Disclaimer: SM owns characters, I own plot. ©IsaKassees 2010

A/N: Again, sorry to bother you at the beginning, but a small note to say that the legal age of consent in WA is 16, which both Bella and Edward are. The story is rated M for the following chapter, and there's not a whole lot of...talking...done this chapter, so if it bothers you, feel free to skip it and tune in Monday for the big reveal.


"Edward."

God, her voice sounded so real. So perfect. A cold touch on my cheek made my eyes fly open suddenly, only to see her right in front of me. Well, that was new. When I'd imagined her, I'd never actually hallucinated before. I blinked a few times, wondering why I would imagine her soaked to the bone and shivering. She was watching me curiously, as if she expected me to speak. It was my hallucination. Shouldn't she be the one talking?

"Are you on something?"

"Oh my God, are you real?"

She crinkled her nose and blinked at me in shock. "Uh…last time I checked?"

I wasn't a hundred percent sure about this. Surely if I touched her, she'd fade away and my hands would grasp empty air.

"How are you here?"

"The airplane is an amazing invention, Edward."

A grin so wide it made my cheeks hurt spread across my face as I stepped forward and swung her around in the air, trying not to slip on any mud puddles that would send her flying out of my arms or both of us to the ground. Our laughs mixed with the other's, drowning out the rain and thunder all around. I slowly slid her to her feet, keeping her steady at the waist in case she was dizzy.

The lightning flashes around us gave me enough light to see the bright excitement in her eyes and her smile that never faltered.

"Do you come here a lot?"

"No," I laughed, shaking my head, unable to tear my eyes away from hers. "This is actually the first time. I just…needed it, I guess. But it didn't work. It's not the same without you here. God, I can't believe you're here. I missed you so much, Bella."

Her smile grew as she placed her hands on my upper arms and squeezed gently.

"Did you make a wish?"

I grinned crookedly, nodding my head. "Yeah, and I have to say that it worked pretty well."

"Why?" she laughed.

"Because I wished for you," I admitted seriously. "And here you are."

Her smile fell, her eyes locked on mine. "Every year, I wish for you. Every year, that's all I want."

"Why are you telling me this now?" I asked, amazed. "You nev-"

"Because I finally got it. I don't need to wish anymore."

My grip on her waist tightened slightly, but I was sure I misunderstood what she was saying. She had to mean because she got to visit early. She couldn't mean…

"I'm finally home."

"You mean…?" I breathed.

"I'm not going back to Phoenix this time. I'm staying in Fo-"

I cut her off with my lips, kissing her harder and fiercer than I ever had before. Hallucination or dream, I would take it. But as she wrapped her arms around me and held me as I tightly as I was wound around her, the more and more I started to let myself believe that this was real. I wanted to know why and when and a million other things, but at this moment, I just couldn't get close enough.

Her body seemed to be shaking in my arms and at first, I thought she was crying. Pulling back in concern, I realized she was actually just freezing. Even though it was summer, we were both soaked through and I registered I was shivering as well.

"C'mon," I panted. "I need to get you dry."

Taking her by the hand, I led her as quickly as the water and mud would allow, wiping the rain from my glasses as I guided us across the field and through the trees until we got to my house.

"Where is everyone? I came here first, but when nobody answered I went to the tree," she asked through chattering teeth as I unlocked the door and pulled her inside.

"They're in Seattle until tomorrow," I answered, leading her up the stairs to my room. She needed out of those clothes quick or she was going to get sick. "With Emmett at U-Dub. Wait…did you walk here from Charlie's? When did you get here? I have so many questions."

She smiled sheepishly. "I know. I'll explain everything. And yeah, I pretty much ran here straight from my dad's. He wasn't happy I was running right off, but I guess since I'm going to be here permanently…"

I had to stop and hug her again. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. "God, that sounds so good. I can't believe you're here. Really here and I don't have to say goodbye this time."

Still shivering, her eyes were shy. "We don't ever have to say it if you don't want to."

