A/N: Hello… is it me you're looking for? Sorry, CPW saw an episode of Family Guy tonight that referenced Lionel Richie, she had to do it. Risbee tried to talk to her out of it, she swears.

Anywhoo, we're back with another lovely chapter. Much thanks to our betababe MaggieMay14 for going through this chapter. Our besties Beegurl13 and Flightlessbird11 who keep us sane and there must be someone out there with a 12 in their name who likes us! Raise your hand if you are there.

Go read the chapter. We're almost all caught up to the original one shot, so pretty soon it will be all new stuff for you guys!

We don't own Twilight, we just enjoy distractions and have surprisingly similar musical tastes. Except Risbee has an unnatural love of Chris Daughtry that CPW just doesn't get.

EPOV

Going to Seattle with my father the day before had been painful to say the least. The drive there I tried to sleep a little bit but my father insisted on discussing the situation with Bella, much to my dismay.

"How on earth can you sleep when I got you an extra large coffee at the diner this morning?" my father asked as I leaned my head against the window and watched the trees pass me by at record pace. My dad wasn't exactly keen on the fact that he had to get up on a weekday morning and drive all the way into the city to get my mother's anniversary gift, which was an antique roll top desk for her office at the house. My mother had hinted about one for years but was very particular about them. She saw one in an interior design magazine and my father made a few calls and found out it was for sale. When I cursed him about it, all he said was that this was the kind of thing you did for love and one day I would understand.

Of course, I already understood. Bella had the flowers, playlist and my constant love to prove it. However, she wasn't actually aware of these feelings.

"I had a long weekend, cut me some slack," I replied simply as my father turned on the radio to a classic rock station and Kansas started playing. I had to fight back a laugh as I watched my father mouth the words to 'Carry on my Wayward Son.'

"So… she leaves soon huh?"

"What?" I asked coolly as I propped my elbow up on the door and looked at my father, who was laughing gently.

"You know what I said, you're just in denial. It's not just a river in Egypt you know," he laughed again as I rolled my eyes.

"That is a horrible joke dad," I said with a sigh as I took another sip of my coffee before finally deciding that I needed someone to talk to about all this, so why not him right? "Yeah I know… four more days till she leaves. I'm trying to come to terms with everything."

"I'm proud of you for not begging her to stay. She needs to spread her wings and I think the two of you need to be able to determine that you can function without the other," he stated as narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't really want to have to learn to live without her, but I knew it was just 8 weeks, 56 days, 1344 hours, 80,460 minutes… I could do this. "The separation will be good for you. Perhaps you can both find someone else…"

"I don't want her to find someone else," I stated firmly as I interrupted him and raised my hand to his face in frustration, as I tried to silence him. "And don't start with the you and Bella can't be best friends forever junk, cause Emmett has already told me that. I want her… with me always."

"It's about time you pulled your head out of your ass," my dad added with another laugh as I punched him gently in the shoulder. "We've all known for the longest time that you guys were meant to be together, we just didn't want to push." I scoffed at this comment as my father nodded his head at me. "Okay, Charlie and I didn't want to push. Your mother and Renee seemed to think you both needed a nudge in the right direction."

"I… I just thought I had more time. I had planned to spend the whole summer with her, proving to her that I was in love with her and that I wanted only her, and was hopefully that she would feel the same. Now I only have four more days and one of them is basically a write off because I have to spend the day with you," I said with a slight growl of frustration.

"Have you done anything about it? Told her how you feel, I hear that is the easiest way to a girl's heart... honesty," my dad stated as my cell phone buzzed in my pocket, signaling that I had a new text message. I looked at the clock on the dashboard and realized that Bella probably had received the flowers already.

Did you send me these flowers ~B

There wasn't a card? ~E

I typed back quickly as my dad looked over at me in curiosity. "I sent Bella flowers this morning. All of the flowers symbolized how I felt about her, without saying the words," I explained to him as a wide smile broke across his face and he nodded his head slowly in approval.

