Disclaimer: I own everything but their names.

July 20, 2001 – Santa Cruz, California

Over the next few days, it seemed as if Edward and I had reached some sort of unspoken agreement. We were still getting to know each other and weren't ready to discuss what was going on between us with outsiders, especially when we weren't sure yet what it was… what it could be.

So, we stayed quiet. We had a secret that nobody else knew, and while it was thrilling, it was also very difficult. I had to fight the urge to touch him or to smile and lean up on my toes and kiss his perfect lips when we were at work.

While he was known to stay hidden most of the time, Edward seemed to become a much more visible fixture at the shop. Running a register, watching surfing vids with the guys, "checking stock" – there were all sorts of new excuses he employed to come up front now.

What was even more mind-blowing to me was that it seemed he was having trouble, too. He'd give me these quick looks that just… made my freaking heart pound, and these touches that, to anyone else, looked innocent: a brush of his hand over mine, a single fingertip pressed into the small of my back as he passed. All were tiny reminders that he was there and thinking of me.

It all made me crazy.

When we were alone, though…wow. He'd give me these kisses that made every single part of my body warm, and he wasn't shy about putting his hands in less-than-innocent places. The way he touched me, like he knew exactly how I wanted it and when… it all felt new and wonderful and amazing. Especially when I compared it to previous interactions with boys my own age.

Edward was older, much more experienced, and I had little doubt that he knew exactly how to please a woman.

Just like with everything else that changed, surfing with him seemed to turn into more. He didn't hesitate to put his hands wherever he wanted, and I didn't complain when he used correcting my position as an excuse to get closer just so he could put his lips on my neck or whisper in my ear.

It was clear (to me at least) that we weren't the same two people who'd been in the water together just days before. We were quickly becoming an… us. Learning each other. As he opened up, I began to see how well we balanced each other. He was give where I was take, and I was hard where he was soft. He was always easygoing where I'd always been known to be a little difficult. It was pretty perfect.

I smiled at the thought, falling to the sand as I tried to catch my breath. The sun was high in the sky that morning, warming the cold water clinging to my skin. The waves had been coming easier and easier, and every time felt better than the last. I couldn't have been happier that not only had Edward offered me himself, but that he'd shared his passion for the ocean with me, too. He'd given me the push I needed to discover how much I could love something.

Edward was right behind me, shaking water from his hair before he dropped down at my side.

"It just gets better and better every time," I said, grinning at him.

He leaned over, caging my body in his arms and forcing me to lie back. He kissed me all soft and slow, and if I thought I'd had trouble breathing before… well. "Mmm, yes it does."

His lips moved to my neck and I turned my face into his cheek, laughing. "That is not what I'm talking about, and you know it."

"Shh. Stop trying to kill my ego, woman," he mumbled with a sigh, pulling back to look at me. "In my head that's always what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say," I laughed. On the inside, I was doing a little fist-pump. I liked that he thought of me in that way.

He pulled away with a scowl. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I have a date with my boyfriend, Rico."

"You're still not funny."

I laughed. "I'm not doing anything. Why do you ask?"

Edward suddenly looked all nervous, and his cheeks were pinker than usual. "L has been begging me for weeks to take him to the Boardwalk, and, well… I keep putting it off. He's too little to go on a lot of the rides, but he likes to play games over at Neptune's and I just thought maybe—"

"Is this your way of asking me on a date?" I interrupted, teasing him as I grinned so big on the inside, because, well… he was asking me on a date! If I had a girlfriend to call at that moment so I could brag, I probably would have done it.

He smirked, standing up to unstrap his board. "Only if that's your way of saying yes."

I hesitated. Of course I wanted to go with them, but I worried what it would mean for the whole 'keeping us a secret' plan. People would wonder. They'd ask questions. Did he want them to ask questions? Did I?

