AN: I've given up waiting for Twilighted to update before I update over here. So you should be expecting these updates as soon as they're ready instead of waiting for Twilighted. Um... um... I don't really have anything to say except big huge thanks to Dazzle for being an awesome beta. Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, and recommending my story.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Screaming Epiphany

____

BPOV

As soon as we were in the house, I made a beeline for the stairs and ran up to Edward's old bedroom to grab a quick shower. Maybe what he said wasn't so bad, but the look in his eyes made me want to bleach mine. Several times. His repeat offer to drive the rental car didn't bode well with me either, and I know Edward is ready to attack at any given moment. I should've told him how proud I was that he handled the situation so calmly, but I felt so dirty from Phil's touch that I didn't even think about it before I came upstairs.

I can't help but wonder what made him pick that car to start with. I mean, there are bound to be fifty truck loads of cars at the rental desk to the SeaTac airport but he had to pick that one. In the email, I'd told Rosalie that if she didn't get one, I plan on getting one. I told her that I was going to make Edward buy me one for my birthday. It was a joke, obviously. Regardless, I'm going to change my password to my email account anyway. I doubt there's any way he could actually have it, but my mind will relax as soon as I do it.

After I get in the shower, I hear the bedroom door open and close. I silently panic. My rational mind is telling me that it's Edward, but I have a scary thought that it's Phil. I know rationally that he isn't stupid enough to try something like that—not here, not now. He doesn't know I'm up here. How could he?

"Babe?"

I sigh happily, my panic fleeing my mind as quickly as it arrived. A soft knock echoes through the bathroom. "I'm in the shower."

The door opens and Edward walks in. "Everyone's here. I told them that you spilled some soda on yourself."

I peek out from behind the shower door. "Thanks."

His eyes fixate on my bare shoulder and I shake my head. "Out," I tell him. "Get out of here right now. We don't have time for that. I'm almost done."

He narrows his eyes and slowly backs out of the bathroom. He's so silly sometimes. I rinse the soap off and get out, drying quickly and walking into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around me. I see Edward brought our bags up. I grab a pair of khakis pants and an off white top out of the bag. I put on some underwear, get dressed, fix my hair, and head downstairs.

I meet Edward halfway down as he's making his way up. He sighs. "Fuck, do you think you could take any longer…?"

I frown at his tone of voice. "What's wrong?"

He sighs again, this time it's more relieved than angry. "Nothing. Phil went to use the bathroom and I got nervous so I came to check on you."

I walk down to the step above the one he's standing on and wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm right here," I whisper against his lips.

His arms circle around me, pulling me against him as he kisses me. He rests his forehead against mine as he pulls out of the kiss. "I'm sorry," he whispers back. "You're going to get so angry with me before the week is up, I just know it."

I run my hands through the sides of his hair. "I'm going to do my best not to get angry with you. You're overprotective, yes, but it's a trait that makes me love you. You care for me greatly and will do what it takes to make me happy and safe. How could I get mad at your for doing that for me?"

He runs his hand up the side of my shirt, rubbing his thumb over our initials on my tree. He doesn't need to look to know where they are. "Just remember that when you get tired of me coming to look for you."

I giggle. "Just don't talk to me like you did a second ago and I shouldn't get too upset."

He winces. "I sorry, love. I shouldn't have done that. I just got pissed. I'll try and keep my anger in check."

I pull away and look into his eyes. "Earlier, when we were at the lodge?" He frowns, but nods. "I want to thank you for remaining calm and handling what happened without causing a scene."

He smirks. "You're welcome."

I cup his face in my hands. "I saw the rage in your eyes. I know you wanted to pull his arm off."

He closes his eyes. "I'm really possessive, Bella. Please remember that this week, okay?"

I kiss his bottom lip, pulling it in between mine. "Yet, another trait I love about you."

He rests his forehead against my cheek. "I can't wait for this week to be over with."

I kiss his cheek and push him away. "We need to get downstairs, Edward."

He looks up at me and nods. "I know. Wanna ride?" he asks as he motions to his back. I smile and nod. I hop onto his back and we head downstairs. When we walk into the kitchen, everyone greets us warmly. All the Cullens are accounted for, Charlie, Sue, Seth, Jacob, Mom and Phil are all here—still no Leah. I apologize quickly for having to clean up from the soda spill and everyone overlooks me, moving on to dinner.

