Disclaimer: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

This story is not to be reproduced or translated without the expressed consent of the author.

A/N: Thanks again to those who reviewed and to those who added me to their favorites and alerts. It means so much to me! Here's chapter 4, enjoy! Warning: lots of the F word, some drug usage and brief lemony goodness ahead.

Together at last at Twilight Time

Chapter 4

Edward's POV

Her breathy moans and my forceful grunts were all I could hear above the classical music gently playing through the speakers. We were in my old bedroom in the Balboa House, in the midst of coming down from yet another powerful orgasm we both just shared. I rolled my body over to the side and laid next to her as we stared up at the ceiling trying to catch our breaths, our minds still reeling over the high we had just experienced, no pun intended.

"Jesus, Bella…that was fucking…insane. I think…I think I need another hit."

She turned her head to look at me and smirked. "Another hit of me or another hit off the pipe?"

"The pipe…and then you…again." I turned my head and smirked right back at her.

"You're fucking relentless, you know that?" She playfully slapped my chest as she reached over me to grab our glass bowl. I couldn't help but latch on to her nipple since it just so happened to be near the vicinity of my mouth at that moment. She stifled a whimper as she retrieved it and sat up against my headboard.

"Easy, Cullen. My whole body is still sensitive."

I crawled to the foot of the bed to grab the sheet we had kicked off early on in our sexcapades and sat next to Bella, placing it over our legs. Even though we were still naked, Bella liked the feeling of having the covers over her legs anytime we smoked before, in between or after sex. From the looks of things, we were in the "in between" stage.

"Alright, alright... By all means, ladies first." I motioned for her to light the bowl.

She lit the bowl, took in one large deep breath, held it for a few seconds and slowly exhaled, the smoke trailing off her lips. God, she was so sexy when she smoked. She handed the bowl to me, then leaned her head back and closed her eyes. I followed her lead, placed the bowl back on the nightstand and scooted down to lay on my back. She tilted her head down to peek over at me.

"Let me know when Junior is ready. 'Cause I'm good to go."

"Bella… Believe me, I'll let you know… What is it with you and weed that gets you so horny?"

"What, like weed doesn't make you horny?" She scooted down to lay on her side, her body facing me with one leg resting over mine.

"Mmmm...it does." I replied as she lazily circled my nipple with her middle finger.

"You know, maybe it has something to do with the music. Did you ever think about that?"

"Ahh yes, the winning combination of marijuana and Beethoven. My two tickets to paradise. Show those at the front door and I'm in, baby!"

"Stop making fun of me or you'll pay," Bella griped as she pinched my nipple with her thumb and forefinger.

"Oooh, fuck yeah, baby…harder!" I joked back.

Pretty soon we were wrestling around, the touching and groping turning into kissing and sucking. I closed my eyes as Bella laid on top of me, kissing down the side of my neck as she started to stroke my hardened length between our bodies.

"Mmmm, I'm so glad we talked baby, and that we're right back where we should be," she mumbled into my neck as she continued to kiss me thoroughly. I was confused, her statement suddenly taking me out of our moment even though my body was still responding to her.

"What?" I said in between my groans. She moved up to suck on my earlobe.

"You know, earlier…when we finally talked. I'm glad we got everything out in the open. God, I missed you. All of you… It's been way too long, Edward."

I opened my eyes and what I saw baffled me. Bella was still on top of me, switching off between sucking my earlobe and my neck. But my room had changed. Instead of being in my old bedroom in the Balboa House, we were now laying in my current bed at my own beach house.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled to myself. Bella stopped what she was doing and lifted her head to look at me.

"Edward, are you okay?"

I couldn't form a coherent sentence, let alone a coherent thought in those few seconds. I was staring at her in disbelief. Bella now looked about ten years older than she had been just a minute ago.

Holy shit, what was happening? Did I smoke some bad weed? I looked over at my nightstand and noticed that it was completely different—like everything else in the room—and that there was no bowl in sight.

"What the fuck is going on?" I was starting to panic, strangely enough, given the fact that I was in bed with my Bella.

"Babe…are you high? We just made love. God…make up sex after seven years. Holy shit, that was amazing, wasn't it?"

