Probably the longest of the chapters so far and it's a trip.


BPOV

Being back in the quiet town of Forks, Washington was really weird. There weren't people bustling along the streets, there weren't cars zooming everywhere. It was quiet, and peaceful. People minding their own business. Like I said it was weird, but it was nice. Ever since I got back three days ago, I have not had a moment to sit down and blink. Since I took an entire week off, I've had to work every day from opening to closing. The only good perk to this was the pay check heading to my pocket this Friday. I did get to see my friends the Sunday I got back, and I had missed a lot.

On the ride home, Edward told me all about his week which he told me was boring without me there with him. He was a total cheeseball. Then he told me about Rose and Emmett getting into a screaming match before the firework display and how Rose just left. Rose and Emmett have had their moments in the past, but it was never to this extent. They were complete opposites of each other, but they had managed to make it work up until yesterday. Alice and I were going to have to see why Rose flipped her shit, whenever I got a free moment to breathe.

It has mostly been a boring three days since coming home. I get up, eat, go to work, come home, eat, shower, sleep and repeat. To say that I had missed helping people find books and restocking the shelves would be a lie. If this was my preview of adulthood, I was not liking what I was heading towards. But hopefully my future isn't working at a bookstore for the next 40 years. The biggest surprise of being at work this week was seeing my elusive pal Jacob Black.

He hadn't been around much after I gave him my truck. He suddenly showed up on Monday during one of my breaks. He told me he was buying some books for summer reading, but I watched him leave that day empty handed. He came back yesterday at the same time. He hung around after my break, people watching and occasionally looking at me. There was something about him that wasn't quite right.

He hadn't come in today, which I was kind of happy about. We were beginning to close up the store, I was putting chairs up on the tables in the café area. The lights were beginning to shut off moving towards the front of the store as people went home for the night. I put the last chair up and flipped the switch behind the counter leaving the café in darkness.

"See you tomorrow, Nathan!" I waved at him as I pushed through the doors. The summer heat blasted me in the face. Even though the sun was down, it was way too hot outside.

There weren't many cars parked along the street, so finding the rental car wasn't that hard. I finally had enough money to my name to rent a car, so I didn't have to have a chauffeur anymore. I found the gold car parked under the streetlight. I hurried over, clicking the automatic unlock button. As my hand touched the handle, a hand touched my shoulder and I let out an ear piercing scream.

"Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," said the voice behind me. I whirled around, and the blood slowly returned to my face. Jacob Black. Was this the beginning of my stalker episode?

"Jesus! You could have at least announced your presence," I said exasperated. "What are you doing creeping around in the dark?"

"I was waiting for you. I would have come inside while you were working, but I got held up," He explained. "Anyway, I have some news about your truck."

"Oh yeah?" I leaned my back against the car, crossing my arms.

"Well, it's not good news," He clarified. I looked at him with a 'come on' face. "Seeing as your truck is prehistoric, my dad can't seem to find the one part that can get it running again."

I blew air out of my nose. "What does that mean?"

"He can't find it around here, so he has to go on a hunt online to find the piece. Which could take weeks or months."

"Well," I contemplated. "If he can't get the part, he might as well just keep the thing. I won't need it come September."

"New York," He acknowledged. I'm surprised he remembered our little conversation from all those weeks ago.

"Right," I nodded my head like I didn't know what else to say. "So, I need to get going. Your dad has my number, if he finds the piece or doesn't."

"Or I know where you work, so I could just drop by." Jacob added, smiling.

"Yeah, or there's that." I looked at him unsure. I opened the car door. "See you around Jacob."

"Later Bella." He shut the door for me. I started the engine and pulled away. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that he was standing in the glow of the streetlight, watching my car drive off into the distance. There was something off about Jacob Black.

~oOo~

My week of non-stop work had come to an end and I was enjoying it by sleeping in past 6am. Besides catching up on my sleep, I was also planning a party. Edward's eighteenth birthday was coming up and I had big plans for this party. He didn't know what I had planned, as far as he was concerned, it was going to be a quiet night with his family and friends. But you only turn eighteen once and this was going to be huge, I was pulling an Alice.

