"Stop giggling and tell me again."

"No," I said as I laughed harder.

"Again," Edward growled.

"I have the right to remain silent."

"Please?" he begged, and I crumbled.

"I love you."

"And again."

I had been laying on the couch, with Edward between my legs; his head lay on my stomach. I ordered Seth to Edward's room; I wanted the living room couch for the evening, after everyone had gone to bed.

"I love you, Edward."

"I will never tire of hearing you say that."

The next few days were a blur of activity. Edward and I kept our distance during the day, but were inseparable by night; I didn't want to push Charlie and Renee very much more. I took Charlie, Phil, Renee, Sue, and Seth on a tour of Dartmouth and Hanover, keeping them out of the house as much as possible. Seth was amazed by school, and asked, as Sue chastised, how much tuition was; I advised him to look online.

Everyone left on a Friday. I had until Tuesday to deal with 'One Night in Bella.' Edward assured me that he had a plan to deal with Dr. Stanley. Since Seth was still blocking her, Alice could not tell if it would work.

Jasper and Alice left Saturday for several hours, and no one would give me a direct answer to where they went.

"They are just running an errand."

"The smell got to him, he needed to get away."

"Don't ask."

Sunday morning, they were downstairs when I woke. Edward gave me good news. "Dr. Stanley has been dealt with. He won't be bothering you anymore."

In my sleepy daze, the first thing that I thought had been that they had paid him off. "No, I told you I didn't want you paying him off. I didn't want you dealing with this."

I got out of bed as I continued to yell at everyone in the house. I chastised them until I heard Emmett yell back.

"Could you please shut the hell up?" Edward hissed at Emmett's command.

"Bella, love, relax. We did not pay him any money. Alice and Jasper simply went to Forks yesterday and kindly stole all of the tapes that you were a part of," he promised, then added softly, "And Jasper might have put the fear of God into him."

"No money was exchanged?"

"Not one penny," Alice exclaimed from my bedroom door.

I felt better instantly, but ashamed at my outburst. I whispered my apology to everyone.

It was December 30.

Edward had plans upon plans for Sunday. Lunch, shopping, walking around downtown, and visiting an art exhibit Dartmouth students were giving. The day had been perfect, until we ran into Lav at the exhibit.

"Bella?"

I instantly recognized his voice, and the memory of our encounter flooded me. I pretended not to hear him, and tugged Edward's hand to follow me. He didn't get the point.

"Someone is trying to get your attention."

"Bella," Lav spoke louder.

"I wanna go see the Grinch with the large genitals." I tried to distract and pull Edward, but he refused to budge. I turned around and pleaded for Edward to understand; the encounter with Lav had not been pleasant. A grimace crossed Edward's perfect face, and I knew he was reading Lav's mind.

"I'll tell you everything if you get me out of here and away." Edward immediately started trudging toward the door, and we were in the Volvo speeding down highway 120. He stopped at Everything but Anchovies restaurant. While chomping on a salad and waiting for a spinach pizza, I told the story.

"He was remembering pain. You bit him?" Edward curiously asked.

"He was intoxicated, and it felt like he had never touched a female in his life. I made the mistake of letting him near my coslopus."

"Hm..." Edward mused.

"What?"

I could laugh about the encounter now, but when it happened, I was crying in pain and had to go to the gynecologist for an antibiotic.

"In his mind, it was you that he was deflowering, and you assaulted him."

"He was grinding his fingers and hand like he was scrubbing burnt cheese from a cast iron pan. I tried to tell him to stop and push him away, but he wouldn't. I reached up and bit his cheek to stop him," I explained.

My lady bits were swollen and sore for a week afterward. At my lowest point, I think I remember trying to get someone, with really cold hands, to lay their hands on my peekachoo. Everyone had refused.

He seemed settled with that, and didn't push for more information.

I was exhausted when we pulled into the driveway. Edward carried me to bed, and told me he was going hunting with his brothers.

"I thought you just went?"

"Bella, I am angry that guy hurt you; I could see the whole story in Alice's mind when we came back. You had to go to the doctor. I need to run and drink and fight with Emmett and Jasper to calm myself. I need to pound Emmett into the ground and spar with Jasper."

He assured me he would be back to have breakfast with me. He painfully kissed my mouth for several seconds before he threw himself across the room.

"Good night," he whispered.

"Have fun. Bitch slap Emmett for me," I yelled as I heard him tumble down the stairs with Emmett.

As promised, the next morning, he sat with me and watched me eat a bowl of cereal. The next day was the first of the year. Alice wanted to either throw a party, or attend one of the dozen that we had been invited to. No one could agree on one thing.

"What did you do last year?" Edward asked.

"I cried in my room all night."