I thought back to what just happened...or what I thought had just happened. All I remembered was having a weed induced sex marathon with Bella in my old bedroom, where she looked like she was about twenty years old. I couldn't recall anything about having "the talk" with her, or having make up sex after seven years, in my current bedroom with a Bella who looked like she was now thirty. I had no idea what the hell was going on. However, in spite of my puzzled state, I couldn't help but physically react to the attention Bella was giving my cock with her hand.

"Yes…yes it was." I agreed to whatever the fuck Bella was referring to. Sex with Bella was always amazing though, so it wasn't a lie.

She stopped pumping me and glided her hand up my side, finally placing it under my shoulder to match her other hand's position. She shifted her body to rest most of her weight on her knees as she hovered over me, straddling my very alert member.

"How about we make up all over again," she whispered into my ear as she glided herself onto me.

"Shiiiit…" I breathed into her hair. She was so slick, so tight.

All of a sudden, Bella was licking my face profusely, and I was surprised by her boldness. But then she moved on to eagerly lick my nose.

"Ummm, Bella, what are you doing?" She wouldn't respond nor stop.

"Bella…Bella. Stop. Stop it."

My hand moved up to feel my nose and was met with Leah's slimy saliva, her morning breath being heavily panted into my face.

I should've known this was a dream.

"Fucking Leah." Not even bothering to look up from my pillow, I rubbed her head once and pointed my finger at the door. "Out!" She scurried off into the hallway and down the stairs, hopefully not getting into any trouble on the first floor. Now fully awake with my eyes still shut, I rolled over and sighed heavily into my pillow, trying to wrap my head around the trippy wet dream I just had. Obviously the dream was part past, part hypothetical future. One minute we were smoking up and having high sex during one of our spring breaks at the Balboa House, the next we were having seven years worth of makeup sex in this very bed.

Having high sex with Bella while listening to classical music was a pretty popular scenario in my dreams. It was also one of our favorite past times. I knew Bella had a thing for classical music ever since I had first taken her to the piano practice rooms back at UW while we were both baked out of our minds. Apparently weed and classical music together was her sexual kryptonite because halfway though the second movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique she attacked me and we had crazy, mind-blowing sex on top of that piano. I shamelessly used this to my advantage after that, knowing fully well what would ensue once we smoked up and I played my "Classical" playlist on my desktop.

Last night, however, the dream was so vivid, that I had no idea it was a dream at all. So when the dream shifted to us lying in this bed after reconciling several years later, I was dazed and confused. I was beginning to wonder whether my mind had blocked out our entire supposed conversation since I couldn't recall it for the life of me. And yet Bella felt so real against my skin, that it felt like it was all really happening. Perhaps, I had daydreamed about our past habit of getting high and making love, while I was having make up sex with the only woman I truly ever loved. It was real, we had already forgiven each other and we were back to being "us" again.

And then I woke up.

Of course, you fucker. It was just a fucking dream. Like it's that easy.

I looked over to the clock on my nightstand. Seven thirty nine. My eyes focused in on the bottle of bourbon next to the clock, along with an almost empty glass, a reminder of the nightcap I indulged in right before passing out. I sat up and rubbed my eyes with my palms, letting out a frustrated grunt. Falling back asleep for a few more hours was now out of the question. I was also sporting some serious morning wood, even though the dream was beginning to feel more like a nightmare at this point. That fucking cockteasing shit wasn't even real. But I knew that had I not been woken up by my bitch of a dog, Leah, my nightmare would've eventually turned back into a fucking hot dream given the situation Bella and I were…almost in. I need to find some release, stat.

I trudged to the bathroom and headed straight for the shower. Under the scalding hot water, my mind was fixated on one thing. Bella's body and the things I could do to it. With several images of Bella positioned on me running through my mind, I quickly found the release I was so desperate for. After shampooing and washing the rest of my body, I dried off and threw on a pair of navy blue board shorts and an old UM t-shirt. I looked over at my clock again. Eight thirteen. Rosalie had suggested making brunch for eleven thirty since we all knew Emmett and Jasper would be sleeping in given that they both drove the whole way from Seattle. That gave me a good amount of time to kill.

I walked downstairs to find Leah patiently waiting by the sliding door. "Yeah, I know, Leah. Lemme just drink something real quick." I poured myself a glass of orange juice, gulping it down without a pause, then picked up a frisbee from her pile of toys and walked towards the door. "You ready, Lee?" She excitedly barked as I slid open the door for her. We ran out onto the sand, throwing the frisbee into the distance. As I mindlessly tossed the frisbee while Leah fetched it, my thoughts drifted back to last night when Bella and I first saw each other out on the deck.