"Well that is a step in the right direction. Renee loves flowers, so I'm sure Bella feels the same way." My phone buzzed again with another message and I laughed at what she had written.

There was a card, but I caught our moms on the phone talking about them and, well, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't one of them ~B

Nope, the flowers were from me. Go relax. Listen to your iPod ~E

I have more questions about the songs you picked btw ~B

I laughed again and I couldn't help but notice the big smile on my father's face.

"She makes you that happy with just a text?"

"Yup," I replied simply as I began to type in my response to her. "I used to see her at school in the morning and it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. When we would sit together during class, I felt like I was with my missing puzzle piece. I just… this summer is going to be rough." I looked out the window again before staring down at the unfinished message on my phone. Deciding to go for humor over emotion, I deleted what I had and wrote a new message instead.

You're breaking up. Static. Bad reception ~E

"Just thank god for modern technology Edward. You guys have email, texting, phones… it will be easier than you think it will be," my father stated as he patted my shoulder and I clasped my phone tightly in my hand, expecting a response to my half assed text to Bella. "You have that great summer job Edward, which will certainly help make time fly."

E...we're texting... ~B

I laughed at her response again and my father let out a small laugh of his own. "So… you sent her flowers, what else have you done?"

For the rest of our trip into the city I told my father about the various ideas I had to try and win Bella's heart. He was surprisingly enthusiastic about each idea and even threw in his two cents which was appreciated since he had known Bella since birth as well. When we pulled into the Seattle city limits, I found myself happy about the fact that I had gone with my father, because we may not have gotten this time together otherwise.

When we finally got home early in the evening, Mom was waiting for us in the kitchen with dinner all prepared. She was literally floored when my father and I brought in her twentieth anniversary present and put it into the living room until we were able to make room for it in her office. The three of us had a quiet night and after I had climbed into bed to go to sleep, I decided to give Bella a call, figuring that since it was only ten she would still be up.

"Edward?" Bella asked sleepily when she answered her cell phone. I immediately felt remorseful for calling and assuming that she would be awake.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I asked apologetically as she yawned into the phone, which only made matters worse.

"No, I fell asleep on the couch earlier while watching a Mariners game with my dad. I was trying to get in some quality time with the Chief," she stated as I let out a small sigh. I kinda wished I had been at Bella's house watching the game with her and her dad. That was usually a fun time for the three of us and we had been doing it since we were kids. Carlisle wasn't too much into sports, so it was nice to spend time with Charlie and he always treated me like a son. "Now I'm just getting change for bed."

Time stood still at that moment as I suddenly envisioned Bella naked in her bedroom. Jesus, how many of my wet dreams had been filled with that thought alone? Although usually in my dream I joined in the nakedness and we fucked until we collapsed into a sweaty mass onto her bed. I immediately felt myself harden and was thankful for the fact that I was alone, but there was no way I was going to rub one out with Bella on the phone.

"Um… hello? Did you go through a tunnel?" she asked with a hearty laugh, making fun of our earlier text conversation and I let out a small cough before speaking again.

"Sorry… frog in my throat," I said with another cough as I began to run every non sexual image through my mind in an effort to get rid of my straining hard on. "So, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Ah yes… tomorrow. I have been wrangled by Renee into spending the day with her in Port Angeles. We will be shopping for my final necessities for Europe and then going to a pottery studio. Please don't ask why. I think she forgot that I was turning 19 in a few months and has decided we are going to go paint plates or some shit," Bella said with a laugh as I joined her. She really did have the best, albeit weirdest relationship imaginable with her mother, but I knew they were both going to be heartbroken by the separation. I made a mental note to check in on Renee once a week even though it might be painful since she would probably make me pull weeds as she attempted to garden, but it would be worth it. "Oh and tomorrow night is my girls' night out with Angela and the girls. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'll be home, dreading the fact that you will be leaving soon and that I will have a real job for the summer," I joked as I heard Bella's bed squeak softly so I knew she was getting into bed. "I have a few things I promised Esme I would help her get done, which includes moving her new roll top desk into her office. We have to rearrange a few things and Dad is working at the hospital in the morning. Lucky me."

