I apologize for this coming out later than usual-I know that I normally post pretty early-like after midnight my time early-and this one's closer to early morning. I absolutely blame Easter weekend and beer-but I also blame stalkers on Facebook that demand my attention! (Facebook stalking is addictive, btw.)

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend! It was lots of fun here! Thanks to all of you that have continued to read and review and those putting me on alerts-mwah! Seriously thanks, everyone!

Disclaimer: Bella, Jasper, Edward and all things that exist in the Twilight universe belong to Stephenie Meyer. She's just nice enough to let us play with them!

You got me trippin', stumblin', flippin', fumblin',
Clumsy 'cause I'm fallin' in love,
You got me slippin', tumblin', sinkin', crumblin',
Clumsy 'cause I'm fallin' in love,
So in love with you.

-Clumsy, Fergie

"Bernice Matisse?"

"That's Hope Floats."

"Ah, yes. How dare I get my girly, cry movies mixed up."

"Well, you should be sorry. It's your sister's favorite movie."

"That's true," he says. After a brief pause, he tells me, "I have a confession to make."

"I'm all ears."

His voice drops to a whisper and his eyes search the surrounding area. If I didn't know better, I would think he was looking for his sister. "I've never seen Steel Magnolias."

I gasp, "Seriously?"

He nods, "Swear to God. That movie scares me. I've seen bits of it…walking through the room, but…I run screaming every time someone cries on the screen. Which is like, the whole movie."

"It is not," I scoff. I shake my head at him, "You really don't know what you're missing."

That crooked grin that makes my insides turn to liquid forms on his face, and he lowers his head to look at the table between us. I grin at him, because he looks adorable-like a little boy that just got in trouble. After a moment, he looks up from under his eyelashes and asks, "How long-"

"It's only been a week, Edward," I snap. The snapping can't be helped; time is crawling just as slow for me as it is for him. I sigh; it really feels as if I've been home for a lot longer than a week. But, a week is all it's been, and a hell of a week at that.

After Edward met me at the airport and we made our way to our cars, he asked if I would have dinner with him. I was all for that, but told him that I felt yucky, and I probably stunk. He didn't seem to mind but wanted me to be comfortable anyway. So he took me to a taco stand on the beach and we ate at a community table. He asked about my week and I told him all about it. He shook his head when I told him about my confrontation with Alice, but didn't seem surprised. When I told him about seeing Jasper at the convenience store, he was surprised. But he was glad that it sounded as if Jasper was acting mature about it all, and he hoped that a friendship could bloom for the two of us.

The rest of the week was much of the same, with Edward coming to me or me calling him and we would find something to do with each other. There was no time limit set on how long our 'friendship' would need to last before we could become more serious in our relationship, and that was already wearing on the two of us.

It was in his eyes and his lips and his movements. The way his eyes would follow me, no matter which way I would turn or where I was in the room from him. I knew that it was the same with me-whenever Edward would enter a room that I was in, my eyes were automatically drawn to him, and my lips would pull into a grin without my permission. Many times, we would have to leave the room that the one was in for fear of overstepping boundaries that were quickly diminishing. I just wasn't sure how much longer we could spend time together under the guise of friendship before we snapped.

"Yeah," he mutters. "Only a week."

Today, he's taken me to his next favorite restaurant. It's a lovely little coffee shop that doubles as a sandwich eatery, and I have just finished the best chicken salad sandwich known to man. We have to leave soon, to go back to our respective offices and the fact that our time is winding down has put a damper on the playful mood.

"What are you doing tonight?" I ask. I'm hoping he'll say nothing, and agree to come to my apartment to let me cook for him. He's not been to my apartment yet, nor have I been to his condo. It's almost as if he's purposely avoiding the two areas.

"I have a late meeting, well… international call. I have to stay at the office to catch it," he tells me as he gulps down the last of his coffee.

"Oh," I respond, somewhat dejectedly. There went that plan.

"Hey," he whispers, "if I could get out of it…believe me, I would. I'd much rather spend the night doing…whatever it is that you have cooked up in your head."