Leaning in to kiss her once more, I whispered. "Never."

The kiss was briefer than I wanted, but we were both freezing. I pulled her into the bathroom, switching on the light and starting the water. Turning back around to face her, I was able to fully see how drenched she was, while I tried very hard to keep from staring at her now see-through t-shirt that was clinging to her for dear life. Lucky fucking t-shirt.

"You need to warm up. If you give me your clothes, I'll throw them in the dryer and find you something to wear. You can just, um, like, pass them through the door," I mumbled, realizing I was basically standing there demanding she strip. And then get in my shower. Naked. God, that would be fueling my fantasies for months.

In spite of her being cold, she flushed across her chest, neck and face as she nodded furiously. I escaped, shutting the door behind me and leaning against it for a moment. My unbelievably gorgeous girlfriend that I hadn't seen or touched in a year was on the other side of this door getting naked. I rubbed my hands over my face in an attempt to gain some composure. She needed a shower to warm up and she needed some dry clothes.

I searched the back of my closet, looking for some t-shirts and sweats from a couple of years back, hoping to find something small enough so that it would stay on her. The last thing my nearly nonexistent self-control needed was to put her in a t-shirt that would fall down her shoulder or pants that dropped as soon as she stood. Maybe I should get her some of my mom's clothes. That would kill my erection for sure.

I heard the door to my bathroom open and I grabbed the first thing my hands touched and walked back out of my closet, only to screech to a halt. She was standing in the doorway in only a towel, using one hand to hold it to her body and the other to hold her dripping clothes. Oh God, I'm pretty sure I just saw some kind of lace.

"Berjigimafa."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she cocked her head. "What?"

I shook my head, trying to remember how to speak basic English. Walking over to her, I took the wet clothes from her hands and shoved the dry ones into them.

"You're shaking," she whispered, her eyes glittering in the dim light coming from my closet.

"I am?" I gulped. I hadn't noticed.

She nodded, focusing very hard on my very interesting desk behind me. "You need to get warm."

"I do?" I blinked. Her hair was dripping water down her chest, disappearing into the towel. Lucky fucking towel.

She nodded again, tossing the dry clothes on the counter beside her and fisting her hand in my shirt. Pulling gently, she walked me back and I followed automatically, throwing her wet clothes into the sink. With one hand still on her towel, clutching it so tightly her knuckles were white, her other slid down to my wrist and unsnapped the cuff there, setting it gently down on the counter before returning to the edge of my shirt as she pried it from skin.

Understanding, I tossed my glasses aside and crossed my arms to lift my shirt over my head swiftly, cold and nervous and self-conscious. She swallowed visibly, her eyes flitting over my chest and stomach. I stood there frozen, hoping she didn't find me lacking. I was no bodybuilder.

"You're so perfect."

I half-snorted, half-choked. "No. You are."

She smiled at me then, her eyes fixed on mine. For a moment, I forgot that she was in nothing but a towel and I was standing in front of her half-naked.

"I look like a drowned cat."

I bit the inside of my cheek to hide my smile, but she still saw it. Rolling her eyes, she sighed.

"I know. You can say it."

"Aww. Kitten," I snickered, wrapping my arms around her and nuzzling her nose with mine. Her eyes fluttered close and she tilted her head up slightly, letting me capture her mouth with mine. As soon as the soft cotton of her towel rubbed against my chest, I was very aware again of what we were, or weren't wearing.

"Are you sure?"

I wasn't sure what I was asking, whether it was the nakedness, or the shower, or what might come after, but she nodded anyway, taking a step back so I could unbutton my jeans. She thankfully kept her eyes on mine as I pushed them down with my boxers, even though I was tempted to just shower with those on. Unstoppable teenage hormones had made me hard in spite of the wet coldness of my pants, and I was at full attention, like a compass pointed straight for north. Only Bella was my north and my hopefully-not-too-small dick was the compass needle.

Nervously, her grip on the towel loosened, letting it fall down her body silently. Her eyes were wide and scared, what little I would allow myself to see of her chest heaving.