"Your mom finally got her desk?" Bella asked enthusiastically, as her voice suddenly sounded more alive than it had since she picked up the phone.

"Yeah, Dad got it for her as a twentieth anniversary gift and we had to pick it up in Seattle today, thus why I was gone."

"Okay, that is too cute. Your parents are so adorable. We should all aspire to have a great relationship like they have," stated Bella firmly as I nodded my head resolutely in the darkness of my bedroom. 'One day' I whispered quietly to myself. Bella and I finished up our call and said a quick goodnight before finally hanging up the phone. I was disappointed that I wasn't going to see her the next day, but I had things that could pass the time. Like helping my mom move her desk and figuring out what to do for Bella on Wednesday.

The next morning after I had breakfast, I sprinted up to my room and closed the door firmly behind me. I grabbed the journal from my nightstand and moved my fingers slowly over top of the embossed letters that simply said 'BS'. I had purchased the leather bound journal for her weeks ago as a graduation gift, knowing full well that her current journal was almost full. Of course now the fact that she was going away made the gift even more fitting. I grabbed a black pen and opened it up to the very first page and began to write something that would be meaningful to her when she was away and hopefully missing me as much as I knew I would miss her.

I wish that I could hold you now...I wish that I could touch you now...I wish that I could talk to you...be with you somehow.

I closed the book as soon as the ink was dry and then wrapped it as carefully as I could. As expected, it looked like it was wrapped by a drunken monkey, but Bella was used to my shitty wrapping skills after all this time.

I remembered that Bella was going out tonight with a few girls from school to celebrate her imminent departure after her day spent bonding and shopping with Renee, and I had to admit, I was pretty fucking pissed I wouldn't get to see her tonight. So when everything was said and done, I drove over to her house and snuck in her window, pleased that Bella kept her window open most of the time during the summer months. I laid the gift down on her bed and went back out the way I came in with no one the wiser.

BPOV

Tuesday night was perfect. Angela, Charlotte, Zafrina and I had originally planned to have a final hurrah weekend in August before we all left for our respective Universities, however with my impending adventure, we had to move up our last Girls' Night up to tonight. We had all the basics: movies, pizza, chocolate, pedicures, music and lots and lots of talking.

"Seven hours you guys," I said rolling my eyes and collapsing onto a giant pillow in the middle of the Webers' living room. "It took us seven hours to get everything done and I still have a few things to get...but there is no way Renee is coming with me." I recounted my adventure-filled day glad that they could find humor in my agony. Ok, so it really wasn't that bad, but still...seven hours.

"And, yes Angela, that was with the list of what I needed and where we could find it. I even had a map and detailed directions because you know Renee can get distracted faster than...hey, you know, this pizza is really, really good," I said taking a bite. "Which reminds me, I can't believe I didn't tell you about yesterday." The sounds of their not so subtle snorts made me pause and think about what I had just said. I grinned when I realized that my train of thought had completely derailed. Apparently the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to randomness. "Shut up," I said, rolling my eyes before joining them in laughing at myself.

Eventually, I proceeded to fill them in on the confrontation at the diner and none of them could believe the nerve of Jessica and Lauren, though they all thought it was funny that I went off on them like I did. Of course, that led to questions about why Edward and I were there to begin with, so I ended up having to recount the entire day...ignoring the smug side-glances from Angela since she knew some of the finer details. Though I did have to call Charlotte out on her fist pump of excitement because she had told me for ages she thought Edward and I should be together romantically.

