Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight! I have finally worked out how to fix the full stop key on my laptop though, so it's not all bad.

Thanks, hugs and kisses go to my beta venomaddict, without whom this wouldn't be nearly so much fun ;).

Edward

The seatbelt light turned off in front of us, and I immediately took the chance to unclip mine and then Bella's belts, and pull her into my lap. The first class seats I had booked us for our trip to Florida were more than big enough for two, and I saw no reason why our romantic break away shouldn't start as soon as possible.

"Hmmm, much better," she muttered into my chest as she snuggled in closer. I leant down and smelled her hair, before I brushed my lips across the top of her head.

"I thought so."

First class was nearly empty, the flight from Seattle to Florida being early on a Thursday morning in the last but one week of the summer holidays. The stewardess had already taken our drinks orders, and when she returned with two freshly squeezed orange juices a few moments later, I caught her smile as she looked at us cuddled up together in the seat.

Bella had worked her last day at Newton's store the day before, and I'd taken the chance to book our holiday while she was out of the house. She had agreed with Renee on Tuesday night that we would stay with her from Thursday until Sunday, but Phil had an away game over the weekend, so we would be leaving Sunday morning, headed for the Florida Keys, and peace.

I'd been glad to be able to book everything while Bella was at work, as she would have gone ballistic if she'd realised quite how much this little jaunt was costing. It didn't matter to me of course, but I knew that Bella would make a big issue of the fact that her ticket out alone had cost more than she had earned over the entire summer in Newton's. The last minute booking charges did feel somewhat excessive, seeing as the plane was virtually empty, but I didn't let it worry me.

I had managed to book a small bungalow on the beach in the Florida Keys for after we left Renee's, which had also been ridiculously expensive. I'd had to take it for two weeks in order to secure it, but we were only staying for four days as per our agreement with Charlie. I hadn't mentioned this fact to Bella, and I hoped that the modesty of the bungalow would prevent her from figuring out the price tag.

Overall I was feeling very pleased with myself, as things went. I was getting to take my girl on holiday, and I had plans to make it a trip to remember.

Thank you very much Google.

"What are you looking so pleased with yourself about, Mr. Cullen?" I looked down to see Bella resting on my chest, looking up into my eyes. I couldn't help but watch as she took a small sip of orange juice, and licked her lips after. She grinned, knowing perfectly well what she was doing to me.

We had returned to our more chaste ways since Tuesday afternoon, Alice had been around a lot, a fact which I was grateful for, but between her and Charlie we hadn't had a moment to ourselves apart from at night.

Oh yes, at night. After my first night in Bella's bed I had realized that if we carried on in that vein, I was going to end up shot by Charlie before the end of the week.

No, that's unfair. Charlie had been nothing but kind and supportive towards me, and I simply didn't wish to betray his trust, or cause him any upset. I knew he was trying his hardest, and that allowing me to stay the night in Bella's room was probably killing him. The next night I had gone to bed dressed securely, and before Bella had headed for the bathroom I had handed her, her most ladylike pajamas. She had understood, and I hoped felt the same way as I did about Charlie's feelings. So the last two nights had been very quiet, I held her in my arms as we slept, but nothing more.

"I'm just pleased to have you all to myself for a while. Our lives have been entirely too crowded for my liking over the last couple of days," I replied.

"Not for long, Renee has lots of plans for this weekend. She wants to get to know you." She rolled her eyes as she spoke, something which I didn't really remember her doing very much until recently. I hoped that my cynicism wasn't rubbing off on her.

"We didn't speak a lot when we were down in Phoenix, admittedly."

Both Renee and I had been too worried about Bella to converse freely the last time we had met, in the spring. To be absolutely honest, it had been clear by her reactions to me that her sense of self preservation was more than adequate. Renee had never allowed herself to be alone in a room with me, and even with others there she had kept a careful distance between us. Her thoughts at the time had never been clear; she was simply uncomfortable in my presence, something which I didn't blame her for in the slightest.

"Well, you've charmed Charlie in the space of less than a week, so I'm sure Renee will be a piece of cake." She giggled as I quirked an eyebrow questioningly at her comment.

"Have I?"

"Edward – Charlie patted your arm twice this morning, telling you to take care. All I got was a 'see ya soon' and a shoulder bump." It was my turn to roll my eyes at her.

