Disclaimer - Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

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EPOV

Silence, but a comfortable silence. I was walking Bella across the quad to get my car in the student parking lot. I did not know about Bella, but I was back in the happy bubble that we were in yesterday. When I looked down at her walking at my side she had a distant happy look on her face which mirrored someone who looked like they just overcame a huge hurdle in their lives. I just confessed to Bella that I was in love with her but I still did not really know her.

When we reached my car I heard a small gasp escape from Bella.

"This is your car?"

I looked over my Volvo S60R with sad eyes. I loved my car. My parents bought it as a present for my birthday last year when I moved out of the dorms. I supposed it was not exactly what a 21 year old man would drive but it was my car.

"Yes, it is actually. Is there something wrong?"

Bella laughed when she saw my sad face and quickly shook her head. "No, it's perfect. It suits you actually."

I opened the passenger door for her to enter before going to my own seat. "Suits me? Care to elaborate?"

I started the engine and pulled out of my spot. "Yeah, it suits you. Most people say that a car is the reflection of the owner's personality. That is exactly what you have with your car. It's comfortable, you feel safe in it and it's just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside." Bella said.

Thanking God silently for letting a light change ahead of us, I looked over to Bella and rested my hand on her cheek before leaning to press my lips softly on hers. When I pulled away, I let my forehead rest on hers for a while and whispered, "Thank you." The car behind us honked its horn at us to signal that the light changed once more.

While I stared ahead, I felt Bella's hand brushed mine before she made to move it away. Quickly, but as not to startle her, I reached back for her hand and brought it to my lips before intertwining our fingers and bringing it to rest between our seats.

"You know," I started, "the way you described the relationship I had with my car sounded more like something you would have with a car of your own."

Bella's musical laughter filled the car at that. "Actually, my truck back home screams the exact opposite. She's a huge '53 Chevy, loud and definitely stands out in a crowd."

I thought about what she said before I replied. "I know that model… and I think you're wrong. I think there's one quality that you and your truck have in common."

She rolled her eyes and looked at me sceptically. "Really? And what would that be?"

I took my eyes off the road long enough to truly convey my answer. "You both leave a lasting impression. Once you see it, you'll never forget it."

Bella took in a sharp breath and continued to look at me. A couple minutes of silence later I began to somewhat regret my comment when I felt Bella pinch my forearm rather viciously for someone so small.

"Ow! What was that for?" I protested.

"I'm sorry. There's still a small part of me that thinks you are just too good to be true." Bella explained as she leaned across the space between us and gave me a kiss on my cheek, letting her lips linger there before she moved away.

"Oh, Bella. I think of you the same way… but you don't see me pinching you." I said, trying to lighten the mood. It worked when my car was once again filled with her laugh.

Ten minutes and countless changes on the satellite radio between me and Bella later, I finally pulled into the parking lot of my small apartment building. It was modelled after a Queen Anne Victorian structure and stood out with its bold terracotta and white exterior. My apartment was on the third floor with only two other rooms. The entire building only housed ten apartments on three floors. It was quiet and exactly what I needed when I decided to move out from the dorms.

I stepped out of the car and hurried over to Bella's side before she could exit herself. I wanted to be a perfect gentleman because she deserved nothing less. I led Bella into the building holding her hand. As we climbed the stairs, she quietly inquired, "Edward, why did you decide to move out from the dorms?"

Thinking back on it now, there was really only one reason why I bothered to move in the first place. "To get away from the hazardous social environment. My hall always hosted beer keg parties one after another and soon got tiring. I studied successfully in the library but the parties still raged when I wanted to get some sleep. I sound like an old man walking with a cane, don't I?"

Bella brought her arm around my waist and rested her head just below my shoulder. "No, you don't, but you do realise that that's part of being in college."

I laughed. "Yes, I know. I guess I should have mention I only moved here four months ago. I stayed in the dorms for two years under the encouragement of my brother and because I knew that it was really a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Okay, well that's not so bad." She conceded.

Bella moved to say something else but did not when I stopped us in front of my door. I quickly opened the door and let her through before I stepped in. She stood dazed mere feet away from the door. Her head darted to every inch of the apartment.

"Wow. Edward, your place is amazing." She complimented as she started walking around the living room. Bella guided her fingertips along the brown leather sofa before making her way to the small dining room and admiring the stained glass table there.

"Thank you, although I can't take credit for it. My mother's as a flair for decorating and interior design so she put her skill to work when I decided to move here. I will pass along the compliments though." I said.

Bella moved towards the glass doors which lead to the small balcony overlooking the nearby park. She did not make a move to go out but instead looked through the door where her face was illuminated with the dull sunlight. The sight took my breath away as I made my way over to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist, ran my nose along her neck inhaling her scent and rested my chin on her small shoulder.

