Chapter 12 – High

Bella

Edward couldn't seem to keep his hands off of me, and I loved every second of it. I quickly cleaned myself up in the bathroom and got dressed. I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

When I stepped into the common room of the cabin, he pulled me into his arms and kissed my neck. "Ready, baby?" he whispered.

I melted instantly. "Yup."

I tried to hide the fact that I was doing backflips of joy on the inside. We were about to step out on the porch, when Jasper stopped us.

"Uh, guys? Unless you plan on outing her, you might want to, um…" Jasper made a separating motion by pulling both of his hands apart.

Edward pouted, as I slid out of his arms. "Fine, dinner and then straight back here," he commanded, as his eyes bore into me.

I just nodded dumbly, not trusting my voice to answer him.

I was pretty sure I would do whatever Edward wanted at this point.

When we stepped into the dining hall, Seth pulled me away from the guys. He had a serious look on his face.

"What?" I finally asked.

"I don't like how Edward is looking at you," he glared in Edward's direction.

I looked back to see Edward checking me out. Jasper threw his roll at Edward's head to get him to stop. Edward barely noticed it and looked at Jasper questioningly.

I just laughed.

"This isn't funny, I think he knows," Seth whispered.

I smiled at him. "He does."

His eyes popped wide. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to a table in the back corner. Jake sat down right as we did, and I wondered where the hell he had come from.

"How the hell did he find out?" Seth grilled me.

"Don't worry; he isn't going to say anything."

"Bella," he whispered, "How?"

I rolled my eyes. "I may or may not have forgotten to take my clothes with me into the shower. I may look like a guy hidden in your baggy clothes, but it's pretty obvious I'm not when I'm only wearing a towel."

Jake shifted uncomfortably. "He saw you naked?" he asked almost whimpering.

I just shrugged. "Eventually, yeah."

Man, I wished Angela were here to talk to. I really needed girl talk right now, and these boys were terrible at it.

"What?" Jacob practically yelled.

I threw a grape at him to get him to shut up.

"Bella, what the hell is going on? If he's blackmailing you, I swear I can take him," Seth promised like the sweet brother he was.

"Keep your voice down," I warned. "He's not blackmailing me, okay. I happen to find him very attractive."

It was Jake's turn to chime in. "But you don't find anyone attractive."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just because I don't find you attractive doesn't mean I don't find anyone attractive."

"That's not true; you've never been on a date since you moved to Forks. I know," Jake announced. I threw another grape at him, but he just caught it in his mouth and smirked.

"I don't like this," Seth griped.

"You don't have to. I can handle myself." I popped the last grape in my mouth and stood up to leave. I smiled over at Edward's table. It didn't look like his eyes had left me.

Edward

I hated that I didn't get to eat with Bella. My eyes followed her the whole time, despite Jasper's errant bread roll. She was sitting with her brother and Jake. She seemed to be in a serious discussion with Seth, and Jake was shifting uncomfortably. I saw him adjust himself, and I growled. I wanted to attack him. BACK OFF!

"Hey, Edward, so how old is she really? She isn't fourteen, is she?" Jasper asked.

I glanced back at Bella, as she threw a grape at Jake, and he caught it.

"I don't know," I answered Jasper.

I watched her pop a grape into her mouth and get up to leave.

"I guess I'd better go find out," I said and took off after her.

Bella

I headed down the path to our cabin alone, but I wasn't alone for long. His warm arms wrapped around me. "Where do you think you're going, little girl?"

"Hmm, I was feeling sleepy," I teased. "I was going to take a nap." He groaned in response. "Care to join me?" I asked.

"Yes, please."

We barely made it inside the cabin, before he started kissing me. He pressed me against the wall and pulled my body tight against him. He gripped my butt, as if he was afraid he would fly off the planet if he let go.

He pulled back. "Sorry, I just really hate not being able to touch you." I smiled at him, pleased. He pulled me into our bedroom. "Wait."

I couldn't help the pout that I made when he stopped. He moaned, "Please, don't make this harder. No pouting."

My heart raced, was he done with me already? Was I that undesirable?

"Hey, whatever you're thinking, stop it," he said pulling me into his arms. "I just want to talk to you and get to know you a little better."