Everyone knew about the party, besides Edward, so I had a lot of help. The theme wasn't specific but it was going to be a little kid's paradise. I talked to Esme and learned that Edward never wanted birthday parties when he was younger, so this one was going to have all the things he missed out on. It was going to be in his backyard, so keeping him away all day was going to be Emmett and Jasper's job. Since Esme was an interior designer, she had connections from her clients so she got some great deals on party supplies. So far we had two bounce houses, a Buzzlightyear piñata, and pin the tail on the donkey. There was also going to be baskets filled with water guns and those goodie bags filled with cheap toys. And his birthday cake was going to have the Toy Story characters on it since, according to Esme, was his favorite movie as a child. This will probably be the best birthday he's ever going to have.

On the day of the party, Jasper texted me to tell me it was safe to come over. I finished getting ready, throwing on a purple sundress and putting my hair into a fishtail braid. I grabbed the remaining party supplies out of my closet and headed downstairs. I waved good-bye to Charlie and Sue, before heading over to Edward's.

When got to his house, there were vans and trucks in the driveway. I pulled around and parked behind the garage, hiding my car. I walked through the front door and straight to the kitchen where I saw Rose, Alice and Esme preparing food.

"Hello Bella," Esme greeted me with a one armed hug. She was rolling out dough for mini pizzas. I smiled at her and set my bag on the floor.

"When did you guys get here?" I addressed Alice and Rose.

"When Emmett and Jasper came to pick up Edward, we got out the car and snuck around to the backyard. We figured, less cars we had to hide," Alice sounded perky.

"Good idea. I parked behind the garage," I pulled out the paper plates, cups and napkins from the bag I brought. "This should be enough right? I basically bought all they had."

Rose inspected the Toy Story themed items. "Hopefully. It's hard to find stuff these days without robots or sports on them."

"Which is why I went to a party store. They really have everything," I walked over and set them on the kitchen table. I looked out into the backyard and saw four guys setting up the bounce houses in the backyard. There were also a few others hanging some lights from the trees. I saw Carlisle near the pool house, surveying the set up. "Everything is going to look great!"

"This was a creative idea, Bella." Esme commented, spreading sauce onto one of the crusts.

"And totally something I would do," Alice added with a laugh.

"I just figured," I walked back over to the counter. "This needed to be something he'd never forget. Eighteen is somewhat of a big deal, you are now a legal adult."

"And there is no better way to celebrate it then with a kid themed party," Rose rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I left something in my car," I say to Alice moving my eyes to Rose. "Can you come with me to get it?"

"Sure, come on Rose," Alice said hoping off her stool.

"But, why do we have to go with her?" Rose huffed. Alice and I looked at each other before Alice yanked Rose's arm and dragged her out of the house. She tugged her arm out of Alice's grasp and walked with us to my car. Once we got there, I stopped and spun around.

"What's up, Rose?" I asked, leaning on the hood of my car.

"Nothing," She dragged out the last syllable. "You need to get the thing out of your car?"

"In a minute, I just want to know," I began. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What?" She stammered.

"Come on," Alice stood next to me. "You have been acting weird. Yelling at Emmett. Being overly mean and sarcastic. I mean, more than usual. What the hell is up?"

"Ugh, I don't want to talk about it." Rose groaned. "It's nothing."

"It's nothing," I shared a look with Alice. "I'm sure it's nothing. What is wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, god damn!" Rose raised her voice.

"We're your best friends, Rose," Alice's voice was soft. "Tell us what is wrong. Because I am using my psychic powers and I know it isn't nothing."

Rose growled and paced back and forth. She looked like she was debating on whether to tell us something or not. She ran her hands through her blonde waves. She finally stopped pacing and looked off behind us.

"If I tell you guys this, promise me you won't tell anyone," We nod our heads in agreement. Rose ran her hands down her face and grumbled something into them as they slid off her face.

"Rose, your hands were covering your mouth." I said slightly annoyed.

