A/N: And now they're headed to South Dakota. Fun place, I went there for a holiday. Another bribe is posted in the bottom author's note, so be sure to check it out. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and may I introduce to you:

Fourteen. Stop The World

"I can't believe he let us go," Edward sounded almost dazed as he yelled above the roar of the motorcycle.

I hugged Edward tighter and thought of my Dad, and I gave a small smile.

"I can," I replied. "He wants me to be happy, Edward. Although the lubricant did nearly blow it for us."

I couldn't see his face, but I could imagine the blush that now covered it.

"Uh… about that… I'm sorry?"

"Are you?" I replied airily. "Or are you just sorry that we didn't get a chance to try it out? I do love cherries."

"Bella, you're going to be the death of me," Edward groaned, and I laughed, feeling lighter than I had since leaving Forks.

"So… Cornell," he said after a moment. "That's a long way from Forks."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I didn't think I had a chance when I applied, so I didn't really mention it to anyone. Then I got accepted and," I shrugged. "It's probably for the best that Mike and I broke up. I don't think we could have survived a relationship of a longer distance than three blocks. Hell, we couldn't even survive that apparently."

"I thought you were over Mike," Edward's voice sounded wary, and I realized how my comments must have sounded.

"Pull over," I told him.

"What? We just got started Bella, and-"

"Pull over. I want to be able to see your expression for what I'm about to say."

Edward pulled into the parking lot of a gas station. As soon as killed the engine, I got off so that I could look at him.

"Okay. First thing- we're filling up with gas here, because I don't want to run out again. But before that, I'm going to be sure we're absolutely clear on something," I pulled off both our helmets, then clasped Edward's face in my hands and kissed him fiercely. We were both gasping for breath when we pulled apart. "I am mad at Mike. He was a douchebag, so I'll probably be mad at him for a good long while. That anger, however, has nothing to do with us. Edward, in the past three days you have inspired more genuine feeling in me than Mike did in four years. Mike and I were over before we really even got started. He never inspired any feeling other than some frustration and a bit of amusement in me. When he kissed me, I usually spent the duration of it going over my grocery and laundry lists. They were mundane and completely forgettable, and that made being with him easy. I never had to worry about feeling insecure around Mike, because he didn't make me feel enough to care," I ran my fingers through his hair. "You… God, Edward! You touch me and I forget my name, I forget my plans. All I can think about is you. You kiss me and I feel like I'm on fire. I thought those kind of feelings were a cheap plot ploy in Harlequin romances. I never thought I could actually meet someone that made me want to forget about everything and just be with them. Then you asked me to go away with you, and all it took was you saying try and I forgot that I was supposed to be smart and responsible," I kissed Edward again. "You have four years worth of feelings on me, Edward… I'm not going to lie and say I love you. But I do think it would be incredibly easy to do, and I'm not going to try and stop the fall."

Edward buried his hands in my hair, and pulled me into his hard body for a fierce, passionate kiss. It was everything I said his kisses were. It lit me on fire, and made me forget everything but the feeling of him against me.

"Fall faster, won't you?" he murmured once we broke apart. I smiled.

"You can't rush these things, Edward," I replied. "The fall is half the fun."

-*-

The danger of Charlie was gone, but we still decided to take the more roundabout journey through South Dakota to get to the east coast. I wanted to experience Mount Rushmore and the other historical sites of the Black Hills that I had read about but never actually seen.

"You know, it's not like it's some amazing wonder," Edward told me at our Rapid City motel that night. We had driven hard the whole day, deciding to put some distance between ourselves and Washington just in case Charlie changed his mind (Edward's worry, not mine).

"It's part of America's history, Edward," I replied. "I want to see all the important parts of our country's history, as well as the odd things, like Dachshund parades."

Edward laughed at that, pulling me down into his arms. We had come to the unspoken agreement that we only needed one bed from now on. He had told me that he liked to hold me, and I couldn't deny that I liked the thought. His arms were strong, and I felt secure when he held me in them.

Plus, Edward slept without a shirt on, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to explore his physique as we lay on the bed.

"I could get used to this," Edward told me, burying his face in my hair. "You smell delicious."

"It must be the shampoo," I replied, pleased by the compliment.

"Mmmm… nope. It's just you. You smell wonderful."

I cuddled back closer into Edward and allowed the feeling of his arms and his even breathing to lull me into sleep.

I slept heavily and more comfortably than I had in what seemed like years. The next morning I awoke feeling refreshed, ready to face the world, and with something poking uncomfortably into my lower back.