The sight of her, standing right in front of me, was breathtaking. The first time I touched her, our bodies pressed up against one another in a long awaited embrace, I felt that indescribable current blaze between us once again. Home. Mindlessly, I breathed in to quench my thirst for all that was Bella. Strawberries, freesia, sand, sea…and pure Bella. Home. I couldn't help but voice my inner monologue of how she smelled exactly the same. I sensed that she became tense after my admission, and rightfully so. And as much as I tried to push the envelope with how nostalgic I could get, my instincts told me to hold off from forcing myself on her or from trying to relive our sexual past right there on the sand. Stupid fucking raging hormones.

As I was welcomed by everyone else in the group, all of us happy and excited over our reunion, I noticed that Bella's smile wasn't as bright as the rest of theirs. I knew exactly why because I felt the same way. How did we get to this place? How come I never reached out to her, after seven years of nothing? When will I forgive her for wanting to end us? Can I forgive myself for being the one who really ended us? But I knew that being here with Bella, back at the Balboa House, was my second chance at making things right. I needed her to know that, if only through the most simplest of gestures I could possibly muster.

My toast was not just meant for Rosalie and Jasper, but also inadvertently meant for her…at least the last part. And when we said goodnight, I wasn't able to stop myself from being close to her again, testing my restraint as I treaded the fine line between what Bella deemed acceptable or not. I touched her forearm, her wrist and finally her fingers as I grasped her hand for a tender kiss across her knuckles. It was honest and straightforward, expressing enough emotion I felt she could handle at the time. Before turning to leave the deck, I took a chance and kissed the part of her hair closest to her cheek. At that point, even I had had too much, slowly cracking under my own self-control. Once inside the safety of my house, I headed straight for the bottle of bourbon and brought it to bed with me.

And here I was, playing with my dog, counting down the minutes to when I could see Bella again. Although we still had yet to talk about everything, I briefly wondered if my dream/nightmare could actually become a reality after all was said and done. A man can dream…evidently. As I threw the frisbee to Leah for what seemed like the thousandth time, two figures came into my line of sight out in the distance. They were running, pretty fast, in my direction. Eventually, I recognized that it was Rosalie and Bella. They were both too focused to notice my presence on the beach, as Bella nudged ahead of Rosalie in what was an apparent race. She ran up to the deck and jumped from side to side as she raised both her hands up in a show of victory. Rosalie reached the deck a couple of seconds after her, doubling over in exhaustion afterwards. They stood there, talking about something as they both stretched and cooled down. And then Bella playfully punched Rosalie in the arm before they headed back into the house. Smiling at the interaction between them, it dawned on me that I haven't seen Bella like that in what seemed like forever. It was a bittersweet moment; knowing that for the past several years Bella had led a somewhat content existence with my family and friends…and without me.

Leah was already getting bored, having moved on from our game and now running towards our deck to get back into the house. I strolled up the deck, opening the door for both of us and checked the time on the microwave. Eight fifty nine. I was getting antsy; I needed something to do. What about groceries? They don't have much food in the house right now. Highly doubtful that anyone went out this morning to get any. With that thought in mind, I decided to wait until nine thirty to head over to the house and offer to get whatever was necessary for at least the first week. Good game plan. Now, all I had to do was entertain myself for the next half hour.

Bella's POV

My eyes fluttered open to find the sun already rising across the horizon. I blinked my eyes a few times, unsure of exactly where I was for a moment. The comfortable couch had cradled my body so I just assumed that I was sleeping on a bed. But the gleaming sunlight passing through the floor to ceiling windows made it apparent that I was definitely not in a bedroom, with its curtains drawn, efficiently shutting out most of the morning light. I stretched my body and sat up, taking in my surroundings. Then I realized that I didn't dream last night. Or if I did, I couldn't remember it. For the first time in several months, there was no dream involving Edward. And no Dramamine was necessary. There must be a God!

Although I knew this day would undoubtedly be the day that Edward and I would finally start talking about whatever the hell happened to and between us, my mood was rather quite chipper. Perhaps it was from the deep and peaceful sleep I haven't had in months or the fact that I was back here with my friends at an old and familiar place. Or maybe it was because Edward was really here, that we were both here, regardless of what our circumstances were. Whatever the reason, I was thankful. Remembering that my bags were in Edward's room, I got up and slowly walked up the stairs, pausing at his door, my hand idle on the doorknob. Let's not fuck up your mood, Bella. With a heavy sigh, I opened the door and cautiously walked in.

