Okay guys, I know that these last few chapters have been coming really slowly, but just bear with me. Real life has been kicking me in the ass lately. Sorry for the huge lapse in time, but I needed to get them somewhere important :)

Big thanks to my beta coldplaywhore as always and an extra thanks to kikinz for her help with this chapter. Have you guys entered their Esme one-shot contest yet? No? Well you should :)

Also, my pal and the lovely writer of Inked and its upcoming sequel 'Marked,' ARenee363 is co-hosting a Halloween contest, Twilight Fright Night featuring Spookward and Boo-Bella so you should enter that one too, I think I might! *evil smirk*

I don't own Twilight, but I do have a new ear piercings that don't like when I sleep on them.

BPOV

Three months, one week and two days later, it was now mid March and I was packing up my messenger bag after my last class had let out. . The familiar, eerie silence of the empty room and hallways filled my small classroom. I was exhausted and I couldn't wait to get home since Edward would be waiting for me when I got there. He had promised to cook me dinner and I was starving, so I finished packing my bag, making sure I wasn't leaving behind any valuables and ran like the wind for my car.

I had started my job teaching tenth grade English at Franklin High School at the end of January and I absolutely loved it. The kids were of course difficult at times, but it was worth it because I got to do what I loved.

Ever since we had gotten back together three months ago, Edward's and my relationship had been stronger than ever. Our schedules were more hectic, but we somehow managed to make it work, because we loved each other. I could feel our growing closeness and I could never get enough of it. We hardly spent a night apart anymore and neither of us could figure out how we managed to do it, but we did. His schedule at the hospital had not improved, but he was a young doctor and it would be that way for a while. It never bothered me though because he loved what he did and I loved him even more for it.

When I arrived at my apartment – in a record twenty minutes – I opened the door and smelled something delicious. When I placed my bag on the floor by the front door, I walked quietly into the kitchen and saw something even more delicious. Edward was standing over the stove frying… something, but I couldn't take my eyes off of his ass long enough to try and figure it out. His t-shirt wasn't overly tight, but I could still see the contours of his muscles and the particular jeans he was wearing fitted his ass perfectly and I felt the urge to reach out and grab it, but I resisted. I walked behind him and snaked my arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder blade.

"Mmm… whatcha cooking?" I asked as I moved so that my chin was resting on his shoulder. "It smells delicious."

I felt the smile spread across his face against my temple. "Quesadillas," he said before he turned around in my arms, putting his arms around my waist and he bent down to kiss me. "Hey baby," he said just before snaking his tongue into my mouth.

"I missed you, too," I said with a laugh once he pulled away. I let go of him and he turned back to the stove where I saw that he was cooking the chicken in the pan and I breathed in the smell. My man made the best quesadillas I'd ever had. Yum. I went over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine I had picked up the day before and poured us each a glass. I handed one to Edward and leaned my hip against the counter, facing him.

"So, how was your day? I don't know how there aren't any horny teenagers following you home," he said as his eyes ran up and down my body. I was wearing a tight pencil skirt with a white blouse and black pumps that Alice had bought me specifically for the job. I didn't really have anything else, so I wore mostly outfits she had picked out for me. He licked his lips and I rolled my eyes to his obvious attempts to flirt with me.

"No, no horny teenagers," I said with a small giggle. "Actually, now that you mention it, one of the male teachers did try to grab my ass as I was walking out to my car…" I said jokingly and Edward's face went blank.

"What?" he asked, his voice seething with anger. He turned and set his wine down on the counter before stalking towards me. He roughly grabbed my ass and pulled me against his now obvious erection.

"No one will touch your ass but me," he growled playfully as he kissed me again and I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry. I take it back," I mumbled against his lips and he squeezed my ass even harder. He pulled away suddenly and took the chicken off the stove, leaving me wanting more. Oh, he'd pay for that later, I thought to myself smugly as I began plotting revenge. I ran into my bedroom quickly and changed into my yoga pants and a t-shirt.