"Bella?" Edward called my name, bringing my attention back to him. "You don't have to do anything—"

I cut him off again. "No, no… I would love to come," I said honestly, not voicing my worries about what could come from us being seen in public together. We'd done it before. But on the Fourth, we weren't a couple; we weren't hiding something huge from everyone we knew. Could I really spend the entire night so close to him without being able to offer any affection?

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," I replied, admiring his profile in the early morning sun.

"I'm heading up, you coming?"

I nodded, moving to stand. "I'll be right behind you."

By the time I reached the showers at the top of the beach, Edward was already there and stepping beneath the freshwater spray. I stopped, transfixed on the sight of him as he unzipped his wetsuit and began to peel it from his upper half. He bent forward, pulling the material from his legs and offering me a perfect view of his thin, muscular back glistening with wetness. He was so beautiful it literally took my breath away.

I just stood there dumbly, staring, until Edward's eyes opened and he saw me watching him. He crooked his finger at me to join him. Who was I to argue when he made it so tempting?

I walked toward him, reaching back to unzip my own wetsuit. Edward's hands lifted into his hair and he watched me as I stripped down to the bikini I had on under my suit. The weight of his eyes on me burned into my skin.

When I reached him, he pulled me close and he wrapped his arms around me. I shivered as the cold water poked at my skin and pressed a kiss against his chest. He trembled as his fingers shifted; trailing until he'd hooked them into the strings resting low on my hips.

He buried his face in my neck and I felt his lips curl into a smile against my skin. "You don't have to come if you don't want to, you know."

"I want to," I said, and he pulled back to look at me. "It's just that, I don't know. We haven't really talked about how we're going to handle other people knowing about this. Won't people ask questions? Won't they wonder what's going on?"

He shrugged, the picture of calm. "So what if they do? It's not like I'm going trying to get you naked on the Wave Jammer or anything."

"I know that," I sighed.

"Then don't worry, okay?"

Even though the fear in my chest hadn't quite disappeared, I nodded.

Later that afternoon, Edward took off to pick up Lisle from Makenna, leaving Jasper and I to handle the shop alone (as usual, Paul was elsewhere). When he returned, Lisle was everywhere, a little pinball pinging this way and that. I could tell by the look in his eyes that Edward was nearing the end of his rope and I began to doubt even more whether this was a good idea.

Sensing my worry, Edward tried to reassure me. "He just needs to get some of this energy out, then he'll be cool."

I laughed lightly, watching Lisle bounce around. He danced on the balls of his feet and tugged Edward's hand. "Dada, let's go! All da rides gonna be cwosed!"

Edward shook his head. "No they aren't, I promise. We have to wait for Bella; don't you want her to come with us?"

Lisle's face lit up. "Of course!"

My heart picked up speed as I realized that Jasper had heard everything Edward said. I waited for the other shoe to drop right then, for Jasper to at least ask the questions I expected… but he didn't. Deciding the faster we got out of there, the less chance there was of that happening, I stepped around the corner and started for the break room.

"I'll be right back; I just need to grab my stuff."

Edward nodded as Lisle cheered.

When I came back out, Lisle held out his free hand for mine and sent a beaming smile up to me. "I so glad you coming wif us, Bella!" he said excitedly. His L's always sounded much more like W's than anything else. It was adorable.

"I'm glad too, little dude. You ready to go have some fun?"

"Yep!" he shouted, pulling us toward the door.

"You'll be cool to close by yourself, right J?" Edward asked.

Jasper looked between us and then nodded, saying nothing.

I looked down, avoiding his eyes as guilt surged through me. Of all people, both of us should have been able to trust Jasper with our secret. But he wasn't my brother, and it wasn't up to me. I still felt bad for deceiving him, though.

I did my best to shake off the feelings of guilt as we made our way across the street. Edward purchased tickets, and Lisle bounced between us as we waited in line to ride everything the little guy was tall enough to ride. Of course, I couldn't help but to blush when we passed the Wave Jammer and Edward sent a wink over at me.