As expected, they also ooh'd and ahh'd over the fact that Edward took me to the playground and then took it upon themselves to assure me that Edward was completely and totally devoted to me and wouldn't touch either of those girls with a twenty foot prosthetic limb. I had to remind them that there was nothing officially going on between Edward and myself, but they blew that off as semantics. I swear, was I the only one that hadn't seen it? How long has everybody noticed it?

Finally, it was time to go and I unwillingly announced this to my best girlfriends. I could barely keep my eyes open and Edward had made me promise to spend time with him tomorrow, though he wouldn't tell me what he had planned. You'd think I would be used to him surprising me by now, especially since he had been doing it for the past few days.

"Bella, as much as we want you to stay, you need to go home. You haven't listened to a word we've said for the past ten minutes." Reluctantly I nodded, knowing they were right, but really really not wanting to leave. God, if it was this bad now, how bad would it be on Saturday? I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Don't forget us when you're international, kay?" Angela, Charlotte and Zafrina hugged me tight as I held back the tears terrified to break the no crying rule we had set for tonight. When Angela broke the no contact with boys rule last time, she woke up with a life-sized cutout of Zac Efron standing beside her bed. I was scared to death that they'd decoupage the Jonas Brothers to my luggage and I'd be stuck with it for eight weeks. Yeah, that would be a fuckawesome first impression for my fellow students in Europe. So no tears for this girl, at least not until I got home. I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed so hard, but now the night was over and honestly I couldn't wait to get in my bed and recover; I was exhausted.

I missed Edward today and I honestly couldn't remember when the last time we had gone an entire day without talking to one another. I shivered as I thought of the sound of his voice and knew I couldn't wait another minute before I heard it. I grabbed my phone from the passenger seat and pressed 1 on my quick dial. Some people had their home numbers first; others had their parents or an emergency contact. I had my Edward.

Unfortunately, I got his voice mail, and while I guess technically I did get to hear his voice, it wasn't what I needed. So I left him a message. "Hey. It's me. I'm just heading home from Angela's and realized that I hadn't talked to you all day; So...um... well, yeah, I missed you. Call me later, alright? I don't care what time. "

I hung up the phone, putting it in the center console before I pulled into my driveway. Even though it was already dark, I didn't want to risk the chance of Charlie seeing me talking on the phone while driving. He was big on rules like that. I don't know how many times I'd heard how he didn't have a cell phone until he was in his 40s and how young people today had lost the art of communication with all the texting, abbreviating and stuff. I kept waiting for the 'I walked to school uphill both ways in waist high snow over broken glass' speech.

I walked in the house, put my keys on the hook by the door and stopped dead in my tracks. Holy shit. Renee was sitting still. I made eye contact with Charlie and looked pointedly at mom, silently asking if she was ok. He grinned and I grinned back, both of us reveling in the silence and stillness that rarely existed.

"Stop it you two. I know you have this secret weird way to communicate, but I know what you're doing and it's not funny. Charlie, keep going," my mother chastised as I looked down and saw her feet in his lap and my heart just felt full. As crazy as mom was and as grounded as dad was, they fit together perfectly and one truly wasn't whole without the other. I just hoped that I would be as lucky in love as the two of them so obviously were. They knew just what the other needed and did it without hesitation.

"Good night Mom. Night Dad." I blew them both kisses and headed upstairs, groaning with every step as my feet continued to protest, the pain from walking around all day with Renee finally affecting me. I let out a sigh because I had a map and a list which made things move quickly, but I then groaned thinking about how it would have been so much worse otherwise.

I opened the door to my room and felt it. Edward had been here. I don't know how I knew, but I did. I could feel him, his presence, and it caused a wave of emotion to course through my body. I felt at peace. Relaxed. My day somehow felt complete.

I turned to get some pajamas out of my dresser and out of the corner of my eye, I saw an unfamiliar object in the middle of my bed. As I walked over to it, I saw that it was quite possibly the worst wrapping job ever. I counted at least 3 different wrapping papers and it was not that big of an item. Well, that definitely explained why I felt Edward's presence when I walked in the room. He had been here, it wasn't just wishful thinking on my part. There was nobody else in the world that could make a gift look quite like that. It was so bad, it was almost endearing.