"I'm fairly certain he meant for me to take care of you. I'm not the one known for getting myself into trouble after all."

Bella harrumphed at me, and as we both drank our orange juice, waiting for our breakfast to arrive. I simply enjoyed holding her in my arms in silence.

After a short discussion, we had agreed it would be best to tell Charlie exactly what we had planned for this trip away (ok, not exactly, he didn't like me that much), rather than risk being caught out in a lie. I wanted to repay the trust he was showing in us, with respect and honesty, and I hoped on that basis our relationship would continue to improve.

We had explained to him that we wanted to have a few days of holiday in the Keys, with Bella not having had a holiday as such over the summer due to her working the whole time. He had visibly paled at first, but after a few moments he had relaxed and simply told us to make sure we were home by next Thursday, to give us a chance to prepare to go back to school the following week.

After a few minutes, Bella broke the quiet between us with a whisper.

"You know Rosalie's never going to find one don't you?

We hadn't mentioned my little revelation since Emmett and Rosalie had left on Tuesday afternoon. I hadn't liked to bring it up again, unsure as I was if Bella believed me, and even wondering if she thought I was insane. Hell, I wasn't even sure myself.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, with a degree of trepidation.

"Well, she doesn't have the… qualifications, does she?" Bella snorted softly as she spoke, as if there was an in joke between us.

"Qualifications?"

"Yes… you know."

"I'm sorry Bella; I honestly don't know what you mean." She frowned at me as I spoke, seeming surprised that I didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Well… unicorns. Only certain people can find them."

"Oh. How do you know that?"

"I Googled them."

Oh. Google strikes again. Why didn't I think of that?

"You Googled them?" I felt faintly surprised. I had been so disbelieving of what I'd seen with my own eyes, I'd assumed that no one else would believe me either. I should have known that Bella would though; she never failed to surprise me.

"Well, yeah. I Googled vampires when I first found out about you, it seemed to be the way to go." She shrugged, as I broke into a small smile.

"And what did you find out?"I asked, as Bella smiled back at me. She could obviously also see the humor in this situation, the fact that she was the one telling me this, rather than the other way around.

"Well, unicorn lore states that the horn can cure any type of poison." Her voice was hushed, and she stopped speaking for a few seconds as the stewardess walked past us again. "So I figured maybe the blood would have the same effect."

"So… it cured my body of the effects of vampire venom?" She shrugged again, but nodded at the same time. I was impressed that a few minutes on the internet could provide such a sensible sounding explanation for such a crazy occurrence.

I paused for a moment as I digested what she had said, before I remembered the comment that had started this conversation in the first place.

"What did you mean about Rosalie not finding one?"

"It also said that Unicorns were attracted to virgins. I'm pretty sure that would exclude Rosalie." It was my turn to snort as she said that.

"I would say so." Next I asked her something I had wanted to ask her before, but I didn't like to raise the topic in case it forced her to admit that she actually thought I was insane. "So… you believe me then?"

"Why not? If there are vampires in this world, why can't there be unicorns?"

"And werewolves…"

"What was that?"

I realised that I had muttered a fleeting thought aloud.

"Nothing important. You're right of course. I didn't really look at it that way. Being a vampire is just my normality. Was, I should say…" I looked into her eyes for a long moment and thanked God for her once again, something that was becoming a habit almost every time I thought of her. Bella had accepted what I had told her completely, and then she had helped me make more sense of it for myself.

She truly is my better half... I want to ask her to marry me.

Shhh. Give her time.

At that moment, the Stewardess set down our breakfasts, and Bella shuffled back over into her own seat to eat, as our conversation moved onto lighter subjects. The rest of the flight passed that way, talking about my family and Charlie, and what each of us was expecting to come out of senior year. I was surprised to find myself actually looking forward to it, the first time I would be able to fully participate in school activities in nearly ninety years.

The flight took a little over six hours, though with the time difference we finally managed to make it through security by just past three in the afternoon, local time. We collected our bags, and then Bella began to head in the direction of the car rental desk.

"Hold on." I chased after her and caught her by the arm.

"I thought we had a car booked?" She scowled at me slightly; it appears that six hours on a plane leads to a cranky Bella.

"We do, but I fancied something Budget couldn't supply me with." I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the thought of the horrible little compact cars which had been available to hire from this particular airport. "There should be someone outside waiting for us."

