Stephanie Meyers owns all things Twilight and Edwin McCain owns I'll Be.

As those of us in the US draw nearer to Thanksgiving I want to say that I am grateful for the opportunity to write, share and express and for those who have come along for the ride whether they be in the US or not.

Chapter title says it all.


Chapter Eleven

The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful

Stop me and steal my breath

Those words, so perfect, so perfect for this moment, this moment of pure bliss and love. Looking down into her amazing eyes, Bella in my arms, underneath me, her lovely body melding into mine as if she was created for me and me alone.

Tell me that we belong together

Dress it up with trappings of love

I'll be captivated, I'll hang from lips

Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above.

I know at this moment I could live the rest of my life hanging from her lips, lips so soft, so pure and full of love. Her lips that welcome me into her mouth, into her soul. An invitation to join our tongues, our bodies, our minds and our hearts. Her touch is so perfect, her taste is so divine. This moment, this moment is heaven.

I'll Be your crying shoulder

I'll Be loves suicide

I'll Be better when I'm older

I'll Be the greatest fan of your life.

No truer words have ever been spoken, from the first moment I laid eyes on her, felt her presence near me, heard her voice and spoke her name; I have been the greatest fan of Bella Swan's life. Buried inside of her now, our bodies moving slowly in time with one other, just another of our intimate dances that we share, I know there is no other.

I feel warmth all over my stomach, sticky sweet warmth as our muscles contract together in perfect harmony, our bodies join truly as one and we call each other's names. My heart is racing, my mind is swimming and the bright lights of the sun warm my closed eye lids.

Blinking them twice, opening them slowly the warmth of Bella is gone. She is no longer beneath me. I am lying on my back and my stomach is sticky and wet.

Good morning Charleston. That was South Carolina's own Edwin McCain with I'll Be. The time is 6:00 am. The temperature is a lovely 60 degrees on this glorious October morning. You are listening to 105.5 The Bridge.

Fuck! Another crazy sex dream, another crazy wonderful amazing Bella sex dream, complete with my own sound track and 3-D effects. Another wet dream! I am 25 years old not 15, I should not be having wet dreams. But ever since that night that Bella asked me to go with her to Bald Head Island and enticed me with visions of soon, my dreams have been more and more sexual in nature and I have been washing my sheets on a daily basis.

I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to dispose of my youthful mess, the warmth of the shower engulfing me like Bella does in my dreams.

The DJ on the radio was correct, this was indeed a glorious October day. It was the day Bella and I were going away together for the weekend. Granted it was with Emmett, Rose, Charlie and Addy as well, but it was still our first trip away together.

The past two weeks have been the longest and best two weeks of my life. Anticipation has racked my brain at every turn but I have been able to share those turns with Bella so that made it a little more bearable.

She was able to go back to work a little over a week ago and was welcomed back with flowers, gifts and much love. The people who frequented her bakery did so as much for the delectable goods that she created as they did for her. Bella was just one of those people that you wanted to be around and that showed in the love that was showered upon her while she was out and once she got back.

Days when I didn't have night classes, Bella and I spent our evenings enjoying her culinary delights and dissecting movies together. The days I had night classes we spent together in the bakery, Bella teaching me how to make sweet goods. Our time together was wonderful, filled with words, kisses and intimate conversations.

Each day we got closer and each day I got closer to telling her I was in love with her.

When she went back home I instantly missed her presence in my house both physically and mentally. I loved waking up with her in my arms and I so looked forward to this weekend so that I could do it once again and hopefully this time sans clothes!

I finished getting dressed, checking my bags again to make sure I had everything I needed for weekend and headed out the door to go and pick up Bella to begin our journey. Emmett, Rose and the kids had gone up the night before. I didn't want to cancel my night class so Bella and I decided to get up early this morning to go. I had worked things out with the students in my Friday classes so that we would all have the day off today. Needless to say I was not met with resistance.

Bella was waiting for me outside of the bakery when I pulled up to the curve and we were quickly on our way, heading south over my bridge and up Highway 17 to North Carolina.

The first hour was spent with Bella telling me about the things she wanted to do while we were on the island. Bald Head Island sits about five miles off the coast of North Carolina outside of Southport. The only way onto the island was by ferry and once you were there the only way around the island was by golf cart, bicycling or on foot. From what I learned through conversations with Bella it was like heaven on earth, a beautiful place where you could watch the sun set into the water on one side of the island and rise from the water on the other. It was peaceful, full of wildlife and huge houses and like no place else on earth in her opinion.

