Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

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I'm finishing up an assignment when my phone rings. The area code isn't local or from back home. I shrug my shoulders before answering it. I suspect it is Victoria from my public speaking class. She has a weird number that I never bothered saving in my phone. I had thought exchanging numbers with someone in class was just a formality, but then again, I've always had friends in my other classes.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hi, Bella, how are you?"

Her voice is chipper, which is not a word I have ever associated with Victoria. She's normally cynical and brooding, but I know firsthand what it's like to be a girl and have varying moods. It's nice to hear her sounding so light.

"Perfect. How are you?" I keep typing my Works Cited page. Edward will be here in a few days, and if I want to be wrapped around him all weekend, there's no room to get behind in my studies.

"Great. So everything is good with your classes and your boyfriend?" she asks, sounding truly positive and upbeat.

I smile to myself. I've told her a few things about Edward, even the hard-hearted want to believe in love.

"Yep. Everything's great. Now if only I could get him to get over his aversion to long-distance sex, we'd be set." I save my document and power off my computer, not caring about how open I'm being with this girl. She has shared way too much information with me about unsatisfying sex while swearing off the male gender. If she wants to know about my views on love, I'll tell her.

Victoria's laugh is almost silent. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks." I'm going to need it.

"I'm excited to get to know you. I love that you're already talking to me so openly. It'll make this easier. I've been kind of a wreck over the wedding and you're like the brightest light in all my troubles."

What she's saying doesn't make a lot of sense. Thoughts are spinning in my head, but I'm not connecting any dots. I don't want to connect anything. I sit frozen and am barely able to mutter out a reply. "Oh?"

"Will you be in my wedding? I know it's soon, but you can walk with Edward. We can get to know each other between now and then, but I know we'll get along."

I swallow hard, realizing I'm talking to Alice and not Victoria. I can't believe I just told her about Edward's aversion to long-distance sex, and worse yet, my plans to get him into it. "I would love to be in your wedding, Alice." I nod my head, dumbfounded. I'd do anything she wanted in this moment to relieve my own mortification and any that I've caused her. I'm also touched that she asked. The whole situation is unexpected. "I've never been in one, nor have I been to one. You'll have to tell me what you need me to do."

"Thank you! Thank you! You have no idea what this means to me. Let's exchange emails, and I'll send over the Maid of Honor duties. I want you to find a dress you like, but I have a few requests. So send me some you like, and I'll send you some I like. Hopefully, I'll figure out who else will be in the party soon."

I agree although I'm caught up on the title of Maid of Honor. This is a big deal.

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On a lazy Saturday afternoon, Bella and I curl up together on her couch watching cartoons. I arrived late last night, and we stayed awake well into the morning. Our cereal bowls sit on her coffee table. Mine is completely empty, while hers is still full. She only eats the marshmallows, and I don't like them at all, so I fed her mine. She smiled and said, "See, we're perfect."

She's still amazing, but something is off. Her contentment is easy. There's no sense that I'll be leaving soon coming from her, and I feel like I'm the one who's clinging. As I lie behind her now, I wonder where this ease has come from. I wouldn't go as far as to say the honeymoon stage has passed, but the level of comfort has increased. Holding her right now is the only place I want to be.

She turns her head back, smiling at me. "Are you happy?"

I kiss her nose. "So happy."

"We could have this every day." She turns away, pulling my arms tighter around her.

"We can. We will." I burrow my face into her hair, cherishing the precious minutes I get with her right now. I don't want to spend my days with Bella sleeping, but she's so warm that I stop fighting the pull.

"What are they doing?" A female voice breaks my stupor, but my eyes are too heavy to open.

"They've been sleeping like this all day." Another voice whispers. Angela, I'm guessing.

I open one eye a crack, startling when I see Angela and a blonde girl staring at me.

"Hi. I'm Rosalie."

I try to reach out and shake her hand, but Bella won't let go of mine. "She bites," she says, while squeezing my hand. "Are you here to bask in the glow of our love or are you trying to snuff it out?"

"Oh, shut up. You're so dramatic." Rosalie flips her hair off her shoulder and smiles smugly.

"It's nice to meet you, Rosalie." I pry my hand away from Bella's and shake Rosalie's.

Rosalie stares at me with her head tilted. I try not to stare back, but the gaze is starting to get uncomfortable.

Bella grumbles. "Spit it out, Rose."

"Do you have a brother?"

I look at Rose and try to figure out if she's serious. Angela is holding in her laughter, while Bella shakes against me as she laughs out loud.

I push my fingers through my hair. "Yeah."

"Do you have a picture?"

Angela loses her battle with holding her laughter, and I'm still trying to figure out what the joke is.