We eventually agreed to attend a party being thrown by Harper, whom I'd had a class with. Harper was a free spirit, who stood up for female empowerment and took advantage of the men who thought they were taking advantage of her. She said what was on her mind, and made no apologies for anything. Alice had seen that there would be about 25 people there, excluding us, it wouldn't get out of hand, and everyone would be too intoxicated with a variety of chemicals to be afraid.

She got to play Barbie Bella once again, dressing me in a black, lacy bra, white tank, and black skinny jeans. She tried to put me in five-inch Louboutin shoes, but I refused. We reached a compromise of three-inch heels. I was downstairs getting a bottle of water when I heard Emmet's booming laugh.

"Bella, do you make Edward clean your shower?"

"I cleaned it the other day, why?"

"You should have made him clean it, you should hear what he is doing in there. He used to take much shorter showers, before he met you."

Everyone was handed an assortment of shots as soon as we walked through the door. Most of the partygoers I knew, only a handful I didn't. We chatted, we danced like idiots, and I pulled Edward away from several females who had liquid courage to hug him. Dancing was fine. We were all dancing in a group; I must have danced, or tried to dance clumsily, with fifteen girls and guys. Edward grabbed me during one of the few slow songs that played. I had shuffled my feet around with a couple guys from class and Emmett. Edward said he had heard the song days ago and enjoyed it and wanted to dance with me. Through my buzzed state, I could make out the song. Pixie Lott's version of Use Somebody.

After the song, Edward led me outside and through a patch of woods.

"Where are we going?"

We stopped in a clearing, no larger than 225 square feet, looking up the moon was shining down right on top of us.

"Alice saw this a few hours ago, and I claimed dibs on it."

We were only a few hundred feet from the party and could still hear the music. Another slow song was playing, but I couldn't make it out. We melted into each other as we slowly danced to the barely audible song. After the song, I heard the countdown from thirty seconds.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," I chanted, as Edward started kissing across my neck and shoulders.

"Happy New Year, Bella."

Edward Cullen then kissed me breathless, let me up for air, then kissed me again until I was panting for breath. As I panted for oxygen, he titled my head up and kissed under my chin and whispered a vow.

"I love you, Isabella Marie Swan. I promise to love you everyday of forever."

It was like a champagne bottle had burst. His lips parted hastily on mine, and I matched him, my tongue stroking his lower lip. He gasped, and then his tongue massaged mine. My head began swimming. Edward's mouth became harder, more urgent, as he kissed me deeper than he ever had before.

My plan had been to take Edward home that night and have mad passionate steamy sex, but to my horrid disappointment, it was only a heavy make out session.

Edward had not backed out of his vow. He'd promised me a physical relationship; he would make good on it. At a snail's pace, an elderly, salt-sprinkled snail. It was one of our only arguments. One night, while lying in bed and Edward sitting at the desk in my room reading one of my journals, I had an itch. I wanted...something.

I wanted Edward and me on top of each other, grunting and grinding. I wanted to scream his name in ecstasy and orgasmic bliss, but Edward was still persistent on kissing and heavy petting to our heads and backs. And a bit of ass. He had even grabbed my boobs once or twice.

Every few seconds, I glanced at Edward, then my bedside table where Jim resided.

"No," Edward bluntly stated.

"What?" I confusedly asked.

"N...you...I just saw a vision through Alice. I'm not sitting here while you, you know." Stuttering Edward was too adorable for words.

"You know? Okay, Mister I'm-a-107-year-old-vampire who can't say masturbate."

"I can say that word."

"I don't think you can." I teased just a little morsel.

"I'm not arguing about this."

"Say it."

"No."

"Mas-tur-ba-tion." I made sure to enunciate every syllable very clearly. I could see a smirk on his lips, and decided to be brash.

I slid to the side of the bed and reached into my nightstand. I was on my back with Edward lying on top of me in an instant.

He leaned to my ear theatrically and whispered, "Masturbation." He turned my face and devoured my lips.

"Hi, beautiful."

"Hi, handsome."

After a few minutes of rolling around, kissing, back rubbing, and ass grabbing, I took a brave step. On top of Edward, I reached my hand down and tried to stroke Edward's crotch, but encountered my can of deodorant left on the bed. He must have been lying right on top of it. I was picking it up to move it out of the way, when he grunted, hissed, and thrust the deodorant can into my hand. I gasped, backing up to look at him.

"That wasn't my deodorant, was it?" My voice was shy and nervous.

He looked self-conscious, but a gorgeous grin was making its way to the surface.

"It's...that...I...you're huge." I wasn't nearly as adorable while stuttering.

The self-righteous smirk finally broke through. "Come here," he commanded.