Being back in Edward's bedroom wasn't as nerve wracking as I expected it to be. Looking around the room that I once thought of as my third bedroom—the second being Edward's dorm room—my mind took everything in. It was a lot barer than before, with less pictures on the dresser mirror, and less mementos strewn about the room. Piles of our clothes were no longer scattered around the floor and our old college textbooks, once piled on his desk and a spare chair in the corner, were now all showcased on one of his shelves. It felt strangely unoccupied. And yet all I could envision around me was the two of us, memories flooding back into my consciousness. It was a bittersweet moment, standing in the middle of this room, feeling our past emanating from everywhere, but also seeing our present, a stark contrast. I heard a faint knock at the door and saw Rosalie's head peek in.

"Hey…thought I'd find you here. How come you slept on the couch?"

"Couldn't bring myself to sleep in here, I guess." I sat down on the bed and looked out the window. Rosalie crossed the room to sit beside be.

"You know I love you, right?"

I looked at Rosalie and nodded, a little apprehensive of what I was about to hear.

"Well honestly I think it's about fucking time that the two of you suck it up, grow some balls and man up."

"I'm a woman, Rose. Technically I can't grow balls."

"You know what I mean, B. Seriously, you and Edward need to face each other and both get all of your shit out in the open. I tried to stay out of it all this time and eased up on both of you over the years. But it's been seven years. Seven! You know, you guys were bound to meet up again, if not over and over again. And now you're both here…together. This is your chance."

I was looking down at the floor, fretfully biting my lip. God, I hate when Rosalie is right. After a minute of taking in all she had said, I sighed, looked up at her and smirked.

"Is there ever a time when you're not Dr. Hale?"

"Hmm… When I'm drunk… Or in the bedroom. Unless Em wants me to play."

"You're fucking disgusting. You know I hate you, right?"

"I know. I hate you, too." Rosalie stood up and walked towards the door.

"It's seven twenty. We're running in ten," Rosalie yelled out to me from the hallway.

"Mmm'kay. I'll meet you downstairs," I yelled back at her.

I rummaged through my bag to find my running shorts, my sports bra and an old UW tank top, quickly got dressed and pulled my hair into high ponytail. I jogged into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I lightly applied sunscreen to my face, shoulders, arms and legs, knowing firsthand how harsh the sun was at any time of day on this beach. Upon descending the last stair, Rosalie threw a water bottle towards me.

"Think fast!" My reflexes were quick enough to catch it just in time.

"What the hell, Rose? I think you're spending way too much time with Em."

"I'm just helping you get your heart pumping for this run. Think you can keep up with me little girl?"

Rose loved to talk some smack. For as long as I've known her, our competitive natures had always made for some good banter. She had also always been an avid runner. So when I took up running three years ago and was able to keep up, and in most cases, overtake her during our daily runs, she made it a point to start her trash talking before each run.

"Pshh, okay…more like can you keep up with me. We all know who's the faster runner."

"You're forgetting one important variable this time, B. We're running on sand. Totally different than on pavement."

"Erroneous! Erroneous on all counts!" I yelled back as we stretched out on the deck.

"Ohhh, we shall see… Alright, it's already seven forty five, let's rock this bitch."

With our bodies adequately stretched and the bullshit from our mouths finally concluded, we began our run. An hour later, we were both ready to get back to the house and take nice long showers. Both of us had kept up with the other the whole time, so when I saw the house in the distance I figured I'd fuck with her a little bit.

"Ten bucks, loser pays up." I panted towards Rosalie.

"You're on, biyatch!"

We both sprinted down the beach, our eyes focused on the house. Rosalie had a good pace going, but I knew I had more in me. I quickly increased my pace, leaving Rosalie behind as I jumped up onto the deck and hopped around victoriously while she ran up behind me, nearly falling over from weakness.

"Pay up, looosah!" I laughed as we both started stretching and cooling down.

"No fucking way…you cheated." Rosalie wheezed while pacing back and forth on deck.

"How did I cheat?"

"I don't know, you just did, alright? How about this, I'll pay you triple if I see you making out with Edward by the end of the night."

I punched Rosalie's arm as we walked into the house. "Keep your stinkin' money. The win alone was soooo worth it."

