Thank you, as always. I'm very happy that you're enjoying the story and continuing to read.

I spent this week at the Cardinals-Cubs games, even though my boys only won 1 out of 3. It was fun, though! I went with friends to all three, old and newer, and had a great time despite the score. The only thing that wasn't fun was the three hour rain delay on Wednesday!

How are your favorite baseball teams doing so far this season?

August 14, 2015

"How do you have so much stuff?" I asked, digging through some of the boxes in Edward's living room.

"This isn't even all of it," Edward grumbled. "My parents are bringing a bunch more with them tonight." He collapsed onto his couch with an exaggerated groan. "We'll never get through all of this. Let's just give up."

I squealed when he pulled me down onto his lap, not caring that we were both sweaty. "Edward! Now we really won't get anything done." I wiggled away from him and got up off the couch. "I thought you wanted the place to look nice for your parents."

"I do," Edward said, putting his hands on either of my hips as I stood in front of him, between his legs. "I just want you more."

"Easy, cheesy," I said, putting my hand on his forehead and pushing him away gently. "Let's get some of this done before you have to leave for the ballpark."

Edward huffed and puffed, but got up off the couch and we resumed unpacking.

"Where are they going to stay?" I asked, looking over at him. "Your parents, I mean."

"Here," Edward said, grimacing. "That reminds me, I need to get my stuff out of the second bedroom so that they can stay in there. More to do."

"I can do that for you later, if you want," I said, continuing to pull things out of boxes. "Let's just focus on this for now."

Edward nodded, looking pensive for a little while as I continued to work. "I'll be right back," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead before disappearing down the hallway.

He remerged a minute later, holding his hand out to me. "I want you to have this," he said quietly, placing a key and an access card into my hand.

"For later?" I asked, taking both. "Okay, I'll lock up after I leave. I don't need the access card, though. I parked on the street."

"No," Edward said, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "Well, yes, but that's not what I mean. I want you to have these. To keep."

"Oh," I said faintly, tightening my grip on the objects.

"You know, when you come over after a game, you could let yourself in ahead of time instead of waiting for me to let you know I'm home. More time together that way, I thought. If you think it's too soon, though, you don't have to-"

I shook my head. "No, that's not it. I'm just surprised. Thank you, Edward."

"You're welcome," he said, his cheeks still flushed pink. "I love having you here, Bella."

Edward's parents would be attending all three of his games this weekend, including the one on Sunday that I would be attending, as well. Unfortunately, their presence meant that Edward and I wouldn't see each other this weekend, even after the game on Sunday. I was happy that his parents were here, and wanted him to spend time together, but I still hated missing out on time together.

However, I would use this time to spend with my own friends and try and catch up on paperwork. I was quickly learning that although the separation was hard, it was something that we would both have to get used to.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at Edward's apartment, even after he left for the stadium. We had gotten most of the boxes in the living room unpacked, and the place was starting to look more like a home. Photos and other personal effects rested on the shelves of the entertainment center, and all of the kitchen wares had been tucked away in the cabinets. The vase of fresh flowers I had picked up on my way over last night sat on the coffee table, all of the odds and ends had found a place as well.

Before I left, I went about moving Edward's computer and other belongings out of the spare bedroom and putting clean sheets on the bed. I put his laptop on the nightstand on his side of the bed in the master bedroom, smiling to myself when I saw the framed picture of us at the city museum that sat there, as well.

How was it that we had only known each other for less than a month?

August 15, 2015

"I haven't seen much of you lately, Bella," Camille said, looking up from her breakfast as I emerged from my bedroom.

"I know," I said sleepily, sitting down across from her. "Work has been busy, and well, you know…Edward."

Camille grinned. "Yeah, Tyler said something about that. You look really happy. Good for you, Bells."

"Thanks," I said. "It's kind of crazy, but I've never felt like this before."

"Not even with Ty?" Camille asked, and I blushed.

Even though Camille and I were fairly close, and I loved her and Tyler together, it was still a little awkward to think that I had dated Tyler before her. I was no means the love of his life- that was Camille, but it was an unusual situation, to say the least.

"No, definitely not," I replied. "You know I love Tyler, Camille, but it was nothing like this. Tyler is like my brother. We should have never been together romantically. It wasn't right for us, and we are so happy now. And I'm happy for him, that he found you."

After talking to Camille and grabbing a quick breakfast for myself, I returned to my room and decided that it was high time I gave my mom a call.

She and my father still lived just a few hours away, but didn't get to see each other often. My parents had gotten married after just a couple of months of dating in high school, after they found out that I was coming along. They were still married, but the romance had died out many years ago, when I was just a baby.

Knowing what had happened in my parents relationship was one of the reasons that I had been able to realize, years ago, that Tyler and I were not meant to be together. I loved my parents, and they were happy being friends, but that was not the future I wanted for myself. I wanted to be swept up in a romance that was more than just physical, and one with the kind of love that lasted a lifetime.

"Bella, it's so good to hear from you," my mom, Renée, answered my call on the second ring. "I've missed hearing your voice.

"I know, mom. I've missed talking to you," I said honestly. "I just haven't had much time, lately."

"I understand, Bella. I'm so proud of you for doing so well at work. Are you still enjoying it?"

"Yes," I said eagerly. "I love it. And only less than a year left of my residency. I'm very excited to be done with it and move on to the next step."

We talked about work for a while, both hers and mine. My mom was a nurse at a small hospital in southern Illinois, and she was the reason I had wanted to go into medicine. My dad, on the other hand, was the sheriff of the small town I had grown up in.

