A/N: Thanks so much for reading this little story, and for the sweet reviews. I especially love hearing from those who read it in the past and are enjoying it again.

A good song for this chapter: "Skyscrapers" by OK Go

Sneak Peek: "Okay, then. Surprise me. Impress me."

My mind catches up with my body slowly as I wake up. I stretch out fully, warmed by the sun streaming in through the window. The feeling of fingers fluttering softly against my skin brings me back to reality.

Edward's lying on his stomach, his face all but buried in the pillow. His arm is slung over my waist, hand resting on my exposed right hipbone where my shirt has ridden up. This new intimacy makes my entire body hum. His fingers flutter against my skin, the pressure increasing gradually as he turns his face into the pillow and stretches with a groan. By the time he turns to me with heavy eyelids, he's gripping my hip. I don't mind. It kind of turns me on.

"Good morning," His voice thick with sleep and his smile is timid.

"Morning," I say quietly. We lie staring at each other as his index finger traces tiny circles on my hip, and my skin prickles from head to toe. When it gets a little bit awkward, we both laugh softly.

"Did you really kiss me last night?" There's a hint of giddy disbelief in his voice.

"Yes. And you kissed me back."

"I did," he agrees, pulling me into his arms. "Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?"

I shake my head and close my eyes, sinking into his sleepy warmth.

"Probably since the third time we met."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If I was being really honest, I'd say I wanted to kiss you the first time I saw you. But you were all covered in snot and tears."

"You're mean."

"I'm not."

"I know."

"Bella, believe me when I say that that kiss last night… It's the best thing I've experienced in my life."

I scoff and look away. "Stop. You're silly."

He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. "I'm serious. I care so deeply for you. And to think that you feel the same way about me is…just…"

"I do care for you," I say. "Very much."

He leans in and gives me a soft, innocent kiss on the lips. I fear my morning breath will scare him off, so I pull away after a few seconds.

"You know what sucks about being the only two people here?"

He squints and pretends to think hard. "I can't think of anyone else I'd want around right now."

"There's no one else to put on the coffee."

"Oh, that is a shame."

"It is. Because I really don't want to get out of bed right now."

"Uh, neither do I," he says.

"Well, it's either get up and make the coffee or go back to sleep. Or let me brush my teeth so you can kiss me properly."

"Hmm. I like that last option. But you don't need to get up…"

"Yes, I do," I insist. "I have horrible cotton mouth."

"How's your head?" he asks. "Hungover or anything?"

"Surprisingly, no. You?"

"Nope."

We snuggle together for a bit before the beckoning promise of coffee and the need to pee become too loud for either of us to ignore. After I use the bathroom, I go straight to the kitchen to start breakfast so he can have whatever privacy he needs. Before I can even get the coffee beans poured into the grinder, he pulls me into his warm, still bare chest and nuzzles into my neck.

"You smell so good," he murmurs.

"Really?"

He inhales deeply. "Yeah."

"Oh." I'm too busy enjoying the light tickle of his breath and the way his nose grazes the skin behind my ear to concentrate on his words. When he presses a kiss to my ear, I melt in his arms.

"How about that coffee?" he whispers.

I shiver. "Um, okay."

"I'll make breakfast."

I'm instinctively on high alert, casting him a dubious look. "Do you cook better than your siblings?"

"Of course. Someone has to know how. Man cannot live on pizza and Chinese takeout alone."

"Okay, then. Surprise me. Impress me." I take the pitcher of cold water from the fridge and pour two glasses, handing one to Edward as I gulp mine down.

"Oh, you mean I don't already do that on the reg?"

"Well, of course. I thought that was understood. I just want to see if you can step up your game."

He tosses me an arrogant look over his shoulder as he rummages through the cabinets. "Oh, just you wait. You have a waffle iron. Do you know what this means?"

"I assume it means you're making waffles."

"The world's best waffles."

"I dunno. I'm pretty spoiled by Jasper's cooking."

He raises an eyebrow. "I hope that's the only talent he spoiled you with."

"Ew!" I cry. "Don't say things like that. He's like my brother." I take the opportunity to cut him off with the loud whirring of the coffee grinder. He starts to say something, and I release the button. "What was that?" As soon as he starts talking, I press the button again.

He leans back on the counter with his arms crossed and waits as I giggle. When the grinder ceases its whirring, I go through the motions of making coffee. A pair of arms surrounds me from behind, and soft lips whisper against my ear.

