Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I have no hope of replying to them all, but know that I read and cherish each one.
Thank you also to my girls. You make this so much better.
Edward's lips are chapped and rough against mine, clumsy and stilted by nerves but so perfect because he's kissing me and I'm kissing him, finally. His hands land on my ribcage and I try to hold still, my mouth opening in protest when he slides them down to settle on my fleshy hips. Edward uses that as an opportunity to let his tongue gently touch mine, whisper-soft and wanting as he moans quietly, and then I know nothing except how he's making me feel and that I never want it to stop.
It does, of course, when a group of boys walk past, snickering. Edward pulls back, though only enough to press his forehead against mine. His glasses are digging into my nose so hard it hurts, but the look in his eyes makes me want to keep him there forever. He stares at me with something close to awe, and I'm again in disbelief that I do this to him.
I'm not worth much to those around me, but Edward's eyes tells me that to this boy, I'm worth everything.
It feels breezy like the first day of spring, hazy-warm like the first of summer. His arms are so strong as they wrap around me, and I don't know if I've ever smiled as wide as when I bury my face next to the Iron Man logo on his shirt. I hear his heart racing almost as fast as mine, and I wonder if there's something to be said for love at first kiss after all.
"Wow," Edward breathes into my neck. I burrow impossibly closer to him, the butterflies in my stomach going haywire as he hums in pleasure. "You sure can kiss, huh?"
I giggle loudly, all high-pitched and girlier than I ever have. "You're one to talk, Library Boy."
"Library Boy?"
I just shake my head and hide in his shirt again, but he doesn't let me this time. Edward wiggles his fingers either side of my body and I squeal as he tickles me until I squirm. "Yes! Yes, I call you Library Boy."
"Seriously? That's creative, Bella. I'm impressed. Since when?" he asks, a laugh rumbling so hard in his chest that I feel it reverberate in my own.
"Since I first saw you."
"And when was that?"
"A while ago," I tell him. I'm not coy, just awkward - I'm not sure how much of a compliment staring at someone most days for three months is.
"A while ago... a week?" he asks, and long seconds pass before I shake my head.
"A month?"
I shake my head again.
"Months?" he exclaims, disbelief threaded through his tone.
I nod, pushing myself further into his body. I'm not sure whether he's shocked in a good or a bad way, so his arms are a welcome anchor.
"So… it would be fair to say that you would come into the library to see me?"
I nod again, my hands fisting with anxiety.
"All the times you came into the library, the only thing you wanted to check out was me?"
He isn't even finished with his terrible pun before he's laughing, snickering like a schoolgirl as he purses his lips together to hold his chuckles in. His eyes are bright, his cheeks raspberry-flushed and dimpled, and God, this boy.
"You're embarrassing me," I tell him, but my giggles a second later ruin the pretense of being annoyed.
"But you like me anyway?" he asks, and when he looks at me that way, I do. More than anything.
So I tell him.
And then his lips are back on mine, bystanders be damned.
He's worth the risk. He's worth everything. He makes me feel like I am, too.
*squeals*
Thank you for reading!