As soon as dessert is served, we start discussing plans for this next week and everything that entails. Carlisle, Dad, and Phil are going to pick up the ATVs for the event. Everyone figures that we'll need two four-wheelers and three Mules. I don't understand why we need animals, but Edward explains to me that a Mule is like a golf cart only with a small bed attached to the back of it. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one that didn't know what a Mule was; Alice, Sue, and Esme all said 'oh' with me after the explanation.

There are also chairs to be picked up, Jacob's and Seth's job from what I gather, and flower arrangements to be made, which us ladies will handle tomorrow while we're out dress shopping. Thankfully, our skilled chefs, Esme and Emmett, plan on making the feast to serve the few guests we're inviting, but Alice insists we buy a cake and Edward insists we don't use the cake shop he went to for the one he bought the night Dad and Sue came over and the four of us laugh as we remember that night. Edward flat out refuses a groom's cake since he doesn't see the point in it. I agree with him.

That just leaves Edward and Emmett to meet up with James, Peter, and Laurent to find Edward something to wear. We both agree we want simple attire, so he's instructed to get a nice white shirt and black slacks. We have plans to go to the court house in the morning with Alice to handle the license and then we'll meet up with our respective parties immediately afterward.

Everyone has after-dinner drinks or coffee while Rosalie and Alice clean up the kitchen. No matter how much I try to help, they just smack my hands and tell me 'no' like I'm being a stubborn child. Rosalie smiles at me as I huff and cross my arms. "You guys did this to me, so why are you expecting different treatment?"

I open my mouth to argue, but she's right. I shouldn't. Alice and I made sure that Rosalie had everything she needed at all times. I sigh and nod. "Okay, okay. I'll look pretty and point to where I want things to go."

They laugh and Alice shakes her head. "That sounds like something Edward would say."

I smile and nod. "He told me that today."

I feel his arms wrap around my waist. "It should be pretty simple. You're already pretty so the hard part is telling people what to do instead of doing it yourself."

Rosalie scoffs. "Pretty simple, huh? This is Bella we're talking about."

Edward nods. "I know. She'll get used to it."

I pull out of his arms and place my hands on my hips, looking between the two of them. "Hello? I'm right here. I know I'm kind of short, but come on! I'm not Alice!"

"Hey!"

I wink at her and her little frown turns into a reluctant smile. She shakes her head and shuts the dish washer. "You better be glad I love you guys, I swear to God…"

Edward grabs his little sister and crushes her in a hug. "We love you too, Pixie Dust."

She shoves him away, laughing softly. "I'm going to turn in. We have a busy day tomorrow."

Rosalie smiles brightly. "We do!" she exclaims with a clap. "We're going to find the perfect dress, Bella. I just know it!"

Edward holds his hands up to stop us. "I have one request on the dress."

Rosalie shakes her head. "We're not going to get it so white you can see through it."

Edward nods. "I'd appreciate that since you guys are here for a wedding and not a live porn show."

Alice sighs and shakes her head, ignoring his comment. "What do you want, brother dearest?"

Edward smirks at me. "Make it short enough to show off her beautiful legs."

I can feel the blush on my cheeks as he bites his bottom lip and looks down at my legs, imagining me without my pants, I'm sure. Rosalie throws a dish rag at his head, successfully covering his face. "Only if you promise not to hump those legs in front of everyone."

He pulls the rag off his face, tossing it on the counter. "I can promise to try."

I smack his arm. "Edward!"

He chuckles and pulls me against him. "I'm joking, Bella. I'm not going to try to get at you in front of a crowd of people, least of all your father."

Alice snickers. "Charlie would kill you. Husband-to-be or not." She walks past us. "Goodnight, you two. Get some sleep."

Rosalie smiles at her retreating back. She then turns her smile on to us. "I know what happened to her is really sad," she whispers, "but I'm kind of glad something did happen to change her. She seems… freer." She winks. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Alice is right; you should get some sleep."

We bid her goodnight before she heads upstairs and we walk out of the kitchen. As we walk into the living room, everyone is walking to the door. Phil catches sight of us and smiles brightly. "There they are."