"Are you finished interrupting me?"

"Are you finishing saying gross things?" I counter. His reply is another kiss right below my ear. I melt back into his arms again as he peppers kisses down my neck and across my shoulder, pushing my hair to the side with his nose. I inhale slowly, savoring the feel of his lips on my skin, his body pressed against mine, the scent of…something burning? I jump and turn to see thin curls of smoke coming from the waffle iron. "Edward!"

"What the hell is that?" He makes it to the other side of the kitchen in one stride. He unplugs the iron and opens it to find black, burned bits stuck to the surface.

"Rosalie," I say through gritted teeth. "She must not have cleaned it after the last time she tried to use it."

Edward laughs. "What is it with her and breakfast?"

"She gets these grand ideas in her head, but her attention span is about the size of a flea's."

"We can wait for it to cool down and clean it," he says between chuckles.

"At least we have coffee in the meantime."

"Hmm. I can think of something else I'd rather have in the meantime," he murmurs. His arms go around me again, and I turn my face up to his. Our lips meet for our first real kiss since last night. His lips are soft against mine. A thrill chases his fingers down my spine until they rest at the small of my back, and he presses my body closer to his until I'm gathered tightly against his bare chest. I wrap my arms around his neck, hands playing languidly in the hair at the nape. It's altogether lazy, sensuous, and steamy.

My lips feel swollen when he pulls back, and I open my eyes to find his still half-closed. "Have I told you how much I love kissing you?" I ask shyly.

"I don't remember. But you can tell me as much as you want."

The perma-grin on my face is starting to make my cheeks hurt. "Splash of cream?" I ask, turning back to the counter to prepare our coffee.

"That's what she said," he mutters with a snort.

"You did not."

"Oh, I did."

I hate "that's what she said" jokes, but I let it slide since he just kissed me into oblivion. He grabs a banana from the bunch on the counter and offers me half, trading for a mug of coffee. He hums as he sips it, and it's weird, but I'm sort of proud of myself for knowing how he takes his coffee.

Now that we're watered and partially fed, there's nothing to prevent us from having that talk we need to have. Truth be told, I'm a little nervous. I don't know why. I'm in this. I want it.

We go to the living room, and when we're situated on the couch under a blanket, a slightly more serious look takes over Edward's features. "So…" he says. "Who should start?"

"Um. You go ahead." I might be ready to do this, but I want to hear what he has to say first. Part of me is afraid, though I know I shouldn't be.

He seems relieved, and it makes me sad to think he's worried I'll shut down or back out.

"I'm still kind of reeling, Bella." He pauses and clears his throat, and I give him an encouraging smile. "I don't want to pressure you. You've known how I feel about you for a while. But I don't want you to feel…obligated just because you kissed me." I shake my head and start to tell him that's the exact opposite of how I feel, but he keeps going. "I know more than anyone how hurt you were when…" He trails off and clears his throat again. "I want you to know that I'm willing to be a part of your life in whatever capacity you'll have me."

I wait to make sure he's finished before reaching for his hand. "I want this," I say, looking him steadily in the eye. "I want to be with you, Edward. I've been stupid. I don't know why—"

"You were hurt," he interrupts.

"I wasn't. I haven't been for a long time. It's just…I don't want to lose you."

He reaches up to brush his fingers across my face. "I've told you, you're not going to lose me. I'm not going anywhere."

My eyes close as I melt a little more. "I treasure your friendship more than anything else." I look down at our entwined hands between us, then focus on his gorgeous face again. "But I want this."

A beautiful smile spreads slowly across his face. "Good" He leans in and kisses me once on each cheek before leaning his forehead against mine. We sit that way for what could be minutes or hours. I love the way his breath washes over my cheek, the way his hand squeezes mine tightly, the way he closes his eyes when emotion seems to be too much.

Of course I've felt the thrill of something new before, the way chills run down my spine at mere contact. But it's never felt so profound as it does now with Edward. Never before has someone made me feel like laughing, crying, and bouncing around the room all at once. It's new and beautiful, and it makes me wonder if I've ever really been in love before.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. "I'm sorry I made you wait so long. It was just my stupid insecurity."

"Don't apologize. That's my girlfriend you keep calling stupid."

"Is that what I am?" I whisper.

A pink tinge rises high on his cheeks. "If—" He swallows hard before continuing. "If that's what you want."

"Is it what you want?"

"Very much."

