Thanks for sticking with me:) We're almost at the end-one more after this.

I own nada related to Twilight.

I had no choice but to get on the bus with Jasper and head back to school, though I hated leaving with things unresolved. I felt almost frantic with the need to talk to Bella, but I needed to see her in person. That was going to be more difficult now that we were both back in school, but I'd find a way.

My first opportunity came two weekends later. Jasper told me he was heading back to Forks to see Alice. Our parents would be gone Friday night, and she was throwing a party. After my Friday morning classes I quickly got what I needed and met Jasper at the bus station. I'd asked him not to mention that I was coming; I wanted to surprise Bella, and part of me feared that she might not want to see me and would stay away if she knew I was on my way to see her.

When we finally got to the house around nine o'clock Friday night there were about a dozen cars parked in the driveway and along the grass. As I got closer to the front door, I could hear music and laughter. I smiled to myself. It was almost certain that Bella would be here. Best case scenario: we'd go upstairs and talk, get everything straightened out and enjoy the rest of tonight and Saturday before I had to go back. Assuming she wanted anything to do with me, of course.

We walked inside and passed through the kitchen and dining room, looking for Alice. As I approached the family room, Alice came around the corner, visibly surprised. "What are you doing home?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking, Alice," I answered drily. "Is Bella here, by any chance?"

Alice shot Jasper anxious look. "Edward, please—ˮ

I pointed towards the family room. "Is she in there?"

Jasper grabbed my arm. "Edward, come on..." I shook him off and went in.

It was dark in the family room, the only light coming from the movie on the flatscreen. As my eyes adjusted I noticed several couples huddled on the sectional and overstuffed chairs, some watching the movie, some making out.

I started to make my way out of the room when the long, chestnut-colored hair of a girl wrapped up in the arms of a blond guy caught my eye. I did a double-take at the same time as she whipped her head around in shock.

"Edward?"

I stared, feeling sick. Two weeks. Two fucking weeks since we'd been together and shared so much, and she was able to walk away without a word and move on to someone else? I felt like I was going to throw up.

Fists clenched at my side, I strode out of the room and pounded up the stairs, slamming the door to my room and leaning my head against its cool, hard surface. "FUCK!"

I beat my fist against the door, feeling like I was going to hyperventilate from the pain and rage that washed over me. Struggling to calm down, I sat on the bed, taking slow, deep breaths as I attempted to come to terms with what I'd seen.

I ignored the knock on my door. After a minute her muffled voice filtered through. "Edward? Can I come in? Please..."

As hurt and pissed off as I was, I still wanted her. I hated feeling so exposed, like my emotions were written all over my face. I didn't move from the bed, but called out quietly. "It's open."

The knob turned slowly, and Bella poked her head in, looking at me with trepidation.

She walked over to the bed and sat beside me. "Hey."

I looked into her eyes, wishing I could be angry with her, make her feel as shitty as I felt.

"Edward, please talk to me. Are you—are you mad at me?"

I looked her her, incredulous. "Should I be mad? Or should I be happy that you're putting the skills you learned with me to good use?"

She couldn't have looked more hurt if I'd slapped her. I instantly regretted the fleeting satisfaction I'd gotten from the cheap shot.

Her hurt quickly morphed into anger. "I'm not putting anything to good use, Edward. I didn't expect to see you tonight. And even if I had, what would it matter? You fulfilled your obligation to me. You went back to school, and—ˮ

That set me off. "Whoa, whoa—I went back to school? Yeah, I did—after you took off without saying a fucking thing to me. Not even good-bye, thanks for everything. What was I supposed to do, chase after you and make a scene in front of Charlie and the whole reservation? If you'd stuck around, or at least had the decency to tell me you were leaving, you'd have known—ˮ

I stopped, unwilling to lay all my cards on the table if Bella had moved on. What was the point of humiliating myself further?

Her voice was quiet. "I'd have known what?"