Again, it was amazing what could be arranged via the internet. I had found a company who specialized in hiring out high performance, classic cars, and convinced them to meet us at the airport with my request. I was feeling quite excited as we approached the exit, and I soon spotted a man holding a card with the name 'Cullen' on it.

He led us to the car park, and as we reached my toy for the next week, he tossed me the keys. "Have fun dude, she rides like a dream."

I discreetly passed him a hundred dollar tip, knowing that he would now need to make his way back via public transport, something which I never envied anybody. As I did, Bella circled the car warily.

"What is it?" She was standing staring at the badge on the front of the car, and I couldn't help but chuckle. Only Bella wouldn't be able to tell exactly what this was, from that badge.

"It's a Mustang. A classic, pure American muscle car, it's part of our national culture Bella." I couldn't help but admire the enormous black beast before me. The roof was already down, and I was delighted that the heat of Florida would allow us to leave it that way for the duration of our holiday.

"It looks expensive."

"It is. Horribly. But it's my little present to myself, so there's nothing for you to feel guilty about. I probably won't even let you drive it."

And it had been horrendously expensive, rental on this beauty was by the hour, but my first impression assured me that it was worth every penny. There were only a handful of these specific cars available to hire in the country, and I regretted to myself yet again that I had sold the one I drove myself through much of the late nineteen-sixties.

While I was still standing admiring it, Bella had lobbed her bag into the back seat and was climbing into the passenger seat smiling to herself.

"Boys and their toys," she muttered as she climbed in, and I couldn't help but agree with her.

The drive from the airport to Renee's house was far too short for my liking, and when we pulled up outside, I was surprised by what we found. I wasn't sure quite what I was expecting, but I had always heard from Bella about her impoverished childhood, so I was expecting something far more modest than we were actually confronted with.

The house was large and white, with a beautiful porch on the front with a swing to one side of the front door. The path leading to the front door was gravel, and cut through a bright green lawn, as lush as any found in Washington. With the deep blue sky behind it as a backdrop, the house shone brightly in the sunlight, looking to me what must seem a little slice of heaven in Bella's eyes.

I turned to look at her and saw how thrilled she was to be here, and for some reason my heart sank slightly. In the sunshine, Bella seemed to come alive, the red highlights in her hair glinted brightly, and her creamy skin looked even more beautiful than it did in the dreary grey of Forks. I thought about it for a second, and realised that I had only ever seen her in sunlight like this once or twice before, despite the fact that this was clearly where she belonged.

As I watched, her eyes brightened further. I turned to see Renee rushing out of the door towards us.

"Bella, baby! I've been waiting for you all day, I forgot what time your flight was, so I couldn't go out just in case you got here and I was out!"

Bella opened the door to the car and raced towards her mother, and within seconds they had their arms wrapped around each other in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Mom! I told you to write it down."

She was laughing at her mother, and my tiny moment of melancholy passed as I absorbed how beautiful she was. It no longer mattered if she belonged in the sun or not, if that was where she wanted to be, I'd be right there with her.

"Edward, come and meet my Mom." Bella had turned to face me, and I could see in her eyes that she had guessed I was brooding about something.

"We have actually met before you know Bella, numerous times in fact." I chuckled as I got out of the car and walked towards them, both still standing on the lawn in front of the house.

Renee was dressed in direct contrast to Bella, her light skirt and strappy top suited to the heat of Florida, Bella's jeans and long sleeved shirt left over from waking up this morning in a cloudy, and definitely cooler, Forks. The brief summer we had enjoyed for the last few days seeming to have passed already.

"I know." Bella took my hand as I reached them, and turned towards her Mother, almost as if she was excited. "But I was out of it then, this time I get to make sure you're nice to each other."

"It's nice to see you again Mrs. Dwyer." I reached my hand out expectantly towards Renee, but she didn't take it.

Instead she was standing staring at me quite openly, with her mouth slightly agape. There was a pause for a moment, before she finally took my hand.

"Edward... Call me Renee." She swallowed as she finally closed her mouth with an audible snap. "What… You seem… different?"

I knew from Bella, as well as my time with Renee in Phoenix in the spring, that she was unusually perceptive, even childlike, so I couldn't find it in me to be surprised that she would notice the changes in me, or even that she would point them out.

