A/N: Apologies for the delay guys, I got the chance to visit family at last notice and then just this weekend we suffered a grievance... so it's been pretty hectic.

I hope you enjoy and please leave your thoughts xx

Chapter 10 – Lobster

BPOV

I had a week off from teaching before my summer classes began. I would be teaching two consecutive courses in creative writing; one from July to mid-August and the other until the next semester. Ms Fischer was yet to get back to me on whether I could teach the start of the fall semester before I took my leave. I was kind of counting on her saying yes; I needed all the money I could get.

It was Monday and Alice had called at the weekend to arrange to take me shopping for maternity clothes. Fortunately she was busy with customers so didn't grill me about Edward, but I knew she was probably saving it for tomorrow. As for today, I'd spent the morning curled up in bed with the Book and discovered that the baby was now completely relying on me for nourishment. I tucked my chocolate back into my nightstand drawer and vowed to keep a careful eye on my diet. I'd have to order something sensible at dinner tonight.

Tonight. I'd been pining to see Edward again all weekend but he'd worked three days straight. We spoke for a while over the phone on Sunday after two days of exchanging texts. I always seemed to catch him at a bad time when I called, so texting had become our primary form of communication. Of course, Edward was just starting out on his residency, so I guess any time was a bad time for taking personal calls at work. I'd learned quickly that eight times out of ten I'd reach his answerphone anyway as he was probably in the hospital. So Sunday when he got off work he called me to arrange our date tonight, and was still on the line an hour later.

I told him about my trip to his office and that awful phone call. Edward was sympathetic but refrained from using any of the words Rose had. He probably didn't want to upset me but I could tell by the change in the tone of his voice that he didn't think highly of him. I changed the subject and we spoke about my new teaching course and my shopping date with Alice. Edward joked that Alice would not let up until her credit card stopped working. I insisted that I wouldn't let her spend much. I knew her well enough by now to know that I wouldn't have complete control of her shopaholic antics...

There was something sexy about lying in bed listening to the sound of Edward's voice, knowing that he was doing the same thing, even though the conversation had been innocent enough. It didn't matter that he was a mile away, it was like he was right there with me and I didn't want the spell to break. He was exhausted though, so he finally said goodnight and then it was all silent again, and our date night couldn't come soon enough.

Edward was taking me to dinner at a seafood restaurant. I'd passed by it before but had never been, and neither had he. I'd expressed my surprise that he hadn't chosen Italian but he reminded me of my promise to cook him another meal and revealed his request for home-made lasagne.

Easy. I could make that blindfolded.

So seafood it was and after a few days of uncertainty it turned out that seeing my own regurgitated food really was a thing of the past, and I was truly grateful. The Book had got it right again; I hadn't felt this well in weeks.

My stomach still looked like I'd constantly just finished a large meal but it wasn't too noticeable. I selected a strappy black dress that went just above the knee and trialled walking my apartment in my heels. I only owned three pairs and they were the lowest, and were actually pretty comfortable considering. I slipped on my jacket when I was ready to leave.

I reached the street outside my apartment just as Edward was pulling up. It wasn't yet pitch-black so I managed to make my way past the bonnet of the Volvo with reasonably little difficulty. Edward jumped from the car and rushed round to open my door before I got there. It was unnecessary but the gesture was sweet and he held my hand to support me as I backed onto the seat.

It didn't escape my notice that Edward was dressed for a gala dinner. He wore a black suit with a white shirt and dark purple tie that was clearly designer and fit him perfectly. His hair was subtly styled once again and I caught a waft of his aftershave that had my heart thumping as I was reminded of our kiss.

We pulled out and headed west toward the waterfront.

I was still giving him the once over with my eyes a few minutes later when he turned to me.

"You look dazzling tonight, Miss Swan," he smiled playfully.

I laughed at the irony. "Dazzling? You running out of words already?"

"What happened to learning to take a compliment?" he frowned.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm wearing black with black. There's nothing that even dazzles."

"What about your eyes?"

I turned to find that he was grinning.

"Do you say these things deliberately to embarrass me?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"No," his eyes softened, "I say them because they're true. We're here."