"I cheated on him." She mumbled, looking down at her feet. It was silent. You could hear voices in the backyard and the sound of air filling up the houses.

"With who?" I dared to ask.

"I guy I met in Tacoma. His name is, uh, Royce. This was a few weeks ago." Rose admitted, not sounding very proud of herself.

"Why?" Alice whispered.

"I don't know. I really, I don't know. I just did it. I haven't spoke to the guy since."

"Is this why you are starting fights with Emmett?" I guessed.

"I want him to break up with me. I am not good for him. So, yes. That's why I keep picking fights over stuff I know he's not doing. I want him to get sick of me." Rose's voice cracked. A tear fell down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away.

"This isn't the way to go about it. You're making him feel shitty for no reason," I explain.

"So I should make him feel shitty by telling him I slept with another guy for fun?" Rose scoffed. "Yeah. That sounds so much better."

"All I am saying is, better to feel shitty from the truth then from a lie," I shrug. "The truth could make him forgive you faster."

"And if you feel this guilty about it, then maybe he won't go so hard on you," Alice agreed.

"I'm not telling him today, if that's what you are getting at. I'm not going to ruin your boyfriend's and his best friend's birthday. I'll think about it," Rose sighed. "Can we go back to helping prepare food?"

"Yeah, let's go." I lead us back inside the house.

~oOo~

It was nearing two o'clock and the backyard was almost finished. The bounce houses were all blown up, the snacks were set up on the deck under the shaded patio table, the baskets of water guns were hidden in the pool house and the piñata was hanging up. I sent out maybe ten additional invitations, mostly to people who I knew wouldn't bring others with them or spread the word around town. They started showing up about ten minutes ago. Alice was handing out party hats at the door and telling everyone to head to the backyard. There were rainbow fairy lights wrapped around the trees, though we didn't need the light at all, it added a fun element to the backyard. The only thing missing now was the birthday boy himself.

I shot a text to Jasper letting him know that it was okay to bring Edward back now. He messaged me back a few seconds later saying they were on their way.

"Alright," I tell everyone in the backyard. "So, Edward is on his way back. You don't have to hide, necessarily. Alice, Rose and I are going to be inside waiting for them to get back. You guys can just chill out here, eat something, hang out. But keep it quiet. We are going to send him out here. Sound good?"

There was a gleeful shout. I gave them a thumbs up before waving for Alice and Rose to follow me indoors. Once we got inside, I shut the curtains on the French doors and Esme flipped the switch to shut the blinds on the giant glass windows.

"What do we do now?" Alice asked.

"Act normal. It's kind of dark in here now, so we can pretend that we're going to watch a movie." I walk into the living room and plop down on the couch. I flip on the flat screen and flip it to a movie channel.

"Rose, it's eighty degrees outside. Why are you wearing jeggings?" Alice asked, sitting down next to me.

"Because they make my ass look good." Rose said it like it was obvious. I just rolled my eyes.

A few minutes later, there was the sound of car doors shutting simultaneously. "Party time." I whispered.

The front door burst open and the sound of voices radiated through the bottom floor. "There is a reason it is called a monkey suit."

"I don't know, I think I look pretty handsome." Edward's voice rang out as the guys made it to the living room.

"That's because you don't have guns like these," Emmett laughed. "These shouldn't be restricted by sleeves." I heard Jasper chuckle.

"Hey," Edward said kissing the top of my head. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Waiting for you," I smiled up at him. "Can't celebrate a birthday without the birthday boy."

"I told you I didn't want to do anything." He groaned.

"When do I ever listen to that?" I questioned, standing up.

"Never. But since it is my birthday, shouldn't I get to pick what I do?"

"Nope!" Alice chimed in, leaping out of her seat. "You only turn eighteen once."

"Aren't we only supposed to make a big deal about sixteen and twenty one?"

"Bro, just go with it," Emmett said. "It's a party. One can never have too many."

"Emmett's right," Jazz smirked. "Plus we got twenty one all covered. After that, you can have all the boring birthdays you want."