Fuck it. "You'd have known that I care about you, Bella, and I—I want more with you. That week stopped being just about sex for me after the first day. Getting to really know you, experiencing all that with you...it meant a lot to me. It was never an obligation. I was going to take you out on Saturday and talk to you, tell you...but you left. If all you wanted from me was sex—ˮ

Her voice trembled. "Edward...I didn't only want sex from you. I thought it was all you'd be willing to give, and I was willing to take it. I'd already put myself out there; I didn't want to be completely pathetic and beg you for more. I thought if you wanted more, you'd say so, and when you didn't..."

She whispered the rest, tears brimming in her eyes. "It was so hard, but I decided to leave. I didn't want to drag it out and make things awkward. I thought you'd be glad I wasn't being clingy. I thought you were just being nice, trying to make it good for me."

My brow creased in confusion. "Bella, how could you think I was 'just being nice'? We spent practically every moment together. I held you every night in my bed. You didn't think I'd be upset that you just ran out on me? When we had sex, it wasn't just fucking. My God, if that's what it felt like to you, then I've been doing this wrong. I've never felt this way with anyone before. Ever.ˮ

Her eyes widened in surprise at my admission. "Really?"

I sighed, scrubbing my hands over my face. My voice was a rough whisper. "I've never felt the way I feel about you, Bella. I never expected this. You've been in my life for years, but I feel like I'm just getting to know the real you. I want to spend time with you; I want to take you out on dates. I want you, Bella. All of you."

So much for not laying it all out.

Bella's eyes were glistening. She stared at my comforter. "I'm sorry for leaving. I've never had a relationship before. I let my stupid insecurities get the better of me. I'm sorry about tonight, too. I thought I'd forget and feel better if I tried to find someone else, but...I only want you, Edward."

After a moment, she looked up. "We didn't do anything. I—I couldn't."

I blew out a breath, feeling like I'd been holding it forever. "Thank God. I owe you an apology, Bella. First of all, for even agreeing to your crazy fucking idea."

She laughed a little at that. "And second, for not letting you know how I felt sooner. You really did a number on me. I was confused and yeah, scared of what I was feeling for you. I wanted to make it right, take you out properly and tell you how—ˮ

She cut me off, leaning in and pressing her lips to mine. "You did make it right. No more apologies, okay? This might have started out in the worst possible way—thanks to me—but I want to be with you, Edward."

Bella leaned her head on my shoulder. I couldn't be angry with her. We'd both screwed up. I just wanted to move past this and know she was mine.

I swept her into my arms, holding her to me, smelling the familiar fruity scent of her shampoo. "Stay with me tonight?"

"Of course. Let me just tell Alice."

"Oh, uh, Alice knows I'm here. I'm sure she'll figure out that you're with me."

My anger sparked briefly as I remembered the guy in the family room who was probably wondering where the hell Bella had gone. "What about your...friend downstairs?"

"Forget about him. I'm sure he's already moved on to someone else. Right now I only care about you."

That was what I wanted to hear. I brought my mouth to hers, nipping at her lips and teasing her until her tongue was in my mouth and we were both panting and moaning, our hands roaming with increasing urgency. I pulled away, panting. "Bella, if you want to leave this room tonight, let's do it now. I'll take you to dinner, anything you want. Otherwise, I'm locking the door and we're in for the night."

She smiled, cupping my cheek in her hand. "That's fine with me. Can we just get under the covers and...cuddle?"

There was that beautiful blush that I'd missed. Bella wanted to cuddle, and that sounded like a fine plan to me.

…

We held one another and kissed languidly, never allowing ourselves to reach the point of no return. We both needed the physical closeness, but I didn't want to jump right back into sex. I was perfectly content to hold Bella in my arms all night, and I did just that. I woke up Saturday morning with Bella's leg slung over my hip, her face buried in my neck. She scooted back as she woke up, peering up at me with a shy smile.

