Edward returned to his apartment with the thrill of anticipation making his every step lighter. Though he was excited for tonight, he was also outrageously nervous.

He stepped into his apartment, finding Garrett already there with the TV on.

"I have a date," both men said together.

Garrett chuckled. "You first."

"Well, I don't know if it's a date," Edward admitted, throwing himself down on the opposite end of the couch. "I mean, I just asked her out to dinner. Old friends go out to dinner too, without any expectation. Not that I have any expectation."

"Edward, breathe," Garrett said with a laugh. "Look at you! You're as twitterpated as a teenage boy who's just seen his first pair of tits."

"Classy," Edward grumbled.

"This is the girl, isn't it?" his friend asked, his tone still amused.

Edward sighed, looking away. "Yes. That's my Bella."

"Hmm," Garrett hummed, his expression thoughtful. Then he grinned. "I expect to be the best man at your wedding, fucker. Don't forget that, or I reserve the right to be pissed off."

"What are you on about?" Edward scoffed, arching an eyebrow. "Like I said - I don't even know if it's a date. It's been so many years since I've even seen her..."

Edward frowned to himself, the unreasonable nerves stirring in the pit of his stomach. It was an odd way to live - fast forwarding through parts of his life. On the one hand, he could feel all the years that had passed. He held all the memories of his life. On the other hand, technically speaking, it was only days ago that he and Bella were making out every chance they could get their hands on each other.

But Bella wouldn't remember that. For her, it hadn't happened. Not to mention, Bella was most likely not the person she'd been in high school. Everyone changed, and for most, the change between high school and early adulthood was often staggering. He was still smitten - but that didn't mean that she would be as interested as she had been years before.

"Come on. Can't you see it? You were totally in love with this girl - hell, you're stillin love with this girl - and you run into her in one of the biggest cities in the world?" Garrett shook his head. "Even I can see what fate is getting at. It's meant to be."

"Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Garrett?"

His roommate shrugged. "I'm in a mood, man. That girl - Katie? I don't know."

"You asked her on a date?" Edward prompted.

"Yeah, and you know? It's different with her." Garrett tapped on his chin, a small smile playing at his lips. "I don't remember the last time I was excited about a date."

Edwards lips pursed, thinking back on his friend's perpetual state of bachelorhood.

What if today wasn't about him reconnecting with Bella? What if it was all for Garrett? It wouldn't be the first time a choice he'd made had set off a chain reaction in someone else's life.

It didn't make sense though. He hadn't made a choice. Running into Bella and Kate was a complete accident.

Fate.

He laughed. "You can be my best man if I can be yours."

A little positivity was nice every once in a while.

"Okay. You can be my best man if I can have the apartment tonight."

Edward snorted. "Really? You're bargaining for the position? You are just full of class tonight." He looked over at his roommate. "I will find other places to be, sir," he promised with a little salute. "It seems ungentlemanly to wish you luck in your endeavour."

Garrett cocked his head, an odd expression on his face. "You know something... I feel like I don't need luck tonight."

"Yeah," Edward agreed. "I know the feeling."

~0~

When Bella admitted she was still new to New York and wanted a uniquely NYC experience, Edward took her to Coney Island. They ate at Nathan's and walked the boardwalk, filling in the spaces they'd missed in each other's lives.

"Emmett and Rosalie are doing really well. She works from home tracking down car parts for other people. You know - for the really old or really rare cars?"

Bella seemed impressed. "That's clever. I remember Jake had a hell of a time finding parts for his Rabbit."

Edward tried his best to keep his face impassive. "Jake?"

Luckily, Bella seemed to miss his discomfort. "Yeah. You remember Jacob Black? My friend from the Rez?"

"I remember a school boy with a wicked crush on you," Edward teased, feeling relieved.

Bella laughed lightly and blushed. "Yeah, our parents tried to set us up one summer, when I came home from school."

"What?" The word came out a little more strangled than Edward would have liked.

Bella smirked. "I think my dad was beginning to suspect I played for the other team." She sucked her lips in, swallowing her amusement. She paused by the side of the rail, looking out over the darkened water of the bay. "I didn't date as much as other kids my age, I suppose."

