Disclaimer: Characters and anything familiar are S. Meyers. Reviewers get a preview.

Twenty-Five

"Do we have to listen to this poppy shit? It's making my ears bleed." Rosalie's voice was harsh as she reached for the iPod docked on the dashboard of the Volvo.

Alice smacked her hand away. "We can't all be cool and listen to raging death metal like you."

"It's the only thing that makes Emmett as crazy as I get when he plays that God awful booty rap he loves so much," Rosalie protested.

"I'm driving. My music." Rosalie huffed a sigh, turning in her seat to gaze out the window. In doing so, she gave me a view of her beautiful profile from the back seat.

I had to agree with Rosalie. It did kind of sound like chipmunks crossed with overexcited German DJs. I didn't think Alice would appreciate the comment, though, her gaze determined as she navigated the still snowy roads towards Port Angeles. Edward had protested the shopping trip but Alice had quickly shut him down with the winning suggestion, "Why don't you and Emmett and Jasper meet us up there for dinner? By then, we'll have satisfied our jonesing for shopping."

I'd raised a brow at her inclusion of me in that 'we' since I'd never jonesed for shopping a day in my life. Her narrowed eyes and the set of her jaw kept me from speaking up, though. It was clear coming between Alice and a post-Christmas shopping trip was something only a crazy person would attempt.

Winter break had largely passed in a lazy haze that made me doubt my life was real. Could I be so happy? All the time? I spent every day with Edward, mostly at his house in order to keep my dad from grumbling too much; I figured keeping Edward out of sight and therefore mostly out of my dad's mind was the best I could do—even if it meant I was rarely home.

That wasn't entirely to Edward's preference. Alice chose that exact moment to remind me why.

"So have you and Edward gone all the way yet?"

"For fuck's sake, Alice, he's your brother!" I might have been grateful that Rosalie responded before I could—if I wasn't so busy sputtering and trying to look anywhere but at the driver's seat of the car.

"So? He's never had a girlfriend. I'm invested in his happiness."

"Like hell you are! Meddling little know-it-all."

I knew my face was on fire and pressed my hands to my cheeks, trying to cool them. Alice's question took me back to the first Monday of the break, waking up with a grin knowing I didn't have to go to school—that the week stretched out in front of me free of any classes, any need to avoid Lauren in gym or Mike in the halls, any note scribbling or test-taking. I'd bounded into the kitchen in my sweats and hoodie and nearly skidded onto my ass on the tile. I always forgot not to do that in socks.

I cleaned the mug Charlie had used before he'd headed to work, then set to making the biggest, sickest breakfast I'd ever cooked. It wouldn't matter if I was in a food coma for the rest of the day because I had no where to be.

I had just piled hash browns, apple sausage, eggs and toast onto my plate when there was a knock at the front door. I set the plate down on the table, swearing when a sausage made a run for it, rolling over my fingers and onto the floor. I was reaching for it when another knock, more insistent, sounded on the door. Only one person would get so impatient so quickly. Grumbling under my breath I told the sausage to stay put as I left the kitchen.

Edward's expression registered surprise when I opened the door, his eyes going wide and his jaw dropping. "What?" I asked, pulling the tip of my pointer finger out of my mouth. It still had grease on it from the stupid sausage.

"What are you trying to do to me?" He pushed through the door and picked me up bodily off of the floor, kicking the door shut behind him.

"Wha…?" He took my breath away, burying his face in my neck, his arms tight around my waist as he carried me into the living room. "Edward…" I breathed as he lowered us both to the sofa, his body pressing mine into the cushions. His mouth was on mine, cutting off further words or thoughts, so warm and wet.

I pushed my hands into his hair, turning my head to give him easier access to my mouth, hungry in a far different way than I had been when I got up that morning. I whimpered when his hands left my waist but realized as he shifted his weight that he was shrugging out of his coat. His hands soon returned to my hips, pushing up the hem of my hoodie and burning into the soft skin of my belly.

Edward's mouth moved to my throat, fingers fighting with the zip of the hoodie, before trailing down my collar bone, the sensation like butterflies and flames all at once. "Edward," I sighed again, threading my fingers in his hair, caressing his scalp. His lips were pushing at the edge of my camisole at the same time his hands were rucking up the hem, the tips of his fingers brushing the undersides of my breasts. I squirmed beneath him, then moaned as the motion put me in contact with the knee he had braced between my legs.

"Fuck," he exhaled, tearing his mouth from my skin and resting his forehead against my heart. The only sound was our heavy breathing and the thump of blood in my ears.

We weren't in a freezing car on the side of the road. Nor were we in the middle of the woods with a broken snowshoe. "Why did you stop?" I barely had the courage to ask, the words an embarrassed whisper.