I focused on her for a second, listening to her thoughts to try and gauge how much of a difference she had spotted in me.

Younger… different. Maybe there's nothing to worry about after all...

"I think the last time we met, the stress we were both under would have made us seem quite different to our usual selves Renee. I have to say, you look much younger than I remembered you."

An enormous grin stretched across her features, and I could hear in her thoughts that I was in the clear.

"Why Edward, I think you must be right!" She grabbed Bella by her elbow and began to lead her into the house. "Come on you two, you must both change; you must be absolutely boiling in jeans."

I ran back to the car to grab our bags, and then headed into the house. I trailed behind Bella and Renee as my poor girl's Mother talked at her so fast she couldn't get a word in edgeways.

The hallway was wide and open, light coming into it from both the front and the back of the house. In the centre of the room was a wide staircase, which Renee led Bella straight up, stopping outside of a room to the left of the stairs when we reached the first floor.

"This is your room Bella. I've made it yours, and made sure it's as you'd like it, just in case you ever wanted to come home."

I caught Bella's slightly irritated expression out of the corner of my eye as she replied. "Thanks Mom, but home is Forks these days."

I remembered her conversation with Charlie a few days ago, relayed to me by Alice. She had spent a long time convincing Charlie that she had no intention of moving to Florida, and I was beginning to see why he had got that impression from Renee.

"I'm just saying sweetie. If ever you felt like seeing the sun more than twice a year, you always have a place here."

"Thanks Mom." As Bella walked through the door into 'her' room I could see her bite back another response, still annoyed by Renee's efforts to upset Charlie earlier in the week.

I hovered outside for a moment, unsure if our sleeping arrangements in Forks would carry on in Florida. My heart suddenly dropped as I wondered if I would be consigned to the spare room… alone. The last couple of nights had been remarkably nightmare free, but I couldn't help but feel that alone in the dark in a strange room they might make an unwelcome reappearance.

"Edward?" Bella called me from her room, so I walked in, shuffling my feet uncertainly.

The room was large and bright, a direct contrast to her room in Forks, but there was nothing of Bella in it. There were windows on two sides, letting light stream in almost blindingly. The walls were a soft peach colour, with small flower motifs stenciled in the corners. A large double bed sat in the middle of the room, the only other furniture a dressing table and a chest of drawers. On top of the chest of drawers I could see several pictures I was familiar with from Bella's room in Forks, but nothing of hers.

Despite being beautiful and bright, the room wasn't as beautiful as the one in Forks, as that was all Bella. This was really little more than a spare room.

"You have your own bathroom over there. I know how you hate to share." Renee pointed towards a doorway on the other side of the bed. "Why don't you two get washed up and changed, Phil will be home in an hour or so, I thought we could all go for dinner and get caught up."

"Ok Mom. Thanks." Bella smiled more genuinely at Renee this time as she left the room, with me still very much in situ.

I waited until a few seconds after Renee had closed the door, I listened as her footsteps padded away from us down the hall towards the staircase.

"So…" I mumbled. "I wasn't sure if there was another room for me?"

"Don't be silly." Bella laughed and ran towards me, throwing her arms around my neck and reaching up to kiss me softly on the lips. "It was Renee who talked Charlie around, she wouldn't expect you to be anywhere but in here with me."

"Ok." I smiled, more relieved than I should have been. It suddenly struck me that my inability to sleep without Bella due to my nightmares maybe wasn't very healthy.

"Do you mind if I go and shower first? I hate planes." Bella looked up at me with an adorable scowl on her face, and I reached down and returned her kiss.

"Of course. Go on, I'll take a look around 'your' room, maybe unpack." Maybe fantasize a little about you in the shower.

"Cool." She turned and grabbed her bag, before heading for the bathroom.

I looked around me for a moment after she was gone; searching again for any sign of Bella in the beautiful room we were now staying in. When I found none, I walked to the window and stared out at the street Renee was living on. In fact, this was probably one of the smaller houses on the street, many of the others being much larger in comparison. It was a nice neighborhood. The cars in every driveway were new, the houses well kept and tidy.

Why does Bella want to stay in Forks again?

I unpacked my clothes into the chest of drawers, more for something to do while I waited for Bella to finish in the bathroom than anything else. Finally with nothing else to occupy my mind I went and lay down on the bed, kicking my shoes off before I leant back on the light sheets, which felt odd after the thick comforter I was used to at home.