I was confused and a little disorientated at first, wondering where I was. Then I realized that I was wrapped securely in Edward's arms, and if it weren't for the annoying poker, I would have been incredibly comfortable. I reached behind me, meaning to sweep whatever it was that was poking me away. When my hand came in contact with Edward's (tented) pajama pants, I froze in surprise, my hand still grazing his erection.

It took Edward moving against my hand in his sleep to make me realize that I was practically stroking my new boyfriend's morning wood. I retracted my hand quickly, and began to roll away, but Edward's arm wrapped tightly around me, pulling me back to his body. His erection was now nestled between my thighs, and his hand was cupping my breast through my tank top.

This left me in a rather uncomfortable position. I knew that it would be incredibly awkward when Edward awoke, but as it stood right now I found myself becoming increasingly aroused. Edward murmured in his sleep and pulled me even closer, his fingertips grazing my nipple, causing it harden, and his hips thrusting slightly against mine, causing rather interesting friction down below.

I held completely still, having absolutely no idea how to react in this situation. Should I wake him up? Or wait for him to wake up on his own?

"Mmmm," Edward moaned, burying his face in my neck, his hand moving so that it more fully covered my breast. I had to bite back a moan at the sensation.

"Edward," I said, my voice hoarse. I frowned at the sound and cleared my throat before trying again. "Edward, you have to get up."

Edward's response was to nuzzle my neck and rub against me. It was in that moment that I realized that, not only was Edward a deep sleeper, but he was also very affectionate in his sleep.

"Edward. You really, really need to wake up," when Edward still wouldn't wake up, I sighed, took a deep breath, and shouted, "EDWARD!!"

The loud noise made Edward roll in surprise, but since he still held onto me, I went with him.

"OOF!!" I heard the air leaver Edward's lungs as my elbow hit his stomach.

"Are you okay?" I tried to look at him, but it was difficult as we were laying so that my back was to his chest.

"Uh, yeah. Just wasn't expecting that," Edward suddenly realized his hand still held my breast and he immediately released it. "Sorry."

We scrambled apart, and when we both finally stopped moving, he stood in the center of the room, and I sat on the bed. The ridiculousness of the situation hit me and I began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" the look of confusion on Edward's face was so adorable that it just made me giggle more. I couldn't answer with words, so I let my eyes wander to where his morning wood still proudly tented his pajama pants.

Edward turned pink as he looked down.

"I wouldn't think that was so funny," he tried to grumble, but the grumpy effect was ruined by the blush.

"It's not that, it's just… this whole morning was ridiculous," I couldn't stop giggling, and was actually surprised that Edward could understand me, but the roll of his eyes told me he did.

"And what makes it so ridiculous?" he demanded, grabbing me and rolling us so that we lay entwined on the bed once more.

"I don't know if I should tell you," I replied cheekily.

"Oh really?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "I can make you tell me," he leaned down, his lips grazing mine. I grinned against his lips and shook my head, so he captured my lips in a breathtaking kiss. My tank top had ridden up in all the movement, and his fingers now took advantage of the bare skin, exploring and tantalizing me, causing me to moan into his mouth.

Edward has incredibly talented hands.

"Are you sure you won't tell me?" he purred, breaking our kiss so we could catch our breath.

"I dunno, I'm rather enjoying your attempts to get it out of me," I reached up to twine my arms around his neck. "I like it, now that you're finally kissing me."

Edward's eyes darkened at that, and he bent down again.

"You have no idea how much I like it too," he told me, before claiming my mouth again.

He didn't manage to find out what had happened that morning, but we both certainly enjoyed his attempts to.

-*-

"Pull over, pull over!"

I felt Edward start under my hands as I squealed loudly into his ear, but he signalled and pulled into the parking lot I was pointing at.

"What are we doing here, Bella?" Edward asked sceptically, looking around at the buildings in the lot we were in.

"It said on the sign that there's a ten thousand foot long slide you can ride down," I replied. "You take a gondola up, then ride down in the slide. I want to try it!"

I knew I was acting like a little kid at Disney World, but I couldn't help it. Call me a geek, but I had always wanted to visit the Black Hills. Now that I was here, I wanted to do everything.

"A slide," Edward shook his head, but smiled and wrapped a warm arm around my waist. "Well, if you want to ride a slide, then a slide we'll ride."

We went to the ticket office, where I tried to pay for my own gondola and slide tickets. Edward, however, had other plans.