Eventually, we made our way down the Boardwalk toward Neptune's Kingdom. I'd only been inside once, on the day I first met both of them, and the kid in me was excited by the huge arcade. It was filled, wall to wall, with every video game imaginable. They even had a snack bar, mini golf and laser tag.

Tokens in hand, we headed in the direction of the Lisle sized games. He ran a little ahead of us, taking in his options.

When he found one he liked, his eyes glowed a bright green and his smile was infectiously huge. "Play dis one, Dada?"

"Sure, buddy." Edward crouched down and fed some tokens into the bright orange machine. We stood behind him, giggling as Lisle's tongue poked out of his mouth in concentration and he banged on the buttons.

Edward leaned over, his hand brushing my arm just before he twirled his pinky finger around mine. "Are you having fun?" he whispered.

I squeezed his finger and smiled up at him. "Yes."

"Me too." He smiled, eyes dancing around us before he leaned down and kissed me quickly on the lips. "But I have to admit, it's torture not being able to do that whenever I want."

My belly filled with the good kind of butterflies and I was thankful when Lisle interrupted to pull us to another game. Jumping Edward in the middle of the arcade surely wouldn't have been good for keeping us under the radar.

When it felt like Lisle had played every game imaginable, he surprised Edward and me by tugging us toward one of those cheesy little photo booths found in most arcades.

"Where are we going, Baby Boy?" Edward asked.

"Picture!" Lisle pointed at the machine.

Edward looked a little nervous at his son's request, peeking over at me to see my reaction. I smiled and nodded to reassure him that it was fine with me before pulling Lisle over to stand in front of it.

The two of us waited as Edward slid some money into the machine and then, after some careful maneuvering, the three of us managed to squeeze ourselves into the tiny booth and get the curtain closed. Edward had pulled me to sit sideways across his lap, wrapping his hands around my hips and holding me there as I bent forward and pulled Lisle to sit with us.

He wiggled and laughed his cute little giggle and Edward and I laughed right along with him. When the flashes started going off, it was comical as we watched Lisle's face shift from confused to smiling in a matter of seconds. Then he turned to me and reached up to kiss my cheek, so of course Edward copied him. That one was my favorite. Followed closely by the one of Lisle with his finger pretty much buried in Edward's nose.

We made our way back up the Boardwalk slowly, enjoying the cool evening breeze. The sky above us was dark, glowing brighter with the help of the moon. The gentle swish of the ocean broke through the sounds of the kids and families still enjoying the rides and games around us. It was the best date I'd ever been on, and it wasn't because of what we did or where we were… it was because of who I was with.

I knew then that those boys had both taken a hold of my heart and weren't likely to let go any time soon.

Lisle was snoring softly by the time Edward pulled up in front of my house that night.

A few moments of awkward silence passed as we stared at each other, all caught up in the goofy-glow of the awkward end-of-the-first-date moment we found ourselves in.

"I really want to kiss you right now, but from what I hear, your dad carries a gun," Edward finally said.

I giggled, thankful for his ability to always break the tension. "That he does."

Still smiling, I reached over and traced my fingers across the top of his hand on the gearshift. He flipped his hand over and linked his fingers with mine. My heart still did somersaults whenever he touched me.

"So I guess this is goodnight?" he whispered, voice low.

"I guess so," I whispered.

"Next time it'll just be us. I promise."

My smile grew with the thought of next time. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," he said. "Goodnight, Bella."

"'Night, Edward."

I opened the door, still smiling goofily up at him as I hopped out of the Jeep.

"Oh ,wait!" Edward said as I moved to close the door. Stopping, I looked back at him curiously as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the tiny strip of pictures from earlier. He tore it in half, handing the bottom two (my favorites) over to me.

My heart swelled and I grinned all the way to my room, sliding the pictures of us into the corner of a frame on my bedside table so they'd be the first thing I saw when I woke up the next morning.

Sorry this wasn't up earlier, last night was a late one, obvs. LOL! I'm still not fully functional yet.

Thank you so much for reading!

Reviews are love.

Until tomorrow.

xx