"Are you sure?" I whispered again, my heart in my stomach. She nodded slowly, so I pushed back the curtain for us to climb inside, the hot water at once soothing both of us. She melted into my chest, my erection stuck between us. I wrapped my arms completely around her, relishing my first feel of her skin against my skin, my hands on her back, her chest on mine. With my arms around her slight form, I felt protective, I felt strong.

When she lifted her head from my chest and pouted her lips at me, I lost it.

Before she could gasp, I had her pinned against my shower wall, the same shower wall I had leaned against and stroked myself countless times to images of her in my mind. My lips moved hungrily against hers, my hands eager over her ribs and hips. I slowly moved my hand up to cup her breast, unable to believe the difference between my memories of her clothed chest and what I was feeling now. The softness I had felt a year ago had nothing on the silky feel of her skin, the way she fit my greedy hand so perfectly.

"Is this okay?" I rasped, sucking in a sharp breath as her shaky hand brushed against my dick.

"Is this?" she whispered, touching it only with feather-soft fingertips, experimenting, exploring.

My fingers dug into her skin, making her wince, so I retracted immediately. "Yes. I'm sorry. Yes."

She ran her fingers up and down, not grasping, simply touching and slowly driving me crazy. I buried my face in her neck, kissing and biting while thrusting against her with no control. We were both already panting and we hadn't even exerted ourselves. Yet.

"Is this…I don't know what to do," she admitted in a hushed whisper. I gritted my teeth, summoning all of my courage to move my hand from her waist and grab hers, wrapping both of our hands around me. My thrusting hadn't stopped, so she simply moved her hand up and down with my movements, making my eyes roll back in my head.

"God…fuck…yes…just like that…" I groaned, rolling her breast in my hand, running my thumb across her nipple and making it stiffen. She whimpered, pushing her chest further into my hand which I took as encouragement. Removing my other hand from around hers on my dick, I pressed it flat against her stomach and moved it down slowly, giving her ample time to refuse me. She inhaled sharply when my fingers reached her center for the first time and I kissed her deeply in return, trying to make her understand that this was me wanting to love her, and nothing else.

The only problem was, whereas my parts were pretty straightforward, hers were a little more complicated. There was a thick bundle of skin that my fingers just brushed over, what I academically knew to be the clitoris, but what I personally knew to be a mystery to all mankind. The soft, hidden folds below felt wet, almost slippery. Which of these things was I supposed to explore? All of it felt soft, especially the part…Fuck. My finger slipped inside her, unknowing, and all I could think was, if I get in there, I'm going to lose it. Because no matter how tight or lotioned my fist was when I beat myself off, nothing could feel better than that.

Her moans guided me as I slid my finger in and out, helping to distract me from the grip she had on me. At times too tight, at times too loose. But that made it all the more surreal. She had never touched anyone else this way and neither had I.

All of our firsts, with the same person we also wanted to be our last.

The hot water chose that moment to run out, blasting us with a cold spray that made Bella shriek. I turned it off quickly and withdrew my finger from her gently, both of her hands already around my waist. There was enough steam for me to continue to kiss her for a moment, until the air started to chill us. She shivered against me, forcing me to move away from her long enough to pull us out of the bathtub.

I reached up blindly for two towels out of the cabinet above the commode and draped one around her shoulders before wrapping one around my waist. I had no clue what I was doing or what I should do next, but thankfully Bella helped that along by reaching up and tangling her hands in my hair as she elevated on her tiptoes and kissed the breath out of me.

With no remembrance of how we got there, I found myself on top of her on my bed, her towel forgotten…somewhere, mine still loosely fixed around my waist as my body covered hers and my tongue delved deep into her mouth. She was shivering beneath me, but I couldn't tell if it was because of cold, nerves, or desire. I hoped it was the latter, but just in case, I pulled my blankets up around us and wrenched back from her mouth to look down on her.