"I don't think so. I'll get one. Hold on." I pull my phone out of my pocket and text my sister. She immediately answers, wanting to know why, so I snap an unexpected picture of Rosalie and send it.

Bella shifts, so she's sitting up with her legs still across the couch. "He has a girlfriend. Is that a deal breaker? Or the fact that he lives in Chicago and you live here?"

"I don't know if he still has a girlfriend." I correct her, which is an obvious mistake. I gather that from the evil eye that Bella sends my way.

"He's still far. A long-distance means getting to know each other, talking, and caring. You don't want that. You don't even want that for me."

"Whatever, Bella…I want this." Rosalie flicks her wrist, gesturing a circle in the air in front of Bella and me. "I want to try."

When the text comes in, I peek at Bella, unsure of what I'm supposed to do. Bella and Angela share a look while Rosalie rolls her eyes.

I open the text to find Emmett's big grin along with Alice's words, "OMG, I LOVE YOU."

Bella takes the phone, glancing at it herself before handing it to Rosalie. She holds it like it's fragile, smiling down at it as Angela peers over at the image as well.

Rosalie hands me back the phone. "So, can you hook me up?"

I shrug before sending Emmett the photo I just took of Rosalie, and ask if he's interested.

It's not long before my phone is ringing with Emmett's name lighting up the screen. I hand the phone to Rosalie, knowing my brother isn't calling for me. She takes the phone before darting out of the room.

"What just happened?" Bella asks.

Angela smirks as she raises an eyebrow. "She just found out your boyfriend's real."

I don't pretend to understand what they're talking about. All I want to do is curl back up with Bella. Instead, I vaguely listen to their analysis of Rosalie's intentions.

Rosalie comes back, with my phone in her hand and asks, "You're coming out with us tonight, right?"

I look at Bella and she shrugs. I give her a squeeze and a slight shove to let me sit up. "Yeah, I could go out."

"Cool. I'll come back in a few hours. It was nice to meet you, Edward." She says my name in slow syllables, as if she has to test out the pronunciation on a word that's never been uttered by her before.

"Yeah, yeah," Bella says, before standing up. "Get out of here."

They kiss cheeks and Angela follows Rosalie to the door.

Bella takes my hand and pulls on it, so I get up as if she could move me.

"Ang!" Bella calls out as we walk into the kitchen. "You want to eat with us?"

Angela pokes her head in. "No, I already ate. I'm going to shower. I hope you don't need to shower before we go out. There won't be any hot water. " Angela sticks her tongue out, and Bella grabs a dish towel, wads it into a ball, and throws it at her, while laughing.

I shake my head at their banter.

Bella squeezes my side. "You wanna play house? I'll make dinner. I even have dishes." Her eyes squint from her playful grin.

"Yeah." I laugh. "Let's play. I'll set the table."

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I don't know where I was thinking we'd go when I agreed to go out. I guess a bar, but Bella's not old enough to drink. Of all the things I could have come up with, I never would have expected I would be dragged to a frat party. I sat around as she spent hours with her friends getting ready. Five more minutes turned into another five minutes, as they continuously hit the snooze button on their time.

The girls here are all pretty young, but I don't feel old compared to the varied age group of guys—physically, that is. I wouldn't say the same thing for their maturity level. There are multiple kegs and loud drinking games going on everywhere. I went to my share of parties back in college, but never a frat. I keep saying the Zeta Beta something or other and finding different rhymes in my head.

"Hey, Bella." A sloppy drunk kid yells at my girl. "Your lover boy is out back."

Bella shudders before taking my hand and pulling me through the crowd. Dealing with Garrett again isn't my first choice of things to do tonight, but I know I can handle the situation.

We mingle for a while. Bella knows a lot of people. When she's not pulling me toward someone to introduce me, someone else is calling her name and waving her over. After at least twenty introductions to people whose names I will never remember, we're back to Rosalie, Angela and her boyfriend Ben who I learned belongs to this fraternity.

Bella plays with my fingers, as Rosalie talks her ear off. I don't know what I've just gotten my brother into or Rosalie, for that matter. Emmett's not a quitter. As long as there is a chance to work it out with Heidi, he's going to take it even if it means being miserable. His calling after receiving the photo of Rosalie is a good sign that he's moving on from that whole charade, so I'll hope for the best and let them figure it out.

Ben nods to me. "Dig up anything good lately?"

I replay the question in my head, but it doesn't matter. I can't figure out what he's asking. Apparently, I'm not down with current lingo.

I shake my head.

"Do you play Minecraft? I've got it upstairs. We could go dig."