Bella's excitement about this trip was amazing and seemly more like Alice than Bella's calm nature. I couldn't help but chuckle at her when she was like this.

Squeeze's Tempted starts to play on the radio and a smile erupts from her lips, she begins bobbing her head and tapping her foot, singing the words softly, the look on her face sheer joy.

"What?" She asked.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Find so much joy in every little thing? How is it you are always so happy?" I asked.

"I don't know, I guess I am just a happy person. I am blessed with a happy life, with just about everything that I could ever want and that makes me happy." Her smile was so bright, so full of life and so…well…happy.

She turned to look out the window for a moment. "I wasn't always this happy." She said. There was a tone of sadness in her voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked suddenly worried.

"Did Alice ever tell you how we met?"

"No."

"I moved to Charleston about a week after my parents died. When I first got there I was lost. I missed my parents and I was in a new city without the support of the friends I had known most of my life. I just kind of coasted through my first weeks here."

"I didn't really talk, I walked around as numb as a Novocained tooth and I cried a lot. Poor Emmett wasn't really any better and neither of knew what to say to the other. We really didn't talk that much, we were not avoiding each other, we hugged, told each other we loved one another, but I think we were afraid to speak out of fear of breaking down in front of the other." She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and all I wanted to do at that moment was take her in my arms and hold her.

"I think it was hardest on Rose even though she never mentioned to either of us. Here she had just gotten married and not only did she have to take care of her grieving husband but his teenaged kid sister as well. She was really great though, she took care of both of us while letting us have our time to grieve as well."

"I did a lot of walking around the water those first few weeks. It just felt good to be outside, even in the cold of winter. I loved being near the water, loved watching the ships rolling past, loved getting lost in the history of the area that I was now living in."

"I was lost in my thoughts, when this crazy, hyper little person came bounding up to me, vibrating with joy. She stood in front of me grabbing my attention and pulling me into the warmest of hugs. I stood there completely shocked at first but then I found myself quickly returning her hug and crying. We stood there for probably ten minutes, my body racked with sobs and she just held me. She didn't say anything, she didn't try to break our embrace, she just held onto me while I cried. Once I calmed myself and began to pull away she told me her name was Alice, took my hand in hers and told me 'I needed cake.' She brought me to the bakery and took me immediately to the back and into the arms of Francesca. Before I knew it we were sitting at a table, a huge piece of chocolate cake being shared between the two of us. Alice and Frannie encouraged me to talk and I opened up and told them about my parents and how sad I was. Alice held my hand the whole time."

Bella paused again for a moment, wiping tears from her face before a loving smile graced it.

"When I was finished, Frannie asked me if I liked to be in the kitchen. When I told her that I had pretty much been in the kitchen with my mom since I was a little girl she offered me a job and the rest is history so to speak. Alice walked me home and before she left me, she invited me and Emmett and Rose to dinner the next night, which was a Sunday."

"I don't know what it was, but I felt better, just felt once again when I had been so numb. I went inside the house and pulled Emmett into a hug. I told him all about my day and the two of us sat down and talked, really talked for the first time since the accident. We cried, we held each other and in the end we were both a little better. We shared our fears, our tears and grew closer as a family. The next day we went to Carlisle and Esme's house for dinner and they immediately opened their home and hearts to us and that was the beginning of our Sunday dinners. We have been doing them ever since."

"I learned to be happy again the days after that meeting. Being in the bakery, losing myself in flour, butter and chocolate I found my peace. Being with your family, growing closer to my own, it all helped me to let go, to mourn my parents properly and begin to live again." She said with a smile on her face.

"I asked Alice a few months after that first meeting that day why she did what she did and do you know what she told me?" Bella asked the smile growing brighter on her face.

"No." I answered quietly.

"She said I reminded her of you, that I had the same look on my face as you did and she just knew, knew that I needed her."

I didn't know what to say. I was lost in the similarities in our stories with Alice, lost in the similarities in our histories. I couldn't help but think we were meant to be together. Somehow, someway, our lives were meant to cross.

"Bella…I…I…" I wanted to tell her so badly that I was in love with her, but it just didn't feel right at that moment. I didn't want her to think it was out of pity for the story she had just told me.

"I know Edward." She simply said as she took my hand in hers, bringing it up to her lips, gently kissing my knuckles. "Soon." She whispered before turning back to look out the window, our hands still joined resting on the center console of the car.