I felt the heat rise up her skin and settled in her cheeks while she blushed. Bella turned her face towards me and smiled. Unable to hold back any longer I took her lips to mine, sweetly at first and deepened it seconds after. I slipped my tongue into her warm mouth and massaged her tongue with mine. I groaned into the kiss at the sensation and Bella's hands found their way to my hair. She tugged slightly sending a shot of warmth immediately between my legs. I let my hands travel down her sides tracing circles with my thumbs until I reached lower to grab her ass, lifting her up so that she can wrap her legs around my waist.

Our kiss remained unbroken while I made my way clumsily to the sofa. I sat down so that Bella would be straddling me; her breasts were pushed into my chest and I could feel the warmth emanating between her legs. I made the mistake of slightly shifting under her when I felt myself immediately come into contact right between her legs. We both gasped into each other's mouths but held still and continued our assault with our mouths.

I reached between our bodies and took Bella's breasts into my hands without ceremony or notice. I started to palm them earnestly through her clothes and felt her peaks grow hard under my touch. Soon after, Bella started to rock her hips on mine, grounding herself on my steel hard erection. Her hands in my hair were still tugging in the most erotic way while she continued her onslaught on my lap.

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BPOV

Holy fuck. I was going to come into my jeans if this did not stop soon but neither of us made any move or indication of that feeling. When I woke up this morning I was not even prepared to meet Edward that day, far less imagining this would be happening.

Less than an hour ago Edward gracefully told me that he was falling in love with me. All those times I thought that no one noticed me, that I was just to be another hidden face in the crowds, Edward was always there… his words continually struck the chords of my heart and before I knew it, I was confessing my feelings to him as well.

I was more than horrified when my stomach growled in front of him but not totally surprised when he offered once again to cook a meal for me. He was spoiling me and he knew it, after all, whoever had a taste of Edward would definitely want more, pun fucking intended.

His apartment was gorgeous; there was no other word for it. It was bigger than I lived in right now and exquisitely decorated by his mother. The colours were vibrant when I honestly expected him to be an all-beige person. The living room alone was filled with light blues and dark reds, even some green and yellow. Of course his apartment was not what was turning me on right now.

I ground my hips deep and long into Edward's lap. My center was hitting exactly into the strained erection in his jeans and the added friction of our clothes still on us had my head spinning. Not long after, Edward seemed to give up some control and added small upward thrusts of his out. For the first time, I pulled away from our kiss desperate for breath. Leaning my forehead on his, I saw that his eyes were closed and I felt his forehead wrinkled under mine. Moving my lips to his ear, I whispered, "Edward, look at me." because I needed more than ever to lose myself in his stunning green orbs.

I pulled back so I could look into his face and he can look into mine. Our movements came faster as I felt myself teetering on the edge. Edward's breaths came faster as his thrusts grew more determined. I was already there but felt the need to come together with Edward. Before I could make a move, Edward's eyes turned darker and I saw that he was there as well. I drew myself closer to him once again and took his lips into mine before saying, "Please, Come with me."

At my words, Edward thrusted once more into me and moaned as he came. I held out long enough to see how elegant his face looked while experiencing his pleasure and followed soon after throwing my head back and uttering a small cry. I fell against his chest and his arms wrapped around me, clinging me tightly to him. Our breaths slowed as we sat in silence letting our fingers roam the other's bodies.

After unknown time had passed, not only did my stomach growl and embarrass me again, but so did Edward's. We looked at each other and an unstoppable fit of giggles escaped us.

Edward was the first to calm down and moved one of his hands to pat my stomach. "Okay, okay. We're going to feed you."

I fell once more into laughter at his gesture as we made to get off the couch and into the kitchen. His kitchen was opened to the rest of the apartment. All of Edward's appliances were stainless steel and his island's counter was black granite. Not wanting him to go through much trouble for a simple lunch I proposed something simple.

"How about some spaghetti? It's been a while since I've had decent spaghetti and meatballs."

Sure enough, he complied. "That sounds great." He said as he moved around the kitchen gathering the appropriate ingredients.

"Can I help this time?" I asked, making sure to use my sad puppy dog eyes this time.

He laughed when he turned to see it and said, "Sure, of course. It's really only fair that the person with the Italian name gets to have a helping hand with Italian food."

As the pasta cooked, Edward and I worked together on the marinara and meatballs. Forty-five minutes later and surprisingly no injuries to me, we were sitting at his small stained glass table with our steaming plates of pasta.

I noticed that while eating, a concerned and worrying expression grew on Edward's face. I was just about to ask him about him when he suddenly blurted out what had been troubling him.

"What are you going to tell Tanya?" he asked almost sadly.