"Are you okay?" I asked breathlessly. She nodded back furiously, pulling me back down to her and letting her hands run wild, up and down my back, around to my chest and shoulders, across my lower stomach. I followed her lead, bracing myself with one arm and letting my free hand roam, trailing my fingertips over her arms and down to her chest, releasing her lips to watch her as I felt over the mounds of flesh there. Watching her writhe and moan was beyond anything my simple mind could have ever dreamed up. She was impossibly beautiful, feeling this way because of me.

Curious, I leaned down and let the flat of my tongue run over a nipple, feeling her moan vibrate beneath my lips. Taking that as encouragement, I dragged my lips across her chest to place a kiss atop her other while my hand continued to tease the breast not receiving my mouth's attention.

As I enjoyed the taste of her skin more, my hand moved on, sliding my fingers down her stomach and feeling her skin turn to gooseflesh at my touch. Through a small patch of hair, I found that bundle of nerves I felt before and attempted to bring her pleasure by pressing on it as my fingers passed, watching her carefully.

"Ah!" she gasped, thrusting against my hand. I did it again and she bit her lip, hissing in a breath.

"Is this okay?" I whispered, pushing down again to make clear my question. Her eyes wide in anticipation, her head jerked up and down and her back arched again as I kept the palm of my hand firm on her and slid one finger down. It was still very wet, which even I knew was a sign that I was doing something right. It was utterly fascinating to learn her body's responses as I touched her, to watch her reactions. I developed a rhythm with my fingers, almost as if I were playing a piece of music. The motion of my finger thrusting in and out of her created a circular motion with the heel of my hand pressed down on her clit, and after only a few moments her whimpers turned to moans, her writhing became thrashing.

"Ohmygod. Please. Please," she begged, her eyes clenched tightly shut and her hands buried in her hair. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. In my fantasies and dreams, I'd made Bella come more times than I could count, but with her right in front of me, actually falling apart at my hands, it was indescribable. All I wanted was to know what that please meant; what I needed to do to push her over the edge.

Bravely, fearfully, I carefully slid one more finger inside of her to join the first. It was so tight I was afraid I might hurt her, but when I curled them in, she completely fell to pieces before me. Her entire body stiffened, her forehead wrinkled in concentration, her mouth frozen in a small, pouty O.

"You are so beautiful," I murmured, leaning my head down to kiss her top lip, then suck her bottom into my mouth. She responded immediately, her hands ripping away at the only barrier still left between us.

"Wait," I panted, stilling her. "I don't have anything. I wasn't expecting this. We can-"

"I've been on the pill since I was fourteen," she said softly as she flicked my hands off of hers and pulled the towel completely loose from my waist.

"I don't want to hurt you," I croaked. For the first time, I felt my head rub down her clit, then settling between her thighs. "God. Are you sure? Because I don't know if I'll be able to stop if I-"

"I don't want you to stop," she interrupted simply. "I know it will hurt. This time. Please. All I've thought about for the last year is feeling you. I just want to feel you."

I melted back into her, kissing her deeply. There was no fighting this; there was no room for doubt. She was meant to be mine and I had always been hers. Taking a hold of myself, I positioned the tip right at her entrance, pushing inside slowly.

Her eyes gave away her discomfort, making me want to stop, but those same eyes warned me against it, urging me on. I could never have anticipated the heat, the tightness, the feeling. I tried to keep my focus away from the feeling and more on her, so that I didn't end this faster than it began.

"Are you okay?" I whispered. She nodded quickly, her breaths still shallow and tense.

"Yes…just…I think I need you…to move," she gasped out, but I couldn't just start going at her when she was so rigid. I leaned down and kissed her as I pulled back some, driving my tongue into her mouth at the same time I thrust forward, a bit further than before. Suddenly, I felt her muscles clamp down around me so tightly I couldn't move any further and I realized I had just broken through her barrier. I stopped again, panicked, my eyes flitting all over her face.

"Are you okay?"

That seemed to be the only question I was capable of asking tonight. Again, she nodded quickly, pressing her hands firmly on my lower back.