I knew she wasn't talking about us having sex at that moment. That wasn't the soon she was referring to. I knew that this was her way of telling me that she knew I wanted to confess my love to her but that she also knew this was not the right time yet. Somehow my sweet girl just knew once again.

We spent the last two hours of our journey in quiet reflections. We made small talk on occasion but for the most part we just enjoyed the feel of our hands joined and the intimacy of being so close together. The joy of each other's presence all that we needed at that moment.

After unloading and checking in at the ferry, I went and parked the car. Luckily given the time of the year and the time of the morning, the parking lots were not that full so I didn't have to walk to far to get back to my angel. As I approached the ferry dock I found Bella deep in conversation in with two twin little boys. A woman who looked very much like the little boys was sitting over to the side of them watching with great joy in her eyes.

The boys were watching Bella, hanging onto to every word that she spoke with unyielding interest.

As I approached them, Bella looked up, pausing from her story to give me her mega watt smile.

"Edward, I would like you to meet Jared and Embry my new friends. Boys I would like you to meet Edward, my boyfriend." The boys turned to look at me, both of them eyeing me up and down as if they were trying to figure out if I would steal Bella's attention away. I couldn't help but laugh at them until Bella's words registered clearly in my head. She called me her boyfriend. We hadn't had that discussion, had never put labels on our relationship, we just were, which I was very happy about, but to hear those words come out of her mouth, it meant everything to me.

"Well hello Jared, Embry. It is a great pleasure to meet you." I said finally breaking out of my haze. I held my hand out to the two of them, which they shook with great hesitation. I knew it wasn't because I was a stranger; it was because I was a threat, someone who would pry Bella's attention away from them. Bella just had that effect on people, they wanted to have her undivided.

"I was telling the boys about the dolphins that use to hang out in the harbor on the island and about the ones that are in the river in Charleston."

"Miss Bella said we could sit with her on the ferry so she could show us." The one I thought was Jared said in a tone that let me know there was no way he was going to be willing to give up that seat for me. I had to say I was impressed with the six year old for his attempt at intimidation.

"Jared, watch your tone!" The woman I assumed was his mother spoke up.

"Sorry." Jared said looking down at the ground in defeat.

"Not to worry Jared, I will not stand in the way of you sitting with Bella, but if I might ask, could I please sit on the other side of you or your brother?"

Jared looked at Embry an unspoken conversation being held in their eyes. "I guess that would be ok." Embry responded for his brother.

Bella gave me a quick smile before giving her attention back to the boys. The horn sounded shortly thereafter and it was time to board the ferry. The ride over to the island only took about 20 minutes and true to her word, the boys sat on either side of Bella. I sat beside Jared and their mother sat on the other side of me.

Her name was Tanya and she and the boys were meeting her husband on the island for the weekend. He was the manager of a small financial firm in Wilmington who was in the process of being bought out by a larger firm. The boys had not seen their father in a few weeks because he had been in Minneapolis, the city where the larger firm was based, training and going over the sale of the company. This weekend was supposed to be all about their family reconnecting with one another. She looked tired and I could only imagine how hard it had been on her taking care of twin six year olds by herself for awhile.

I spent the whole ferry ride speaking with Tanya, letting the boys have their time with Bella. As we approached the harbor and the boat began to dock, Bella showed the boys the waves caused from a dolphin surfacing.

"There boys, see that, watch that wake right there." The boys stared intently at the water and sure enough a few second later the back and fin of a dolphin broke the surface.

"Look, look Miss Bella, look!" The boys both squealed at the same time. They both hugged her and pointed back to the water to see if it would surface again.

"Your girl is quite special." Tanya said watching the smiles on her boy's faces.

"She really is." I answered her.

We disembarked the boat a few minutes later and were greeted with the excited voices of both Charlie and Emmett calling our names. She was holding the hands of both Jared and Embry and she leaned down kissing them each on the cheek before letting them go. Their father was standing over to the side and when the boys saw him they took off running towards him. Tanya said her goodbyes, hugging Bella before running to meet her husband.

Charlie was trying to jump out of his father's arms but was being held back. Once the boys were gone, Emmett put him down and he ran right into Bella's open arms.

"Hey Edward." He said looking over Bella's shoulder but not ready to let her go yet. It was true it had only been a few days since they had seen each other, but I noticed since the accident, Charlie had wanted to spend as much time with Bella as possible. I know in his mind he knew that she would be ok, but I could still tell that it left him with something to think about.