"Why didn't you?" Edward asked gently, leaning against the rail beside her.

"I don't know. I was too busy, too concentrated on my schoolwork." She shrugged.

"You don't have a boyfriend, then?" He was trying to keep his voice light but it wasn't quite working.

She hesitated, then looked up at him with a smile and a shrug. "Nothing worth telling about really. I was an inattentive girlfriend at best."

For long moments, Edward said nothing, turning this information over in his head. He couldn't imagine Bella being inattentive to someone she cared for, but he didn't want to press for information. The idea she'd been intimate with anyone made him irrationally angry, as hypocritical as he knew that was.

"So," he began, changing the subject to safer topics. "You've lived in Phoenix, Berkeley, Forks, and New York City now. That's quite a range. Where's home?"

At first, Bella didn't answer. Her brows knitted together as if she was deep in thought. Her hands, perched on the rail, wrung fitfully, like she was nervous.

"You want to hear something strange?"

"Always," Edward smiled, noticing her wistful expression as she looked out over the water.

"Of all the places I've lived, all the big cities with excitement and culture and..." she gestured around them to the attractions, "all this... It's Forks I miss."

"Forks?" He took a moment, turning that tidbit of information over and trying to make it fit.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.

"It's just... all the things you're capable of, the life you're capable of?" He reached out, drawing the pads of his fingers down her cheek quickly. "You're too big for that place."

Her lips parted just slightly, like she was about to say something but nothing came out. It was just as well seeing as he probably wouldn't have heard anything. The urge to kiss her was incredible.

She blinked sporadically and looked toward the water again. "I know it sounds dumb. But if you want to know the truth..." she spoke hesitantly, her cheeks flaming. Some things never changed. "Junior year and that summer with you and Jasper? It's just never been that way for me."

"What way?"

Her smile was gentle, wistful again. "People are always wrapped up in their own drama. It's so rare, even in all these years, that someone really takes the time to hear you." She huffed lightly. "Who would have thought, right? It was two teenage boys who really saw me." She looked up at him. "Maybe that's what I miss. Sometimes the city seems too big for -"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as Edward's willpower snapped. He tilted his head down, taking her upper lip between both of his. She gasped, but the noise only whined at the back of her throat before her lips began to respond to his. Her hand came up, her fingers curling around to the back of his neck.

Their lips parted after only a few moments, but Bella didn't let go of him. Her eyes were wide and shocked. Edward bit the inside of his cheek to suppress his groan when her tongue darted out, like she was licking his taste off her lips. With her shocked expression, she looked seventeen again.

She'd been beautiful then, she was beautiful now.

He reached up, stroking the back of her cheek with his knuckles. "I've been wanting to do that for a really long time," he admitted, his voice barely a rumble.

"How long?" she breathed.

He laughed. "High school." He cupped her cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you then."

Bella breathed out, looking at him incredulously. Then she laughed. "I'm sorry, too. It would have changed everything."

Edward's lips quirked. She had no idea how right she was. "Is it too late?"

She tilted her head, a smile spreading across her face slowly as she turned her body to face him. Edward watched, feeling his heart pound fast, as she reached for his hand. With her fingers wound with his and that look in her eyes, he felt like he was finally home. "It's not too late. Not for us."

Then she stood on her tiptoes, claiming his lips as her own.

~0~

"We're causing a scene," Bella giggled between kisses.

"This is the New York City subway system," Edward growled against her ear, biting down lightly on her earlobe so she gasped. "They're used to scenes." He pulled back slightly. "Unless you're not a fan of PDAs?"

Her eyes were hooded as she looked on him. "I could get used to it," she murmured, kissing his neck.

The entire subway ride to her apartment, Edward didn't let her go. His lips were constantly busy as he nipped along the line of her neck, scrapping his teeth at the skin where her shoulders began. Her hands were tangled in his hair, and it felt amazing.

They almost missed their stop.

The walk to her apartment was somewhat awkward as he couldn't stop himself from wrapping her in his arms every block or so. Bella didn't argue. When he tugged her closer, her arms around wrapped around his neck or his waist, and she would tilt her face up to meet his eager lips.