I smile and nod, "Yeah, I know. Can't get enough of me and all…"

He smirks at me, knowing exactly what I was trying to say. His tongue swipes his lower lip and it's almost as if I can feel it on me. My eyes follow it, the pink tip gliding slowly back and forth on his bottom lip, even as his mouth turns up in a grin. My breathing becomes labored and the buzz in my head has blocked out all sound. The dampness between my legs is warm and slightly uncomfortable. I adjust my position on the bench seat, and the motion creates the slightest of friction. My breath hitches and my right hand unclenches from the fist it was in, to reach out toward that lip and that tongue.

Was a tongue ever that sensual?

The lips are moving but I can't figure out why. The closer my hand gets to him, the louder the buzz in my head becomes and just as I'm about to touch him, he grabs my hand. I jerk, coming out of the tongue-licking-lip trance that I was in and glaring at Edward. He's grinning, widely at me and holding my hand close to his face. He cocks an eyebrow and pulls my hand the rest of the distance. He places his lips against my palm and leaves the gentlest of kisses there before quickly pushing my hand back toward me.

He shakes his head, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" My voice is breathless and deep.

He shrugs, "Okay, I'm not really sorry. If I had my way, we'd be doing a whole lot more than that."

I look down; my guilt over making him endure this friendship is eating at me.

"Hey, angel. Don't look away from me," his hand comes into view and I feel the shock as his finger curls under my chin, raising my head to look at him again. "I'm just full of the dickhead comments today, aren't I?"

I shake my head, "It's my fau-"

"No. It's not. So don't bother finishing that sentence. We both agreed to this-it's the right thing to do. But we knew it was gonna be tough, and we just have to deal with it. Okay?"

Hesitantly, I nod. "Okay, good. Come on; let's get out of here before my sister calls asking where we've gone to elope."

I giggle and scoot out of the booth to follow him. Once outside, he pulls me in for a hug and whispers, "I'll call you tonight?"

My lips go to his ear, "You better."

~*~

"C'mon! That's not fair! Tell me where he took you," Angela practically yells at me when I refuse to confirm or deny that we went to La Popular for lunch.

I grin at her, "Didn't I tell you that the next time I go to La Popular would be with you?"

"That doesn't answer my question, Bella," she snaps. Rolling her eyes, she tells me, "At least tell me that he took you some place good. Geez."

My grin softens to a smile, "He took me to his second favorite restaurant, I don't remember the name. Don't tell him that, though!"

"Are you asking me to keep a secret from my brother? I don't know, Bella. Secrets are kinda a big deal…"

I rolled my eyes, "What do you want?"

She leaned over the counter of the receptionist desk, her finger drawing lazy circles on the surface and her eyes were lowered, not meeting mine. When she finally looked up at me, there was a curious grin on her face.

"Tell me about Tanya?"

I huff, "Shouldn't you be working?"

She rolled her eyes, "It's slow today. C'mon, Bella!"

"I told you that Tanya and I would come to talk to you-"

"When you got back! You've been back for a week!"

"Fine," I grumble and pick up the phone, pressing the number to connect me to Tanya's office. Angela leans a little further over the counter and her eyes widen when she sees the line I've just called. She opens her mouth but Tanya cuts her off. I've put her on speakerphone without Angela knowing.

"This is Tanya."

"Hey, it's Bella."

"Am I on speakerphone?"

"Yes."

Silence and then, "Why? Edward is here…"

I stare at Angela, "Someone wanted to ask you something." And then because I'm a lovesick fool, I ask, "Is Edward in your office?"

"Yes. I'll tell him you said hello. Bella, what's going on?"

I hear Edward's voice in the background and Tanya arguing that I called her, not him. I allow myself two seconds to act appropriately-I giggle at the sound of his voice and him wanting to talk to me. And then I mouth to Angela, 'ask.'

She rolls her eyes and inhales before saying, "Tanya, hi. It's Angela."

There is complete silence on the other end of the phone and then someone sounds like they're choking.

"Bella, one sec. Hey, sis," Edward's voice comes through, finally. Again, I give myself two seconds of giddy giggles before I stop myself. "I think Tanya got a bad piece of fruit or something-"

"Edward, just put me on speakerphone so I can talk to her," Angela cuts him off. "Geez. It's not gonna be painful, please tell her."

I roll my eyes and tell her, "Be nice."

She shrugs at me but a blush rises on her cheeks, and I know she feels bad.

"Okay, I'm back. Sorry about that," Tanya sounds breathless when she speaks again.