Mom turns and smiles. "I thought you two had snuck upstairs. What time do I need to be here tomorrow?"

"Um, around eleven I guess? Edward and I are getting up first thing."

He groans. "What's first thing?"

I look up at him with narrow eyes. "Five a.m. if you start complaining." He narrows his eyes back at me as I walk over to my mother. "Esme?"

"Eleven is good, dear. I'll cook us a little brunch before we leave." She turns to Renée. "Maybe ten or ten-thirty so you can eat."

I can tell Esme is forcing her kindness towards my mother. Everyone is being nice to her for my sake, I just know it. I want her here. If Phil wasn't a part of her life, everyone wouldn't have to fake anything. Then again, if Phil wasn't in her life, then I'd never known these people. That thought makes my breath catch in my throat. Fortunately, no one notices as everyone says goodbye. Edward thankfully intercepts Phil's hug goodnight and hurries us upstairs as Carlisle and Esme walk everyone out the front door.

He leans back against the closed bedroom door and sighs. "If he had touched you, I would've killed him right there."

I frown. "What?"

"Did you not see him staring at you throughout the entire dinner?" I shake my head slowly. "Thank God…"

Edward locks the door. "That will keep everything out."

I giggle. "That can't bust a door down."

He rolls his eyes. "Let's just go to bed. I'm tired as hell and we have an early day tomorrow, apparently."

I look at our bags and sigh. "I need to unpack."

He wraps his arms around me and sets his chin on my shoulder. "We can unpack tomorrow. Just take out something to wear for the day and come to bed. It's late."

He presses a warm kiss to the side of my neck and I nod. "Okay."

We both pull out some clothes for tomorrow, hanging them in his closet before getting in bed. After getting out of my pants, shirt, and bra, I grab the shirt he takes off and I slip it on instead of pulling out some pajamas. He strips down to his underwear and we get into bed. He lies down on his side and I curl up to him, throwing my leg over his hip, wrapping my arm around his torso, and pressing my face into his neck.

"Bella?" I look up at him to find him frowning down at me. "Are you okay, baby?"

I frown back at him. "Why do you ask that?"

"Not that I mind or anything, but you're kind of… clingy. It's usually the other way around."

I sigh, pressing my cheek against his chest. "I just had a rather… odd thought earlier."

"What's that?" he asks as he wraps his arms around me and entwines his legs with mine.

"I guess I'm kind of thankful for Phil coming into my mother's life."

He pulls away from me, reacting exactly how I thought he would. "Excuse me?!"

I press my fingers over his lips, stopping him from spouting out anything hateful. "If he'd never married my mother, I never would've moved here. If I'd never moved here, I never would've met you. I wouldn't be here right now, about to get married to you. I wouldn't even know who you are."

He visibly relaxes, his angry frown turning sad. "But you lost your mother. You've told me about the relationship the two of you had. She was like your best friend. Are you sure this is a fair trade off? Your mother for me?"

I feel the tears prickling at the backs of my eyes. "It's more than just you, Edward. I get your hyper sister, your crazy brother, your compassionate father, and your amazing mother. I get a chance to get to know my father and be a part of his life, to be a part of his new life. Most importantly, I get you: my husband, the father of my future children, the love of my life… my everything. I'd say it's a pretty decent trade off."

His arms tighten around me, pulling me closer against him. He presses his lips to the top of my head. "I'm glad you think it's worth it."

"It's more than worth it," I whisper.

"Take my shirt off, Bella. I want to feel you."

I sit up and take off his shirt, tossing it to the end of the bed. He pulls me back against him, crushing my bare chest against him.

"I promise to make you never regret this, Bella. I promise to make you never wish you'd stayed away from here, away from me."

I sigh, wiggling closer to him. "I'll never regret it, Edward. You don't have to worry about that."

* * *

The alarm wakes us up at seven a.m. the next morning. I reach over and turn it off as I listen to Edward swearing. I always smile at his expletives. It never gets old listening to how pissed off he gets when he wakes up to the alarm clock. He presses his face into the pillow as he tries to ignore the fact that he has to get up. I kiss his shoulder blade. "I'm getting into the shower."