After taking a picture of it with my phone because no words could do it justice and in case I needed a quick pick me up when I was on my trip, I tore open the paper and gasped when I saw what was inside. It was beautiful. Rich and supple and soft. It was a journal.

I thought about my current journal, the one with the frayed corners and tear splotched pages. The one where I poured out my heart and wrote down every single funny thing that had happened over the past six months. The one that only had three pages left before I needed to start a new one. How did Edward know? He certainly didn't have access to it. Caressing the soft book, I held it to my chest and breathed in the scent of leather. I saw the engraving on the bottom corner. A sentimental smile graced my lips briefly when I realized that they were my initials, and when I opened it up to flip through the crisp white unmarked pages, my heart stopped.

I wish that I could hold you now...I wish that I could touch you now...I wish that I could talk to you...be with you somehow.

He wrote those words tonight. I wondered if it was when I was leaving him that message. I knew at that moment that he was my other half; he was the Charlie to my Renee. We knew what the other needed and he made me so happy. Yes, I was leaving Forks in three days, but I would take him with me wherever I went. He would always be with me.

I sent a simple text to the number I could dial in my sleep with both arms tied behind my back.

So perfect ~B

It was. The journal, the week, the message. Us. I was ready to be his, if he would have me of course.

I laid down on my bed and let sleep take my body. I felt the stress and weight of the day, of the past few weeks, melt from my body and for the first time in months, I felt complete.

~*~*~*~*~

There was no response from Edward when I woke up the next morning, but I really didn't need one. I knew we had plans for later in the afternoon and I couldn't wait to see him; to look at him through different eyes. I still couldn't decide if what was developing between us was a knee jerk reaction to my leaving or if it was the real deal, but I was determined to figure it all out.

When I called Angela to tell her about the journal Edward left on my bed last night, I could practically hear her smile grow over the phone. "Oh he's good, Bella. Really good, and I don't care what you say, he totally knows what he's doing. I mean he gives you a new journal with an engraved cover and writes lyrics on the inside. Paper, leather and music Bella. The boy is wooing you. He. Is. Wooing. You."

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the heavenly combination of the paper and the leather as I contemplated Angela's theory. He did break out the trinity of Bella vices, though really none of them were really far-fetched. Still, he knew I had almost finished my current journal. That attention to detail had to amount to something, right? Combine that with the fact that it was embossed meant that this wasn't a spontaneous purchase; he had thought about it for a few days at least.

I sat at my desk, closed my eyes and breathed in the heavenly scents, each element combining to make my own personal love potion. I pressed my fingers to my lips, reliving the brief yet wonderful kiss he surprised me with in the car two days ago. I could still feel it.

"He's waiting for you to give him some sort of signal. The proverbial green light, so to speak. You need to tell him how you feel, Bella. A lot can happen in three days you know. Just put the two of you out of your misery and tell him."

I heard a shuffle on the other end of the phone and muffled voices before I heard Ben in the background, "Bella, if you cant tell him how you feel, at least tell him he's making the rest of us look bad. Hey! Ow! Stop baby!"

I laughed as I heard Angela put him back in his place and heard a muffled "Sorry, Bella. I don't know what I was thinking letting him out of his cage this afternoon."

"Its okay, Angela, really. Tell Ben that I'll be sure to let Edward know. Hey, I need to go. Edward will be here in an hour and I still need to finish getting dressed."

"Bella, if you really want to clue him in, open the door… naked. Ow! Fuck baby, that hurt."

"Angela, stop abusing Ben. It's ok. I know he has no filter. I'll call you later when I get home. MUAH." I ended the call and tossed my phone on my bed, walking over to my desk and picking up the journal. I ran my fingers along the embossing, wondering if Edward's fingers had also traced my initials, the thought sent a chill coursing through my body as I pictured his fingers gliding lithely along the soft leather. I wished more than anything that I could get inside his head for just a few minutes. Just long enough to figure out what he was thinking and then I'd know what to do.