"I saw an interesting photo on your facebook this last week, Isabella Marie," my mom said, successfully steering the conversation away from work.

"Yeah?" I replied, grinning to myself.

"Don't be coy, Bella," Renée scolded me. "Tell your mother about this young boy."

"His name is Edward," I said. "We met at the hospital a few weeks ago and…I don't know. I'm falling really hard, but I think he is, too."

"At the hospital? Is he a doctor, too?" My mom asked curiously.

"No," I said carefully, wondering where to go from here. Edward and I hadn't discussed what to say to people about our relationship. "He was a patient in the emergency room. He's new to the city."

We talked about Edward for a little longer, and by the time we said our goodbyes and hung up the phone, I was missing him even more.

He was probably at brunch with his parents right now, since he had said they would be meeting up with his brother in South County before he had to leave for the stadium. I wanted to call him, but I also didn't want to take him away from his family. Instead, I got ready and then left to have lunch with some of my friends from medical school.

Luckily, the missing him was sated a little when he called me around one o'clock, when I was sitting in our living room getting some work done.

"I'm getting ready to leave for the stadium," he was saying, and I could hear voices in the background. "And my parents volunteered to watch my nephew until game time, so it was perfect timing. I love the kid, but damn, he's spoiled rotten. You wouldn't believe what they let him get away with."

"What do you do at the stadium all day?" I asked. "You'll be there for hours."

"Well, I've got a lot to prove, Bella, so I like to show up early. I'm eager to learn, and I think it looks better to be early. But I lift weights with Alec a lot of times, and spend time looking at film. And if I've been struggling with something, I run drills with one of the coaches. Then we have a team warmup, and batting practice, and then it's time to play ball."

"I see," I said. "Sounds like a busy day."

"It is," Edward agreed. "But there's downtime, too. There's only so much you can do to prepare. Plus, I don't want to push it. Alec went a little crazy with the weights earlier in the season, and he ended up straining something and missing out on two weeks of play. I don't want that to be me."

"Me, either," I said with a laugh. "I can see Alec doing that, though. I'll work you out myself, how's that?"

Edward laughed, but I could hear the desire in his voice when he spoke quietly. "I can't wait for my parents to leave."

"Great game," I said late that evening, when Edward called me. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Edward said, and I could hear the excitement in his voice. "It felt really good. And I'm glad my parents were there to see it."

"Did your brother and his family not come to the game?" I asked.

"No, but they've already been to a few of them. My other brother, Garrett, will be coming to at least one of the games against the Padres next week, so he'll get to see some, too."

"It's just you and your two brothers, right?" I asked, slipping under the covers in my bed. "No sisters?"

We talked for a little while longer, until I heard a loud knock on the front door of the apartment. Tyler was over at Camille's, so I groaned and climbed out of bed.

"Just a second," I said to Edward, holding my phone between my ear and my shoulder. "Someone's at the door."

I peeked through the peephole, nearly dropping the phone when I saw Edward's handsome face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, yanking the door open and pulling him inside. "Aren't your parents at your apartment?"

"I think they'll be okay without me," Edward said with a laugh, leaning down and kissing me. "It's late; they barely even noticed me when I said I was leaving."

"Tyler is at Camille's," I said, walking backwards back to my bedroom and beckoning him to follow me. "We have the place to ourselves."

"Whatever will we do?" Edward asked, backing me further into my bedroom and then tossing me gently onto my bed. I sat up on my elbows and watched as he smiled down at me, shaking his head slightly. "You're so perfect," he said huskily, reaching up and pulling my shorts down my legs.

Next, he hooked his thumbs under the elastic of my underwear, pulling those off as well.

"Your turn," I said, sitting up and reaching for his belt.

"You first," Edward murmured, shaking his head. "I can't get enough of you…like this. I love the sounds you make, and the way you move. It's the sexiest thing I've ever seen, and I love doing it to you."

"I…I love it too," I said, my voice faltering as he knelt before me and pushed at my knees, spreading them open.

He moved his mouth languidly but in exactly the right places, making me cry out and beg for release in just a few minutes. I rolled over onto my side sleepily when he was finished, smiling when he shed the rest of his clothes and climbed into bed, pressing himself against me.

I started to move, going to roll over on my back again, but his hand on my hip stopped me. "Stay like this," he said quietly, putting his arm around my waist as he pushed inside.

I moaned loudly, tossing my head to the side. His lips were there in an instant, kissing and sucking as he thrust his hips. It was slow and sweet, and fifteen minutes later, when we were both sated and sweaty, I rolled over to face him.

"I missed you," I said, tucking my head under his chin. "Thank you for coming over."

"I missed you, too," Edward said, hugging me tightly. "It's crazy, though, isn't it? We saw each other yesterday."

"But I want to soak up as much time with you as possible," I said. "You leave for the west coast in a couple of days, and I won't see you for almost two weeks."

Edward nodded. "I know. I'm excited, because some of my friends and family from back home will be able to see me play, and I can meet up with them…but it'll be hard, not seeing you."

"There's less than two months left of the regular season," I said, closing my eyes. "I don't want you guys to lose, obviously, but…"

"I know," Edward said again, laughing lightly. "Too bad your crazy schedule has no end in sight."

"Hit your head a couple more times, that way we could see each other all the time," I said jokingly, making Edward laugh. "We'll figure it out, right?"

Edward kissed the top of my head, holding me tight. "We will."

Thanks again : )