He looks up at me, frowning angrily. I get out of bed and walk straight into the bathroom only wearing my little white boyshorts from last night. I'm not above using sex to get him out of bed this morning. It's going to be a pretty busy day, and I don't want to start late because Grumpy Bear didn't want to wake up.

As I turn the shower on, I realize I don't feel like washing my hair today, so I pull it up in a bun to keep it from getting wet. I arch my back as I stretch my arms up to fix my hair. Edward walks into the bathroom and stops in the doorway. I notice the front of his boxer-briefs twitch out of the corner of my eye and I smile. I turn around so my ass is facing the door. I hook my panties with my thumbs and slowly pull them down as I bend over at the waist.

I hear elastic pop behind me and I know he's getting out of his underwear too. I kick them to the side and hurry into the shower. Before I can slide the door shut behind me, he stops it. I look at him, breathing heavily, hard as a rock, and looking at me like I'm his next meal. And, yeah, I probably am.

I grab his hand and pull him into the shower with me, shutting the door behind him. I slide my hand up his chest and press down on his shoulder. He smirks as he complies, kneeling before me. He showers me with kisses, sucking and licking my nipples, as his hands come around and grip my ass like it's his lifeline. I bury my hands in his hair, pressing his face against my breasts and rocking my hips against his chest.

He pushes me against the wall and picks up one of my legs, tossing it over his shoulder before his handsome face disappears between my legs. He brings me to orgasm in little to no time, fucking me with his tongue and sucking on my clit like it's a straw to his favorite beverage.

I push him down even further so that he's sitting on the floor. I stand over him, my pussy inches from his face. He looks up at me and I smile down at him. He kisses my throbbing clit, before I kneel in front of him. I slide down onto him, his hands cupping my ass and his mouth attached to my neck.

He holds me against him, helping me move up and down on his hard length. His lips dance up and down my neck, sucking on my earlobes and nibbling at the sensitive skin behind my ear. His breathing picks up as he nears his release. His soft grunts tell me he's really close. I move my hand down between us and rub my clit as he moves his lips from my neck to my own. I peak, my moan turning into a whimper as he grips my shoulders and pulls me down hard as he comes.

We sit on the shower floor, panting and trying to calm down. He chuckles softly against my neck. "Good morning."

I laugh, hugging him closer to me. "Good morning."

He smiles up at me, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me down for a slow kiss. He hisses into my mouth as I pull off of him. "We need to get ready."

He groans. "For bed?"

I giggle and shake my head. "No. Don't you want to go get our marriage license?"

He gives me a small smile and nods. "Very much so."

I stand and hold out my hand. "Then get your lazy ass up and let's go."

He groans again, but takes my hand, getting up and getting ready.

* * *

When we get downstairs, Alice is just finishing her breakfast. She smiles. "Hurry, you two! We need to get going. I'm going to go finish getting ready."

She bounces up the stairs and Edward groans again, walking straight to the coffee pot. Esme laughs softly before shaking her head. She looks at me. "How do you put up with that?"

I shrug. "If he weren't so cute, it'd be annoying."

He grunts as he pours himself some coffee. I roll my eyes and grab a plate, fixing enough for the two of us. I take a seat at the bar and he takes one beside me. He frowns. "You didn't fix me a plate?"

I shove my plate towards him. "I put enough on here for the both of us." He looks around pathetically for a fork and I just shake my head. "Open up you big baby."

He narrows his eyes but opens up, taking a mouthful of eggs. He hums happily. "These are some awesome eggs, Mom."

I look up at Esme to find her shaking her head in disbelief. "You baby him too much, Bella."

I shrug. "He'd do the same for me. Hell, he does this every other day."

She scoffs. "You two were made for each other."

Edward and I eat quickly, Alice walking in just as I set the plate and fork in the sink. Edward grabs another cup of coffee to go as I grab our paperwork from upstairs. Alice drives us to the courthouse. The lady at the desk is the same lady from a couple of weeks ago. She smiles brightly at us. "See? I knew I'd see you guys again!"

She helps us fill out all the paperwork and then looks at me when it comes time to sign the document. "So, what are you going to be changing your name to, Ms. Swan?"

Edward looks at me when I hesitate. "Bella?"

"Well, I don't know if I want to be Isabella Marie Cullen or Isabella Swan Cullen or Isabella Marie Swan Cullen. I mean… four names is a lot."