Edward sighed. "Well, no point in fighting it. So, what are we doing?"

"We are going back in time," I grabbed his hand leading everyone to the back door. "Back to when birthday parties were the highlight of kids' lives."

"You got me a time machine for my birthday?! No way!" Edward joked.

"Close. So close," I said opening the French doors to the back patio. Everyone who was outside stopped in their tracks. I looked at Edward's face with a huge smile. A chorus of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDWARD"'s rang through the backyard.

"Do you like it?" I asked, biting my lip with a hopeful smile.

"Is that. . . is that a Buzzlightyear piñata?" He finally said.

"Yessss. . ."

"Awesome!" Edward fist pumped. He walked down the few steps into the group of party goers.

"Told you he'd like it!" I nudged Rose.

"Such a dork." Rose said with a smile playing at her lips.

"A BOUNCE HOUSE?! Out of my way!" Emmett pushed past us and leaped down the stairs.

"Ladies and gentleman, the real child of the party." Alice giggled. I laughed with her and followed Rose and Jasper down the steps.

The party was turning into a huge success. Edward was having the time of his life. The little kid that was inside everyone slowly started to emerge. It felt good knowing I had something to do with this brilliant idea. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Emmett and Rose put aside their issue and were having fun together. Although, at times you could see Rose falter in her smile.

Esme and Carlisle joined the party a little while later, Esme was taking pictures for people and taking pictures of the party. Carlisle was watching the bounce houses because Emmett was starting to get rowdy in them. I don't know how they were still holding up with him jumping around in them. Though, it was fun to sit on the outer edge of one and have Emmett bounce in the middle. Dangerous but extremely fun.

I was bouncing around one of the houses with Alice when Edward yelled from outside, "Who wants to whack the candy out of Buzzlightyear!?" Alice and I scrambled out onto the grass and ran towards the piñata.

"Where is the stick?" Edward asked.

"Right here," Jasper came from the behind the tree and whacked Edward in the ass.

"I'll get you back for that," Edward pointed the stick at Jasper. Edward turned around and looked up at the piñata.

Carlisle grabbed the rope it was attached to and lowered it down to hitting level. "Should we spin him around?" Ben Cheney asked.

"Yes! Do it, mama Cullen!" Emmett cheered from the back. Esme stepped up behind Edward and began to spin him around. She spun him around a good ten times before letting him go. He wobbled on his feet from a second before swinging the paper covered stick. Carlisle pulled the rope, making him miss by inches. We all laughed.

"Hey!" Edward laughed, swinging again and hitting the very bottom of the cardboard with a load smack. Sadly, he didn't do any damage.

"Wimp!" I yelled, sticking my tongue out at him. His eyes zeroed in on me.

"Think you can do better?" He was still a little dizzy, walking over and handing me the stick.

"Uh, yeah." I scoffed, swiping it out of his hands with confidence. I stepped up beside Esme.

"Don't hurt yourself." Rose said, smirking. My vision of her was lost as I began to spin around. Everything was a smear of color as I got spun around ten times. Esme let go of my shoulders and I almost fell over, getting a few chuckles. I looked up at the tree, the world tilting over my head. I readied the bat and swung with as much force as I could muster. Buzz flashed out of sight and I swung at air. The second time I hit him square in the chest, denting his cardboard armor.

"Ha!" I turned towards everyone and handed the stick off to Austin Marks. "That is how it is done."

After everyone got a chance to hit Buzz, he was a few smacks away from being knocked down. Edward got the stick back and went to town. Buzz's legs fell off and we were rewarded with a candy shower. We all dived to the ground and picked up as many pieces as our hands could hold. I saw Alice and Katie Marshall shoving some in their bras.

We cut the cake afterward, Edward blew out all eighteen of his candles in one breath. The cake was dark chocolate with chocolate pieces in it. Edward and I were sitting with our feet dangling over the pool's edge, looking at everyone scattered across the lawn eating cake.

"Enjoying your party?" I asked, licking the blue frosting off my fork.