"Whatever, B. You're the one who stinks. Go…take a shower or something."

I laughed as I took two stairs at a time, back up to Edward's room. After gathering everything I needed for my long awaited and much needed shower, I locked myself in the bathroom and didn't emerge until forty minutes later. Dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a dark blue halter top, my hair loosely clipped back, makeup lightly applied and feeling completely energized, I walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. What I found, or more precisely, who I found in the kitchen sitting at the island had taken me by surprise.

Good morning, indeed.

Edward's POV

It was eerily quiet as I walked through the sliding door into the Balboa House. It was a little after nine thirty and although that would be considered late based on our normal routines, we were all running on Balboa time. Which meant only a few of the crew would've been up by now. I walked to the kitchen island and sat down on one of the stools, unsure of where everyone was or if I should look around and find them. A notepad on the counter caught my attention; a grocery list in Rosalie's handwriting. Most of the items were things we regularly bought whenever we vacationed here. I snorted at a few additions, all healthier and weight friendly. When did we get so old and responsible?

"Hey, um…good morning. I didn't know you'd be here." Bella startled me as she quietly walked into the kitchen.

"Morning… Would you prefer if I left?"

"No, no…um, that's not what I meant," she quickly replied. She already looked flustered at my mere presence. I could tell by her distinct blush which rose up her chest and across her face. Her whole reaction was actually quite endearing. I had to hold back from chuckling.

She crossed the kitchen and started to make some coffee. "You want some?" she asked, pointing to a second mug as she took one from the cabinet. "I'd love some," I replied, wondering if she got the double meaning behind my words. Hey, it was set up for me so perfectly. She paused for a second, staring back at me, before she blinked her eyes and slightly shook her head in what looked like an effort to clear her thoughts from her mind. Her back was now turned to me, directing all her attention towards making our coffee.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked, attempting to ease the slight tension in the room.

"Actually, I did. First time in a long time," she said over her shoulder, reaching for the sugar in the other cabinet.

"That's good… So I take it my old bed is still comfortable," I nervously inquired.

There was a slight pause as she opened the drawer to take out two teaspoons. "Uhh, yeah, well… I ended up sleeping on the living room couch."

"Oh. Why?" I asked, walking over to the fridge to get the small carton of milk I had put in there the day before. She turned around, placing the sugar and spoons on the island and looked in my direction.

"I dunno. I guess last night was too much for me to handle. After our goodnight… I just couldn't walk into your room and lay in our—your bed."

I stood there, carton of milk in hand, the fridge door still opened, staring at her as she said those words. Maybe I had come on too strong. I shouldn't have hugged her so intimately or kissed her goodnight. At least so soon after seeing each other. But she corrected herself when she said 'our bed.' Which meant part of her still thought of us as an 'us.' At least a small part of her did. I played off my brief stupor by pretending to look for some coffee creamer and then walked back to the kitchen stool. Real slick, you dumbass. Bella turned back around and set our mugs of coffee on the island.

"Thanks, Bella."

"No problem."

We silently poured the milk and sugar into our coffees and took careful sips, both looking down as we placed the mugs back on the counter.

God, I can hear that damn grandfather clock it's so quiet. Say something.

"Look. I'm sorry if I came on too strong last night. I don't know… I just… I just missed you, and you were there in front of me…after all this time away."

"It's fine. I…missed you too, Edward… This is just a lot to take in. At least for me." She was still looking down at her mug.

"It's a lot for me, too. But you know me, I'm so bad at holding back." I joked, looking right at her, hoping she would meet my eyes.

She did, her eyes meeting mine with a gentle smile. "You should do something about that, Edward" she lightly teased back.

Another long pause fell between us, timid smiles masking our uncertainty of whether this was the time and place to bring up anything further. Do I let her take the lead with this? Or should I just start yapping away? Fuck. What do I do?

"Good morning, Eddie," Rosalie chirped as she strolled into the kitchen, ending the silence between me and Bella. "Thanks for saving me some hot water, B. That shower was divine," she gushed as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Sure thing, Rose," Bella said as she took a sip, looking up at me.

"So, Rose, I see you made a grocery list here. I was going to offer to pick up whatever we needed for the week. You want me to go or do you wanna go?" I asked, taking a sip, staring back at Bella.