The server took our drinks order and left us with the menu.

"You don't have to stick to juice on my account," I told him.

"I'm driving," he shrugged. "And it wouldn't feel right drinking on my own. Do you know what you'd like to order?"

I'd perused the menu and felt the rumbling of my stomach. I thought about going for the shrimp salad, but I was too darn hungry.

"Maybe the salmon?" I thought out loud. "I'm not sure."

"Do you like lobster?"

I scanned down the menu and my eyes widened at the price. "I've never had it…"

"Want to try?" he smiled. "It's one of the best things you'll ever taste – to come out of the sea, at least. No match for your lasagne though, obviously…"

I gulped. No pressure there then.

"Ok," I agreed, curious as to what it tasted like. "Why's it so expensive though?"

"What do you mean?" he smirked, "It's not costing you a cent."

I couldn't contain my own smirk. "I feel like I'm being spoiled. Fine dining … Lobster… Hot date."

His mouth widened into a cheek-splitting grin and his cheeks pinkened as he looked down at his menu.

"The pleasure's all mine." His eyes shined as we then looked at one another, and I wished there wasn't a table between us so I could give him a peck on the lips.

The moment was interrupted, however, when the server arrived with our drinks. He took our order of two lobsters and asked Edward if he wanted to see the wine menu.

"Not tonight," he replied with a polite smile, "But we'll see the cocktail menu."

I almost spluttered on my juice before Edward whispered 'non-alcoholic' across the table.

"We can at least pretend to be drunken idiots," he grinned.

The lobster was beautiful and a bit sweet too. Nothing like I'd tasted before… I didn't know how to cook it but you could tell it was done to perfection. For all its taste though, it still looked uglier than sin.

"Isn't lobster supposed to be romantic?" I asked, "Kinda hard to see why when you look at them."

"I know," he laughed, "Even harder when you consider that their mating ritual is squirting urine at each other."

I choked on my salad leaf. "You serious?"

"Yup," he smirked, "It was on a documentary."

I shivered at the thought. "That's gross."

"Whatever does it for you," he added, amused at my reaction. "Some people are into that kind of thing."

I frowned and shook my head. "Please tell me you're not one of those people."

He laughed and placed down his cutlery as he finished his lobster before me. "No, uh… definitely no surprises there from me. I promise."

I joined in with his laughter at the absurdity of our conversation.

Did I really just express an interest in Edward's preferences? Out loud? Even if we were joking around, this was definitely a new development.

"So no surprises from you then?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Apparently we weren't done yet.

"Nothing you don't already know." I cast my eyes down to gesture subtly to my stomach.

Neither of us said anything after that. Edward took a sip of his non-alcoholic cocktail and I followed suit. I liked the flirtyness that had evolved between us but I wished I had the confidence to instigate it myself. Instead, I did the next best thing I was capable of and reached for his hand across the table. He responded immediately and placed his hand under mine, his thumb stroking over my knuckles as we both leaned in a little closer.

"Did you want dessert?" he asked in that velvet voice, "Or have you had enough?"

I haven't had nearly enough.

"Do you still have that ice cream at your place?" I asked before I knew the words had come out.

His eyes widened and his thumb stilled before he caught himself and tried to hide his surprise.

"Um, yeah… I think so… Did you want to go back to mine?"

The way he said it made my palms start to sweat. The answer was yes, but I didn't want him to think I was going to spend the night. I didn't know for sure what I was going to do… all I knew was I wanted to go to his place.

"If that's ok?" I tried to sound as casual as possible.

"Ok," he replied simply. "I'll get the check."

You've heard this a million times, but the tension in the car was palpable. Edward shifted in his seat repeatedly and braked too late more than once. It was clear that both our minds were elsewhere. Probably up in his apartment, trying to figure out what would happen next.

Edward took my hand in his as I stepped out the car and they remained linked all the way up to his apartment.

"Will Emmett be in?" I asked as Edward unlocked the door.

"He was out with Rose when I left to pick you up… I doubt he'll be back yet."