"Yes, one of the best parties I've been too." He smiled at me.

"You see? So much better than doing nothing," I nudged him with my shoulder. "We haven't even gotten to the best part yet."

"You mean there's more?" Edward raised his eyebrow, eating the last bite of his piece.

"Yep. I'm just full of surprises," I swiped a piece of icing off my empty plate and licked it off my finger. I got up and walked over to Alice. "It's really hot out here."

"I know," Alice's grin grew. "I know there is a pool, but I didn't bring my swimsuit."

"I don't think anyone did," I looked over at Emmett who was grinning like a child on Christmas. He got up and walked toward the pool house. Edward came sauntering over.

"Should we go inside?" Edward asked.

"No, that would be a bad idea." Jasper hinted.

"Why?" Edward looked confused.

"Because then everything would get wet." I stated, looking behind him.

"Why would everything. . ." Edward trailed off, looking behind himself. Emmett had a super soaker pointed directly at him.

"Say hello, to my little friend!" Emmett bellowed before squirting him all over with water. Edward tried to shield his face. Emmett stopped once Edward was dripping.

"Cooled down enough?" Rose snickered. Edward looked at everyone, a smile slowly forming on his face. Everyone froze, then Edward sprinted toward the pool house. He grabbed a gun and began to spray everyone. The yard filled with screams and laughter as everyone raced to grab one to defend themselves. The yard turned into a war zone. Esme and Carlisle had fled into the house. People were hiding behind trees and spraying anything that came running by. If you were hot before, you weren't anymore. I was drenched from head to toe.

"This is for hitting my ass, Whitlock!" Edward yelled squirting Jasper right in the gut til he threw his hands up yelling his surrender.

Soon enough, it turned into a boys vs. girls battle. We girls were huddled behind pool house, refilling our guns. Katie was looking out for any guy trying to sneak up. Once we were locked and loaded up again, we went back out to battle. We ended up cornering all the guys on the deck and they surrendered because they were out of water.

It was just after six when people started heading out. As they left, they were handed a goodie bag with candy, mardi gras beads and a Toy Story noise maker. The bounce houses were being taken down, the mess of the backyard was being picked up and any leftover food was being eaten by the guys.

"Can I take some cake home with me?" Emmett asked, munching on a mini pizza.

"Please," Esme begged, putting leftovers into containers. "That does not need to be sitting around my house. Because someone will eat it for every meal."

"There is nothing wrong with having cake for breakfast," Edward defended himself. "Or lunch or dinner."

"Speaking of dinner, I've got to get going," I got up from the couch. I headed toward the front door, with Edward trailing behind me.

"Thank you, for the party." He said, leaning on the front door with his shoulder.

"You're welcome," I wrapped my arms around his waist. "I'd do anything for you."

"Anything?" He said into my hair.

"Anything," I looked up at him and locked my lips onto his. He tasted of chocolate and icing. I pulled away too soon and his lips formed a pout.

"I'll see you later." I smiled, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before walking out to my car.

~oOo~

The few days following Edward's birthday were a drag. Work was extremely slow because people were out enjoying the weather instead of sitting inside reading books. I got off early on a Friday afternoon and was walking to my car when I heard excessive giggling behind me, all too familiar excessive giggling. I turned around when I got to my vehicle and was met by the smirking face of Lauren Mallory.

"Hey Lauren," I said with as much fake enthusiasm as I could muster.

"Bella. I should have guessed you would be working at a bookstore," Lauren laughed. Her two friends behind her joined in. One was a brunette the other was a lighter blonde than Lauren. I sighed crossing my arms.

"How's your summer?" I asked, not really caring.

"I just got back from the Caribbean a few days ago," She flipped her hair over her shoulder, showing off the obvious tan line on her shoulder. "Such a pretty place. Filled with so many cute guys. You should go sometime."

"Oh yeah, I'll get right on that." I nodded.

"You really should. Those guys down there love foreign girls. They really know how to treat a lady."

"Okay," I shrugged my shoulders. "If I never to find a cute, foreign guy I'll go there. But, I don't so. . ."