"You can go if you want. That way I can get Em and the two lovebirds up while you're gone. Plus I need to check my work email one last time before the party really starts up. Oooh, I completely forgot the stuff we need for bloody marys and mimosas, so put that on the list, okay?" Rosalie was too busy with her rant to notice that Bella and I had been in a staring match the entire time she was talking. She started up her laptop, her attention now entirely directed away from us.

"I'll remember to get it while I'm out… Bella, would you like to come along for the ride?"

"Umm, sure. Let me just get my bag from upstairs."

Bella's POV

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! "Shit," I quietly mumbled as I walked into Edward's room to retrieve my bag. Okay, calm the fuck down. It's just Edward. It's not like you've never been alone with him before. Hello, you practically knew how many hairs were on his balls at one point. Okay, maybe that was too much information, even for myself, but it was still true. I knew Edward, inside and out, and now, even the idea of being in a car and driving to the grocery store with him was sending me into a state of panic. You're just getting groceries…how bad could it possibly be?

Our small conversation in the kitchen over coffee had run smoothly enough and we were actually able to joke around to some extent. We had both consented that we missed each other; that was obviously a given. But we still hadn't even started talking about anything deeper than that. And now that we were going out to get groceries, just the two of us, I wondered if he might try to talk about things while we were both…trapped.

Noticing that I'd taken an inordinate amount of time to get my bag, I sighed and briskly walked down the hallway. Suck it up, Bella. Too late to back out of anything now. Edward met me at the bottom of the steps, a dazzling smile upon his face. I smiled back at him, a nervous yet genuine smile, as we walked side by side.

"Ready, Bella?"

"Yeah. We taking your car?"

"M'hmm. It's actually out front already. I drove it over, figuring I'd need it anyway if I was going out."

"Oh. How…smart of you."

Edward chuckled at my comment as we walked out the front door. The car in the driveway was different from the one he used to drive. It was a Volvo, like his old car, but it was now replaced with a dark metallic grey SUV.

"What kind of car is this?" I asked, sliding into the passenger seat.

"A Volvo XC60. You like?"

"It's a beautiful car. Roomy. Looks very safe," I pointed out, looking around at the interior.

"Yeah, so when I get married and have kids, I won't have to trade this baby in."

I furrowed my brow and glanced at him, curious as to why he would say something like that. But I quickly dismissed it as some random yet logical remark and stared out the window as he drove away from the house.

"So I was thinking of heading to Costa Mesa to go shopping. I want to check out the Trader Joe's while we're here. I freakin' love that place."

"You realize you just sounded like Alice for a second."

"Bella, have you ever been to a Trader Joe's before?"

"Yeah, I have. Alice and Rosalie, too, for that matter."

"So what's not to love about Trader Joe's?" Edward looked over at me with a serious expression on his face.

"I'm just teasing you… I've never heard Em or Jazz talking about a grocery store like that, though. Just saying."

"M'hmm." Edward was trying to suppress a smile, as I turned to face the window, hiding my own suppressed smile from his watchful eye.

The rest of the drive was met with silence, albeit a comfortable silence. Feeling less tense, I raised my hand over to the radio controls and looked over at him. He nodded his permission for me to change the station. Flipping through his preset channels, I realized they were the same exact stations he had saved in his last car, each having a specific channel setting according to his preference. I was amazed at myself for remembering in such detail what his preset channels were. I pressed the last channel, even though I knew what it would be…classical music. Like some Pavlovian response, my whole body flushed and a familiar tingling sensation coursed through my lady parts. Guess some things never change. I immediately switched it back to the first channel, allowing myself to regain some sort of composure. Hopefully Edward didn't notice my whole ordeal.

Eventually, we made it to Trader Joe's and parked the car, both of us giving the other a knowing grin as we passed through the entrance. From an outsider's perspective, our shopping excursion looked like any other one between your typical run of the mill couple; Edward was pushing the cart, while I walked ahead of him, studying the list in my hand. We mechanically went up and down the aisles, putting whatever we needed into the cart. Occasionally, one of us would make a bizarre or amusing comment about an item, even ones that weren't on the list, resulting in either a laugh or a witty response. But for the most part we leisurely meandered through the store, cooperatively working together, focused on our task at hand. We turned a corner and were greeted by a woman sharing samples with hungry passing customers.

"Would you like to try some mushroom ravioli today, ma'am?" she asked me as I passed.

"No, thank you," I politely declined.

She looked over at Edward. "What about you, sir? Would you like to try some mushroom ravioli?"