~*~*~*~*~

Before I knew it, it was three forty five in the afternoon. I was actually ready to go a little ahead of schedule, which was completely unlike me, and even though Edward had said he'd be here by four, I had been pacing around the living room for thirty minutes already; thirty minutes that I had spent thinking about the events of the past week. The more I thought about it, there was no doubt in my mind that there was something developing between the two of us. Even though the idea of an "us" thrilled me beyond comprehension, I was still feeling completely and utterly confused about the timing and was more than a little freaked out about what it meant. The dynamic of us had changed, and even though I liked it, it also scared me to death.

It was quite obvious that neither one of us had the balls to lay it all out there, but after talking to Angela, I felt pretty confident about the signals I'd been receiving. The playground, the flowers, the kiss in the car. Still… what if I misinterpreted everything and lost him in the process? I couldn't afford to get my hopes up like that; too much was a stake. I was leaving in a few days for Christ's sake. Now was definitely not the time to start trying to dissect something this huge. However, just like Angela said, a lot could happen in three days and if things played out like I hoped they would, a lot of good things could definitely happen. I felt a blush start to creep across my face and I willed myself to calm down. The last thing I needed was for Edward to start asking questions I was not ready to answer, at least not directly.

I slept solidly the night before, but the words he had written followed me in my dreams. I wish that I could hold you now...I wish that I could touch you now... What made him choose those words? Did they mean something to him, and if so, what? How literal was I supposed to take them, if at all? Were they just some part of a quote he plucked out of cyberspace about missing someone, or was there some truth behind it? Gah, I wish I could just read his mind! In my heart, I knew what I wanted it to mean, but my head was just not allowing me to process it.

A moment later, I heard the door to Edward's Volvo close, and suddenly my heart felt like it wanted to jump out of my body. I didn't even wait for him to knock on the door, but instead I ran out of the house to meet him; like he was going to disappear if I didn't get out there immediately. He said he'd never leave, remember?

Remembering our conversation on the playground, I immediately felt all warm, fuzzy and relieved somewhat at his promise to never leave. Yet as I replayed the words from the journal in my head, I found myself suddenly feeling a bit awkward. The words wouldn't come, and I just stared at him like I had never seen him before. Finally, I just shook my head and snapped out of it. I couldn't let my confusion start to influence what we had between us; he was too important to me. He was my Edward.

"Where are we going?" I blurted out. Smooth, Bella, I scolded myself as I rolled my eyes at my utter lack of coolness.

"Hey to you too," he laughed back, reaching up to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. "Ready to go?" He motioned with his head towards his car before opening the passenger side door for me. I froze at the contact, his touch becoming an addiction that I craved. I needed more.

Edward rarely ever told me where we're going, and I stopped asking long ago, but before long our path became familiar, and I just knew. We pulled off on the side of the road, and I felt the grin spread across my face. Our meadow. There wasn't anything that could stop us here. It was our own safe haven in the world. We laughed here; we cried here, and we fought here. In fact, if there was one place on the face of this earth that defined 'Edward and Bella', it would be this circle of green in the middle of nowhere.

Edward opened the trunk of the Volvo and started to pull out everything, struggling to carry it all. It took all my energy not to start laughing as he started juggling, shifting and almost dropping everything in his hands. Finally, when I couldn't stand to watch anymore, I tried to step in and help.

"Here, let me get something." I reached out to grab the small paper bag that he was frantically trying not to drop. It wasn't that big, so surely I wouldn't damage his masculine pride by trying to carry something so insignificant.

"No," he snapped back, somewhat abruptly, and I pulled my hand back just staring at him. What the fuck was that?

"Fine." I stood there, crossed my arms and watched him continue to struggle until he finally shoved everything back in his trunk and looked at me.