Once everything was ready, Edward and I sat down on a blanket on the floor in my living room and watched a movie as we ate our quesadillas, something we often did now. It was Edward's turn to pick the movie tonight and when he turned the television on, Casablanca came on and I looked at him and smiled.

"Have I ever told you how sexy it is that you love the classics?" I asked him as I moved closer into his side and he put his arm around me.

"I believe you've mentioned it before. You should see what's on the list for next week," he said with a smile and leaned over to kiss my temple. We watched the movie mostly in silence, just holding each other and commenting on our favorite parts, Edward's being the last scene, while mine was the flashbacks of Rick and Ilsa in Paris.

We barely made it to the end of the movie without attacking each other. As soon as it was over, Edward stood up and threw me up onto his shoulder caveman style and ran into my bedroom. The dishes and the television were left and forgotten until the next morning.

When I woke up, I rolled over and discovered that Edward wasn't next to me. I pouted to myself and got up, putting on his t-shirt from the night before and heading out to the kitchen where the smell of coffee was coming from. When I got into the kitchen, the coffee was brewing but Edward was still missing, so I walked even further out into the living room where I found him kneeling down in front of my bag next to the door. He was looking through something that he must have found in there.

"Morning," I said quietly so I didn't scare him, since he obviously didn't know I was standing there. It obviously didn't work, because he jumped slightly at the sound of my voice. He stood rather quickly, dropping whatever it was he was holding back into the bag.

"Hey," he said as he walked towards me and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. I looked at him incredulously once he pulled away, as if to say 'care to tell me what you were just doing?' He didn't take the hint, so I spelled it out for him.

"Um, what were you doing… in there?" I asked as I waved my hand towards my bag on the floor.

He smiled at me and kissed me again. "Um… nothing. I wasn't doing anything," he said awkwardly, scrunching his eyebrows as he walked away and poured two cups of coffee. I stood there for a moment, completely confused. I had no idea what he could have been doing in there, so I walked over to the bag and found my day planner sticking out slightly. Why was he looking through my day planner? Did he think I was cheating on him? No, he was smiling when I asked him what he had been doing, he couldn't be thinking that. I kept the small book in my hand and walked over to him in the kitchen.

"You were looking through my day planner?" I asked with a puzzled look.

He shrugged. "Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't," he said. There was an awkward moment of silence and then a big fat smile covered his now smug looking face. I didn't know what he was up to and I had a feeling he wasn't going to tell me.

"I hate you," I said as I poured some milk and sugar into my cup of coffee.

"You love me and you know it," Edward said as he grabbed my face in his large hands and kissed me gently yet firmly. I folded my arms across my chest and looked up at him and pouted, sticking my lower lip out and teasing him I'm sure.

"Yup, I do." I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him again. He slid his hands under his t-shirt, grazing my bare ass, causing goose bumps to form where his hands had been. His hands moved up further, taking the shirt with them until the bunched up fabric was just below my breasts. I moaned into his mouth before he pulled away and lifted the shirt over my head, leaving me naked before him. "Hey!" I said with a giggle.

"Sorry," Edward said with a shrug. "I have to go get dressed for work," he added and put the shirt on. The smug grin was back and he kissed me once more, not touching any other part of me but my lips. I noticed the bulge in his jeans as he slapped my ass playfully. "You should stay like that until I get back," he commented as he walked past me and out of my apartment. He was really into teasing me lately.

I giggled and went into my bedroom and put my yoga pants and t-shirt back on from the night before and went into the kitchen and finished my coffee. I stared at my day planner the entire time and wracked my brain trying to figure out what he was looking for in there.

EPOV

I had to get out of Bella's apartment as soon as possible before I lost it and told her what I had been looking for in her day planner. Why couldn't she have slept just five fucking seconds longer? Now she was suspicious and I knew she wouldn't just let it go, but I wasn't going to give in and tell her what I was planning. I wanted it to be a complete surprise, even though I knew how much she hated surprises, though I had a feeling she would like this one.

I'd been planning this for over a month and I wasn't about to let it get ruined now, even if it was by the woman herself. The idea struck me around Valentine's, but when I couldn't get the place on such short notice, I took a step back and did it right. Hopefully it would go smoothly, but even if it didn't I was sure it would still be memorable.