I felt my gaze shift down where I began to absentmindedly play with my food. I realised that I had not thought about what this revelation would do my relationship with Tanya.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "She is my best friend and more as you know. I know that she would be happy for me, I can't see myself telling her about this." I glanced up to look at Edward to see his eyebrows knitted together, still worrisome. I reached for his hand around the table and took it in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, we'll think of something."

He smiled at me and started picking at his pasta, just as I was doing to mine with our hands were still together on the table.

"Can I ask you something?" Edward asked.

"Anything." I would truly tell him anything at this point.

"How did you and Tanya become so close?"

Aah… I knew he would have asked that sooner or later. Frankly, I was glad that he asked now.

"Tanya and I were roommates since freshman year and since then we've requested to always be roomed together. The moment we met, we clicked, it was like finding your long lost twin or something like that. In my sophomore year I had a boyfriend, Jim." I looked into Edward's eyes to see how he was taking the story so far. He simply squeezed my hand and smiled in an effort to have me continue.

"He was great. Smart, exciting, funny. Everyone I knew loved to be around him. Our relationship continuously grew without fault and I began to think if it was possible that he was the one." I sighed and continued. "The weekend before our nine month anniversary I decided to do something special. I was going to make him dinner and surprise him at this apartment because he had a tough assignment that week and I wanted to have him relax." I took a deep breath and calmed myself at the memory of what happened next.

"When everything was organised, I laid myself out his bed in lingerie that Tanya helped me buy and waited for him to come home. When he did however, it was when he stumbled through the door kissing some other girl in his arms. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me and I just ran out of there before he could tell me anything. Jim ran after me trying to explain that she was his old high school girlfriend who was in town for a visit and things just got out of control. I disregarded his pleas and continued to walk back to my room."

Edward rose off his seat and walked around the table to kneel in front of me. Taking my both hands into his, he brought them to his lips and kissed them sweetly. "You deserve so much better than that asshole, Bella."

I ran one of my hands through his hair and rested it on his cheek. "Thank you." He continued to kneel in front of me before asking me if I wanted to continue, I did.

"When Tanya got home that night, she told me the exact thing you just did. She also made a move to go over to his apartment and kick his ass but I stopped her before she reached the door. Tanya spent every night and weekend with me trying to make me feel better and reassuring me that it was nothing that I did to deserve this. After one very drunken night, we took comfort in each other. The morning after, we could not deny that there was something between us and we've been like that ever since."

Edward finally rose to his feet and bent down to kiss my lips. "Thank you for telling me. I know it was probably very difficult." I just nodded and smiled as he made his way back to his seat.

A couple minutes after he asked, "Has Tanya ever had a boyfriend while you two have been together?"

I also knew that this question was coming. I swallowed thickly and replied. "Yes, she has. It never really affected us. Our friendship never faltered but I guess you can say that our sex life was not vibrant anymore. Tanya felt guilty for that but I assured her that it was fine."

Edward nodded in understanding. "That's why you said that Tanya would be happy for you if you told her about us."

I nodded sadly. "Exactly. But there's one difference. Tanya likes you. I can't explain it, but she does. We've ever only had three other guys over the way you were, and she's never shown an interest in any of them as she's had you."

I felt a gentle squeeze once more on my hand and Edward's finger under my chin. He looked into my eyes fiercely when I finally looked up. "Bella, you are the one that I care about. I understand that Tanya is your best friend, and you love her, but I do not think that she would want you to be as conflicted as you are."

I felt tears welling in my eyes as I explained my thoughts. "I know, but after everything she's done for me, I feel sort of indebted to her. When she asked you to rejoin us this weekend I wanted nothing more than for you to tell her no. I could not imagine being with you both after I realised how I felt for you. I wanted you to say 'no' so I can be happy, but a part of me wanted you to say 'yes' so Tanya would be happy."

Edward walked over to my side once more and bid me to stand up. He placed both of his hands on my cheeks and pulled me into a deep kiss.

"Bella, you are an amazing and selfless person. Let's add that to my ongoing list of reasons I love you. I would do anything you say this weekend, whether you tell me 'yes' or 'no' I would do it." He said passionately.

I laughed sadly and rested my head against his chest, hearing his heart beating. We stood there for minutes before I finally spoke.

"Don't do it."

He pulled away and looked at me seriously, carefully and concerned.

"Are you sure?" Edward asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." I answered, thrown off by how confident I sounded.

"What will you tell Tanya?"

"The truth. She doesn't deserve lies, especially not from me." I said.

Edward nodded and pulled me back into his embrace while I mentally prepared myself for what I would do later that evening. I decided that if Tanya truly was my best friend, she would be ecstatic, but I still wondered if I had it in me to tell her the truth.

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First of all, I'm deeply sorry for the late update - I blame the T20 cricket tournament.

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