I went in for a kiss, but she turned her head. "Morning. I should brush my teeth."

I grabbed her around her waist as she tried to sit up. "What if I don't want to let you go? I haven't brushed my teeth yet, either. Kiss me."

She gave me a brief closed-mouth kiss, but I wasn't having it. I straddled her and kissed her deeply, moaning into her mouth as I tilted her head for better access.

"Fuck, I've missed kissing you." I felt desperate to connect with her in every way possible.

"Anything else you've missed?" she asked breathlessly.

"You, Bella, I've missed you." I kissed and nipped her neck and shoulder, my hands roaming her sides. I was achingly hard, and I ground myself against her, feeling her damp heat through her boy-shorts.

She took my face in her hands, her big brown eyes shining with affection and desire. "Mmm, I've missed you, too. I want to feel you inside me, Edward."

I sat up, pushing Bella's tank over her breasts and sucking each of her little pink nipples into my mouth in turn. "God, you're beautiful."

She whimpered as I removed her boy-shorts, and then my boxers. I pushed her legs wide apart, settling between them and using my thumbs to spread her open. I groaned at the first taste of her, and used my tongue and fingers to bring her to a slow, lingering climax.

Unable to wait any longer, I crawled over Bella, angling my mouth over hers for a passionate kiss. I fumbled for a condom, rolling it on and lining myself up.

"Oh, Bella..." I gasped as I sank into her. Our bodies were pressed tightly together, our arms wrapped around one another. We moved together unhurriedly, exchanging small kisses and tender murmurs. This was making love. Fucking had its place, but right now I wanted to show Bella the reverence she deserved. I wanted there to be no doubt about what I felt for her.

Bella came quietly, moaning into my ear as she tightened around me. I had been on the edge from the moment I'd entered her, and feeling her pulse around my cock had me following shortly afterwards. We clung to one another, sweaty and panting, sated smiles on our faces.

I pressed my lips to her forehead. "I want everyone to know you're mine. Our friends, our parents...I don't want anyone else, Bella. Just you."

Her lips quirked up in a grin. "Is that your caveman-like way of asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yes. But I wouldn't call it caveman-like. That would be..." I grabbed her around her waist and slung her naked body over my shoulder as she screamed and pinched me, "more like this."

I walked us into my bathroom and set her down, turning the shower on. When it was warm I picked her up and carried her in, setting her under the spray.

Her breasts were wet and slippery against my chest. "If I'm yours, then that means you're mine. All mine."

"Mm-hm. All yours. Lucky girl." I smiled down at her, knowing it was me who was the lucky one.

...

When we finally appeared downstairs, Alice clapped, a smug smile on her face. Jasper smirked and shook his head.

That horrible awkwardness that followed us every time we left my bedroom had disappeared. Bella was affectionate, and I wasn't averse to a little public display of affection. I hauled her onto my lap and kissed her cheek, grinning when her face turned red.

Alice grinned at our antics. "So are you guys official now?"

Bella nodded, shooting me a shy smile. I squeezed her hand. "Well, we're about to be."

"Aw, mom will be so excited. She's been hoping you would get your head out of your ass and ask Bella out."

"Really." That was a surprise. I guess everyone but me knew that Bella was the perfect girl for me. But I knew now, and I wasn't going to forget it.

…

My parents would be home sometime today, and Alice and Jasper went out to "give us time to catch up." I was happy to have the time alone with Bella. There were things we had to talk about.

Sitting on my bed, eating pizza and not really watching a truly awful sitcom, I broached the subject of telling our parents.

"When do you want to tell Charlie? I mean, the sooner the better I think, don't you? I don't want him to think we've been hiding anything from him, or that I've been corrupting you." I gave Bella a pointed look.

A guilty look crept over her face. "Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, he knows you, but he'll still give you a hard time. And he'll definitely be suspicious that there's been something going on. He's a cop, Edward."