"Oh you and Edward are still a thing?" Lauren bit her perfectly manicured nail with a face full of fake concern.

"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't we be?"

"No reason. It's just, people are talking. It's probably nothing," She waved her hand dismissively.

I blew out some air from my lips. Lauren was a known gossiper and troublemaker. I shouldn't be feeding her with questions, but it was the only way to get to go away. "What's probably nothing?"

"Just that, something happened on July Fourth with Edward." Lauren paused. "Weren't you there?"

I was trying to read her face to see if she was pulling my leg. "No. I was in New York that week."

"Oh," She looked back at her friends and winked. The fuck? "Well, something happened at a party that all your friends were at. Some unexpected guest popped up. Things went downhill from there. Or uphill, depending on what side you're on."

"What are you talking about?" I huffed, getting tired of her shenanigans.

"Well, if you must know," She leaned in towards me. "Tanya Denali crashed the party. She found Edward and they talked. And it ended with a kiss."

I froze. "What?"

"Edward and Tanya-" One of her annoying friends started to say, but I cut her off.

"I know what she said!" I hissed. "Are you sure this isn't some stupid rumor? Because you are famous for those."

"Why would I lie about this?" She looked sincere. I didn't believe her. "It's all over Facebook. I can't believe you didn't know about it." I narrowed my eyes at her. It was hard to believe anything that came out of Lauren Mallory's mouth. I tried to think back to what Edward told me of the party and he didn't seem to leave anything out.

"I don't have time for this," I finally said. "Good bye, Lauren."

"Fine, don't believe me. I was just trying to do you a favor."

"Do me a favor? Oh god," I muttered. I unlocked my car and opened the door. "Well, thanks. But it wasn't needed. It's hard to believe anything you say when you've been spewing shit since high school."

"Ask him." She said, before marching off with her minions. Even out of school, she needs to have people flanking her. I shook her words out of my head and drove home.

When I got home a few hours later, Charlie greeted me and said he had ordered pizza for dinner. I marched up to my bedroom and collapsed on my bed. Though I didn't want them too, Lauren's words crept into my mind. "It's all over Facebook." "And it ended with a kiss." I can't believe I was doing this. I got up and booted up my laptop. I opened the internet link and logged into Facebook. I hadn't been on here since the night of graduation. I didn't really have a need to be since, let's be honest, I'm not friends with these people anymore.

I scrolled through my feed passing vacations photos, a million selfies, inspirational quote photos, and pointless status after pointless status. I didn't realize I was friends with so many people. After a few minutes of re-cementing the idea that Lauren is a pathological liar, I found something. Underneath a picture of Alice and Jasper from July fourth, there was a status from Tanya with twenty comments attached to it. I read her status before clicking on the comments.

Tanya Denali:
Coming back to Forks is always special, especially when you get to reunite with your high school crush :3

Lauren Mallory: OMG! I didn't know you were back!

Tanya Denali: Yes! But only for the weekend :( Though I might stay longer now ;)

Lauren Mallory: TELL ME! TELL ME!

Jessica Stanley: We must hang out before you leave! I missed you sosososososososo much! WHO DID YOU KISS!?

Lauren Mallory: YOU KISSED SOMEONE?! WHO?!

Tanya Denali: Thanks for jumping the gun, Jess! If you must know, I kissed Edward Cullen :)

Lauren Mallory: !

Jessica Stanley: OMFGGGG! HOW?!

Lauren Mallory: Yeah, how? Isn't he dating Bella Swan?

Tanya Denali: I just leaned over the table and kissed him! It was amazing, btw. And Lauren, she can kiss my ass. I'm pretty sure their relationship is over. She wasn't even there! He was all alone. I had to make him feel better ;)

I quit reading the comments after that. The pit of my stomach was twisting into knots. Lauren wasn't lying for once in her life. If everything I just read is true, I don't want to know what that means. Would Edward really cheat on me like that? Especially at a party where all of our friends were right fucking there? Maybe Tanya was exaggerating. Which was a high possibility because she does that. Those three love to do that. "Ask him." Lauren's words echoed in my head. I don't know if I wanted to ask him. Because I didn't truthfully want to know if it was real or not. The sound of the doorbell broke my thoughts. I slammed my laptop shut and went downstairs.