Angela rolls her head on her shoulders before saying, "Do you think that you and Bella could come over soon? She won't tell me anything about you and it's apparent that I've misjudged you but I'd really just like to hear the story for myself and if you don't want to that's cool, I guess, but-"

"I'd love to. Edward is working late tonight, so I know that Bella will be free. Is tonight too soon?"

I breathe out in relief as Angela mutters, "Um…no? I mean, no. Tonight's fine."

I give her a thumbs-up and we finish up the rather awkward call that just took place.

The rest of the day is slow, and I know it's because I won't get to see Edward again until tomorrow. I walk out of work somewhat depressed but cheer up immensely when I see Tanya waiting beside my car. She smiles and pulls me in for a hug and asks if we should take dinner or anything to Angela's. I call Angela and Ben tells me that she's fixing enough food for an army…and he asks if Tanya is allergic to any fruit. I ask and tell him no and he explains that Angela doesn't know anything about her, except that Edward said she must have choked on a piece of fruit today.

I smile, because even though Angela was sure that she hated Tanya, she still wants to make her feel welcome. So typical of her.

Tanya decides that it's best to get the whole thing out of the way first…and that we can hopefully enjoy the dinner that Angela has made for us without awkward tension weaving its way through the room.

I could have predicted it, but there really was no reason. I just knew that Ben and Angela would both feel awful for Tanya when they found out the truth. Angela burst into tears when Tanya told her about walking in on Felix and Gianna, and then again when she told her about trying to be there for Felix at his father's funeral. All of our faces turned red as Tanya retold all of the rumors that she had heard about herself and when she began to apologize for what Angela had to walk in on, Angela abruptly cut her off.

"I'm so sorry," Angela wailed. She rose from her seat and dropped to the floor in front of Tanya. Grabbing one of Tanya's hands between both of hers, she asked, "Will you ever be able to forgive me for being so judgmental?"

Tanya smiled her gentle smile and told her, "There was never anything to forgive. I'm sorry for making you cry, though."

That makes Angela cry harder, "You're so…nice!"

I laugh because, she really is nice-Angela's just realized it. They both look at me and Tanya joins in my laughter, which eventually leads to Ben joining and finally, Angela.

Tanya sobers up a bit and tells them, "I really didn't mean to make you cry, I am sorry."

Angela stands up and puts her hands on her hips as she sends Tanya a mock glare. In typical Angela fashion, she says, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion!"

~*~

"God! I wish I'd been there," Edward complained to me on the phone later that night.

I laugh, "Damn international calls."

He sighs, "No joke. It was boring as hell, I'd much rather had been there to watch what happened."

"So…"

He chuckles, "So? Hey-what are you doing this weekend? Mom was thinking about another barbeque…"

I gasp, "A barbeque, huh? I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

"Barbeques at the Cullen house usually lead to me meeting handsome men…and I've sworn off relationships for the moment."

Edward growls, "There better not be any meeting of handsome men at my parent's house…"

I roll my eyes, "Edward…you do realize that I was talking about you, don't you?"

He doesn't say anything for a minute, and then he chuckles, "I think my brain is fried-it really did take me a sec to realize what you meant."

My brow furrows, "You've had a long day. I should let you go."

"No!" His voice is quick and breathless. "No, I swear I'll perk up in a minute." When he speaks again, his voice is deep and husky, "I'm not ready to tell you goodnight."

"But you're tired-"

"I just haven't been sleeping much. I'm okay, angel. Swear."

A pout forms on my lips, "Why?"

"I think that spending that last night in Forks with you spoiled me. Nothing smells like you here, and it's distracting me."

I laugh, "My smell not being there distracts you? Really? It's your smell, not the lack thereof that distracts me-"

Did I really just say that? That's so embarrassing!

"Really? You like the way I smell, huh?"

"Um…I meant-"

"It's okay, angel. I love the way you smell, too. I think I told you that once."

And really, I can't help it when my eyes roll back into my head. I'm thinking about the night that he told me how I smelled and how much he liked it. Everything we did that night and the next morning…

"I seem to remember that." My voice is deep again.

You can hear his smirk when he talks, "I remember it perfectly."

