Chapter 4

The three weeks after my date with Jake were so different than the ones after the first time I'd had sex with Emmett. He wasn't avoiding me. In fact, outside the privacy of our bedrooms, it was as if everything was perfectly normal. Inside the bedrooms, on the other hand, was a different story... We didn't come together every night, but we still hung out in each other's room, listening to music, studying when one of us needed help—English was a strong subject for me, while Emmett was some sort of savant when it came to math and science—and just enjoying each other's company like we always had. But we were almost always touching in some way, whether it be a kiss to the top of my head as he passed, leaning back against his chest as we watched a movie, or making out.

And I'd never felt more sexually satisfied.

Then my dad began questioning why we'd been spending most of our time at home on the weekends. I'd told him I hadn't really had a great time with Jake, but I had my eye on someone, and Emmett had said there wasn't anyone at school he was interested in. That had pacified him for the time being.

Two days later, Emmett slipped into my room after our dad went to sleep. We curled up on my bed, too afraid to do anything more while Dad was home.

"I think I have a solution," he said, his warm breath ghosting over my ear as he settled me back against him.

"Hmm?" I questioned, threading my fingers with his. "To what?"

"Well, you know how Dad keeps asking about why we aren't going out, right?" At my nod, he said, "What about if you...I dunno...dated Edward?"

Turning in his arms, I raised an eyebrow. "Why would I wanna do that?"

Inside, my heart was about to beat out of my chest. As much as I loved the new relationship I had with my brother, there was a part of me that was a little bit in love with his best friend. Edward was a terrific guy—kind, sweet, funny, smart, athletic, and totally gorgeous.

"C'mon, Bells," Emmett scoffed. "You can't tell me you don't have feelings for him. I've known you liked him since we were fourteen."

I thought about denying it, but decided there was no point. Emmett had always been able to read me like a book. "Yeah, well...I don't wanna give this up," I said, motioning between the two of us.

He shook his head. "You wouldn't have to, baby. Edward..." He blew out a breath. "He knows."

"Well, yeah, I mean, he was there that night that I..." I waved a hand in front of us, rather than vocalize what we'd done that night.

Emmett nodded, looking serious. "Yeah, and...well, I kind of told him everything."

Shocked, I tried to scramble off my bed, working hard to keep my voice low as I screeched, "You did what?"

"Bella, baby, settle down. It's okay. Come on, Bells." He kept hold of my arms and slowly coaxed me back so I was pressed against him.

"How could you do that?" I asked, my eyes filling with tears. "He could tell everyone, Em. He probably thinks I'm disgusting."

"Oh, baby, no," Emmett breathed, leaning in and kissing my forehead. "Look, he kind of guessed on his own last week because of how much happier I've been lately. After that night when he was over, he just...figured it out. But he's cool. He said we weren't hurting anyone, so whose business was it to tell us who we could love or be intimate with?"

"Yeah?" At Emmett's nod, I felt myself relax again, and I dropped my head to his chest, letting out a relieved sigh. "So...what's that mean?"

"It means you go out with him—go to the movies, to dinner, to the winter formal next month...all those fun things."

"Why would he wanna do that, when he knows..." I didn't feel the need to complete that sentence, knowing Emmett would understand.

He shrugged. "He likes you too, Bells. He's just never said anything 'cause I'm his best friend and you're my sister."

I nodded slowly, my brain still trying to wrap itself around the fact that Edward liked me. "But...what about..." Crap, how do I ask my brother—who I'm sleeping with—about having sex with his best friend if we start dating?

"Sex?" Emmett chuckled when I blushed and nodded. "Look, Bells..." He sighed. "I can't stand the thought of you going out with Black or Tyler or any of the other douchebags at school. The thought of them putting their hands on you, of you going down on them or having them inside you...it makes me wanna hit somebody. Edward's different. He's been my best friend since we were eight. He's as close to a brother as I'll ever have. I don't know if that's why the thought of you with him doesn't bother me or what."

I couldn't help it. My mouth gaped open, and I blinked up at him for a moment before I could get my voice to work. "You're saying you'd be okay if I was sleeping with both you and Edward?"

Emmett grinned, nodding. "I am. Is that bad?" He shrugged. "If so, I guess I'm okay with that."

Chuckling, I shook my head, but then I sobered. "What about you?" I couldn't think of a single person in school that I would be okay with Emmett sleeping with. I'd thought about telling Alice—she was one of the most open-minded people I'd ever met, and I had a feeling her reaction would be much like Edward's had apparently been—but she had Jasper, and I wasn't sure how I felt about sharing Emmett with even her.

He shrugged again. "I don't need anyone else. There's no one at school I'm interested in—at all, actually—so..."

"But what do we tell Dad?"