"What's wrong with Isabella Marie Cullen?" he asks with a tinge of concern in his voice.

I take his hand. "Nothing. I just don't know if I want to give up the 'Swan' part."

"Well, Isabella Swan Cullen sounds sort of… strange," Alice offers.

Edward pulls my face back to him. "Sign whatever you want it to be, love."

I look down at the dotted line and sigh as I think about my name. I didn't think about this beforehand—I should have thought about this. I know my last name is going to be Cullen now, but I didn't think about what to put between Isabella and Cullen. Who knew this would be a difficult decision? Marie or Swan… or both?

I poise my hand to write the name and just sign it the most natural way to sign my name—my new name. When I look down, I see the name Isabella Marie Cullen written in my scribble. I smile down at the name and look at Edward, who's beaming with pride. Edward signs his name and Alice signs hers as the witness. The lady informs us we should be receiving our license in the mail in at least a couple of days and definitely before Saturday.

Thank God for small towns…

Once we walk outside of the courthouse, Edward picks me up, spins me around, and kisses me soundly on the lips. He sets me down laughing. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I'm just really excited."

Alice giggles. "This is a complete one-eighty from before we got here."

Edward pulls me back into his arms. "This is just what I needed to wake me the fuck up."

I can't help but laugh at him. A horn honking pulls our attention away from one another. We turn to see Emmett's huge truck pulling up beside Alice's car. He smiles at us as he rolls down his window. "All done?"

"Yup," Alice told him. "Are you taking Edward?"

"Yup. Hop in, brother."

I look up at Edward just in time for him to cup my face and kiss me. Emmett starts honking his horn again and Edward smiles against my lips. "Come on, come on! The sooner we get this over with the sooner the two of you can attach yourselves at the… well, attach yourselves again."

Edward chuckles, pulling away and winks at me before saying, "Meet you back at the house later so we can reattach?"

I hum happily. "Yes, please."

He kisses me again. "I love you, little girl."

"I love you too, Edward."

He kisses me again and Emmett honks again. Edward smiles against my lips but when he pulls away and looks me in the eyes his smile fades. "Stay safe, baby."

Alice takes my hand. "She won't get out of my sight, Edward. I promise."

Edward looks at his sister. "Thank you, Alice."

He kisses me again, Emmett honks, and Edward pulls away from me to run to the passenger side of the truck. As Emmett pulls away, Edward hollers out the window that he loves me before his brother honks again. Alice laughs and pushes me to the passenger side of her car. "Come on, Bella. We need to get to the house before our mothers lose their minds."

* * *

The first stop once we get to Seattle is a little dress shop Esme had heard about from a friend. The six of us walk in and the shop attendant's eyes pop at the size of our group. Esme quickly walks up to the girl while we look around. I stop in front of the most perfect dress I've seen and I know without a doubt it is the one.

"Alice. Rose. Look."

Alice and Rose walk up beside me and gasp softly. "In the first store? Are you sure? There are so many more places to look," Rose informs me.

I shake my head. "No need. This is it; strapless to show off the birds, empire waist, chiffon skirt that's short in front and a little longer in the back and it's got little beads all over it."

"Isn't it a little… fancy for the wedding you're planning?" Alice asks.

I tilt my head to the side. "No… well, maybe a little."

Rosalie wraps her arms around my shoulders. "Bella, we're going to be looking at a lot of pretty dresses today. You're going to fall in love with a lot of them. You just have to remember that not all of them are going to be the right one."

I sigh and nod. "But it's so pretty…"

Alice giggles. "You sound like me."

Sue walks up behind us. "This is the only white dress they have."

Esme and Mom walk up after that. "No," they both say in unison.

"It's too flashy," Mom says.

"I agree. She needs something that isn't a wedding dress," Esme adds.

Mom and Esme walk out of the store with the four of us looking at one another. I frown. "I wonder if I'm going to get a say so in this."

Sue shakes her head. "Probably not, sweetie."

For the next four hours we drive from shop to shop, looking at the dresses, trying some of them on and turning our noses up at others. While I'm not trying on dresses, I'm texting Edward. He, too, is in Seattle with Emmett, James, Peter, and Laurent. Laurent apparently wishes he was with us instead of the guys, but he promises me that he'll make sure Edward looks good at the end of the day.