"Double that order, please," he said to the girl at the counter. She smiled seductively at Edward, which I felt was rather rude considering that he had his arms wrapped around my waist, and was nuzzling my neck.

"Your total comes to fifty-two dollars and seventy-two cents. Is there anything else I can get you?" the girl purred, fluttering her eyes at Edward.

"That's all," Edward replied, sliding his Visa to the girl even as I was digging the money out of my purse.

"I was going to get that," I argued.

"Bella, please let me. I don't have anything better to do with that money. Let me spoil you."

"You could use it to sponsor an entire third world country, or to buy some shiny stuff for the bike, or, here's an idea, use it to pay your college tuition," I replied dryly.

Edward shrugged and gave a non-committal shrug and I wondered if any of my words of encouragement about school had gotten through the boy's overly thick skull.

I shook my head to clear it of such thoughts, and grasped Edward's hand in my own. I wasn't done on the subject, but I'd leave it for now. I was finally seeing a dream (no matter how dorky) of mine fulfilled, and I didn't feel like ruining it by fighting.

"C'mon, then rich boy. Let's catch our gondola. I bet the view from up top is beautiful."

"So is the one from down here," Edward replied, brushing my hair from my face. It was completely cheesy, and so cliché that it should almost be illegal, but Edward managed to say the words so earnestly that I couldn't help but blush and give him a pleased smile.

"You're a smooth talker, Edward Cullen," I leaned myself against him, and went up on my tippy toes to brush my lips against his briefly, before quickly pulling away. "Now, about that gondola."

Edward laced his fingers through mine and pulled me flush against him once more.

"If I'm a smooth talker, then you, Miss Swan, are a tease," he bent down, and there was nothing brief about the kiss he gave me. It took my breath away, and left me feeling dazed when we finally separated.

"Wow," I licked my lips. "If that's the response I'll get, then remind me to tease you more often."

Edward chuckled and squeezed my hand, pulling me towards the gondola that had just arrived.

"After you, madam," he said, putting on a terrible fake accent that made me snort. The loud sound caused me to blush what had to be around seven different shades of red and cover my face with my hands. Edward continued to chuckle, and I'm pretty sure I heard the gondola operator give his own laugh at the sound.

"That was elegant," I groaned, wishing I could fall through the floor and disappear. Snorting while laughing had been an embarrassing trait of mine as a child- a trait that hadn't reared it's humiliating head in three years. I was passed it, damn it!

"Oh, c'mon Bella. Let's see that beautiful face of yours," Edward tugged me so that I was in his lap and gently pried my hands from my face. "There we go," he kissed me on the tip of my nose. "I thought it was cute."

I looked at him dryly.

"I already know you're charming, and I've already agreed to go out with you. You don't need to lie, anymore, Edward. The fact that I let you get my bra off me says that I'm willing to keep you around for a while. Go ahead and laugh."

"Okay, so it was a little funny," Edward grinned his crooked grin, and the soft look that I now recognized as something close to adoration came into his eyes. "But still cute. Most things you do are cute, I don't think you can help it," he leaned down and pressed his mouth against mine. "And I really did like getting you out of your bra. Think we can do it again some time?"

I laughed (without snorting this time) and smacked his chest before leaning into it and enjoying the rest of the gondola ride.

-*-

"Okay… so you push this ahead to speed up, and pull it back to slow down, right?"

"That's right, miss."

"Okay, that doesn't seem too hard."

Edward and I had reached the top of the mountain and admired the view through the pay-a-quarter binoculars and enjoyed a bottle of iced tea while admiring the view. It had been neat to see Mount Rushmore through the binoculars, but it hadn't taken long for my desire to see it up close to rise up and make me decide it was time to go.

Which led us to now… and our preparation to ride down the mountain on the slide.

On scooter type contraptions.

Down ten thousand feet.

What had seemed like a swell idea at the time now seemed rather terrifying.

"Come on Bella," Edward was waiting impatiently next to the slide, looking like a little kid on Christmas morning. He may have thought it seemed silly when we first got here, but now that he had discovered that he got to control how fast he went he was excited.

And this is my boyfriend, ladies and gentlemen.

"I'm just making sure I understand how this works," I said to Edward before turning back to the "slid controller" as I had dubbed the young man who was in charge of keeping the slides running smoothly. "So, just to be sure, I push this forward to-"

"Oh, for God's sake," Edward rolled his eyes and gently pushed me to the slide. "You were the one who decided we had to stop here. You know how it works, now hop on in."