I winced. If I came out of that meeting with my balls intact and Bella by my side, I'd happily endure Charlie's interrogation.

I leaned over to touch my lips to hers. "It'll be fine. I can be a charming bastard when I need to be."

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh. I can already tell this is going to be awful."

Pulling her close, I tried to reassure her. "No, it won't. I'm just being an ass. Charlie will come around. My parents already love you, so that's a no-brainer. Don't worry, okay?"

"I'll have to face your parents alone though. I'm over here all the time, but you'll be in Seattle. The next time I'm over, do I just go up to your mom and say, 'By the way, Mrs. Cullen, I'm dating your son?'" Bella looked really perturbed. I laughed.

"How about if we tell them today? Alice said they'll be home this afternoon. They won't make a big deal out of it."

Bella seemed to feel a little better after we got that discussion out of the way. There was one other issue I wanted to bring up though.

"So, Bella...since we'll be seeing each other pretty regularly, have you thought about, um, birth control? I mean, condoms are okay, but they're not one hundred percent effective and—ˮ I stopped short at the sight of Bella clearly trying to hold back laughter. Here I was, trying to do the right thing, and she laughs at me? Hmph.

"What is so funny, hmm?"

Bella's face was turning red, and she finally gave up and just guffawed in my face. Slightly annoyed, I raised my eyebrow, waiting to be let in on the joke.

"Oh, God...I'm sorry, Edward, it just seemed so funny to me. We need birth control because 'we'll be seeing each other pretty regularly'? 'Seeing each other' as a euphemism for sex? From you? You've never had trouble being frank before. Don't you mean—ˮ she leaned in to whisper in my ear—"we'll be screwing each other's brains out at every opportunity, so we should have protection?"

She sat back and smiled, batting her eyes innocently. She knew exactly what her dirty mouth would do to me. I pounced on her, pinning her underneath me so she could feel what she'd done.

"Maybe I was trying to be a little tactful. We'll continue this discussion a little later. You're getting very cheeky, Bella. I might have to reconsider my stance on spanking."

She squealed and writhed under me, her breathless laughter soon turning to moans.

…

My parents came home late in the afternoon. They were surprised to find me at home; even more so to see me walk out holding Bella's hand. As expected, they were happy to hear that Bella and I were together. Mom hugged Bella tightly, telling her how happy she was that 'my oblivious son finally got his act together', and sternly admonished me to be good to Bella.

Telling Charlie didn't go quite as smoothly. Bella had been right; his cop's instincts told him there was more to the story, but he didn't say much. He warned me about treating his little girl right and not hurting her, all while running his hand lovingly over the highly polished wood of his gun cabinet. I respected him for looking out for Bella, and told him I had every intention of treating her right. He grunted and nodded, giving his tacit approval.

With my parents home, having Bella in my bed tonight was out of the question. But that was okay. We had dinner with my parents and Alice, then went up to my room for a little while.

We were lying on my bed, kissing and touching, just enjoying being with one another. Bella seemed quiet tonight. I hoped she wasn't doubting us. "What's on your mind, beautiful?"

She fingered the hair at the nape of my neck. "It's going to suck with you back at UDub. We won't be able to see each other for a while."

This was true. School didn't end for another two and a half months. "It's just for a couple of months, Bella. We'll have the whole summer together, and next fall we'll both be at UDub. No parents, you can spend the night at my apartment..." I pulled Bella flush against me, laying big, smacking kisses all over her neck and face, making her gasp and giggle.

"Don't worry about that, okay? We'll call, text, even Skype if you want—ˮ I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively, making her blush—"and I'll try to get home one or two weekends to break it up a little. I'll miss you, too, you know."

She smiled at that. "I know. It's just been so nice having you to myself."

I wrapped her in my arms and gently pressed my lips to hers, feeling content. "It's only going to get better. We might not have started out in the best of ways, but this is just the beginning. We have so much to look forward to."

...

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