I have no doubt he will…

We walk into the last store for the day. We decide that since it's getting so late that if we can't find a dress here, we'll come back tomorrow. We still have to go and get flower arrangements taken care of. We tell them I'm searching for a wedding dress that isn't a wedding dress. The only thing they hear is wedding dress and run of to find me their best ones. While they're searching through their stock, I take a look around at the other dresses.

Alice gasps and calls my name. I run across the store and find her holding it up: my wedding dress. It's perfect—way more perfect than the first one I saw. I take it from her and we rush to the dressing room, calling to Rose as we run by her. I quickly get changed into the dress and walk out to show Alice and Rose. They squeal happily!

The dress has the same empire waist as the last one, only this has a pretty white ribbon going around it. It comes to my knees, so it shows off my legs like Edward wants. It has cap sleeves and a large square neck line, showing off the two birds perfectly. The entire dress is made of silk and feels amazing against my skin. It's a shocking white and actually looks great against my complexion.

Alice claps her hands. "Now we only have to find the perfect shoes for this!"

I shake my head. "No shoes, remember? We're going barefoot."

I smooth the front of the dress out and smile as I turn in the mirror. Rose comes up behind me and pulls my hair up. "Up do?"

I shake my head. "No, I want to curl it and leave it down, maybe pin some of it back but I want the majority of it down."

One of the sales ladies comes up to the three of us. "Ms. Swan? Are you ready to try on our dress selection?"

She eyes the dress I have on and looks up at me confused. I smile and shake my head. "No, I found the one I want. This is the one I'm going to buy." I walk past her and out into the store, calling for all of my mothers. The three of them come flocking towards me, gushing about my dress and what to do with my hair.

I wave my hands, shooing them back. "Give me some space, women!" I tell them with a laugh. "Let me change back into my regular clothes and we can go and order the flowers and talk hair and makeup on the ride home."

As I pay for the dress, I send a text to Edward. Got it.

Short skirt?

Short skirt.

I can't fucking wait to see you in it, baby.

I can't wait for you to see me in it, either.

After we leave the dress shop, we make our way over to a flower shop close by. Flor's Dazzling Floral Arrangementsis just down the street from the dress shop. We walk in and find a cute Latin girl named Lola and a pretty blonde named April behind the counter.

"Hi! Welcome to Flor's! What can we get for you?"

Alice quickly tells them all the types of arrangements we need, finishing it off with my bouquet. Lola smiles brightly. "You're in luck; we have a shipment of red tulips coming in Thursday."

"We can have these arrangements delivered to this address in Forks by ten a.m. Saturday morning. Is that time sufficient?" April asks us as she jots down the information Alice gave her.

"Is there any way we can have them delivered a little later? The wedding isn't until that afternoon."

"Would noon be better?"

"That would be great," I tell April with a smile. I can't help it. I'm excited and they're being really friendly. I feel like I'm about to explode with happiness!

We make arrangements for payment when the flowers are delivered and hop back in Esme's Escalade. Rose told me yesterday that the bakery in Forks could handle the wedding cake and we could go there tomorrow to take a look at what they could do for us. The conversation revolves around my hair, makeup, food for the reception, chair placement for the ceremony…

I must have fallen asleep on the ride home because the next thing I know I feel a set of soft, warm lips on my neck. Without opening my eyes I know who's hovering over me. I smell his shampoo and soap, faded from the strong scent from this morning, but still there.

"Wake up, little girl," he whispers in my ear.

"Mmm, you smell nice."

He chuckles softly. "Come on, babe. Get up or you won't get any sleep tonight."

I wrap my arms around his waist loosely, pulling him against my side as he stands at the door of the Escalade. "Carry me?" I ask before I press a kiss to his neck.

"Where am I supposed to carry you?"

"To bed," I say with a giggle.

He chuckles again. "No. You have to wake up, love. We have another busy day tomorrow and it's going to start early again."

I open my eyes and see him grinning down at me. "Hi," he whispers.

I press a kiss to his lips quickly before sighing as I push him back and get out of the SUV. "You're right. I need to wake up. Trying on all those dresses at all those different shops… ugh, I never thought it'd be so tiring."