So we had the apartment to ourselves. For how long was unclear, but for now it would just be us.

The apartment was dark when we got in. Edward turned on the dimmer just down the hall to about mid-way and helped me with my jacket before we both kicked off our shoes.

"I think we have raspberry and vanilla, or chocolate," he said, placing his keys, wallet and cell on the breakfast bar. I placed my bag next to his things and smiled.

"Raspberry and vanilla sounds good."

He smirked and headed for the freezer. "I'm a chocolate monster… it's my weakness."

I followed him and headed for the cupboards. "Hey, I'm a chocolate fan too, don't get me wrong, but I'm trying to lay off it a bit… Where are your bowls?"

He gestured to the corner cupboard and took an ice cream server from a drawer. "Is that to do with eating for two now?" he grinned. "The baby might like chocolate."

I spun on the spot to face him. "I'm not having a fat kid," I defended, "And shouldn't a doctor such as yourself be telling me to watch my diet?"

"You're right," he put on a serious expression, "I can't let you eat this filth. Get your coat, its late young lady."

My mouth dropped open.

"Kidding," he smirked. "Would you like beautiful rich creamy chocolate or painfully boring vanilla with a pitiful slither of raspberry that Emmett has probably already scooped out so there's nothing left but the dregs?"

I bit my lip as he waited for a reply.

"No one's going to strike you down," he encouraged, clearly amused at my dilemma.

"Fine," I sighed. "Chocolate."

"Coming up," he smiled, "You can have a fruit salad tomorrow."

A chill shot down my spine. What did he mean by that? Was it an offhand comment? Or did he actually mean he would make me a fruit salad tomorrow… Which implied I would still be here tomorrow…?

I didn't know how I felt about that. It was hard to know what I felt when he hadn't so much as kissed me all evening.

I was so on edge I thought I might fall over. I needed something soon before I lost my mind... Something to ground me so I would have a better hold on what exactly I wanted right now. Or maybe it wouldn't ground me at all. God, I was thinking too much.

Edward had served two portions of chocolate ice cream into the bowls and I was now following him into his lounge. We sat down close together and I dipped my spoon into the soft chocolate.

"God, this is good," I nodded appreciatively, taking the first scoop. "I sure am gonna miss it after tonight…" I smirked.

"Wait for the cravings," he grinned, licking the edge of his spoon as the chocolate melted over the sides, "This might be the only thing you eat for weeks."

I was no longer concentrating on what he was saying. Edward's tongue had just made an appearance and was bright red from the coldness of the ice cream. My lips tingled as I remembered his on them a few nights ago. Enough was enough. I wanted to kiss him again. I'd done my waiting, dammit.

Edward was still talking. "My dad said my mom went crazy for double chip cookies when she was carrying me." He laughed, "She once screamed at him when he forgot to buy more on the way home."

I'm about to scream at you if you don't kiss me soon.

It then occurred to me that maybe he wasn't going to make a move at all. Maybe he was letting me set the pace… Had my leaning in to kiss him the first time set a precedent?

I decided to grow a pair and take control. Maybe it was the brain-freeze that evaporated my inhibitions…

"Can I try some of that?" I gestured to his bowl casually as he was just removing his spoon from his mouth. I placed my bowl on the coffee table as I waited for his reply.

He looked at me bemused. "You want to try some from my bowl?"

I could tell he was curious, but not sure where I was going with this.

"Uh-huh," I held his gaze.

"Ok," he smiled, and I took his bowl from his grasp. He held out his spoon and I took that too, but instead of loading it with ice cream I placed both the bowl and the spoon on the table beside mine. Before he could question me I leant forward and pressed my lips against his. He groaned quietly in surprise but quickly recovered and moved his lips over mine. I slipped my tongue in his mouth and he received it eagerly, the caress of his own tongue gentle but insistent with a startling contrast of warm and cold as I tasted the remnants of melting chocolate. I felt his fingertips of one hand on my cheek and the other hand on my knee. He was rubbing his thumb on the bare skin of my leg and the sensation went straight to my centre. My hands went for his hair and I pulled him harder against my mouth. He responded with equal fervour and all I could now taste was him. No chocolate. Just warm sweet Edward.