Luckily, Bella didn't have anything major planned for school or otherwise this weekend, so we were all good to go. All I had to do was convince her to go without having to agree to tell her where we were going. Knowing Bella that was much easier said than done, but I was confident in my ability to do it.

There was mass chaos in the emergency room when I got to the hospital, so I immediately put my scrubs on and headed out to do my job. Hours went by and before I knew it, it was well past ten at night and I had been at the hospital for over twelve hours. I'd talked to Bella only a few times during the day, but I hadn't heard from her since late in the afternoon. I was given the okay to leave, so I took a quick shower and put on my change of clothes and headed home to Bella. I was going to tell her about our little trip tonight, so on my way home I tried to think of a way to do it with the least amount of questioning.

That was not going to be easy.

I walked into my apartment and found Bella watching television and when she turned to see me standing in the doorway taking off my jacket, she leapt off the couch. Unfortunately, she was wearing socks and the combination of that and my hardwood floor did not work very well for Bella. She slipped in her haste and her feet slipped right out from underneath her. I tried to get to her before she landed flat on her ass, but was unsuccessful. She sat there for a moment laughing hysterically. I knelt down in front of her and laughed gently along with her.

"Hey baby. Miss me?" I said with a chuckle. I cupped her face in my hands and leaned in to kiss her softly as she nodded her head. "Are you okay?" I asked once I pulled away.

"Yeah I'm fine, no big deal. Sorry I'm not naked," she said, laughing as I remembered how I'd left her that morning. I stood and helped her up and kissed her cheek once more as soon as she was standing and I was still holding her small hands in mine. "How was your day?" she asked as if nothing had just happened. I sat down with her on the couch and told her about the many escapades that occurred that day at the hospital, which was something we did often. I loved that she seemed to enjoy the stories I came home with, even though she sometime cringed when I went into great detail about some of the injuries and accidents.

After watching TV for a while, I went into my bedroom to change into something comfortable. I turned to make sure Bella wasn't behind me before going into my dresser drawer and pulling out the sock that contained the engagement ring that had been residing there for three months. I took the box out of the sock and opened it, admiring the ring and smiling. I had been planning on proposing to her for three long months and I hoped that the ring would not be sitting in there for much longer. I quickly slid the box back into the sock and stuffed it into the back of the drawer, changed and headed back into the living room to where Bella was.

I decided that now was as good a time as any to tell her about our journey. "So, don't plan anything for this weekend. We're taking a trip," I said stoically as I sat back down on the couch and Bella's head whipped around as she looked at me in confusion.

"What?" she finally asked after a moment of gaping at me. I smiled at her, because she was so fucking sexy, even when she was looking at me all confused like that.

"We're taking a trip," I repeated myself and smirked at her. That was all I was giving away and she glared at me, clearly frustrated by my lack of disclosure to her. I think she knew that I wouldn't tell her more, but I knew that wouldn't stop her from asking.

"But where are we going?" Bella asked, the irritation apparent in her voice. I held back the laugh that was bubbling at my lips because I knew how crazy surprises made her, and I loved it. She was so sexy when she was frustrated with me like this.

"That's for me to know and you to find out… when we get there," I said smugly, a huge grin spreading across my face. There was no way I was revealing the location of where I was taking her, but I was having fun letting her think that she could convince me.

"Fine," she huffed and I couldn't help but notice how sexy she was when she was angry, particularly when she was angry with me. Actually, when I thought about it, there was never a time where I didn't find Bella sexy as hell.

"Good. I'm having Alice pack your bag," I said assertively. She gave me a look of contempt and stuck her tongue out at me, but I just laughed it off as I draped my arm around her shoulder and we continued watching television.

BPOV

I was convinced that he was trying to drive me insane by not telling me where the hell he was taking me for the weekend. Well, if that was his mission, he was coming along for the drive and I was going to make him as nuts as he was making me. I couldn't stop thinking about it the entire week. I had no idea what I had been babbling about during my classes at the high school and definitely no idea what my professors were lecturing about during my night classes. Finally, Saturday morning arrived and Edward woke me up at eight o'clock.