Once they were safely inside, Edward pushed Bella up against her front door, leaning his entire body against hers as his tongue slipped passed her lips. She was making tiny moaning noises as they kissed, and it was quickly driving him to the brink of sanity.

Gasping for breath, Edward managed to tear his lips away from hers. He looked her in the eyes, seeing a reflection of his chaotic emotions in the darkened brown of her irises. For a moment, Edward was confused. All of his lives and the different timelines he'd experienced seemed to mesh, and he didn't know what was real.

"Is this too fast?" he asked in a ragged whisper, desperately needing to know if they were on the same page. He wanted her so badly - had always wanted her - but she was more important to him than a night in the dark. "I want... more than just fast with you."

Bella licked her lips, breathing hard. "I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe?" She shook her head. "But I don't care."

He searched her eyes, easily seeing the lust that made their every move desperate and super heated. Beyond that, though, was a familiar adoration tinged with uncertainty. She was scared. He understood why. Whatever existed between them was frighteningly intense, and while, for him, it was coming back to the only home he'd ever wanted, for her it was all new and unexplained.

Leaning down, he kissed her slowly, passionately, taking the weight of his body off her. He cupped her face in his hands, stroking her cheek with his thumbs.

She spoke first, her words a blur. "I know it sounds stupid, but it's always been you. I...I..." She chuffed, bringing her hands up over his against her cheeks. "I thought it was just a school girl crush, and it would fade. But it hasn't. It never has. I tried so hard... but all I ever saw was you. All I ever wanted was you." Her eyes faltered and she looked down. "That's stupid, right?"

"No," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers. "No."

Her hands drifted down to either side of his neck as her mouth moved with his, his lip brushes becoming full on kisses again. He moved his hands down to her waist, his fingers slipping under the hem of her shirt to touch the warm skin at her belly. "Do you want this?"

Once, in a different life, he'd asked her the same question. Then, she'd been a teenage girl, completely innocent and maybe a little too young to make the decision she'd made. Now, she was a grown woman, beautiful and grown into her loveliness. They'd both had a chance to live life outside of each other, discovering things about themselves they might have otherwise missed.

Now, it was their time.

"Yes," she said, moving her hands down to the buttons of his shirt. "Yes, this is what I want."

The exact same answer, in a totally different life.

As he kissed her deeply, Edward let his hands drift down to cup her ass, squeezing it to make her squeak. He laughed into her mouth, propping one hand firmly against her back while he hooked the other under her knees. He swept her into his arms without breaking their kiss.

With his need for her - their need for each other - growing quickly, Edward lifted his head, casting his eyes around the room to know where to take her. When he felt her lips at the underside of his chin, her tongue darting out to lick him there, he knew he wasn't going to make it to her bedroom. He grinned wickedly, an idea formulating in his head. "Bella, how sturdy is your kitchen table?"

"Uh. What?" she asked, distracted.

Shaking his head, he carried her toward the kitchen, pleased when he saw the table was quite sturdy indeed. He sat her on it, quickly moving his fingers up the skin of her stomach and along her sides. She shivered, kissing the corner of his mouth. "What are we doing?"

"We're doing it like a chemist," he rumbled, tilting his head to kiss the side of her neck. "You know? On the table? Periodically?"

She laughed, burying the sound against his shoulder as she leaned on him, her arms around his neck. "You are such a geek," she accused, but her tone was adoring.

"Pffft. Takes one to know one," he murmured, kissing her tenderly. He took a brief moment to appreciate that he wasn't the bumbling, clumsy teenager anymore. Another difference between the first time she would never remember and this time.

They lapsed into silence, kissing as Bella unbuttoned his shirt and he reached down to take off her shoes. He shrugged out of his shirt, and ran his fingers up along the back of her legs. Bella tugged her shirt off, her expression slightly shy as she leaned back on the table, letting him look on her.

"God, you're so beautiful," he murmured, his fingers stroking the inside of her thighs as his eyes drank her in. Her figure was fuller than he remembered - spindly, awkward limbs filling out into pleasing, smooth shapes. Short as she was, her legs were long, making Edward bite down hard on his lip as his hands explored their length. He supposed her breasts might be considered small but to him they seemed perfect, rounding out her body in just the right way.