And then something occurs to me about the day after, and I want to know. If we hadn't been interrupted…would we have had sex-sex? Would he have stopped himself from burying all the way inside of me? Would he have stopped after one thrust or two? I have to know. "Hey…if Angela hadn't-"

"Yes."

"Oh."

I can hear rustling on his end of the phone. "Does that bother you?"

The tone of his voice has me rubbing my legs together, unconsciously. "No."

There's more rustling on the line, I wonder what he's doing. It almost sounds like…sheets moving. "Are you in bed?"

My breath catches when his deep voice answers, "Yes."

"Oh."

Oh!

"Are you…naked?" My voice is no higher than a whisper.

A deep, breathless chuckle answers before he does. "Mhm."

"Oh."

Edward, naked in his bed…talking to me on the phone…naked…rustling his sheets-oh!

"Are you…"

"Yes," he groans.

My breath hitches and my hand flies to my mouth. Edward is touching himself while talking to me! Oh my God!

"Bella," he whispers but it sounds like a moan. "Talk to me."

My hand moves from my mouth and my eyes close as it lands on my right breast. I squeeze and breathlessly tell him, "I remember your mouth on me."

"Yes," he hisses. "Fuck, you taste good. Your nipples feel like…silk."

I can hear the rustling get louder and I move my hand lower, beneath my shorts and further. My middle finger finds my clit and I tell him, "Your tongue felt like silk on them. Your teeth…"

"Mm," he groans. "Yes, angel. Fucking most perfect, most pink, most fucking…mm…perfect…"

I gasp at the sound of his voice and my mind takes me to the next morning. I'm imagining him sliding into me. He was so slow and controlled and he felt fucking amazing inside of me. "Yes," I hiss. "Yes, Edward…you fit fucking perfect."

He groans again, this time louder than the last. "Fuck, angel…you're thinking about me inside of you? Oh, fuck…tell me you are…"

"Yes," I moan; pushing my finger harder and speeding up my movements even more. The thought of Edward sliding into me combined with the sound of his voice through the phone and the memory of his breath blowing in my ear, is running through my head. Edward not even all the way in…Edward against me…Edward…"You…inside…me…"

"Oh, fuck, Bella…are you touching yourself? Tell me you are…tell me you're touching yourself, angel…"

"Mhm," I moan to him. My finger has finally reached the right amount of pressure and friction and I know I'm gonna come.

"Oh, God," he groans. "That's so fucking hot, angel. Oh, fuck…"

My finger stills as my orgasm explodes through me. I just hold it there and relish the stars shooting behind my eyes and the warmth that has spread through my body and the buzz flowing through my head. My mouth makes some kind of indistinguishable noise and I hear Edward's answering noise on the other end of the phone. Then the sultry groan that comes right after that. I lie there, listening to his breathing even out and trying to make my own do the same.

After a few minutes, he chuckles. "Um…"

I blush, even knowing he can't see me. "Yeah…"

He quiets his chuckles. "Are you mad?"

His voice was a whisper. Is he ashamed? "Why would I be mad?"

He takes a deep breath, "I kinda felt like I pressured you into that…"

I giggle, "Uh-no. You technically just answered my questions." Is he mad? Was that what I heard? "Are you? Mad?"

"What? No. Fuck no!" He laughed, "I'd say I'm about as opposite of mad as one can get."

I sigh, "Men are so easy."

"Damn straight."

Laughter bubbles from me. "Did you plan that?"

Edward joins in my laughter. "I wish-I'm not that fucking smart."

We just lay there and listened to each other laugh for a little while longer, relishing in the sounds of the other. Eventually, he asked, "Was that okay? I mean, it wasn't…was it? I mean, friends don't do that-"

"Edward," I laughed, "I don't know. But, I'm gonna tell you-I don't really care. Ben said for us to grow into a relationship. And while I think it's pretty dumb that I'm 23 years old, and I have to get relationship advice from my best friends' husband who is a therapist…I mean, he obviously knows what he's talking about. And personally? I think that what we just did is…"

"Natural progression? Okay, little miss smarty-pants. I get it. So," he hesitates, "would you attending my parent's barbeque with me this weekend be a date or a friendly outing?"

Date?! Um…

"Um…"

"Friendly outing, then. When you can answer that question without having to think about it, then we'll call it a date."