He was trying to get killed, wasn't he?

"Come on, beautiful. I made coffee," he said trying to persuade me to get out of bed. I groaned sleepily but finally relented and got up. We were both dressed and out the door just after nine, but apparently that was not quickly enough, because Edward ran from the apartment, dragging me by the hand the entire way to the Volvo.

I was surprised – of course – when Edward pulled up to the Bainbridge Island ferry. A wide smile spread across my face. "Are we going where I think we're going?" I asked excitedly. Of all the horrifying things I had cooked up in my head, this was most definitely not one of them. I never imagined that Edward would be taking me back to that little cottage in Puget Sound, but I wanted to kiss every inch of his body now that I knew that's what he had been planning.

"Yup. I was looking through your day planner last week to make sure you didn't have anything major planned for this weekend," he said. I leaned over the console and kissed him hard. His hands slid around my waist and my life couldn't have gotten any better than it was in that moment.

Once we got the Volvo onto the ferry, it was about a half an hour until we reached Bainbridge Island. It was much cooler now than the last time we had visited, but the salty air was still familiar as I breathed it in. My smile grew even wider once Edward pulled up to the same blue cottage we had stayed in when we had been here in September. I helped him unload our bags from the trunk of the car and we headed inside.

The place hadn't changed a bit, the same cream-colored walls and large black leather sofa in the middle of the living room. Edward and I walked to the back of the house and into the master bedroom where we had stayed the last time we were here. I saw the French doors that opened up to the tub and smiled in reminiscence of the last time we were in there. "So, how long are we staying this time?" I asked as we put our bags down and I sunk down onto the bed next to him.

"The whole weekend," he answered with a grin. I kissed just above his collarbone in response and we sat there for a little while, just enjoying the quiet. "Come on, up you go," Edward said after a few minutes, he stood up and grabbed my hands, pulling me off the bed.

"Where are you taking me Mr. Cullen?"

"That's Dr. Cullen to you," he said as he slapped my ass playfully. "We're going nowhere. I'll run you a bath."

Ohh a bath sounded good. Really good, actually. Considering he had dragged me out so early and it was just past eleven in the morning a bath would be perfect. "That would be wonderful," I said as he reached into his bag and pulled out some bath stuff. Salts or something like that.

Edward grabbed my hand and led me towards the bathroom where he started the water and poured the salts in. He started walking out of the room before I stopped him. "What, you're not joining me?" I asked playfully.

"Did you want me to?" he asked and he looked serious. Did he really think I wouldn't want him with me? I swear the man is the love of my life, but sometimes he just doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

"Edward, you just surprised me by bringing me back here. Why wouldn't I want you in this tub with me?" I said, pointing to the running water. The steam was rising and I was beginning to get a chill so I really couldn't wait to get into the water. I looked at him expectantly and his expression softened as he pulled his shirt off. "That's what I thought," I said and began peeling my own clothes off.

Edward left the bathroom for a moment and came back with some body wash which he placed at the edge of the tub before climbing in. I stepped in after I had pulled my hair up into a clip and slid in front of Edward with my back resting against his chest.

"I'm getting some serious déjà vu," he said as he curled a stray hair behind my ear and kissed the spot just below my ear. I relaxed my body completely against him as his lips made a trail down my neck and across my shoulder.

"Me too," I sighed. Edward grabbed the bottle of body wash and squirted some into his hand and began rubbing my back slowly. It felt so good and I nearly fell asleep because his motions were so relaxing, it was wonderful. I was woken from my reverie when he began rinsing the soap off of my body, so I decided that it was his turn. I sat up slightly and instructed him to turn around so I could massage his back.

"You have no idea how good that feels," he muttered as I squeezed his shoulders. I laughed at his comment since I had just been subjected to his hands.

"Um, I think I do," I said with a small laugh. Edward laughed with me and once I was done massaging his back, we just sat with each other in the tub for a while. Once the water got too chilly for both of our likings, Edward stood up and got both of us towels. I wrapped mine around my body, which was now covered in goose bumps.