Edward lifted his head, his green eyes surprised as he stared down at me. I couldn't imagine how I looked, lips bruised and damp, my hair a mess. "We're in the living room…" he finally offered weakly, his eyes drifting to my mouth.

"My bedroom is upstairs."

If it was possible for eyeballs to get whiplash, Edward's would have needed a neck brace, swinging back from my mouth to my eyes, the surprise replaced by utter disbelief. "I don't mean…that." My cheeks were flaming and it was my turn to look away, fingers plucking nervously at the collar of his shirt. "…I just don't want to…stop."

I didn't have to ask twice. Edward swung me into his arms as if I weighed nothing and practically flew up the stairs.

"She might want advice!" Alice's voice was shrill, defending her curiosity. Her blue eyes darted to the rearview mirror, lasers on my blushing face. "You've never had a boyfriend, right?"

I shook my head dumbly, my hands still plastered to my cheeks, willing the blood to subside.

"So what!?" Rosalie blazed, ignoring me. "You are making me so glad Emmett and I did it before you and Jasper."

"Only because Emmett is unacquainted with the concept of patience," Alice sniffed.

"Alice, can I introduce you to a Mr. Pot? He'd like to meet your kettle." Rosalie's sarcasm was short-lived before she was blazing again. "You're the one who pressured Jasper! He told me about the porn you just happened to have playing on your computer to get him all hot under the collar--"

"Oh my God." I don't know that either one of them heard me but it didn't matter. I closed my eyes, trying to push the image of Alice and Jasper and porn out of my head.

"I can't believe he told you about that!" Alice's shriek was indignant.

"He's my brother!"

Though he'd moved with almost violent urgency up the stairs, Edward was beyond gentle as he laid me on my narrow bed. His green eyes were reverent but the tense line of his jaw spoke volumes about his restraint. I pulled my arms free from the sleeves of my hoodie, smiling as he kneeled on the bed, then covered my body with his.

Edward's hands were everywhere, his mouth moving over mine. I clutched his back, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt until I had it open enough to thrust my fingers under the fabric and over the hot satin of his skin. I couldn't get lost in the feeling of him for long, moaning as his hands found my breasts, fingers pressing into the flesh, moving frantically to the hem of my camisole to feel them with no barrier.

I sighed into his lips, arching my back into his touch, smiling when he groaned and moved his mouth to my jaw. "Bella…" The tips of his fingers just brushed my nipples before he pulled his hands away, as if it were too much.

That same whining noise escaped my mouth and his breath was a frustrated sigh against my throat. He stilled for a moment, thinking. Then, as if to prove a point, he moved his hands down the back of my sweats, cupping my ass and pulling me briefly against the very obvious evidence of his desire.

If Edward thought to deter or frighten me, he was to be proven wrong. After a moment's hesitation, I lifted my hips and pushed into his hardness—then sucked in a breath at the sensation and his responding growl. Filled with determination, wanting it again, I put my feet flat on the bed and arched towards him, insistent. "Edward…"

"He was too much of a gentleman! If I hadn't taken the initiative, we'd still be dry-humping and you'd still be bitching about how there's never any hot water because he's taking so many showers--"

"So now 'taking the initiative' means having lesbian porn running on a loop?" Rosalie's voice was arch and I reminded myself for the thousandth time never to cross her.

"They weren't real lesbians." I could see Alice chewing her lip as we approached the city limits of Port Angeles. "And I just know Edward has that same backwards gentleman bullshit mentality…"

"So you're going to suggest Bella show him some porn to get him over it?" Rosalie scoffed.

"I don't own any porn," I weakly protested. Neither one of them paid any attention to me.

"Nooooo." Alice dragged out the word sarcastically, as if that should be obvious.

"Then all you're really doing is trying to dig up dirt," Rosalie fumed, losing her temper again.

"I don't even know where to get porn," I added, my voice growing a little louder.

"I am not! I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly!"

"Oh my Christ!" Rosalie threw up her hands. "What are you going to do?! Referee?"

"Ooo, I could buy a whistle!" Alice laughed.

"Can we stop talking about this now?" I was now nearly shouting and they both turned in their seats to stare at me. "About porn, and kettles, and everything! Please?"

Alice's expression was faintly surprised. "For now," she finally replied, turning back to the road. There was a beat of silence before she was squealing as the shopping district came into view. I exhaled with relief and hoped that being in public around total strangers might deter the conversation from continuing.

This mostly proved to be true until we turned a corner in the very same department store where I'd run into Alice and Rosalie so many weeks ago, and found ourselves in the lingerie section. The conversation had been a blur of heels versus wedges, the classic look of the French manicure, and the resurgence of the bouffant but it instantly stopped when Alice spotted the yards of lace covered racks. She stopped as if someone had shot her and then nearly flung herself onto a table covered in thongs.