"I'll tell him Edward has a friend in Port Angeles he wants to introduce me to or something. I'll figure it out." When I was quiet for several minutes, he squeezed me against him for a moment and asked softly, "So whatcha think?"

I nodded. "As long as you're okay with it, then yeah, sounds good."

Inside, I was a mess of nerves and excitement. I just hoped it wouldn't come back to blow up in my face.

~*~THW~*~

The next Friday, I was in my room getting ready when Edward knocked on the front door.

"Bells, Edward's here," my dad called up the stairs.

"Be right down," I called back, picking up my lipgloss to make one last pass over my lips. Then I grabbed my purse—only big enough for my sunglasses, keys, a small wallet, cellphone, and the pepper spray my dad was always forcing on me—and turned to leave the room, almost running into Emmett.

"Hey," I whispered, afraid to look up at him. The last time I'd been leaving for a date, he'd been pissed off.

"Baby, look at me," he crooned softly, using a finger under my chin to raise my head so I was looking into his eyes. "Relax." He chuckled. "I told you, Bells. I'm okay with this. I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't."

Seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes, I smiled, nodding. "Okay," I murmured, leaning up and brushing my lips lightly across his. When I pulled away, his lips were shiny with cherry lipgloss, and he grinned, licking it off.

"Yum." He winked before motioning with his head. "Now go. I'm going out with the guys tonight. Gonna hang out at Felix's house and play some video games until curfew. See you when we both get home?"

I nodded, leading him out of the room and down the stairs.

When we got to the front hall, my dad was standing with Edward. Dad was still in his uniform—complete with gun in the holster—having just gotten home from work. Edward looked deliciously sexy and casual in a pair of dark jeans and a thin, black, long-sleeved T-shirt. His reddish-brown hair was, as usual, in disarray, looking like he'd just raked his hand through it a few times—or climbed out of bed. I got a flash of heat between my thighs at the thought of making it look that way when he hovered over me, making me come.

I shook off those thoughts, not wanting to jump right into bed with him, as much as the idea intrigued me, just in time to hear my dad's final warning to him.

"Be careful tonight, son," Dad said, clapping Edward's shoulder and giving him a loaded look.

"Of course, sir." Edward smiled, not looking the least bit nervous, but I had to bite my tongue to not laugh at his calling my dad "sir," which he hadn't done since he was about ten.

"Aww, Dad," Emmett huffed. "Edward'll take good care of our girl. Ease up on him."

My dad nodded and then turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Got everything?" His pointed look at my purse let me know exactly what he meant.

Rolling my eyes, I answered in an exaggerated tone of voice, "Of course, Father. I'm all locked and loaded in case whatever threat I'm sure you made to him isn't enough to scare Edward completely off."

"Good." Then he grinned. "Have fun. I'll probably be over at Billy's until late, but remember your curfew."

I nodded to show that I would and then escaped out the door with Emmett and Edward before my dad could think of any other ways to delay us.

With his hand on my lower back, Edward guided me around to the passenger side of his silver Volvo. Emmett opened my door and grinned as I slid in, my skirt riding up to show off more of my thighs. He closed the door once I was settled, and then he and Edward did some complicated hand movements in place of a goodbye before he turned to climb into his Jeep and Edward moved around to the driver's side of the car.

"You look great, Bella," he said as he started the car, smiling as he turned to look over his shoulder so he could back out of the driveway as soon as Emmett had driven away. "I love that color on you."

"Thanks, so do you." I smiled, allowing myself a moment while he was distracted to look him over. "And yes, you've mentioned that." When he finally pulled away from the house, I asked, "So where are we headed?"

"Is Bella Italia in Port Angeles okay? You mentioned a while back you wanted to go. If you've been, we can go somewhere else."

I smiled, shaking my head. "No, that's perfect. I haven't been yet, so that's great."

"Good." He blew out a small breath. "Then, since the weather's so nice, I thought maybe...miniature golf? I know we've been before, but this time, it's just the two of us."

Giggling, I nodded. "Emmett made quite a fool of himself, didn't he?"

Edward laughed. "I'm surprised we weren't kicked out—either time!—when he climbed the Eiffel Tower."

"I'm just surprised he didn't break the thing. He's...what, two hundred pounds? And that thing can't be more than like six feet tall." I rolled my eyes, laughing at the memory of my brother pretending to scale the side of it.

Conversation flowed easily as we made the short trip to Port Angeles, and it continued all through dinner. Because of Emmett, we'd been friends for so long that we pretty much knew everything about each other. There was no awkwardness of trying to learn the other's likes and dislikes. I had more fun with him than I'd had on a date...well, ever.

By the time we left the restaurant, I knew the possibility of falling in love with Edward was becoming greater every moment we spent together—and the thought both thrilled me and terrified me.