"Crap. Baby I'm sorry, you're probably freezing now," Edward said remorsefully as he pulled me flush against his body, trying to warm me up.

"I'm fine Edward, really, I just need to get dressed," I mumbled into his chest as he led us back into the bedroom.

"Here, Alice has all of your clothes labeled, put on the ones that say 'Saturday,'" Edward instructed as I gaped at him in shock. Alice had labeled my clothes? Did he really have this entire weekend planned so thoroughly that he knew where we would be at all times?

"That crazy broad labeled my clothes?" I practically shrieked. Edward just smirked at me and nodded. "I swear, living with Jasper had made that woman an organizing machine," I laughed. "How messy can your best friend be anyway?" This time Edward joined me in laughter.

"He's not exactly the neatest guy in the world," Edward said after his chuckle died down. "I told her what we would be up to and she agreed to pick out the appropriate attire."

I rolled my eyes, reached into my bag and pulled out the pile of clothes that were in fact, labeled, 'Saturday.' It was just a simple pair of jeans and a nice blue blouse. Well, nicer than I would normally wear. We both got dressed once again and Edward practically shoved me out the door.

"Where are we going now?" I asked once we were in the Volvo.

"For lunch. There's a place called Bloedel Reserve and they have a bunch of gardens. I made us a reservation for lunch at the Japanese Garden. I hope that's okay."

I leaned in and kissed him as I wondered what I had done to deserve someone so wonderful. "It's more than okay," I said once I had pulled away. I gave him a reassuring smile and he put the car in gear as we drove the thirty-minute drive to the reserve.

The Japanese Garden was beautiful, it was surrounded by evergreen trees which complimented the small Japanese architecture which all surrounded the small pond. The little restaurant had such an intimate setting and I couldn't help but stare at Edward in awe the entire time. He never ceased to amaze me with everything he did for me.

We were seated at a small table in the corner of the restaurant right next to a window that gave us a lovely view of the pond. "So are we doing anything else on this fine day that I should know about?" I asked after the waiter had taken our drink orders.

"Maybe," he said simply. He knew he was taunting me and I couldn't take the surprising aspect of this trip for much longer.

"You know, I'm beginning to think you're a secret agent with all of these surprises you've been hiding from me," I said teasingly, trying to give him a taste of his own medicine. It didn't work very well.

"Damn, you figured me out," he countered, playing along. I hadn't been counting on that, but damn he was good. Usually he would feel guilty that he was keeping things from me, but this time my teasing had not worked to my advantage.

"Stubborn," I accused.

"Your mother never introduced you to the expression 'patience is a virtue' did she?" he asked with a small chuckle in his voice. I glared at him because I obviously was not getting him to budge at all.

"Fine," I huffed. After that, lunch seemed to pass more smoothly. I still wondered where the hell he was going to take me, but I tried my best to be patient and just enjoy my time with him.

Once we were finished with our lunch, Edward drove us to a small market and I looked at him, perplexed. "We need food," he said simply.

"But we just ate," I practically whined. I was beginning to become unhinged with all of his surprises, but I couldn't bring myself to be angry with him because I was actually really enjoying myself. "You know, I'm only being nice to you because you've been so amazing to me today," I told him honestly. "Otherwise I might be furious with you right now."

"Just bear with me, Bella. I will tell you though that we're going to a movie," he told me sweetly. I kissed his cheek and we proceeded to buy all of our favorite candies to sneak into the theater. It was our movie theater ritual; we always snuck in our favorite foods. Sometimes we'd even go so far as to bring burgers in, but we always ate and grinned at each other like idiots the whole time.

We pulled up to the theater and got out of the car, the bag with our food slung over my shoulder and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the movie that was playing.

"Sabrina?" I asked breathlessly. It was like Edward was recreating our first date. I turned towards him and he was smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen. I threw my arms around him, kissing him as hard as I could for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

Once I pulled away from him, he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. "You like it?" he asked seriously. I smiled at him and kissed him chastely once more.

"I love it."

Click that pretty review button and get a taste of Chapter 25… which I have already started. Tee hee.