~oOo~

It was Saturday afternoon, I was sprawled across my bed letting the breeze from my window blow across my face. I had my eyes closed and listening to Lego House by Ed Sheeran playing from my laptop. I didn't eat much last night or this morning. I was worrying about what I read yesterday, which I am mentally slapping myself for. Why did I let Lauren get to me? I really hate her. Even when we don't see each other every day anymore, she still has some power over me. I groan into my hands and throw them down on my bed.

There was rustling coming from outside my window. I would have thought it was the breeze, but it wasn't regular. I turned my head and watched as a hand appeared on my windowsill. A mumbled "Shit!" could be heard outside. The next thing I know, Edward's head is peeking up from below with both his hands on my windowsill.

"What are you doing?" I ask, holding in laughter.

"Trying to be romantic," He grunted, lifting himself through the window with a thud as he falls on my floor. "That was hard!"

"You know we have a front door?"

"Yeah, but I saw that your window was open," He brushed himself off and walked to my bed. "That was easier years ago when the tree had more branches."

"It's okay, grandpa." I teased, turning my head to look at him upside down. He scrunched up his face. "We all can't be Spider-man."

He leaned down and kissed me upside down. He pulled away. "I beg to differ." I laughed softly.

"So, what are you doing mopey pants?" He came around and laid down next to me.

"I am not mopey." I grumbled. "The better question is, what are you doing?"

"I am bored out of my mind. Emmett has left for football camp and Jasper is doing wedding stuff with Alice. So, I decided to visit you."

"So, I was your third best option?" I asked offended.

"Technically, wouldn't that make you my first best option?" He said trying to save himself. I looked at him through judgmental eyes. My face softened looking at his face.

"I'll let it slide. Your face is too cute." I moved my head to kiss his cheek.

"Seriously, what are you doing?" He asked again. Thinking about whether I want to ask you if you kissed Tanya Denali.

"Enjoying having the house to myself. Charlie is over at Sue's house. Told me, 'Not to wait up for him.' That is the last thing I need to hear from my father." I shudder at the thought of what he meant by it.

"So, we're alone?" Edward smirked, flipping on his side looking at me. He waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Boys are so horny." I rolled my eyes, slapping his chest.

"It's in our genes." He started playing with a strand of my hair.

"Where would we be without those genes?" I pondered.

"Sitting around, playing chess." He commented.

"So boring." I whispered as his lips crashed down on mine. I was startled for a moment, before I relaxed into the motion. Our lips moved in sync never feeling like they didn't belong together. Edward rolled so he was on top of me, never breaking apart. The kissing became more frantic, the energy in the room picked up. His lips moved down to my chin and along my neck. A moan escaped my throat as my hands gripped strands of his bronze hair.

"Wait wait wait," I panted. I pushed Edward off of me and got up. I walked over to the window and closed it and shoving the curtain to cover it up. "No one needs to hear or see this." His laugh was deep, and sexy. I hurried over to the bed and tackled him underneath me. I smacked our lips together with force.

I never wanted something more than I wanted this right now. I wanted to erase what I read. I wanted to erase what Lauren had told me. I wanted to erase it all. I wanted to forget why I was worried. I know I should talk it out with Edward, but I needed to prove something to myself. I needed to prove that Edward loved me. That him kissing Tanya was just some stupid accident. That Tanya was a raging bitch. Sex seemed like the only logical thing at the moment, plus we rarely got moments when we were alone with no adults in the house.

I was throwing myself into the kissing. My hands were knotted up in his hair, I could hear him breathing heavy, his hands were exploring my body. I felt the tips of his fingers brush along my back through my t-shirt. I felt them grip my hips as he flipped us over. He let go of me and stripped his shirt off tossing it behind him onto the floor. My hands left his hair and traced the plains of his back. His fingers reached the hem of my shirt and I let him rip it off my body. If I had known my day would lead to this, I would have worn matching underwear.