I lay there for a while, looking at the ceiling, my mind drifting pleasantly in way that was still brand new to me. As a vampire I was used to having several trains of thought running at once, to be able to lay and simply… turn it all off… was great.

After a few minutes I rolled over, and spotted a bedside table to my right. I leant across and opened the top drawer, searching for something to read while I waited. I'd heard the water stop a few minutes before, so I knew Bella would be coming out again shortly.

I couldn't see what I was reaching for, and I was too lazy to move to look in the drawer properly, so I simply grabbed the first thing that came to hand. Still lying on my back I looked at the magazine I was holding, and my jaw dropped.

On the front, a blonde woman gaped out at me, her mouth open alluringly, and her enormous breasts cupped in her hands, unencumbered by any kind of clothing. I gulped.

Holy Fuck.

I took a cursory glance at the title of the publication in my hands. "Juggs."

Hmm. Classy.

Without my bidding my hands began to flick through the magazine, my eyes growing wider with every page. I hadn't ever really been terribly interested in pornography of any kind. Emmett had had a penchant for Playboy in the Sixties, which I had occasionally read the articles in, but I hadn't seen anything else of this kind since then, not up close anyway. So this modern porn was… surprising.

The graphic images on every page were… shocking, but, I couldn't tear my eyes away. I could feel the blood beginning to pound in my ears as I stared at the intimate pictures in the magazine, and my pants began to tighten in an all too familiar way.

I have to stop looking at this.

I tried to make myself put the magazine back in the drawer, but just as I resolved to do it I turned onto a page with two naked… ladies… together.

Did I say Holy Fuck yet?

My breath started to come in sharp pants, and I moved my hand so I could press against the now raging erection in my jeans. My hips had begun to move slightly under my hand, my eyes unable to move from the disturbingly erotic picture in front of me.

"Ahem."

I almost leapt three feet into the air when I glanced up to find Bella watching me from the bathroom doorway to my right, with an amused expression on her face.

"Should I leave you three alone?" she snickered, as I felt my cheeks flood with color, feeling utterly mortified.

"No! Shit!" I threw the magazine away as hard as I could, and it hit the wall in front of me and fell to the floor, open on the very page I had just been… enjoying.

"I see Renee left you some reading material." I closed my eyes and cringed in embarrassment as she came and sat down on the bed beside me. "It's ok, Edward. What's the matter?"

"I feel completely humiliated. I just couldn't put the damn thing down by the time I realised what it was." I kept my eyes closed, not able to look her in the eye at all.

Maybe if I just sit here she'll get up and go away, and I'll… just… die, or something.

I felt her lean into me, and I jumped when I felt her hand rest on my hard-on at the same time as she kissed me seductively, flicking her tongue across my bottom lip as she pulled away.

"Well, would you feel less humiliated if I told you it turned me on, seeing you become aroused like that?" She began to rub me through my jeans, and right then I would have agreed to anything.

"Maybe." I opened one eye and looked at her. She was smiling devilishly at me, which I couldn't help but reciprocate. "But why is your mother leaving me porn?"

"Oh." She stopped her ministrations for a second and looked awkward suddenly. "She wondered why we hadn't… had sex yet. She might have got the idea that you needed a bit of… encouragement."

Before I had a chance to reply she had undone the fly of my jeans and slipped her hand in, wrapping her fingers around my length.

"Little does she know, eh?" she whispered as I moaned, my hips beginning to move into her hand, my cock still throbbing from looking at the magazine.

"God Bella… what did I do to deserve you?"

I lay down on the bed, her hand on my chest guiding me backwards until my head hit the pillow. I felt my pants button being undone, and then she pulled my pants and boxers down to around my thighs. I looked down to watch her, still stroking my erection with her tiny hand.

Catching my eye, she gave me a sudden squeeze; causing me to thrust into her hand again, my cock leaking already I was so turned on.

It seems that lesbian porn is my downfall.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on what she was doing to me, dismissing any other thoughts from my mind. She stroked me a few more times, running her fingers softly across the tip, and making my body jerk every time she did it.

Suddenly I felt her hair collecting on my thighs. I looked down in time to see her stretch her tongue towards me, and lick my length slowly, from bottom to top.