"Erm… that's the fast slide," the slide controller warned me and I growled at Edward and prepared to enter the slide. His words made me hop down immediately and motion for Edward, who was already positioned in the other chute, to get out.

"You're the speed demon, so you go in the fast one," I jabbed my thumb at the other slide.

Edward rolled his eyes again, but got out and traded chutes with me.

"And stop rolling your eyes at me!"

We both got into position once more, and, after I took a deep breath, took off.

Well… Edward took off. I rolled forward slowly, almost coming to a complete stop more than once because I felt I was picking up too much speed.

"Hurry up, Grandma!" Edward called back to me from where he had stopped several feet ahead.

"Slow and steady wins the race, Eddie!" I called back, knowing, thanks to the Forks High grapevine, that he hated that name.

"You'll pay for that when you reach the bottom!" he called back up to me.

"Oh, get a move on Speed Racer. I'll see you when I see you."

With a laugh, Edward shot off once more, obviously enjoying the speed. I was enjoying my slower pace, however, and chose not to pick up it up. A full four minutes after Edward had reached the bottom I joined him.

"And here she is, the winner of the Granny Olympics! And how does it feel to win this great honor?" Edward asked me, pretending to hold a microphone before my face, I smiled at the girl who took my scooter before addressing him.

"It feels great, Edward. Almost as great as the real hot shower I plan on taking when I get back to the motel," at the spark of interest that flared in Edward's eyes, I added. "Alone."

The spark died and he pouted.

"That's no fun."

I shrugged and grinned, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"If you're real good at Mount Rushmore, maybe I'll let you make out with me before that shower."

"And after?" Edward curled a lock of my hair around his fingers and pretended to be absorbed in it, but I could see that his eyes were on me and not the hair.

"That'll depend on how good you are."

"Hmmm… and if I want to be bad?" Edward leaned down and caught my bottom lip between his teeth, sucking on it teasingly and I felt myself gulp involuntarily. This was flirty, sexy Edward. Flirty, sexy Edward was very dangerous to my peace of mind.

His mouth slanted over mine, and all thoughts of anything beyond that once moment ran from my head screaming. There was only me, Edward, and the wonderful, wonderful things he did with his tongue.

"So?" he asked when we broke apart.

"So what?" I asked breathlessly and he grinned.

"What if I want to be bad?"

"Well… bad is all a matter of opinion, isn't it? I happen to think bad is good under certain… conditions," I grasped the back of his head and pulled his mouth back to mine. This time it was him who was left breathless at the end.

"Bad is good," he agreed, nodding vigorously and spinning me so that my back was against the wall of the gondola operator's hut. "Do you feel like being bad?"

I opened my mouth to answer when a loud cough interrupted us. We both turned to look at the family of five that stood next to us. There mother was frowning at us disapprovingly, the dead was grinning at Edward behind her back and giving him thumbs up, while the children were watching us curiously.

"There are children here!" the mother sounded scandalized.

"Mommy," said the smallest child who looked about four. "Where do babies come from?"

Edward and I didn't stick around to see how she answered that particular bombshell, looking at one another with wide eyes, we ran out to the parking lot. I thought the mother might chase after us and beat us with her purse, but we managed to make it safely to the bike and out onto the highway without being attacked by any irate parents.

"You know Bella," Edward called over his shoulder as we zoomed towards Mount Rushmore. "I think you've become a bad influence for me. I used to be such a nice boy."

I couldn't help it, his words made me laugh all the way to Mount Rushmore.

A/N2: So, musical inspiration here includes "Stop the World" sung by Demi Lovato and "All Over Me" by Default (awesome song, I'd suggest looking it up). If anyone has any songs that remind them of this story, be sure to let me know, even if it doesn't make my inspiration playlist, I still love being introduced to new music. One reviewer suggested "Vienna" by Billy Joel which is now one of my most played songs on my ipod.

I'm posting a poll on my profile page that has to do with this story and a possible future chapter. Please go there and vote on it, because I really want to know my reader's opinion.

Now, for the reviewer's bribe: if you review this chapter, you get to read all about Edward's first day at Fork's high school, which means you get to read about the first time he saw the lovely Bella Swan. Have a great weekend all, and I'll get to writing both the extra and the next chapter.

P.S. The slide included in this chapter is real- I rode down it and it was soooo much fun… even if I was a grandma like Bella as far as speed goes.