"It's time to get in all of your 'human moments'," he hinted cryptically. I had no idea what he had planned but his beatific smile had me looking forward to a surprise for the first time I could remember.

Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who favorited and Followed this story. Im' excited to share it with you all. I LOVE reviews. Even if it's just a quick note, I would appreciate anything you want to leave! As a reward, I'll post the next chapter early if I get 10 reviews. Otherwise, you'll see the next chapter in a few days. I'm writing, writing, writing!

No copyright infringement is intended with this story. SM owns Twilight.