Miniature golf was just as good or better than dinner had been. The first eleven holes were easy, but then we got to hole twelve, and for the life of me, I couldn't get the angle right.

"Here," Edward murmured, leaning his club up against the sign showing what hole we were currently playing. He slipped up behind me, and slowly, his hands moved down my arms until he covered my hands. "Now turn a bit this way."

He guided us until we'd angled our bodies a bit to the right of where I'd started. My breathing got a bit heavier as I felt him press against my back. He wasn't hard, at least not completely, against my ass, but I could still feel his length, and it distracted me for a moment until I shook my head, looking back down at the other end of the green.

"But the hole's that way," I argued, gesturing with my chin to the left.

Edward nodded, his thumbs stroking my skin softly and nearly distracting me as he said, "Yes, but if you try to aim directly for the hole, you'll overshoot. See the way it rises around it?" When I nodded, he said, "Aim for the side, and it'll bounce up onto the little raised portion of the green. You can't hit too hard, or you'll still go over, but you need to hit hard enough it makes it up onto the little hill."

With that, he guided my hands and the club up and back before slicing down smoothly and sending the ball down the green.

I was still holding my breath as the purple ball bounced smoothly off the wall of the course and up onto the little hill before sailing right into the cup.

Squealing, I turned around and jumped into his arms. "We did it! I've never been able to make a hole in one on this one. Thank you!" Then I stunned us both—if his wide eyes were any indication—when I pressed my lips to his.

Surprise quickly turned to heat as he lowered me to my feet, keeping his arms around me so I was pressed against him as he kissed me more fully. It was like he was feasting on my mouth, savoring the taste of my top lip, then the bottom, before his tongue swept out and found mine. I could feel him grow hard against my belly, and he groaned into the kiss when I wiggled against him.

A man's throat clearing finally broke us apart, and I pulled back, breathing heavily, embarrassed to see a family of five standing there a few feet back. The parents looked amused, while the three young kids were giggling behind their hands.

"S-Sorry," I stuttered, feeling my face heat.

They waved off my apology as I backed away and let Edward grab his club so he could hit his green ball, not surprisingly straight into the hole.

With a grin, he grabbed my hand, and we quickly moved to get our balls before advancing to the next hole.

We finished the course quickly, laughing and teasing one another, trying to distract the other in order to win the game. In the end, Edward came out on top, but only just, winning by three shots.

After turning in our clubs, I smiled when he took my hand before leading me back out to the car for the drive back to Forks.

We held hands most of the forty-five minute drive home. When he had to shift, Edward settled my hand on his strong thigh, and the play of the muscles there had me squirming in my seat. When—if—we ever did have sex, I couldn't wait to see him out of his clothes and pushing into me from above. He was so lean compared to Emmett. While my brother was a bear of a guy, so big he made me feel utterly surrounded and protected, Edward had the body of a quarterback, not a defensive lineman. From all the time we'd spent together over the years, I knew he had muscles, and I really hoped I'd see them up close and personal at some point in the very near future.

Emmett's Jeep was still gone when Edward pulled into the drive. The house was dark, and since my dad's cruiser was still gone, I knew I was the first one home.

"Will you be okay till Em or your dad gets home?" Edward asked, looking through the windshield at the house.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

He nodded and then turned off the car before climbing out and moving around to my door. Walking me up the sidewalk and then the porch steps with a hand at my lower back, Edward said, "I had a really great time tonight, Bella."

"Me, too," I whispered, wondering if...hoping...he would kiss me.

I didn't have to wonder long, as he reached up and cupped my face in his warm palms, tilting my head so he could press feather-light kisses to my upper lip, then my lower, before taking control and kissing me like I wanted to be kissed.

The slide of his tongue against mine was intoxicating—silky smooth, strong, teasing. He kissed me until we finally broke apart, breathing heavily as he pressed his forehead to mine.

Finally, he said, "Unless we want Charlie to catch us making out on the porch—or worse—I'd better go."

I nodded mutely, touching my lips with my fingers as he stepped back. Then I pulled my keys from my purse and slid the correct one into the lock, opening the door before turning back to Edward.

"See you Monday at school?"

Edward smiled, nodding. "Yeah. Save me a seat at lunch?"

Laughing, I shook my head and teased, "Like yours and Emmett's aren't permanently saved?"

He shrugged, giving me a wink. "Just sayin'."

"Good night, Edward," I sighed, smiling as he echoed mine before I closed the front door behind me.

After locking the door, I waited there until I heard his car door shut and then for the car to drive away before I made my way up to my bedroom. I wanted to change into my night shirt, wash my face and brush my teeth, and climb into bed to think about my night while I waited for Emmett. I knew he'd want to hear all about my date with Edward, and instead of dreading telling him like I had the last one with Jake, I was actually looking forward to it.