"Ohhhhh…" I almost yelled as she did it, the pounding in my loins reaching an almost unbearable level.

"Please Bella..." I begged her to do it, no thought in my mind at that moment apart from the desire to feel her mouth on me.

She sat back a little and looked at me, softly squeezing my hard-on again as she watched my reaction. I felt precum trickle down my length as she did it, the curling in my groin already almost at its peak.

She must have seen the desperation in my expression, as suddenly she leant forward and sucked my tip into her mouth, her tongue pressing firmly against the head as she then sucked more of my length in.

My hips bucked upwards involuntarily, which made her pull away quickly with a surprised look on her face.

"Sorry." I mumbled, internally cursing my body's reactions.

She simply shook her head and smiled as she lowered her mouth down towards me again, enveloping my tip with her lips. She sucked me in deeper this time, and proceeded to bob her head up and down, sucking constantly as I fought the urge to thrust into her mouth again.

She continued moving up and down at a relentless pace, but then she took the base of my cock in her hand and began to squeeze in rhythm with her other movements as well. I threw my head back and stopped looking at what she was doing, hoping to prolong the inevitable, but I couldn't hold back. My body was so hopelessly aroused before Bella had even entered the room, my control had completely evaporated.

"Fuck… I'm coming," I grunted, hoping I was giving her enough warning to let me go, before, with another involuntary thrust, I came hard, still wrapped tightly in her mouth.

Every muscle in my body tensed, and my back arched as I spurted hard and fast into her mouth, regretting what I was doing to her a little, even as I experienced such overwhelming pleasure. My orgasm seemed to go on and on, and I couldn't help making a few more uneven thrusts as I rode out my pleasure, biting back a cry I didn't want to share with the entire household.

Finally I slumped back, my eyes closed as I gasped for breath. I felt Bella shuffle around beside me for a moment, before she curled up by my side, resting her head on my chest.

"We're taking the magazine home." I quirked one eye open at Bella as she spoke, still panting hard, and a little surprised to say the least. She saw my glance and smiled. "Anything you enjoy that much has a space on my bookshelf."

I shook my head before I closed my eyes again, wanting to do nothing more than lay with the woman I loved in my arms, and take a nap.

Bella

Within five minutes of us curling up together on the bed, Edward was fast asleep. I suppressed a little chuckle as I shifted to look at him, he looked so relaxed and happy, and it filled me with joy just to look at him.

I eased away from him gently, making sure not to wake him up, and raced to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Alice had warned me what to expect from what I had just done, but somewhere along the way she forgot to mention the taste…

I pulled my bag out from the cupboard I'd left it in, and hurriedly sorted out my toothbrush and toothpaste.

I had decided to try… doing that to Edward a couple of days before, but Emmett had burst in on us before I'd gotten the chance. The thought of what he might have walked in on, had he arrived five minutes later, had actually kept me awake on Tuesday night, long after Edward had fallen asleep.

Alice had seen what I'd planned of course, and cornered me on Wednesday afternoon while Edward was on the phone to give me some 'hints'. At the time I'd been mortified, and hardly said a word as she gave me 'Fellatio one-oh-one' as she put it, my horror only growing as she demonstrated on a banana, which she swiftly tossed to one side when Edward entered the room.

But this afternoon I saw the wisdom in her words, and resolved to thank her when I got home. I had been quite surprised by the speed with which Edward had… responded to my actions, and I felt a degree of glee at his reaction.

Once I'd finished with my toothbrush, I wandered back out into the bedroom, and for a moment debated whether or not to go down and talk to Renee, or to stay with Edward. I hadn't seen my mother in months, but the bed did look so appealing with him in it…

And I really was tired; Edward was still waking up in the night with nightmares, although the speed with which he fell back asleep made me wonder if he was even actually aware of it at all. I would often wake to find him either struggling violently beside me, or with tears coursing down his cheeks as he sobbed.

After a few more moments of internal debate I gave in, and crawled back into the bed, snuggling into his side as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders again in his sleep. The last thing I did before I dropped off was to wrap us both up in the sheet from the top of the bed, to preserve his modesty in case my Mother walked in while we were asleep.

"Bella! Phil's home!"

I jerked awake when I heard my Mother's voice calling me from directly outside of our bedroom door. I opened my eyes to see Edward staring back at me, looking vaguely disoriented and quite alarmed. He immediately heaved his pants back on, as I got up from the bed and headed towards the door.

