So sorry for the long delay! Good news! I am officially DONE with my undergraduate career—I graduate officially in 1.5 weeks.

Thanks to every single reviewer—you keep me reading. Also, many, many thanks to: my fab beta xmyrin, the ladies at The_Gazebo, and to everyone who supports me during the writing of these chapters.

I do not own Twilight or any other published work. I own: a white leather Coach purse, several stacks of Vanity Fair magazines, and a ticket stub from seeing Star Trek (FYI: I am head-over-heels in love with Chris Pine right now).

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For the entire car ride I was wringing my hands—where was he taking me? His place? Oh no—was he wanting sex? I was by no means ready for that. Not that I wasn't experienced in that department, I just accepted my feeling and intentions for Edward, I don't think jumping the gun so quickly would be the smartest choice.

Slowly the number of streetlights started to become fewer and fewer. Where the hell are we going? Did he live this far out? Or maybe instead of the professor that made my stomach house thousands of butterflies whenever he was nearby, he was some kind of crazy stalker that would take me to the middle of no where, rape me, and them chop me up into a lot of small pieces—burying me in some massive hole.

Maybe you should stop reading The Lovely Bones, Bella.

The car slowed to a stop. We were in a dark, heavily forested area. I saw a single streetlight about 50 feet away, its large globe bulb eerily floating in the air. Edward started shrugging and he handed me his blazer, "Don't want you to be cold." I unbuckled my seat belt and shrugged his blazer on—the shoulders falling a few inches down my arms and the sleeve hems almost covering my hands.

He opened my door and offered me his hand. I took it and stood up. "Thanks. Where are we?"

Edward smiled. "Connecticut River."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that, I can hear it. But where are we?"

He started to lead the way, but I could see grassy and mud—even in the limited light. I didn't take a step, making him tug me a few inches. "What?" He asked.

"Alice would kill me if anything happened to these shoes."

Edward flashed his crooked grin and nodded, sweeping me into his arms—carrying me as if he was carrying me across the threshold. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, inhaling his scent. "I come here to think." He said, whispering in my ear.

He set me down on a large cement palate, the edge hanging over a 10-foot drop into mud and tree roots—the river shore about 20 feet away. Edward stepped to the edge and sat down, his legs hanging. I stepped next to him, trying to figure out whether to potentially get my dress dirty or his blazer. His blazer would just be rude, but Alice and Rosalie would get livid if they saw a speck of mud on the dress. But they don't have to know, Bella….

Edward looked back at me and smiled, "Sit down Bella, I don't care too much for that blazer anyways." I nodded and sat down next to him, my arm brushing against his. His hand found mine and intertwined our fingers.

I took in the scenery a bit more before speaking. "Do you need to think now?"

"No…I just, wanted to show you this place." He turned to face me. "Thought you might like it."

The autumn wind started to pick up, blowing locks of fair in my face. Edward helped me brush them away and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

"Do you think…that we should have some ground rules?" I asked.

"Hmm…what do you mean by ground rules?"

"Ground rules. Like. Umm…" I turned my head to face him. "This isn't exactly orthodox—you and I. And I figure that we need to have precautions to make sure neither one of us go down burning."

Edward half-grinned. "Go down burning…" His hand snaked around my wais., "Okay…so. Ground rules." I nodded and he kissed the spot below my earlobe. "No skirts above the knee when you come to my class."

I snorted. "It's about to be winter Edward, I doubt I'd be wearing a skirt anytime soon." I cleared my throat. "And by 'ground rules' I meant things like no physical contact in your office or…" My breath caught, his fingers started tracing random designs on my back, his thumb drawing circles over my spine. I gulped. "or…something of the sort."

His free hand drifted over to my thigh and he pulled me into his lap, my dress slightly riding up my legs that were on either sides of his. "So far we have no physical contact in my office," he kissed me below my jaw, "no skirts in my class," his lips traveled lower to the juncture of my neck and shoulders—placing a kiss there. "Anything else?"