He pulls me against his side as we walk towards the house slowly. "Well, you aren't the only busy person today. Seth and Jacob brought the chairs. Dad, Charlie, and Phil have the ATVs coming tomorrow. Charlie, Jacob, and Seth are in La Push picking up an extra table or two… or three—I'm not sure—for the reception. I've got what I'm wearing for the ceremony, you have what you're wearing for the ceremony, and the rest of the females are in an uproar as to what they're wearing for the ceremony."

I groan and stop walking towards the house. "No more dress talk, Edward. I don't want to talk about dresses or makeup or hair."

"You want to run to Port Angeles? Get dinner or something?"

I smile, but shake my head. "Not in Port Angeles. Let's go to the diner. I haven't seen Betty and Joe in a really long time."

"Maybe you should invite them to the wedding."

I gasp. "You're brilliant!"

He nods towards the garage. "I went and got something. I thought maybe we could go for a ride sometime this week."

I look over to the garage and see his bike. I smile up at him. "Let's take it the diner. Let me go change."

"The leather? Please tell me you didn't bring those pants, Bella."

I giggle as I remember the shopping trip Rosalie took me on two days after his birthday. The whole outfit consisted of the leather pants he mentioned, a top that was basically a piece of leather for the front that tied in the back with a piece of string, a black leather jacket, and black motorcycle boots.

Edward and Emmett had decided to hang out that day since the two of us were gone. When he got home that afternoon, I was propped up on the counter between the kitchen and the living room. His jaw went slack and he dropped his keys on the floor. I got off the counter, did a little turn, and was thoroughly ravaged for the rest of the night. Those are good, good memories.

I look over my shoulder as I walk towards the front door. "Oh, I brought them."

He pleads to God for help as I make it to our room quickly. I grab my suitcase and get into the bathroom as fast as possible, locking the door behind me. By the time he walks into the room, I've changed into them and a plain white t-shirt.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he says in a whisper.

"Come on, Edward. I'm hungry."

He nods quickly and grabs the keys to the bike. "You make me look like a homeless person compared to your bad-ass biker chick look."

I laugh at him as I walk over to his suitcase. I pull out a black t-shirt that I know fits him like a glove and a pair of loose fitting jeans. "Slip this on, Motorcycle Man."

He chuckles and changes quickly, slipping on his boots.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I mock his words in my own whisper. He looks so very hot right now.

He saunters up to me. "Still hungry?" he asks me as he slides his arms around me, gripping my ass hard.

I whimper, pressing my forehead against his chest. "Food. We need food. Come on."

I push away from him and hurry downstairs. Unfortunately, halfway down the stairs I come face to face with Phil. "There you are," he says softly. His eyes rake up my body slowly, lingering around my thighs, hips, and chest before making eye contact with me. "You sure have grown up since you moved to Forks."

I take a step back. "What do you need?"

He chuckles softly, looking down. "I need a lot of things, Bella…"

I hear Edward's boots on the stairs and Phil's head shoots up, looking over my shoulder.

"Bella?" Edward calls my name.

I don't know what to say. I can't take my eyes off Phil. I don't know what he's doing way up here. Edward steps in front of me, blocking me from Phil. Before Edward can say anything, Phil raises his hands in surrender. "Renée sent me up here to ask if you guys wanted to come have dinner with us at the diner in town."

Edward looks over his shoulder at me for a second, his eyes apologetic. "No, we're headed to Port Angeles, actually. We haven't really seen each other all day."

I step down on the stair behind Edward and wrap my arms around his torso. Maybe if I show the disgusting bastard that he doesn't have a chance, he'll leave me alone. "You'll tell Mom we're sorry?"

Edward covers my hands with his, pulling me tighter against his back. Phil looks at the embrace and then into my eyes. "Of course. You two have fun."

He smiles sweetly and turns, trotting downstairs. Edward turns around and cups my face. "You okay?"

I take a deep breath and nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. He just came out of nowhere, kind of scared me."

He kisses my forehead and nods. "Come on, love. Let's get out of here for a little while."

He takes my hand and we walk downstairs, taking the back staircase that leads to the kitchen. We find the majority of everyone down here. Emmett sees me and whistles. "Look at those legs…"

Rosalie smacks his arm, but Em just laughs. I can't help but laugh with him. Out of all the guys here, Emmett is the most harmless one.