Angela slaps his shoulder. "You are so dense. He's an architect, not an archeologist."

Realization dawns on him. "Awesome. You want to go build shit. I've got this glass castle and a lava moat. You want to check it out?"

Angela looks mortified. "You said no video games tonight!"

Ben tries to defend himself, but it's a hopeless effort. Bella and I never bicker, but these two seem to be enjoying it. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't entertaining.

Bella pulls on my belt loops as she tries to get me to drink the cheap beer, but I'd rather drink vinegar.

"Okay, Mr. Sophisticated," she says, wiggling her shoulders as she makes fun of me. "I'm getting a drink." She sways her hips, as she walks away.

I shake my head while I take in my surroundings. I wonder how long we have to stay here.

"Putting on a show for me, Bella?" Someone shouts out, and I'm automatically moving toward her. "I was worried you didn't like me anymore."

Some douchebag—that isn't Garrett—is trying to grab her waist as she pushes him away. He reaches back—lower this time, and I don't care if he's another idiot that thinks he's in love with her. I don't care if he is under the impression he's dating her. He doesn't get to touch her. He steps to her again, while rage and worry spiral through me with every step I take. Bella's drink is thrown in his face, just as I shove him away from her. He falls to the ground. I didn't even push the guy that hard.

He looks around like he has no idea what just transpired. I pay him little mind as I turn to find Bella near tears.

"Can we go?" she whispers, clutching the front of my shirt.

I pull her close, wrapping my arms around her. "Yeah."

As we disconnect and take the first step to leave, a hand grips my shoulder as the guy says, "Hey, asshole, the girl is here with me, so lay off."

Maybe he thinks so, and maybe I let Garrett off the hook with a warning by reason of delusion, but this guy is an aggressive prick. When he shoves me, I don't realize I've made a fist until it's connecting with his jaw, blooding his upper lip.

Bella pulls on my arm. "Please. Let's go."

I see the desperation in her eyes, and I look to the guy with my hand still clenched. He looks livid, but he makes no move to come after me again. With adrenaline pumping, I stare him down, while daring him to try something.

When Bella tugs again, I go, though never taking my eyes off of whoever this guy is, until he is no longer in my sight. We walk outside and down the street to Bella's car. The night air clears my head, calming me down. I wait until we're inside the car to say anything.

Bella takes my hand, brushing her lips across my knuckles. "I'm sorry about that. We shouldn't have come here."

"Another clueless boyfriend?" I ask, knowing I sound irritated.

"Ugh. No." She leans back in her seat, dropping my hand as I start the car. "Riley didn't even like me before." She chuckles. "I just don't get guys. He had so many chances, and he waits until now to try."

We're surrounded in silence as I drive us back to her place. The situation is annoying enough without hearing her frustration over the guy's sudden interest and lack thereof in the past. Worst of all is the smile on her face as she talks about him. I try not to say anything, but when we pull into her parking space, I have to know.

I put the car in park and look over at Bella. "Sucks for you that he didn't figure it out sooner, huh?"

Her mouth drops. "What? No! Are you serious? You think I want to be with that guy?"

It was obvious she didn't want anything to do with the guy at the time. Now I'm not so sure, but I try to shrug it off. "No, I was just asking. I'm not trying to fight with you."

"Right." She gets out of the car in a hurry and heads up to her apartment, but I have the keys, so she has to wait for me.

She doesn't look at me, while I open the door. She also doesn't go in when I wait for her to go first, so I go in without her. If she wants to stand outside all night, she can. I don't get what her problem is.

Bella closes the door and leans her back against it. "So, what? Are we going to fight about this, or don't you care at all anymore?"

I stare at her mulling over my options. Fight about it or I don't care. There's really no way I can win here. It's one fucked up and ridiculous situation.

Shaking my head, I walk away, seeing no other option.

She throws her hands in the air. "Oh, real mature, Edward."

I walk back to her room and she's hot on my heels. She tries to slam the door behind her but all her beads get caught. She pushes them out of the way and tries again.

"You know I only went because you agreed to go." Her hands are planted firmly on her hips. "I don't go to those parties anymore."

"I never said you did."

"So I'm making all this up? You don't have an attitude? You know I'm not into that guy anymore. I'm sure when I was—before I met you—I wouldn't have liked him once I spent a single minute getting to know him." It may be her stance or the volume of her voice, but I feel like she's ten feet taller than me.

"Okay. I'm not mad," I say slowly as I try to keep the agitation out of my voice. Maybe I shouldn't have said that because when the words leave my mouth, Bella's shoulders square, and she turns away from me.

I try to reach out to her, but she steps away, pulling a change of clothes from her dresser and leaving the room.

