Author's Note: I'm overwhelmed at how great the responses have been to this story, thank you many times over.

Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

Ten

Edward waited an interminable amount of time before doing anything, long enough that I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. All the requisite thoughts went through my head – is he coming up with a nice way to turn me down? Has he decided that we shouldn't be together anymore? Then what was with the kiss at the front door? Does he just want to be friends? I don't kiss my friends that way.

Say something!

He stood up and lifted me at the same time so my legs were around his waist; he looked in the direction of the hallway and I hoped this was the answer I'd been waiting for. I managed to get out a hoarse "first door on the left" to get things moving. He shouldered the door open all the way and then sat me on the bed in a way that was much gentler than the look in his eyes. My previous wants were now being trounced by uncertainty, so I sat there and waited for him to take the lead.

And then he pulled his shirt off.

If I hadn't already been sitting down I would have needed to. I did a quick mental inventory of what I looked like without clothing and decided that I didn't quite compare.

Not able to help myself, I reached out to grab the waistband of his jeans; his skin felt warm and very smooth under my fingers. He stepped closer to stand between my legs and then leaned down to help me move back on the bed. I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep him as close as possible, to which he very willingly complied. We lay diagonal across my bed, tangled up in each other, kissing. I felt his hand slide under the hem of my shirt to rest along my ribs; I tried not to let the faint tickling sensation distract me. His other hand moved to my leg, which he pulled up over his hip. We stayed like that for a while as I tried to stay present, but really all I could think (between bouts of 'wow he's gorgeous') was – I can't believe this is really happening.

I think maybe I jinxed myself.

Edward righted us on the bed so my head was on a pillow and moved his hand from under my shirt to trace his fingers on the sliver of skin exposed between the bottom of my shirt and my pajama pants. He kissed me once and whispered, "I think we should take some time before…"

I froze – before what? Before we had sex? How much time? Was it that difficult to sleep with me? "Oh," I replied, trying to sort out my many self deprecating thoughts. He pulled me closer.

"If you're thinking I don't want to, you've never been further from the truth." He looked like he was suppressing a grin; he knew he'd hit it right on the head.

"No…" I said, trying to keep my tone light. I looked down which brought my gaze to his chest; it was very distracting.

"Hey," he murmured, raising my face back up. He kissed me again and that's when I lost complete track of time, my thoughts, and anything else not going on in this room.

After a while, I felt Edward raising the hem of my shirt. My heart beat faster; had he changed his mind? I didn't want to ask to find out. I could feel him repositioning to lay over me, although I could barely see him in the darkness. He moved lower and his cool breath raised goose bumps on my stomach. He kissed my hip and raised my shirt higher; I lifted myself enough so that he could pull it off.

Edward tossed it somewhere behind him and moved back up to lay next to me. He toyed with the thin shoulder strap of my bra, "I thought…we should match." Before my hope could completely deflate he pulled me against him, turning so I could lay on his chest. I resisted a strange urge to giggle.

He traced his fingertips over my back and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke up some time later; I couldn't tell what time it was, but it must have still been the middle of the night. I'd forgotten where I was laying and my sudden stirring woke up Edward. "Hmm?" He asked, still half asleep.

"Nothing, sorry," I wrapped the blanket tighter around us as Edward kissed the top of my head.

"You talk in your sleep," he mumbled. I was glad he couldn't see my face in the dark of the room.

"I…I do not," I stammered; though I knew very well that I did. Alice had mentioned it once before.

He chuckled, "yes you do. You said 'Edward'."

I buried my face in his chest, "oh my God." My voice sounded funny muffled by both sleep and him.

"Don't be embarrassed; I like it."

That just served to embarrass me further. I pulled the blanket over my head, childish I know.

"Don't do that; I can't see you." Playfully, he flipped us so he was on top and I lost my grip on the bedspread. I covered my face with my hands, though I wasn't as serious as before; it was becoming a kind of a game. He laughed and tugged gently at one of my wrists, but I didn't budge. "Ok then," he said mischievously. I could feel him moving lower, but I wouldn't peek to see what he was doing. I was starting to feel silly until Edward grabbed either side of my pant legs by my thighs and pulled; I was totally and completely focused on what he was doing at that point. I was also trying to remember which underwear I had on. I could feel the elastic of the waistband sliding downward, thighs, knees, ankles, and then all I could feel were Edward's hands running up my legs. I shivered. My own hands were resting at my sides. "Does that mean I win?" He asked.

I had no idea what he was talking about.

"You uncovered your face," he looked down at me with heavy lidded eyes.

"Yeah," the blood seemed to have stopped circulating in my brain.

"What do I win?" He raised one side of his mouth in a smile.

"Me?" I was pretty sure that's what he was hoping I'd say.

He nodded in approval and kissed me not-so-gently. I didn't mind at all. He turned us so we were on our sides and when I felt his hand move to the button of his jeans I was sure I was going to spontaneously combust. I could hear the zipper pulling through the teeth, the quiet shuffle as he kicked them off and then for a brief moment I wondered – boxers or briefs? I slid my leg up to rest on his hip and discovered, oh, boxer briefs. I had that urge to giggle again which was stifled as Edward's mouth moved to my collarbone. At that moment I decided to just enjoy however far he was willing to take this.

"And you didn't even have sex with him?" Alice asked me dubiously.

I shook my head. It was Monday morning and Alice and Angela listened while I recounted (in not-so-shocking detail) my Friday night with Edward. Alice sat at the desk next to me while Angela leaned over the counter on the customer side.

"I think it's sweet," Angela remarked. Alice raised an eyebrow at her. "It is, it's sort of…I don't know, romantic." Alice made a 'hmph' noise, but didn't say anything.

"It is," I agreed. "Frustrating, but nice too."

"Well I don't get it." She paused, mulling something over. "Want me to take you lingerie shopping? It worked wonders for me," she grinned conspiratorially.

I turned back to my computer screen, "Alice, I really don't want to hear about your sex life."

"I won't tell you about it," she chuckled. "I'll just help you out with your own. You'd look great in a dark blue –"

The door to the shop opened then and a group of girls walked in, talking in low but excited voices. We all knew why they were here so we put our game faces on. The curly haired one came striding over. "Hi, so I know this might sound, you know, crazy or something, but have you guys seen Edward Cullen here? Lauren," she gestured behind her, "said she read something about him being here all the time."

Before I could say that we hadn't seen him, Alice piped up brightly. "Oh yeah, he used to come in here all the time. Actually, he met some girl here; it was so random, she was just browsing the fiction section and he went right over and started talking to her. I hear they're dating now. Sorry, but you really blew it, should have come sooner; it could have been you." She looked nonchalantly back to her computer screen, ignoring the open mouthed expression of the girl in front of her. I felt my face blush a deep crimson; I looked up to see Angela suppressing a laugh.

"Oh," she looked back at her friends. "Um…" she reached down and grabbed a magazine from the shelf below the counter, "I'll just take this then." She paid quietly and left with her friends; there was an outburst of voices as soon as the front door closed.

"Alice," I said sharply. "What the hell?"

She laughed, "I'm sorry, but I've wanted to do that since they all started coming in here."

"It wasn't funny."

Angela let out a snort.

"Ok," I relented, "it was kind of funny." I went back to work, living Friday night over again for the millionth time. I hadn't seen him since Saturday morning; he was called in to work at dawn so we couldn't spend the day together. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. But he did spend the night and I got to see him in his underwear, which was a visual that more than made up for any residual depression. We'd talked on the phone every day since then, our conversations getting more and more evocative.

I was beginning to wonder how long I could hold out.