All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

about two chapters after this one.

i know. but this was never meant to be lengthy. love?

"Well, the cat is out of the bag," I deadpanned, approaching Alice.

She swung her legs from her perch atop the wall she was sitting on, her lips twitching in a faint smile.

Hoisting myself up, I settled down beside her. From our vantage point we had a prime view of the party: Em , Jasper and Edward over at the mini-bar and coolers, Jessica, Lauren and their clique gossiping near the grill, Tyler, Mike and a bunch of guys from the football team smoking by the table and chairs, and a few other kids i didn't know that well.

"So…?" Alice asked, bumping me with her shoulder like she always did.

"So?" I bit back a stupid smile.

"Ooh, you slut, I knew it!" she squealed.

I gave her the evil eye. "Okay, now you need to chill."

"Spill it," she prodded. Only Alice had eyes capable of literally sparkling.

I shrugged. "You know what happened, Alice, I don't need to spell it out. We did…it…a few times."

"A few times? Damn!"

"Oh, please, like Jasper stops at once," I snorted, rocking an epic eye-roll.

Alice turned the color of rhubarb.

"Ha," I crowed. I knew it! You think you're so slick…"

"Anyway, we're discussing the recent developments in your love life," she said, waving me off.

"Is that what we're doing?" I murmured, watching Edward laugh uproariously at something Emmett was doing. I looked away before he caught me ogling though; this was a delicate game we were playing and I needed to make sure I didn't trip up.

Keep it casual, keep it light. Don't be weird. Don't stare. No clinging. No staring. Unless he stares.

I snuck a glance out of the corner of my eye.

He was staring.

Inner fist pump.

"What are you smirking about?" Alice asked, poking me with a freshly painted pale pink nail.

I nodded subtly toward the boys and she snapped her eyes their way, a knowing smile creeping across her face. "Ah."

I picked at a string on the hem of my hoodie. "Whatever. It's just…"

She nodded. "I know."

Rosalie sauntered over, resplendent in a sea green maxi dress that she would've been freezing in except she'd matched it with a little jacket. Nothing that girl wore looked bad, I swear.

"'Sup, girlies?" she asked, settling between my legs, her elbows on my thighs.

I gathered her honeyblonde hair in my hands, playing with it. "Coconut?"

"With lemon verbena," she affirmed, shaking her hair like a little pony.

"Smells good," I said, smelling it again. Alice leaned over, taking a whiff.

"Can I smell it?" Emmett snickered, next to us out of nowhere, waggling his eyebrows.

"You already have," Rose sighed, feigning boredom.

"Okay, too much information," I groaned, pushing her from me and into Em's open arms. "Where's Edward? He was supposed to get me a beer."

Cold and wet on my neck answered my question and I yelped, cringing away. Edward grinned, handing me the green bottle in his hand.

"Took ya long enough," I said, immediately berating myself for such coy silliness.

Edward tilted his head, his eyes searching mine. "Been waiting long?"

So, we weren't talking about beer anymore.

I shrugged. "Maybe."

He nodded, two steps bringing his body to where Rose's had been a minute before. My heart dropped into my feet, that fluttery feeling that was really good but super nervy.

We sipped beer, staring at each other. Alice slipped off of the wall, patting my thigh before making a swift exit.

"So, everyone knows," he commented, grinning crookedly.

"That's okay," I said, locking my feet behind him.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, finishing his brew and settling the bottle on the wall next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, bringing us even closer. My heart thumped in acknowledgment, and I started shivering.

"Cold?" he whispered, looking at something behind me.

"A little," I whispered back, trying to calm the quivers.

He looked down, kind of laughing silently.

"What?" I asked, kind of laughing too.

"I heard Riley… talking about how good you look…"

I nodded, glancing over his shoulder. Riley and some of the guys were playing cards. His eyes shifted to mine just then and I looked away before he thought I was checking him out.

"So?" I said tickling my fingers along the hair at the base of Edward's neck.

"So, nothing. It's true. "

"Hmm." My stomach folded in on itself.

Our eyes locked.

"I like this," I said after a moment, lifting my hands to his shoulders. I didn't care who saw us. Like Edward said, they already knew anyway.

He nodded. "Me too. Want another beer?"

this was emailed to me today, and i found it so fitting. i think we should all participate in dairy queen's fundraiser thingie. it's for the kiddies, 'kay?

oceanic edward and bella will so be there.

http:/miracletreatday(dot)com/