"It just…ow…stings…but, please…move," she choked out, relaxing her muscles slightly, enough that I could start moving again inside her slowly. With her permission, I couldn't resist. And it felt so unbelievably good that I didn't want to. Fantasies, I now realized, could be misleading. Roughness could be mistaken for passion; loudness could be mistaken for intensity…

But here, right now, as I slowly moved in and out her, I felt passion and intensity for what they really were. Passion was the overwhelming ecstasy I felt as I loved my girl, my only girl, my best friend, carefully, cherishing this gift she was giving me. Intensity was the power of knowing I was the only one to ever know her this way; that I would do everything I could to make sure I was the only one who ever did.

Looking down on her face, more relaxed now with her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide open and staring straight through me, I had never felt closer to her. I whispered my love for her, over and over, mixed with other unintelligible noises and words that feebly tried to convey how precious she was to me, how amazing this felt, how completely and utterly in love with her I was.

The sensation continued to climb and climb, until I reached a point where I felt I couldn't go any higher. I took her lips with mine again, inhaling her hot exhales into my mouth, groaning as I met my end. It was so different from anything I'd ever felt before, it was so much better than anything I'd ever felt before. I felt it in every nerve of my body, my brain unable to fully comprehend the enormity of what we'd just done, my heart threatening to explode out of my chest with all the emotion the completion of this this brought out in me.

"Bella."

Her fingers dug into the small of my back as I struggled to not collapse on top of her, beads of sweat dripping from me onto her. Burying my face in her wet hair, I rested there as my breathing slowly returned to normal.

Kissing her neck gently once, I whispered, "I love you."

She hummed in reply, whimpering slightly as I softened and slipped out of her.

"Are you okay?"

"Do you know how many times you've asked me that tonight?" she giggled, her palms soothing as they ran up and down my back.

I grinned against her skin. Only with her did I ever feel this lightness, this happiness. Underneath it all, she was always my Bella and I would always be her Edward. She sighed as I kissed her neck again, still chaste, just because I could. She was here now and I just could.

"I love you, boy."

I squeezed her as tight as I could. "I don't know if I can let you go tonight. I want to keep you. Forever."

She turned her head and rubbed her cheek against mine. "You have me. Forever.

"But if I don't go home sometime, my dad will come after you."

The smile was clear in her voice, but the threat was very real as far as I was concerned. If Chief Swan knew I had just deflowered his daughter, he'd probably have me publicly executed. Making no move to get off of her, I nipped at her shoulder.

"Well, that settles that. We'll just have to run away together."

She laughed, shoving me with her shoulder. "I do really have to get home sometime tonight, Edward."

"I know," I sighed, rolling off of her. Lying on my side, she rolled onto hers to face me.

"I have so much I need to tell you," she smiled, but her eyes darkened slightly.

"And I need to hear it," I nodded. "Only I don't know if you've ever noticed this about me, but I'm a pretty impatient person."

She widened her eyes innocently, shaking her head. "Why, no! I never suspected this of you!"

"It's true," I affirmed gravely. "So it sounds like I have a date with the tree of doom tonight."

Her lips twitched, the joke forgotten. Tonelessly, she asked, "Tree of doom?"

I arched my eyebrow at her. "You climb it and see if you still laugh."

She smiled, reaching up to rub the two days' worth of scruff on my face. "I never made my wish tonight. I could hope you don't fall."

"That would be much appreciated, kitten. If you could throw in something about me not getting shot, that would be great too."

She closed her eyes, grinning cheekily.

"Please don't let Edward be shot, stabbed, maimed, or injured in any way tonight when he attempts to conquer the tree of doom."

God, I love that girl.

Just for a minute

The silver forked sky

Lit you up like a star

That I will follow


This chapter was tough to write for me, I'd love to hear what you thought. Many thanks to aleighy for betaing, even though I can't figure out for the life of me where she's hiding at today, and to FM for pre-reading.

See you Monday.

isa