"Well I see you have made new friends." Emmett said with a chuckle as he approached Bella pulling her and Charlie into a hug. Emmett had also been a bit more wanting of Bella's time since the accident.

Emmett and I retrieved our bags from the drop off location and headed to the golf cart. Charlie was telling Bella all about the house we would be staying at and telling her all about the kitchen and how close we were to the beach. Even though she had been there many times before, she listened to what Charlie said as if she was unaware of what the house offered.

One of the guys that Emmett works with owned the house that we were going to be staying at and he let Emmett use it as much as he wanted. We made our way down a small path of a road. On one side of us we could see the ocean, on the other side there was a marsh area. It was that perfect time of the year weather wise, temps in the mid 70's during the day and mid to lower 60's at night with little to no humidity. Compared to the 100 plus days of August and early September, this time of the year was like heaven.

Some of the leaves on the trees were starting to change colors so there were pops of yellows and reds mingled in with the green. You could hear the ocean and birds but other than that it was pretty quiet. Bella was right this island was like a touch of heaven.

After a ten minute ride we pulled up to a three story house that was just amazing. The house had an inverted floor plan so the main living area was upstairs. The lower level of the house had three bedrooms, one of which was one of two master suites in the house. Emmett informed Bella that this would be our room. I couldn't help but notice the look of resolve that crossed his face when he said it. Bella was twenty-two and I knew he liked me, but I'm sure it was hard for him to see her as anything other than his little sister.

After we dropped our bags off, we headed upstairs to the main living area. The floor plan was open with the stairs opening into a living room, kitchen and dining room combination. The second master suite was off to the other side of the stairs. The house had wrap around porches both on the bedroom level and on the upper level of the house. Rose was outside on the upper deck sitting in a deck chair feeding Addy a bottle.

She greeted us with a huge smile and one armed hugs.

The house was considered one row back from beach front which meant that while the house was a good 75 feet off the ocean, there were no houses in front of it so there was a clear view of the ocean with just a little bit of walk to get down to the beach.

Charlie wanted to go down and build castles and I could tell Bella was excited about the prospect. We offered to take Charlie down there, giving Rose and Emmett some time alone once Addy was down for her nap.

The water was a bit too cold to swim in, but Charlie didn't seem to mind. The three of us took our buckets and shovels and spent about two hours making the perfect sand castle. It was a bit lopsided on one side, covered with small shells acting as bricks. The towers were different heights, one of them falling down quickly, but to the three of us, it was perfect. The sound of Charlie and Bella's mixed laughter was music to my ears.

After the castle was completed we headed back to the house knowing Charlie needed to eat lunch and then go down for his nap. Rose had sandwiches and potato salad waiting for our arrival and her and Emmett listened with great interest as Charlie told them all about our castle. Moments later he began to quiet down and was out cold momentslater while sitting in his chair at the table. I was amazed at how quickly he went down, but Rose said he always did that after playing hard.

Bella and I explored the island after lunch. We took two of the bicycles that were at the house and rode around the island for hours. Bella showed me the site of the old lighthouse and then we explored the one that replaced it. We stopped at a little shop and ate ice cream. We sat on the beach near the harbor and watched as a huge tanker came within what looked like inches of the island. We sat on the beach her body spooned into mine. The breeze was light and the sun was warm.

We stayed that way until the sun began to set. As we sat there watching the fire red orb sink slowly into the sea, the sky lit up with yellows, purples and pinks I knew, at that moment more than any other, I knew.

"I love you Bella." I whispered into her ear.

"I love you Edward." She whispered back into mine.

It wasn't one of those big reveal moments like you read about in books or see in those rom com movies. It was more intimate than that. It was as if we have been saying it to one another for years and in a way we have. Through our actions, through our memories, through our touches and kisses we have been declaring our love for one another since that first day that we met. Love at first site does exist, but it doesn't have to be declared with those three words. Words can be empty, make you feel something that isn't there, but actions, touches, kisses and glances those tell the truth and the truth was we loved each other and we both knew it from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes.

We arrived back at the house as Emmett was pulling steaks off of the grill. Rose had baked off potatoes and thrown together a salad. We sat together as a family, eating dinner, Charlie sitting between Bella and me talking a mile a minute about his and Emmett's time on the beach together after his nap.