Deciding to give her some space, I change into sleep pants and a new t-shirt, and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. When I return to Bella's room, the light is off, and she is curled up in her bed facing the wall.

This may be an instance where I'm supposed to sleep on the couch, but I'm leaving tomorrow. We have to fix this now. I lift the covers and climb in bed behind her. Spooning her limp body, I move her hair to the side. I kiss her neck and pull her closer. She doesn't budge.

I breathe against the back of her neck. "Please talk to me."

She mimics a statue, but her erratic heartbeat gives her away.

I pull on her shoulder, so she's flat on her back and lean my upper body over her. "I'm sorry I got so mad," I say, spiraling a piece of her hair around my finger. "How am I supposed to get on a plane and leave you here with guys pawing at you like that?"

"I'll be fine." Her hand cups my jaw. "Just don't be mad at me."

"I'm not."

Her throat moves as she swallows. She looks at me for a moment lost in her thoughts. "It still feels like you are."

"How do I make you feel like I'm not?"

"Touch me." Her hands fist my shirt.

I kiss her and find that connection that should always be in the forefront. She pulls me down, over her.

My mouth finds the pulse of her neck, and I swipe my tongue across it. I move down her body slowly.

Pushing up her top, I kiss across her torso, nibbling where her belly button dips and causing her breath to hitch. I move lower, smiling against her hip when I find that she's not wearing pants.

I move my head between her legs. With my mouth right against her panties, I breathe out. Warm heat hits my face, as it has nowhere else to go. The rise of her hips is slight, but I don't miss it as she brushes against my nose. Using my teeth, I pull down the lace waistband that I know is scarlet red from when I watched her slide them up her thighs hours before. I lower the elastic sides off her hips, rubbing my fingers against the impression it has left on her skin.

She arches to help me remove the delicate garment and lifts each leg one at a time until I have her lower half free. She reaches up and pulls on my shirt. I kiss her hard before I remove it and undress every layer I had covering me. All of my senses are heightened from our fight to where we are now. There is a buzz in the air or a force field shielding everything out but us.

Moving my mouth back between her legs, I tease her with slow kisses until she's pulling on my hair and begging. I switch to nipping and sucking, and when I need to concentrate, I write words with my tongue. Her legs close against my ears, trapping me in this position. I don't mind. Feeling her straining and clawing at me is the greatest thing ever. It turns me on the point that I'm the one straining and fighting to control myself.

She wiggles around, arching up and squirming against the mattress, and against me. One of her legs moves between mine, and I have to be careful not to grind down against her.

B-E-L-L-A, I focus on spelling out her name.

She strokes my erection with her foot and the struggle to ignore it is lost. I kiss my way up her body, nipping her skin along the way.

She trembles, and when we're face to face, she pushes my shoulder, rolling me on my back so she can take over. "No more torture," she says about the foreplay that pushes her limits.

I reach for the box kept in the bedside drawer.

"Oh, I'm on the pill…okay?" She asks, hovering over me.

I nod, but wonder why she never said anything about being on it before. She reaches down, equally guiding and pulling, as the sensations of being inside her cloud my mind. She gasps and it sounds exactly like the relief I feel.

I let her take control of the rhythm. Setting my own rhythm means this will be over too soon. I kiss her neck and move how she wants me to. Her fingers caress my chest in a contradiction to the rest of her body's rough pull. All of my concentration is focused on the gentle touch. When it stops and the erratic pace is too much too fast, I go back to writing B-E-L-L-A—this time on her neck.

She cries out and I lose my concentration. I take over the pace as she moans through her climax as I find my own.

She moves to lie on my shoulder.

I wrap my arm around her back. "Why didn't you tell me you were on the pill before?"

"Because I wasn't taking them right before, but you've got me on a routine." She takes my face in her hands. "I eat dinner, study, shower, brush my teeth, take my pill, and wait for you to call."

"And if I call early?"

"Then that's not my fault." She laughs and climbs over top of me, grabbing my arms and holding them above my head. With her face just inches from mine, she says, "I'm trying though. I promise I'll let you know if I miss any." She squeezes my hands. "We'd be fine though, right? There could be worse things than being tied to each other for the rest of our lives."

"We'd be fine," I tell her, knowing we would be and thinking about the possibility.

Her hands hold mine like handcuffs, and though I could overpower her, I'm already tied for life.


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A/N:

Hi!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for everyone for who helps me on this story: tawelephant, ttharman, SunflowerFran3759, and dazzled eyes22!

Not a Little Girl is on the fic of the week poll at the lemonade stand! Thanks, Edmazing, for the rec! Go check out the poll!

Don't forget to review!

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