He pulled me back to his lips, turned us over, and gently thrust his hips into mine. I lost track of time, place, and rationale as his thrust became harder. Minutes, hours, or days later, Edward lay alongside me on his tummy, still fully clad in his pajama bottoms. I was in a sweat-enclosed, orgasmic heaven-induced state. I had made a rule days prior; we were not going to sleep together with Edward completely dressed. So now he slept, or watched me sleep, in pajama bottoms only, and I slept in a tank and panties. After a few moments, Edward became absolutely motionless and soundless.

"That's awe-inspiring. You have an orgasm, roll over, and go to sleep."

I sat up to get out of bed, when Edward's arm came across my lap swiftly and pulled me to him.

"I'm here, love. I'm here."

We peacefully gazed at each for several moments.

"So how was your first orgasm with a female?"

"Flawless, just like you." It was still nauseating how dignified he could be.

"Not good enough, I want an Edward enlightenment."

"Hmm, the reality that I could make you come just made everything that much more concentrated. When you drag your nails along my back, it feels like ten lit matches, but the burn feels incredible. And when you did that thing when I was," he paused trying to collect words. "It was just incredible."

Within minutes, I was fast asleep across Edward's chest.

"Bella, you know you have no use for a Shake Weight?" Emmett asked as I came into the den.

"Shake Weight?" I had no idea what he had been talking about.

Emmett rewound the DVR, until an advertisement came on about new trend of exercise apparatus. This one had been a barbell that you shook. I saw Edward's fierce look before Emmett laughed.

"You have a Shake Weight at your convenience in Edward's pants."

I giggled my approval of Emmett's rudimentary joke. He left the room when he couldn't get the reaction he wanted.

"At my convenience?" I asked unflappably.

Edward leaned over, putting his lips less than an inch from my ear.

"As long as I can have full access to your thigh master."

I would soon need a pace maker or defibrillator for my heart with his sexual innuendos. I was discovering that it would stop and start, go into v-fib, and thunder in my chest hard enough to crack numerous ribs.

Lying on the couch, Edward kissed me softly while he glided his nose up and down my neck and face, when he suddenly tensed and backed off.

"Bella, go to the bathroom." His eyes were a solid, rigid black.

"But I don't need to."

"Please, go to the bathroom," he demanded through clenched teeth.

I untwisted myself from him and went upstairs to our bathroom. To stand for a few minutes, to my knowledge. On the way, Rosalie educated me.

"Arousal and mensa is a malicious smell. Go deal with that disarray."

Edward wouldn't be playing with my thigh master for the next couple of days.

My period had been unpredictable for over a year, be it due to anxiety, trauma, or my vast weight loss. I'd had three in fourteen months, and they were short, heavy, and exceedingly excruciating. A heating pad and I habitually coiled into a ball for days in bed, and I took anything to alleviate the throbbing, legal or not so legal. I wasn't looking forward to the next couple of days.

"Bella, do you need pain killers?" Emmett had witnessed the atrocious experience months earlier.

After my bathroom trip, which included Tylenol to try to curve some forthcoming pain, I curled back around Edward, or tried to.

"Is it difficult to be around me?" I shyly asked.

"It's always a great pleasure to be around you. Your scent is just... more now, for lack of words."

"More?"

"More," he settled.

By that night, I was on my side with a heating pad, and Edward massaging my back; somehow, he massaged my lower stomach and helped with the cramps. I was still on the threshold of tears.

"Do you want Carlisle to get you some pain medicine?"

"No, it'll be over in a couple days."

Edward was fraught with my pain as much as I was.

"What can I do? Anything, just tell me something to do to help."

"Distract me? Tell me a story?"

"A story?" he agonizingly asked.

I nodded, tears trying to rip open.

"In 1984, Esme was a nursery school substitute teacher, and had a five-year-old expelled from school."

I winced in pain. "She was a preschool teacher?"

"Another college experience," he stated indifferently.

"She expelled a five-year-old?" I was astonished.

"Yes. It was the first week of school, and the teacher was out with pneumonia. She had been going around the room, getting to know the children. One kid, Greyer, had passionate parents."

Through the pain, I was thinking about being five and walking in on Charlie and Renee having sex. Even at nineteen, it was a horrible consideration.

"What happened?"

"She asked him about his parents: names, jobs, things of that nature. He stated his mom was a nurse, and worked at the hospital. Her name was Pam."

"And he walked in on her getting boned?"

He kissed my forehead, and I could feel his smile.

"No, you pervert."

I giggled, and it hurt, a lot. Edward rubbed my back harder and curled the pad closer.

"When she asked about his father, he stated bluntly, 'Daddy needs to get off the goddamn couch and find an fucking job.'"