I'm crouched down behind the counter putting away all the clean coffee cups and saucers when Waylon says, "Some girl is here to see you, Bella. She's…weird."

"Says the man with Alex P. Keaton on his van," I mumble. "Is it your sister?"

"Nah," he says, chuckling. "She's over at Newton's making out with Em."

"Ewww. Gross."

"You started it."

I stand up and wipe my hand on my jeans. When I look across the room, Alice is sitting at the table in the far back corner – Edward's table. I wave at her and then grab a pot of coffee before heading over.

As I round the corner, the door opens, and Edward walks in.

I stop.

Right in my tracks.

If I weren't so happy to see him, I'd probably be embarrassed. Well, I am a little embarrassed anyway, but he doesn't seem to mind. He just smiles briefly before looking back down.

"Hey," I say.

I wonder why seeing him always reduces me to one syllable words. And then I remember that he's perfect. With gorgeous green eyes and soft lips that I've actually kissed. And oh, my god! I have to stop doing a physical inventory of him while he's standing right in front of me!

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or whatever, but I didn't know that you were going to come by today."

He laughs, which is good since I need to take this moment to tell myself to shut the fuck up.

"Uhh…yeah…well, I…uhh sort of…" he stammers. "I mean, I sort of saw Alice after school, and she told me she was coming."

"I don't mind."

We stand there looking between each other and the ground for a hundred years before I remember that I'm working. I take him over to the table and he sits down across from Alice.

Alice basically glares at Edward and then smiles at me.

"I told him that we had plans," she says, "but he looked so pathetic I told him he could come, too."

"He's not pathetic," I say in this voice that is far too dreamy to not be anything except humiliating. I don't look at him – I can't. Instead, I quickly straighten myself up and flip the coffee cups on the table over. "Coffee?"

"Perfect," Alice says, while Edward tells me, "Thanks."

"So, what time do you get off?" Alice asks, while I fill their cups.

"In about an hour and a half."

"Great." She throws her bag on the seat in the corner of the booth. "Hey, do you have a bathroom in this place?"

"Yeah. Down the hall on your left."

When she stands up, she winks at me, and promptly rolls her eyes. And I try not to laugh as I turn back to Edward, who is staring at me intently.

It makes me tingle.

It makes me want to go on break and take him outside and kiss him.

But of course, I remember that I'm letting him lead. And hopefully he will lead me to at least second base soon.

I look around and everything seems okay. And I'm pretty sure that Sue can cover the floor for the next few minutes. I sit down right across from him. I want to reach out and touch his hand, but I'm nervous. So, I just place mine on the table in case he decides that he wants to do the same thing.

He does, and I die just a little more. I'm pretty sure if we continue with this…relationship, I'll be dead before I can get the hell out of Forks.

"So?" he asks expectantly.

"Sue's gonna do it."

"Yeah?"

His smile is so genuine that all the butterflies in the world explode in my stomach.

"Yeah."

"So, how long will we have?"

I look around to make sure no one's looking. For a minute, I think Sue is, but she quickly turns her head back to her customer. I'm just nervous and probably imagining things.

"Well, I was supposed to work until ten, so that will give us six hours."

"Really?"

I nod, more excited than I've been all week. And even I understand that's saying something.

"And you're okay with…missing work or whatever?"

"Well, I'm gonna pick up her shift on Saturday. Charlie is off anyway, and I wouldn't be able to sneak away while he's home."

He looks around before threading his fingers through mine again.

"I can't wait to see you," he says. "You know…alone."

And the way he says it gives me all the hope in the world. I squeeze his hand a little, but then he does something he's never done before. He rubs his thumb back and forth across my palm. It feels almost illicit.

"You're not gonna take me to a cemetery again, are you?"

He laughs. And he's still rubbing my palm.

"No," he says softly. "I was thinking…I mean, I don't know if you'll want to. Well, what I mean is that I was hoping I could bring you over to my house this time. My dad is going to be in Port Angeles with his girlfriend. And we would…you know, have the place to ourselves."

My heart is suddenly pounding in my chest.

I can't breathe.

"All night?"

My voice is small. It doesn't even sound like me.

"All night."

I look at him for a million seconds, wondering if he can feel my pulse inside my hand. His green eyes are darker now – they almost seem knowing. I feel myself flush all over. And I know that this time, it's not from embarrassment. This time, it's something more.

"I can't wait."

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Please leave me some.

I love Marvar more than sneaky ideas that lead to secret dates.

And ILY all, too!