~*~

"He asked you, right? 'Cause Mom said that you have to come anyway, but she said that Edward should ask you. If he hasn't-"

"Yeah, he did," I cut Angela off. She'd just walked in to work and had yet to go back to her office. She'd walked right up to my desk and started babbling about the barbeque, straight away. I've been short with everyone all morning long and I really don't want to be ugly to her, but her voice is just grating on my nerves right now. "I'll be there, don't worry."

She looks at me, concern written all over her face. "Bella? Is everything okay? You and my brother didn't have a fight, did you?"

I shake my head at her. "No, we didn't have a fight. There's just…"

"What?"

I look at her and ask, "Do you have a key to Edward's condo?"

Her brows furrow and her lips form a tiny pout. "Um…yeah? Why?"

It's something that has been bothering me since we'd had our moment, the other night on the phone. Edward had said that he couldn't sleep. He said he couldn't sleep because my smell wasn't there. I wanted to remedy that, but I knew that he wouldn't just invite me to spend the night. We weren't ready for that, our slip aside, and we both knew it. There was some crazy, sexual tension rolling off of both of us, but we just weren't there yet. That night on the phone, I meant what I said to him-I didn't see a problem with what we had done. I really did see it as some kind of…natural progression, like Edward said. But I knew that if we were to surround ourselves with a bed, well we would go past that friendship marker in our lives. Hands were kept to ourselves on the phone. If he'd been standing in front of me though…

So, I'm enlisting Angela's help. If she doesn't think I'm completely crazy.

"I'd like you to let me borrow it."

She bites her bottom lip and her eyes show her amusement. "'Kay. Why?"

My eyes widen because, was it really that easy? "Because?"

Her grin is mischievous as she answers. "'Kay. I don't want to know, anyway. But! I'm telling Ben!"

The sing-song voice she used has me laughing. "Tell away, I'm not going there to do anything naughty."

"Ugh," she wrinkles her nose. "You know? I really don't want to know. Here." She hands me the key and then points at me. "The code is 1901. Don't forget."

I smile, brightly at her. "Thanks, Angela!"

She mutters something that sounds a lot like 'can't believe my brother is boning my best friend' before turning on her heel and marching back toward the offices. I laugh as she turns the corner and knocks right into Edward's friend, James. She scowls at him and he chuckles in return. After shoving him aside, she resumes stomping back. I shake my head at her and James stops in front of my desk.

I look at him and he raises his eyebrows, "Bella, how've you been?"

I smile at him, "Not bad. Yourself? How's Victoria?"

His eyes crinkle as he smiles, "She's wonderful. Me too, thanks for asking."

I nod and smile at him again, "Tell her I said hello."

"Will do," he replies. He shoves his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels. "I feel really awkward telling you this, but…I feel kind of obligated."

My brow furrows, "Yeah?"

He nods, "I've never seen Edward like this. Never, not even when he thought he was happy with Gianna."

The smile that's reserved just for Edward pops onto my face. "He makes me happy, too."

"Tanya was right," he mutters, shaking his head. "She said that smile tells all. About how you feel about Edward."

A blush rises to my cheeks. I point a finger at my cheeks and shyly tell him, "Open book."

James chuckles, "Only when you smile, Bella. Anyway," his sigh is exaggerated. He rolls his eyes and smiles again, "I wanted to tell you that. And…you hurt him? Victoria hurts you. He's like my brother. And she's my wife, so if she has to hurt herself punching you…I'm going to be mad."

I purse my lips together, trying to keep a serious look on my face. But, really? That's so cute! Edward's best friend giving me the big brother speech! I clear my throat to stop the giggle, "I will do my damndest to keep you from being mad."

James smirks at me, "Smart girl. Anyway-I gotta go back to my office now. Everyone at this one is crazy…"

I laugh and wave at him as he leaves. And promptly pout, when I realize that I have three more hours before lunch…and I want to go to Edward's condo. Like, now.

~*~

I really shouldn't be surprised that Edward's condo is as nice as it is. I mean, the word condo just kinda sounds nice. And most people associate a condo with being nicer than just any old house or apartment. Even with all of my preconceived notions about condos-I was still shocked when I walked inside of Edward's.