Rosalie, though not as dramatic, moved with a determined expression deeper into the department, soon disappearing among racks of ruffly nightgowns.

I was about to beat a quick retreat, knowing this could only end awkwardly, when Alice rushed towards me with an excited smile. "We have to get you some things!"

"Alice, no." I felt the blood drain from my face and took a step back but her hand was on my arm. How could such a small person be so strong?

"Bella, it doesn't hurt to at least look!"

"That's what you said before you tried to convince me to buy that hoodie."

"I thought you liked hoodies!"

"It was pink. Bright, Sanrio pink." I had never worn the color in my life.

"What color would you have preferred?" Alice was stifling a pout. I wasn't sure if she was offended at my disliking the color or my refusal to take her fashion advice.

"I don't know…" I looked down at my corduroys. "Brown, maybe?"

Alice sighed loudly, rolling her blue eyes. "You can't buy brown lingerie!"

"Who said I was buying lingerie?!" I protested, gawking at her.

"We've got to do something to move you and Edward along!"

Rosalie saved me again, appearing at Alice's side, her arms laden with hangers. She took one look at my beet-red cheeks and wryly turned to Alice. "I have a feeling they don't need any help, Alice."

Alice, who had been examining the thongs, looked up at my face. I couldn't meet her eyes but, before my gaze darted away, I saw understanding dawning there.

Edward and I had stayed in my room for what felt like the blink of an eye, the only sound whispered words and harsh breathing, fumbling over and under clothes, exploring. As before, Edward was the one to finally put a stop to things, burying his face in my neck, panting as if he'd run miles. "Bella…I can't—not if you want to stop."

I had nodded, equally breathless, caressing his nape, luxuriating in the feel of his weight on top of me. I knew I wasn't ready to go farther as much as I hated having to stop. It wasn't fair to push him, though, so I gently kissed his cheek and shifted. He understood, rolling away from me.

I climbed reluctantly to my feet, a hand at my hair, pulling out the elastic and trying to smooth it back into a pony tail. "You're so beautiful."

Edward was propped up on his elbows on my narrow bed, green eyes frankly admiring. I blushed, certain he was insane. My rumpled sweets and tank top were the farthest thing from beautiful—I hadn't even showered yet. "You must need glasses," I replied, grabbing my hoodie from the floor.

"When you answered the door like that, with your finger in your mouth--" He stopped, looking away from me, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

I blushed again, then gasped, a hand flying to my mouth.

"What?" Edward was off the bed instantly, at my side.

"My breakfast will be cold by now!" There was a pause and then his laughter filled the room.

Rosalie's voice was amused as she dragged Alice towards the dressing rooms. "I have a feeling Edward doesn't need any motivation, Miss Meddler." I slumped into one of the overly feminine armchairs that sat nearby, a refuge for the husbands and boyfriends that were dragged into a department that was--and was not--for them.

Rosalie didn't know how right she was. Edward had wanted to come by the house all week but I'd made sure I was dressed and ready to go every time he appeared. It wasn't that I didn't want to lose myself for hours…kissing, touching…I felt my face flaming and sank my head into my hands, hoping no one passing by could read my thoughts. More than anything, I didn't trust myself. I knew Edward would stop if I asked him to…but stopping was the last thing on my mind. And it felt so soon to go so far…

At least, at his house, there were always so many people around that there wasn't a chance of things getting out of control. Or, if I were being honest, for me to lose my head and do something I wasn't ready for.

I shook my head, feeling my hair fall over my shoulders, obscuring my face. There was no one around but these thoughts made me feel like hiding. There was something so backwards about how serious things felt when I considered how little I knew him. But for small glimpses, bits of stories, I knew nothing of Edward's past. I stared down at my fingers, biting my lip with consternation. In truth, I knew more about Alice than I did the guy I was calling my boyfriend.

I recalled the story he'd told the night of the solstice, breaking into the abandoned house on the military base. Even how he'd presented it, as this light-hearted escapade that had partly contributed to the decision to move here, was misleading. And of course he'd offered no details on what those other contributing factors might have been. It was maddening.

Part of me believed one of the things he liked about me was that I didn't pry and neither did I jump to conclusions. I accepted people at face value, very much like my father. But that practice was truly leaving me in the dark with him.

"I leave you for ten minutes and you go all emo and brooding on me." Alice interrupted my thoughts, a hint of concern tinging her bright voice.

Rosalie rescued me again from having to respond to Alice's curiosity, her voice sardonically dismissive. "Then she really is perfect for Edward."