I smile. "Then that's what I am." Before I can say anything else, he leans in and kisses me soundly on the mouth. It takes me a second to react, but when I do, I return the kiss with as much fervor as he does and wrap my arms around his neck. His hands tangle in my hair as his lips move with mine. I make an embarrassing sound when his tongue finds its way into my mouth. He pulls away slowly, too soon, leaving me with a pounding heart and shortness of breath.

"So what about that breakfast?" he asks in a low voice.

There are other things I'd like to make together, but I nod and push my hair back from my face. "Yeah," I say with a sigh. "I guess I'm pretty hungry."

He laughs again and stands, pulling me up into a hug, and my mind wanders back to his hands and lips on me. I'm definitely hungry. For more than breakfast.

"What are you crazy kids up to?" Emmett asks when we walk through the Cullens' front door a few hours later.

Rose's head pops up from the opposite end of the couch. She raises an eyebrow at me, then clutches her head and groans. "Never drinking again."

"I've heard that before." I sit beside her and stroke her hair. "Poor Rosalie."

"Cuddle with me, bestie."

I snort. "Are you still drunk?"

She glares at me briefly. "I suppose you'd rather cuddle with Edward these days."

I look up at Edward, who grins at the blush that must cover my face. "I'm gonna go shower," he says, dropping a kiss on the top of my head before he disappears down the hall.

Rosalie looks at me pointedly. Emmett's attention is turned to the football game on the television, but he wears a smug grin anyway.

"Details," Rose demands. "What happened?"

I slide down to the floor and lean my head back on the couch. "Nothing much, really. We talked."

"About…"

"Everything." I don't especially feel like giving a play-by-play with Emmett sitting right next to me. "Everything's good."

She smiles, and I know she understands. "I'm glad," she says, ruffling my hair and then combing it out with her fingers.

"Where's Alice?" I ask.

"She went furniture shopping with Jasper. We're taking bets on how long it'll be before she moves in."

"Didn't we just go over this?" Emmett asks. "My baby sister's not moving out of this house until she's thirty." I know he's joking, but I also wonder if it's weird for them to have their siblings dating each other.

"You know, if both of you guys got married and had kids, you'll be double aunt and uncle."

"What?" Rose says with no small amount of shock.

"Think about it. If Alice and Jasper had a kid, you'd be its aunt by blood and marriage."

"Leave it to you to take the romance out of something with your silly logic."

"Her brain's warped from studying all the time," Emmett says as he pats her pajama-clad leg.

"Sorry," I say with a shrug. "I was just wondering if it's weird for you guys."

Edward calls my name from his room, and I take the opportunity to remove my foot from my mouth and use it to walk down the hall. I enter through his open door to find him pulling a sweatshirt on over a well-worn C of C t-shirt. His hair is wet from the shower, turning it from bronze to a deep brown. It both a contrast and an enhancement to his soft green eyes.

"You rang?"

"I thought you might need rescuing from prying questions."

I laugh, but my heart thumps in my chest. "I handled it just fine, thank you. What are you doing?"

"Looking for my running shoes." He kneels in front of his open closet, digging through a pile of what I assume are dirty clothes.

"What's that?" I kneel beside him and pull out an old milk crate that had been pushed into a corner. "Records?"

"Yeah." He sits back to put on the shoe he just found. "They're my dad's. I've had my eye on them for a while. Just got them from him a few months ago."

"What are they doing buried in the back of your closet?" I flip through the albums, impressed by the collection. "Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd…Carly Simon?"

"Maybe it was Mom's," he says as he unearths his other shoe from under a pile of jeans.

"These are great, Edward. Why are they hiding back here?"

"I don't have a way to listen to them. Ready to run?"

"Yeah, I guess." I sigh. "Do we have to?"

He laughs and grabs my hand. "No, we don't have to do anything."

My heart skips another beat at the adoring look on his face. "You did just conduct a minor excavation to find those shoes. Maybe we should."

"Let's go, then." He pulls me against him with a rough tug and kisses me softly, and I can't believe we haven't been doing this forever. It feels like we have. But it hasn't even been twenty-four hours. "Okay," he says when he breaks the kiss. "Ready?"

I back away, dazed. It's the third time today he's done that—getting me all worked up, leaving me breathless, then stopping short. The layers of clothing I put on in anticipation of running in cold weather are now too hot. It's kind of funny, really. I know we both want to go slow…but I can already tell that's going to be very, very difficult.