I opened it a crack, only to find Renee peering through at me.

"Bella, did you two fall asleep?" She glanced upwards, and I unconsciously shifted my hand up into my hair, which had dried pointing upwards as I'd slept.

"Yeah, um… sorry. Planes always do that to me."

I shifted nervously, until I heard water splashing in the sink in the bathroom.

"Do you want to come downstairs and see Phil? He's dying to see you, it's been ages!"

I allowed my Mother to drag me downstairs, knowing that Edward would follow me down as soon as he was changed. I was now wearing some loose Khaki shorts that Alice had bought me for the summer, which I'd not really had much chance to wear in Forks. I'd managed to find out my favorite white lace top from Phoenix as well, so I now felt ready to face the heat of Florida.

As we walked down the stairs Renee leant towards me and whispered conspiratorially into my ear.

"There are some magazines in your room. They're Phil's favourites, and I thought that they might help Edward." She smiled encouragingly as I groaned. I really did not want to have this conversation again.

"Mom. Seriously. Stop. We don't have any issues that require a copy of Juggs to be brought into the equation." I realised my mistake immediately when her eyebrows disappeared into her hair.

"Well that was quick! And I thought you two were just having a nap!"

I tried to say that we had been, but the scarlet blush radiating across my cheeks made it impossible for me to lie, so I looked around the house and changed the subject.

"The house is lovely Mom, and it's so big!"

"I know, Phil's doing really well here. It's so nice not to have to worry about money for a change." We stopped as we reached the kitchen; through the window I could see Phil sitting out on the patio waiting for us. "You know, I mean it Bella, there's always a home here for you, if you want it"

"I know, thanks Mom. But home is with -" I caught myself as I nearly said Edward, "Charlie, for now. I like Forks; I've settled in, I have friends."

"And Edward." She was busy collecting glasses and drinks together, but she stopped as she said his name, and turned to face me.

"And Edward," I agreed as I nodded slowly, wondering where this was going.

Renee was quiet for a few minutes as she finished sorting out some drinks, and got some olives and nibbles out from inside the fridge. I walked around the room getting to know the place in silence, knowing what was coming next. Finally I heard her take a deep breath, and I turned around to face her.

"Look sweetie, I'm all for you having fun, and I can see you both clearly care about each other a lot. But I don't want you to make a mistake. They say life is short, but actually, it isn't." She wasn't smiling as she spoke, and a sad expression crossed her features.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, any decisions you make now, you'll have to live with for a long time. A very long time. Just don't rush into anything. You don't want to be making any commitments, at least until after you've been to college. Edward seems… younger than I'd remembered, and boys of his age aren't known for being very consistent, Bella."

Her words struck me harder than I'd thought they would, it hadn't occurred to me that Edward would be any different now than he had been before, but was she right? How much had Edward really turned into a teenage boy? Was he going to suddenly change his mind about what he wanted? Renee was watching me carefully, and I made myself throw her a sunny smile.

"Ok Mom, I know. We're just having fun anyway."

At that moment Edward walked into the kitchen, clearly having forgone the shower and washed and changed as quickly as he could manage. He scowled at Renee as he entered, and I guessed that he had probably heard at least part of our conversation, and was not happy about it.

He had changed into a loose fitting pair of board shorts, and a tight black T shirt. A pair of Ray-bans was resting on top of his damp hair, and he was wearing flip-flops on his bare feet.

"Edward, would you like a drink? I have lemonade or Coke?" Renee didn't seem to notice the death glare he was giving her, or the clipped tone he responded in.

"A Coke would be lovely, thank you." He was still glaring at her, as he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my back possessively against his chest.

Renee arranged all of the drinks and snacks together on a tray, and trotted out of the back door towards Phil, who waved when he saw her approaching. I made to follow her, but Edward held me back.

"She's wrong you know." He turned me around to face him as he spoke, his gaze intense. "My body may be seventeen, but up here," he tapped the side of his temple lightly with his forefinger, "I'm still me. And I am known for my consistency."

"I know." It came out higher than I meant it to, and I saw his eyes darken when he wasn't sure I believed him.

"How can I prove it to you? What do I have to do to make you believe me? I'm still the same man Bella." He sounded almost angry, and I suddenly realised what a stupid conversation we were having.