I breathed in his scent and tried to relax. I didn't want to say too much about myself to him, because I was afraid he would find out I was a geek.

"So, how about we start with an easy question, how old are you really?" he asked.

"I'm seventeen. I'll be eighteen on October 5th."

He smiled widely. "Well, at least it's nice to know I'm not a pedophile." I looked up at him confused. "I'm going to be eighteen September 21st. If you were really fourteen, I'd be robbing the cradle." He nuzzled my neck, kissing it softly. "Do you have any questions?" he asked.

I shook my head no, even though I did. I was just too afraid of the answers.

He finally pulled away from me and sat down on my bunk. I knelt down in front of him and took off his shoes. I pushed him back and propped his foot up. "You're supposed to be keeping this elevated."

He just nodded okay again.

I was about to go get ready for bed, when he quickly pulled me back to him. I landed on top of him very ungracefully, and I was worried I might have damaged his goods. The way he started kissing me, though, let me know nothing important had been hit, and I was relieved to know his boys were fine. That was good.

I had plans for them later!

Edward

This beautiful girl seemed to not understand how much I wanted her. She needed to realize that I wasn't just looking for something physical. I wanted to know all of her.

"Bella, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I whispered, having pulled her down with me on the bed.

"Yours," she answered seriously, and my heart soared. I wanted her to be mine, too. I had to kiss her again.

After a few moments of snuggling into me, I stopped her from going any further. I really did want to know her as a person. She was so good at keeping herself closed off and hidden. I needed to be let in.

"You said you were learning clarinet to put on your college applications. Is that true?"

"Yes," she answered timidly.

"What do you want to go to college for?" I asked. I didn't understand why she blushed. I didn't think she would be going to college to become a stripper.

Bella

Edward kept pushing to know what I wanted to major in. It was stupid, and I didn't want to tell him, because then he might figure out what a nerd I was. I was afraid if he knew, he would stop wanting to be with me.

"Come on, Bella. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," he said wiggling his eyebrows, and I couldn't help but laugh.

As my giggles died down, he pulled me tight into his arms. "Okay, little girl, I'll go first. When I grow up, I want to be a part of the doctors without borders program like my dad had been."

That surprised me. I thought he would be something that had to do with music. He seemed to enjoy it, and I had even heard the teachers chatting about how talented he was.

"What's that look for?" he asked.

"I'm just surprised is all."

Now that I thought about it, it made complete sense that he would go into medicine. Emmett and Jasper had mentioned it, too. I guess that explained why he had a massive first-aid kit and a duffle bag full of medical supplies. I had just assumed he had gotten them from his father.

"So, what kind?" I asked.

He looked at me and smiled. "Pediatrician."

"Really?"

"Don't look so surprised," he laughed.

"Is that what your dad is?" I asked.

"No, he's a surgeon."

"So, why a doctor, why pediatrics?" I asked really curious.

He smiled. "I want to be able to help people. Really help people, especially kids. I guess I have a thing for the outcasts of society, you know, the ones nobody sees, but who are the future just as much as you and me. I want to travel all around the world and do surgeries and treatments for people who can't afford it, or who have no access to good healthcare. I want to use my assets to open clinics for people who'd never be seen otherwise. I've been really blessed in my life, and I want to give back something, do something big that'll make a difference and that has the potential to touch the entire world," he said sincerely. "Okay, I've told you my big life's dream, what's yours?"

I flopped off him and groaned. I wanted to be a librarian, and to tell him that would prove I was I huge geek, not to mention I was so far beneath him in aspirations I didn't even register.

"Really, Bella, what do you want to be? Do you know?"

I could lie and tell him no, but I somehow knew he would see through it, like he had seen through everything else.

"A librarian," I mumbled hoping he wouldn't catch it.

To my surprise, he let out a groan and pulled me tightly against him and moaned breathlessly, "Oh, Bella, you'd be one hot naughty librarian."

I couldn't help but smile. He pulled me down into a hungry kiss.

His arms squeezed me impossibly tight, like he was afraid I would disappear, and I felt him kiss my shoulder. "Has there ever been a more perfect girl than you?" he asked in a serious tone.

I had never heard words so sweet, or so untrue. I kissed him instead of answering, because I was terrified he would find me out for the fraud I was.