I felt his breath on my shoulders, his proximity overwhelming me. "Maybe…" I gulped. "No in-town…rendezvous'."

Edward chuckled softly, placing brief kisses down my shoulders, moving the blazer out of his way. "I like that…" One of his hands slid up my arm and into my hair. "We can do out of town dates." He tilted his head back to look at me and kissed my nose. "We can go to Boston for a weekend," he kissed the apple of my cheek. "New York for another." He kissed the corner of my mouth. "Maybe a long weekend in Toronto."

His lips brushed against mine and my eyelids fluttered. I felt his other hand brush against my forearms, gently moving up and down. Taking a deep breath I asked, "How old are you?"

Edward kissed me again, his lips tugging on my bottom lip. I felt him smile. "Almost 29…" His hands moved to my hips, "Any more questions?"

"What's the youngest you've dated?"

He pulled away, his brows furrowed. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"What's the youngest you've dated?"

He grinned. "That would be 13, when I had my first girlfriend. However I think you mean the largest age difference. That would be two years younger than me."

Something dropped inside, disappointment? How would I measure up? We were six…almost seven years apart. Would he mind? I bit my bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say next.

Edward swept a lock of hair out of my face and readjusted the blazer to cover me fully. "Bella…" his eyes softened. "What's wrong?"

"I'm almost seven years younger than you."

"And?"

I shook my head, "It doesn't bother you?"

He grinned. "Why would it bother me? You are smart, independent, and attractive. Age doesn't play in." His hand ran up and down my back. "You are an undergrad, I had an idea about your age when this started. If it bothered me I wouldn't be here with you." He took a deep breath. "Is this a problem for you?

I blinked. "I—I don't know." I looked into the dark distance behind Edward. "I guess if it isn't a problem for you…"

"We can take this as slow as you want." He grinned. "Anything else you want to know about me?"

I looked him in the eye and sat back slightly. "I…I haven't done anything like this. Ever. This is me on a leap of faith. I'm here because I am very, very attracted to you. And I trust you."

Edward inhaled deeply and slowly nodded. "Okay…"

"Okay," I breathed.

"Okay," he grinned. "What's next?"

I smiled and took his face in my hands, pulling him to me for a kiss. Yes, good Bella. Kissing is always a good idea. For an immeasurable amount of time we were there in the pseudo-darkness, kissing at sporadic rhythms—our tongues fighting for control. His hands wandered and finally were making their way up my legs and under my dress, his fingers brushing against the sides of my favorite pair of La Perla's. He groaned. "Bella," his voice dropped a register, "Are those…" he gulped.

Smirking I kissed him. "La Perla."

"Fuck," he murmured. He looked up at me. "I'm taking you back."

"Why?" I smirked. "Do you want them as a souvenir?" WHOA? Where the hell did that come from?

Edward gaped for several moments before taking a deep breath. "Because if we stay here I don't think I could control myself."

I then noticed how hot I felt, his hands still up my dress, so close to where my body wanted them. "But…"

"Bella," he sighed. "If we stay here…" Edward pursed his lip., "If we stay I might not be able to control myself…with you in that position…propositioning me…" He hands receded and settled on my hips. "It would be better to wait."

I slowly nodded and stood up, offering him my hand. Edward grinned as he took it before scooping me back in his arms, carrying me back to the car. Our ride home was pleasant, him holding my hand—bringing it to his lips to occasionally kiss.

We got to my apartment and once we got to my door, I turned towards him. "Do you want to come in?"

Edward's eyes clouded over and he pinned me against the door, kissing my roughly—his tongue assaulting my mouth. I giggled as I backed my head out of the kiss. "Is that my answer?"

He rested his forehead against mine, panting. "Bella, I don't think tonight would be the best night."

"Okay," I whispered. I unlocked my door and was thankful to find my apartment dark and silent. "Good night, Edward."

"Good night, Bella."