"I believe you. Honestly. It's just Renee, she's terrified I'm going to run off and get married before I'm thirty… she's always the same."

This time he seemed to believe me, and his expression visibly relaxed before my eyes. "Ok. But we're going to have to have serious words at some point about this not getting married before you're thirty issue, because it's just not going to do."

And with that he led me outside towards Renee and Phil, my mouth still hanging open in surprise.

We had drinks on the patio with Renee and Phil, and Edward reverted to his usual charming self. He was effortlessly charismatic, and within an hour he had both of them eating out of his hand, my Mother was virtually flirting with him.

I watched him as he chatted easily, and I realised that Edward had actually lost very little of his magnetism, which he had always claimed was part of the vampire, a lure for his prey. That clearly wasn't true at all. If anything, his vampire nature had detracted from his natural appeal, the uneasiness most people had felt around him, meaning they noticed his physical beauty, but missed everything else.

For the first time I wondered quite how he was going to deal with the other girls when we went back to school, as it looked like he was going to be beating them off him with a stick. Or I was.

I wouldn't be averse to beating Lauren with a stick, actually.

The rest of the evening passed in a similar manner, we ate in a local seafood restaurant, which Renee clearly frequented. The owner was delighted to meet me and Edward, and he joined us after dinner, telling us stories of what my Mother had been up to since she moved to Jacksonville. I wasn't surprised to hear that she had joined every club in town, and was already popular locally.

It was a happy evening, I was glad to find that my Mom lived a contented life with Phil, and hearing about her life now made me feel less guilty about staying in Forks.

We finally fell into bed late, my Mother seemingly able to chatter all night if given the opportunity. I'd forgotten quite how tiring she could be, and when I finally shut our bedroom door I was glad of the quiet.

By the time I slipped between the sheets Edward was already there. I curled up into his chest as usual, and sighed.

"Your Mom's nice," he said, as I felt him kiss the top of my head softly, and I snuggled in closer.

"She is… she's also a bit tiring."

"Yeah." He chuckled softly, and I remembered that Edward had been on the receiving end of most of her chatter tonight.

"I told you that you'd charm her in no time."

"Did I?" He slurred, sounding sleepy in the dark.

"Yeah. I think she likes you better than me now."

"Good. Maybe she won't complain when I ask you to marry me then," he mumbled, and I was immediately wide awake again.

"What?"

I waited, but all I was met with was a gentle snore.

It took me a while to fall asleep that night. My mind was racing, and I felt sticky and uncomfortable, not used to the heat at night anymore.

Despite Edward's efforts to change his outlook, some things were obviously just too deeply ingrained, and it was clear which way his mind was headed. He had mentioned marriage several times in passing now, and I knew that a hundred years ago it would have been perfectly expected for us to marry, and soon.

But I had been brought up the product of a failed marriage, my mother taking every opportunity to discourage me from making the same mistake. My first reaction to the very idea was a big no, but…

I just hope he knows better than to ask me.

Because I didn't want to have to turn him down… Because I didn't know what I wanted. I had been eager to spend eternity with him; one lifetime didn't even seem like enough now.

I finally fell asleep, not sure if I was nervous, excited, or just too damn hot.

A/N – First! Thank you so much for all of your reviews, I truly appreciate every one of them, and they genuinely spur me on to write faster!

Even if you don't review though, thank you for taking time to read my little story, I hope you're enjoying Human Edward as much as I am ;).

In case you haven't found it yet, I posted an outtake sometime over Christmas (I was quite drunk, otherwise I probably wouldn't have – lol!), which covers what would have happened had Emmett not interrupted in the last chapter. There are likely to be more outtakes along the way, either things that just didn't happen, or different POVs, and these will all appear on the Waking Up Outtakes story too. Please don't expect any plot from the first o/t though…

Apologies this took a little longer than planned, ironically enough I have been busy writing… this very story, just a little further into the future. You'll thank me when the time comes!

Anyway, I hope to get back to more regular updates now we're through the festive season, I had forgotten quite how many friends and relatives I have to visit over Christmas, all distracting me from fanfiction!

Rec wise, this week I have been particularly enjoying Clipped Wings and Inked Armour – if you like Edward messed up, that's the place to go! (It's in my favourites).

Til we meet again.

Ria