His eyes lit up as he took the sample from her. "Thank you," he replied, taking a bite out of the ravioli and humming in approval.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some? Your husband seems to like it."

I turned to look at her, about to correct her misinterpretation, but was interrupted by Edward's quick reply.

"Mmm, she's right. Here, baby, you should really try some of this." He held the fork out in my direction, a half eaten ravioli stuck on the end of it. A devious smile formed on his face; Edward knew exactly what he was doing. He was playing along as the charming husband. Seven years ago, this whole act would've been cute, probably resulting in some serious role playing in bed later that night. But here, in the present, at a freaking sample stand at Trader Joe's…he wanted to play husband and wife?

"Thanks, honey. But I'm not hungry yet." I glared back at him.

"C'mon sweetie. I promise you…you'll love it." He was biting back his laughter now. I could see it in his face, all smug and gorgeous.

Ohhh, he's so gonna pay. Two can play at this game, Edward.

"Okay…I'll try it," I relented. Moving a step towards him, my eyes locked on his, I slowly opened my mouth to take in the ravioli lingering on his fork. I closed my lips around the tines and seductively pulled my head back, closing my eyes as I chewed the ravioli.

"Mmmmm, baby. You were right... That was so incredible." I opened my eyes to see a stupefied Edward, utterly motionless, the fork still in its exact spot. I licked my lips and hit him with a final shot. "Almost orgasmic, actually. You should put a few bags of 'em in the cart, hon." I turned to the woman and she smiled in both embarrassment and confusion as I thanked her and walked away, not bothering to see what Edward looked like now.

I went back to checking off what was on the list and headed towards the few things we still needed. Preoccupied with trying to figure out which type of "pasta" Rosalie meant, I didn't notice Edward come up right behind me, his hands gripping my hips, the tip of his nose slightly brushing up against my cheekbone. "That wasn't very nice of you, Bella" he whispered into my ear. "I'm going to have to get you back for that." He firmly squeezed my hips and pressed a kiss into my hair, his lips lingering on the very same spot from last night. I involuntarily closed my eyes and bit my lip. We need to leave this store…now. Stupid Trader Joe's.

"Pasta," I heard him call out as I opened my eyes. He took a couple of boxes of penne off the shelf and tossed them into the cart. "You can cross that one out now. What's next?"

"Crushed tomatoes," I huffed in frustration.

For the duration of the time, we civilly acquired the rest of the items, purchased them and drove back to the house in complete silence and without further incident. Thankfully, Alice, Em and Jazz were already up by the time we got back and everyone came outside to help with the bags. Once all the bags were taken into the house, I quietly slipped upstairs to Edward's room to drop off my bag and recover from the emotional rollercoaster that was our Trader Joe's trip. For some strange reason, I didn't feel any anger towards him over what happened all those years ago, nor did I feel any pain. Instead, we were having a rather pleasant outing, reminding me how great we once were as friends, on top of being lovers.

Then he had to go and test my boundaries. And of course I had to go there as well, essentially fighting fire with fire. But it wasn't until the kiss in the pasta aisle that I felt the line of friendship which I had carefully drawn between us start to slowly blur. No! It's still too soon. You're not supposed to want this. You're supposed to be upset. We still have to talk about…everything! And as much as I tried to tell myself that, my body couldn't help but react to his nearness, the yearning for his touch building up inside of me. It was deliciously frustrating.

I was standing in the middle of his room, my fingers knotted in my hair, palms covering my eyes, trying to calm myself down when I heard the floor creak from behind me. I turned around to see who it was.

Edward.

"Bella," he softly muttered, as he closed the door behind him, both of us suddenly aware that we were alone, in his room—our room—again…at last.

Musical Muses:

Piano Sonata No. 8, Pathetique, Movements 1-3 – Ludwig van Beethoven

Got You Where I Want You – The Flies

Sorry this chapter was so long! I could've kept going, but I decided to end it there with a bit of a cliff hanger. You're all probably wondering what the deal is with their "talk," but they started the ball rolling and the rest will happen very, very soon. Keep in mind, it's still early the next day, plus they will be discussing things over the next few days, at the very least. Please don't hate me! :-)

Anyways, the next chapter will be up ASAP, I promise. Also, what did you think of the alternating POVs during this chapter? I'll probably do that again in future chapters here and there.

Thank you again for reading and reviewing!