He couldn't wait to have his lips around her nipples.

In fact...

Moving one hand reluctantly away from her thighs, he reached around, his fingers fumbling for only a moment before he undid the hooks of her bra. Once the silky fabric rode up, he leaned in, taking one nipple into his mouth.

"Oh!" she cried, her chest arching to meet him. "Edward," she breathed when he paid her other breast the same respect. "God, please. I want you."

Edward groaned, her words making him painfully hard. Why was he still in his pants?

He stood up straight, unbuttoning his jeans and shoving them down his legs along with his boxers. That was better, but he ached to be inside her.

Leaning in to kiss her again, Edward worked his hands up underneath her skirt, tickling lightly along her pantyline before he hooked his fingers into her underwear, pulling them down her legs and off.

He braced his hands along her thighs even as she spread her legs wider, wrapping them around his waist.

It seemed a twist of fate that her table was just the right height. They were lined up perfectly, and it was not uncomfortable at all as he slid inside her.

"Jesus," he gasped, briefly overwhelmed. How had he ever quit her? He was already, instantly, addicted all over again.

He wasn't going to let go. He would refuse. Even if Alice demanded it, she couldn't have it.

The thought made him begin to rock with a slight tinge of desperation. The idea of giving her up again was too much, and he gathered her to him tightly as if he could disappear completely inside of her.

"Edward," she whispered, her lips against his ear. Her hands were braced on his shoulders since he was holding her upright, and he knew she could feel his tension.

He breathed easier, relaxing into the moment. She was there with him, surrounding him. He could taste her skin and feel her slick heat as he moved in her. He could hear the little noises he elicited - moans and whimpers as he filled her.

Gradually, his hands moved back down to her thighs, and she leaned back with her elbows on the table, both of them just holding on for dear life as their rhythm grew sweetly frantic. Her heels pressing against his ass as he slammed into her drove him wild.

"Bella," he groaned, knowing he was close.

His name tumbled off her lips in response, her voice high-pitched. He risked his grip on her to slide one hand down to where they were joined, pushing her skirt further up so he could easily reach her clit.

"Oh! Oh!" she cried, her head thrown back and her chest heaving with pants as she began to tighten around him. "Edward! God!"

It was perfect. The sight and sound of her undone before him was better than he'd imagined in all these years. He came hard, buried to the hilt inside her, leaning over her.

It was minutes before either of them moved. Bella let out a light groan, sitting up on the table. Supposing that her legs were probably aching, Edward massaged as he helped her unwrap them from around his waist. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his lips in a slow, completely languid manor.

He would never get enough of her.

She sighed. "Well, it's official."

"What's that?"

"You've ruined me for other men." She snickered, grinning at him with a bratty look in her eyes. "You're just going to have to keep me."

He laughed and kissed her soundly. "I think I can live with that."

Wrapping his arms around her, he carried her to her bedroom where they could kiss face to face, their bodies brushing and their limbs tangled together.

It was the very small hours of the morning when their kisses became lazy and their fingers slow as they explored each other's bodies. Still, Edward refused to close his eyes.

"You look tired," Bella mumbled, her eyes hooded with sleepiness as well.

He smirked. "Someone wore me out," he teased, tickling her cheek with his nose.

She laughed lightly. "You can sleep, you know. I want you to stay."

"I don't want to sleep," he replied, trying not to let the slightly desperate tone leak into his voice. He was so afraid that he would wake up and learn he'd made the wrong choice, having to do this day over again.

She scooted closer to him, her hands on his chest, stroking soothingly. "It's okay." She kissed his chest and tilted her head up to kiss his chin. "I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

He kissed her again, wrapping his arms possessively around her. He closed his eyes, wishing fervently that he didn't need sleep - that this one day could last forever.

Tangled in her embrace, sleep claimed Edward almost without him realizing it.

A/N: My, my... what's gonna happen now.

I still believe that next chap will be the last, and there will be an epilogue.. but we'll see. There were supposed to be things in this chapter that didn't make it because E/B took over... so we'll see.

Love to jadedandboring, jfka06, barburella, and all of you!