"Um, okay, so maybe I need some help...," he grinned sheepishly, "but no peeking okay?" He handed me a blanket and different bag than the one I noticed earlier, grabbing the rest of the stuff himself before closing the trunk. "Let's go."

We walked the short distance to the meadow, all the tension melting away with each step even though we didn't say a word to each other. Edward took the blanket from me and laid it on the ground and once he had smoothed out all the wrinkles and had it exactly the way he wanted it, we both laid down and exhaled; it was just so good. We still didn't need to say anything, so silence remained between us for a few minutes, but it was not awkward. We just enjoyed being together, so I snuggled in close and breathed him in.

After a few minutes, he started to stir and I felt him put something in my hand. I looked down and couldn't help but laugh when I saw the familiar little blue bottle. Bubbles. Edward brought bubbles. These were not just any bubbles. These were the same bubbles in the same bottles our mothers used to give us to keep us busy while they gossiped when we were younger. We inevitably ended up soapy and sticky and one of us always got the solution in our eyes, but still, blowing bubbles with Edward was just one of those little things that I would remember for the rest of my life. I unscrewed the top and pulled out the wand and blew out a deep breath—watching as the procession of transparent spheres caught in the slight breeze and floated effortlessly wherever the wind decided to take them.

I dipped the wand back in the bottle before I moved it in front of Edward I stared intently as he pursed his lips and blew; his breath warm on my hand, soothing. His approach was different than mine. He took his time, slowly building up the biggest bubble he could. Nurturing it and taking his time until it grew so big that it broke off on its own. My bubbles flew out of the wand in rapid succession, but his ambled slowly behind. The symbolism was not lost on me. I was the soap in the wand; we both were, waiting for us to be shoved into to the world. I was just venturing out first. I watched as his bubble ambled on following mine, slowly and steady, but I turned away so I wouldn't see it pop. I never wanted to see him broken.

"Tell me all about the program Bella. What classes are you taking? Do you get any time to travel? Tell me everything," he said excitedly as he followed it with a deep sigh. "I want to live vicariously through you. I want to be able to look at my calendar and close my eyes and imagine what you are doing." He hesitated for a minute and then chuckled to himself. "Yeah, I kinda sound like a stalker, don't I?"

I started laughing and shoved him because there was nothing he could do that would ever freak me out. I could rationalize and analyze and justify his behavior… our behavior all I wanted, but it delved so far beyond the intellectual. I just wished I could trust myself enough to be led by my emotions and take the risk to figure it out. Instead, I took the easy way out and started answering his questions. I told him about my creative writing class and the cities I was supposed to visit and where I was staying—but I avoided telling him how I wished I could experience it with him, how I wished I could just stay where I was at that very moment, all summer long.

I closed my eyes, trying to reign my emotions in before I started crying, and it was then that I noticed our position. At some point, I'd put away the bubbles, and we'd shifted during our conversation from lying beside each other on the blanket to me lying almost on top of him. My head was resting on his chest, my ear almost directly over his heart. His right arm was on my back and his left hand was combing through my hair. It was so natural, right and good. I didn't want to move. Ever. I closed my eyes and took in the moment while we said so much without saying anything.

Once again, it was his movement that brought me back from my thoughts. I felt him shift around, trying to be discreet and not really succeeding, but I didn't move. I was too content. Edward stretched and reached over his head behind him for one of the bags, the rustling noise so much louder than it should in our small little meadow. He then slid something over my arm, before returning his own arm to my back and the other to my hair. I opened my eyes and saw the sun reflecting off a thin sterling silver bracelet, but when I looked closer, I saw that there was something engraved on it. More words. More of Edward's words. I pulled it towards my face, squinting to read the elegant script. 'Listen to Your Heart.'

How did he always know?

I turned my head to look at him, but he was lying back with his eyes closed. Again, we didn't need to say anything. I followed his lead and snuggled back into his chest. He tightened his arms around me, and we continued to feel.