"We're going out for a little while," Edward tells everyone.

Esme spins around from the stove and narrows her eyes. "I'm about to start dinner!"

Edward looks at his mother pointedly. "Then I guess that's just two less people you'll have to cook for."

Edward hardly lets anyone tell us goodbye before we're out the front door and standing beside his bike. We silently pull out our jackets and helmets from the storage compartment under the seat. Before we pull on our helmets, Carlisle comes walking up.

"Your mother asked me to come make sure everything is okay."

He gives me a concerned look before looking back at Edward. "We just want to get away for a couple of hours. We'll be back soon."

"But everything is okay?"

I nod. "Everything is fine, Carlisle. We're just used to being around one another all the time and we were separated most of the day. We're going to take a trip to Port Angeles and get something to eat."

He pats my shoulder and nods. "You two have fun then. Call us if you need anything."

Edward nods. "You do the same."

When Carlisle is out of hearing range, Edward turns to me. "We can go see Betty and Joe tomorrow, okay? I know you were looking forward to seeing them, but—"

"You don't have to apologize for changing the plans. I'm not against them. I'm glad we're not going to the diner. I don't want to be in the same town with the man, let alone the same building."

Edward kisses my forehead before we pull on our headgear. He gets on the bike, holding his hand out to help me get on behind him. I wrap my arms around his torso and squeeze his hips between my thighs. I feel his chuckle. "Watch it, little girl…"

He starts the bike up and we take off. I wrap my arms a little tighter around his torso, hugging up to him real close. I'll be cold as ice by the time we get to Port Angeles, but I love riding like this. I've only been on the back of the bike twice since he got it: the first initial ride and then we took it to get ice-cream and sit in the park one afternoon.

He surprises me, wrapping his fingers around mine, holding them against his chest before lowering our entwined hands to his lap. I move my other arm down to wrap around his waist, but keep my head lying against his back.

I lose myself in the forty-five minute drive. My mind is completely blank as we ride. I take in the sights, but they're nothing more to me than just nice things to look at. I don't really notice how pretty the houses are, or how beautiful and mysterious the forest looks. I don't think about the chill seeping into my skin or how the ends of my hair are going to be tangled when we get to Port Angeles.

I don't want to think about anything besides the man I'm leaning on right now, and even then, I still don't want to think. The only thing my mind will do is worry about Phil and my mother. I fear the only way to be safe and happy is to get rid of them. There's no going back with Mom. She's made her choice. There's no way to overlook it, to ignore it. She chose him over me when she didn't believe me. Now, I'm wasting my time and putting myself in danger trying to get what we had back, but that's never going to happen.

The entire time we were in Seattle was as if she were trying to one up Sue and Esme, like she had something to prove. If they found a pretty dress, she would have to find something prettier. Every time Sue mentioned Leah or Esme mentioned Alice, Mom would have to say something about me as if she were defending her credentials as a mother or something. I overlooked her for the most part because I was having a good time with Alice and Rose, but it hit me somewhere between the fourth and fifth dress shop that this might be a pointless battle.

Ugh… I'm thinking…

I take a deep breath, trying to ease the tension in my mind and body. Edward and I are on a date. I don't want to think about Phil and Mom. I want to think about how much fun Edward and I are going to have.

"You okay?" he hollers at me over the wind and engine.

"Fucking perfect," I scream back with a laugh. I lean back and throw my head back, screaming at the top of my lungs, "FUCKING PERFECT!"

I feel the chuckle rumble through him at my actions, but oddly enough, I feel better, lighter, happier. I'm ready to have fun now; to truly enjoy these next few days—starting with tonight. And nothing is going to stop me!

This doesn't mean the drama is over... so don't get upset or throw a party or call off the mob... :D

In case you don't know, there are outtakes posted. You can get to them through my profile. If you have any outtakes you'd like to see, let me know. I don't make them a priority but I love working on them. This story comes first... then my life... the outtakes share a time slot with another story I'm working on that I plan on starting after Edward and Bella's story is finished... completely. :D I'm rambling... stop reading. I'm leaving.

Leave 'em if you got 'em!