Esme got a hold of this place…

The walls were decked in beige, flat paint-the only warmth in the room. Everywhere I turned there was black. Black furniture, black wood, dark, almost black-stained hardwood on the floors. The only exception was the walls, and the collection of silver, shiny figurines that adorned the tables. One whole side of the condo itself was solid glass, tinted to keep anyone from seeing in but not so dark that you couldn't see the view. Downtown Jacksonville was staring right back at me, and I just stood there in awe looking at it from here. You could see it so clearly, you felt like you were there-except you couldn't hear a thing. There was no road traffic noise or noisy neighbors or anything. You could hear a pin drop from anywhere in this condo and it would be clear as day, but the population outside? Nothing from them.

The couches were all soft, almost velvety feeling leather. The room had an air of new to it, but the leather looked worn and almost old inside of it. The wood around the edges was the same black wood as the rest of the furniture, but there were no nicks to mar its surface. The same was noticeable on the tables around the room; the design was simple, clean, and boxy yet sleek as well. They were completely clear of any kind of misuse or wear. I felt overwhelmed.

I moved slowly through the room to his kitchen. Of course it was new. And perfect and beautiful and everything wonderful that was meant for a kitchen to be. The appliances were all new and dark toned stainless steel. The floors were the same dark hardwood as the living room area and the walls were the same beige. The cabinetry was black wood with glass fronts and you could see all of his china lined up neatly behind each of the cabinet doors. My hand ran over the smooth, beige, marble countertops and I think I gasped.

Shaking my head, I moved past the kitchen through the hallway to the first door. Bingo! Edward's bedroom.

The king size bed is obviously the main focal point and I can't do anything but stand there and stare at it, almost hyperventilating. The sheets are still down from Edward sleeping in it last night and I'm temporarily sidetracked by that image. My eyes roam over the black sheets and I'm moving forward. This is what I came for.

Sliding my shoes off, I slip into his bed. The sheets are so incredibly soft. I lay my head on his pillow and the smell of Edward penetrates my senses. I turn my head into the pillow and inhale deeply. I open my eyes and smile, turning over onto my back and swishing my head over his pillow. I pull the covers up and turn to the alarm clock on the bedside table. I set the alarm for forty-five minutes from now and snuggle in. I don't think I'll fall asleep but, I don't want to risk it.

I close my eyes and try to conjure up Edward's voice in my head. It's easier than I thought it might be, but then I realize that Edward's voice…really hasn't left my head. Not since that night at Angela's house. Maybe before that, but I was too deaf to hear it then. My head plays his voice on a loop; he tells me he loves me and he says my name and he whispers angel to me. My smile is out of control, all of my teeth are visible, and I'm sure. I'm suddenly very glad to be alone in Edward's condo…I wouldn't want anyone to see this smile.

I rustle my hair a little more on his pillow and close my eyes to Edward's voice. The next thing I know, Edward's alarm goes off and my eyes pop open from the very refreshing, very frustrating dream that I've been having about Edward and me in this bed.

I jump up, scrambling to put my shoes on-I've overslept the alarm by ten minutes. I shut it off and haul out of the condo, just barely remembering to enter the code again, in my rush. I make it back to work one minute late and Angela is waiting there for me, smirk firmly in place. I smiled, guiltily at her and walk past her to sit at my desk.

Handing her they key back, I tell her, "Thanks for that."

"Ew! You went during your lunch break? Gross!"

I roll my eyes at her, "I told you I wouldn't do anything naughty."

She leans forward. "Then what did you do?"

I smiled and shrugged. "I took a nap."

Her brows furrowed as she thought about what I'd said. She blushed and looked down, smiling as she says, "Will I need to tell him you were at his condo?"

I laughed, "If you're asking if your brother was there, the answer is no." I shrugged. "He said he wasn't sleeping well…he said he missed my smell. Not that smell, either. You sick, twisted pervert."

"Oh," she gasps. "Oh! Aw! That's so sweet!"

I blush and shrug and she turns to go back to her office, pleased with my response. I pull out my cell phone and text Edward:

Make sure you re-set your alarm.

He responds immediately.

Huh? Why?

I grin as I text back.

Your sheets are incredibly soft, btw.

I wait five full minutes for a response.

Please…Please…Tell me you were in between my sheets today…

My grin widens to the point that it almost hurts.

Sweet dreams, Edward.