Wow. We were really going for it… and it felt wonderful.

Our tongues continued to lap over one another and before I realised what I had done I'd bitten the edge of his lip as my desire intensified. I felt him flinch and pulled back immediately.

"God, I'm sorry," I blushed, "I didn't mean to do that."

His lips were swollen from the kiss and he was catching his breath. I looked up to find his eyes were dark like before, but still a beautiful shade of green. They penetrated me.

"It's ok," he whispered, sliding his other hand down to the back of my neck, "I just wasn't expecting it."

His lips were back on mine, though he'd been the one to lean in this time. I opened my mouth and he returned his tongue, pushing it against mine once again. He'd shifted closer and in doing so his hand had moved up my leg, his thumb now stroking rhythmically at the beginning of my thigh. The sensation had my mind spinning with thoughts of his body entangled with mine; heat and moans and friction… and I knew that if his hand ventured underneath my dress, my thoughts would not be outside the realm of possibility.

That realisation caused me to snap out of my haze.

"Edward." It came out as a half-moan, half-plea.

He pulled back fractionally and met my eyes with his. His hair was in disarray from my hands and beads of sweat lined his reddened forehead, but the way he was looking at me had me so turned on that I momentarily didn't believe that my next sentence would actually come out.

"Just know that I want this," I whispered, though it came out in a laboured breath, and stroking my hand low on his stomach between us so he knew what I meant, "But I think we should slow down before we do something we'll regret… because it's happening too fast."

He opened and closed his mouth before replying. "You're right."

He withdrew his hand back up my leg slowly until he reached my knee. I'd liked the way his thumb had felt on my thigh, so I decided to tell him.

"That felt nice by the way," I moved my hand over his on my knee. "But you were driving me a little crazy."

A small smile formed on his lips and he lowered his forehead to rest against mine. "Speaking of which…" He moved his other hand down to mine which was still on his stomach and gently lifted it away.

I nodded. "Ok. At least we know now when we're pushing a little too far."

He leaned in and placed a soft peck on my lips. "Just tell me when you want to slow it down." He kissed me again, and it was tender… loving. I knew this was as far as we were going tonight, and I was content with that.

"You too," I kissed him back. "Talk to me too…"

He stroked his hand through my hair and his eyes were dancing as they gazed over my face. "I will."

A smile slipped from my lips and I turned to our bowls on the edge of the coffee table beside us. "It's all melted," I sighed, putting on my best disappointed face. "Yours tasted better though."

We both laughed and I settled against the back of the sofa, my eyelids falling closed as I leaned into Edward's body warmth.

His hand was still in my hair, caressing gently. "You ready to go back soon?" he asked.

"Hmm," I replied, enjoying the feel of his fingertips on my scalp. I continued to revel in his touch and felt myself slipping away.

He laughed lightly and I realised my mouth had fallen open. "Come on, you'll fall asleep."

I felt him stand from the sofa and I frowned as he linked his hand in mine, raising it from its resting place.

"Just think of that big cosy bed of yours…"

I opened my eyes and reluctantly got to my feet. "Fine," I yawned, "But your sofa might just be comfier."

He grinned as he headed for the breakfast bar. "I'm not letting you sleep on a sofa." He turned to me. "And I think we just agreed that the next best place is a short drive away."

I went to find my shoes and tried not to think how comfy his bed might be. A small part of me was already plotting how to get Edward to not make it back home tonight, but I cast those thoughts away as I trusted my instinct from earlier. I didn't want us diving in the deep end before we'd barely paddled. You can only tread water for so long and I wanted us to have the best chance of making this work.

"Ready?" he asked, appearing in the hallway donning a leather jacket. It looked damn good with his pants and shirt. I noticed he'd done away with the tie, and the top couple of buttons of his shirt were open. What was he trying to do to me?

He was either a great actor, or he had no clue just how much he affected me.

"Sure," I replied, my voice an octave higher than normal. I cleared my throat. "Let's go."

A/N: Thank you. x