After dinner Emmett, Rose and the kids sat out on the patio while Bella and I cleaned up the kitchen. The sultry sounds of Tony Bennett playing on the iPod intermingling with the sounds of crashing ocean waves coming in from the open doors and windows. As we finished up, a piano began to twinkle You Go To My Head and I pulled Bella into me, our bodies began to sway to the music and we danced with one another in the middle of a beautiful kitchen, in a lovely house, mere yards off a romantic beach on the edge of heaven on earth.

After our dance we joined the others on the porch, sitting under the glow of the full moon, talking for hours about nothing in particular until both Addy and Charlie drifted off and it's obvious Rose is not far behind them. They have set up a crib for Addy and a hide a bed for Charlie in the upstairs master suite so that they can be close to their children in this large house. I cannot help but smile at the love behind such a simple gesture.

After we bid each other good night, Bella and I make our way down to our room. A wave of nerves wash over me and threaten to take over my senses, until Bella takes my hand in hers leading me into the room.

"Would the window being open bother you tonight?" She asks me as she walks over to the large picture windows. "I love falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing."

"I would love nothing more." I tell her.

After she opens the windows she walks back to me, taking my hand in hers, pulling me closer to her, her other hand on my cheek inviting me to kiss her.

Our kisses are soft, sweet and gentle. Our touches are feather light as we slowly begin to undress each other until we are both standing there in nothing at all. There is no rush, no hurried grabs or awkward movements. It feels like we are dancing together, just as we did before. Our bodies move perfectly with one another, my yin to her yang.

Despite our slow movements, there is fire of course, we can both feel it and there is oh so much desire radiating in each of our explorations. I can feel her body warm under the trails of my fingertips as I trace the outside of her breasts. Her moans sound like music and inspire me to seek out more. My fingertips begin to move inwards, gliding in, molding her breasts into my hands as if I were a sculptor working with clay.

I sweep her up in my arms, gently laying her down on the bed before joining her. Our kisses grow deeper, our hands explore further, our mouths and tongues follow fingertip trails. Even lying in the bed, our bodies move in sync with one another as if we were dancing still.

As if by its own mind, my hand finds itself a home in between her thighs, the heat and moisture from her desire inviting it in. Seeking shelter from the storm of their own desire my fingers explore her inside and out, stoking gently up and down inside of her, rubbing softly above. I can feel her body respond, her hips rising with each pass, her muscles contracting all around the digits that are playing her like a saxophone, my tongue and mouth suckling her nipples as if they were the reed of a clarinet. Her body is my orchestra, her moans, pants and whispers of my name are the symphonic melody being played. The crescendo, her falling over the edge of bliss, into the oblivion of delight.

I pull her downward spiral into my mouth as I kiss her sweet lips once again, lining my body up perfectly with hers. Previous discussions of her having an IUD and our most recent test results play ever so distantly in the back of mind and I know that I will be able to feel all of Bella, revel in the warmth of her insides one on one.

We look into one another eyes, me asking her answering, that this is what we both want.

"Edward."

"Bella." We both call each other's names at the same time as we slowly merge into one.

It is a sensation like no other that I have ever felt and I knew I would never feel again with another because there was no other. As I look into her eyes I can see that she feels the same way. We move back and forth with one another, a rhythm easily created. She pulls as I push, I give as she takes.

We don't need lots of words; we don't need dirty talk or calls of the lord's name. We just need to see each other's eyes, taste each other's skin, hear the breathless gasps of pleasure, smell arousal in the air and feel the touch of me inside of her. We are both sensory people and this is how we need to make love, with all of our senses in full play.

We grow closer with each movement, our bodies tightening around one another as we teeter near the edge and then hold onto one another as we fall over the precipice of ecstasy together.

We lay there together, our eyes locked with one another, our bodies still connected, neither one of us wanting to break that bond.

"You were made for me my sweet Bella."

"Only for you my gentle Edward."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We spent the rest of that night drifting between sleep and making love over and over, each time better than the one before. I know that each of our times together will not be like this, this sweet gentle experience and I look forward to those hot, sweaty, sticky tumbles with one another, but for our first time together this was perfect, this was heaven, this was home.

Home, sweet Bella, home.


A/N: A chapter of sweet love! Hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know either way. More of their weekend together to come in the next chapter.

For those of your in the US I bid you safe travels if you are going anywhere this Thanksgiving holiday. For the rest, I bid safe journey in day to day life.

There are sweet potato pies, pumpkin cheesecake and yeast rolls on my baking horizon and I am looking forward to creating them all.

Thank you!