His hands massaged every part of my bare stomach. I reached one of my hands around my back and unlatched my bra. He threw that aside and worked his hands up to my breasts. My lips left his and made a trail along his jawline. I moaned into his neck as he squeezed my breast, my fingers clutching at his back, leaving nail prints. He moved down from my face, pressing my body into my mattress as he left a trail of kisses down my chest and stomach. He swirled his tongue around my bellybutton as he undid my shorts button. I kicked them off between his legs. His fingers slid gracefully under the waistband of my panties, he slid them down and I kicked them off as well.

He went farther down my body, kissing in between my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his torso, interlocking my feet together. He kissed all up and down both thighs before kissing me there. The muscles tightened in my legs. He had never done this before. This was new and I didn't want him to stop. I felt his tongue flick out and move around. I let out a groan, my hands gripping his hair and my bedspread. He continued to go in and out till my legs felt like jello. He kissed back up my body all the way to my lips. The kisses were forceful and meaningful.

I reached my hands down and they shook as I tried to undo his pants. I finally got it undone and shoved them off with my hands and feet. We both lay exposed and entangled on top of my bed. I lined myself up with him and he pushed himself into me. We both moaned at the contact. He started moving slowly, but I wasn't having any of that. I encouraged him to move faster. I needed this release. All this time we hadn't said a word to each other. The air was filled with moans, groans and lots of hormones. I didn't feel like this was making love, I felt like this was fucking. True, no holds bar fucking. This whole experience was different from every other time. I just wanted to forget everything. I wonder if he felt the difference.

His pace sped up, he was grunting louder and breathing harder. I felt the familiar tightness in my stomach growing stronger. My muscles began to tighten, I felt the release coming fast. He drove into me harder and I tightened up. I let out a loud moan as I met my climax. He slowed down as he came along with me. We were both panting by the end of it. He pulled out carefully and collapsed next to me. I leaned over and kissed his chest with my sore lips. I felt his arm snake around my shoulders and he pulled close. We stayed like that for what felt like hours.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" I asked him a while later as we got dressed. I'd have to take a shower before Charlie got home.

"I'd love to, but I got to meet my parents for dinner in a little bit." He said, straightening his shirt out.

"Okay," I sighed disappointed. I sat next to him in silence for a few moments. "So, was that really why you came over?"

"No, I just wanted to hang out," He grinned. "That was just a surprise. A good surprise."

"Only good?"

"A great surprise," He kissed the tip of my nose. "It felt different though."

"Yeah?" I felt my shoulders tense up.

"It felt intense. Like we did it too fast or something." He shrugged.

"Well, we are in a cop's house," I quipped.

"This is very true," Edward stood up and looked towards the window.

"Debating on whether climbing out the window is worth it?" I smiled.

"Maybe," He said sheepishly. "Probably not. Cause then if I got hurt, I'd have to explain why I was laying underneath your window."

"That'd be a funny story," I snickered. I followed Edward down the stairs and stopped by the front door.

"Hilarious." He said with sarcasm. I grabbed onto his hand and played with his fingers, not really wanting him to leave. "I better go and get cleaned up."

"Okay." I let go of all of his fingers but one.

"Are you okay?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I smiled up at him to reassure him. "I just don't want you to go."

"But I must," He bent down and kissed my head. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I breathed. I let go of his last finger before he walked out to his car. I shut the door and sat down on the bottom step.

He made me forget everything for that brief moment in time. But he took all that with him the moment he walked out the door. He proved to me that he loved me. I proved to myself that he still loved me. But why did I feel like that wasn't enough? Lauren's words bounced around inside my head. You can't erase things with sex. It only complicates things. Besides the whole getting pregnant part, that must be the other reason they tell you not do it. Sex only complicates things. I got up off the step and wondered into the kitchen. Those two words were ricocheting off my skull. Ask him.