Sorry about the delay. I somehow got it in my head that I was posting this on Friday. The heat is making my stupid, I guess. Thanks to BellaEdwardfan1 for reminding me. Many thanks to Beachomberlc and JulieToo for their help with this chapter. Any errors are my own but I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 26

"Leave it alone, Edward. I don't want to talk about it." Edward stepped to the side, still staring at Bella. He shuffled through the pamphlets and started to read one of them out loud.

"Our one month intensive plan guarantees a loss of twenty pounds, on average for our most dedicated clients. Our first week's cleanse is specially formatted for the area you wish to target. With personal trainers available to you twenty-four hours a day we promise there will be no opportunity to cheat or snack. By the end of your month's stay you will be able to see a new and better you in the mirror. No more chubby thighs or ugly poochy tummy. Your new and improved physique will not only lead to a better life, but a hotter sex life."

Edward dropped the pamphlet with disgust.

"You've got to be kidding me. It's a fucking fat camp for grownups. This shit doesn't work. It's a scam. And you don't need anything like this. No one needs anything this drastic and cruel."

"I never said I needed it, or that I even wanted to go."

"So, what—someone just came up to you and handed it to you? Who would do that? And what about these other things? The eyes and teeth?"

"No more. Just drop it." Bella grabbed the papers out of his hands and stuffed them back in the drawer. She picked up Edward's coat from the door knob and tried to hand it to him.

"I think we're done for today. Thanks for the help, but I'd like to be by myself now."

"Please don't shut me out, Bella." Edward pulled her to him and held her tightly.

Bella didn't cry or protest his embrace. After a few minutes, Edward began to sway. A few more moments Bella and was dancing with him, shuffling around to whatever rhythm was in Edward's brain. The cadence seem familiar but Bella couldn't quite place it. Edward hummed for a bit, then broke out into a series of na,na,nas. Bella sucked in a breath. She couldn't believe the song he was singing and dancing them to; it was their first song together, Weighty Ghost. Edward hummed a little bit more and then pulled back to look her dead in the eye.

'I don't need no surgery, keep those knives away from me,

I just want to die in my own body, a ghost just needs a home.'

"Whoever's been chipping away at you with these pamphlets is turning you into a ghost, Bella. What happened to the fierce woman who ripped me to shreds with her words? The strong, confident woman who travelled Southeast Asia by herself? The brilliant mind who wrote all of my catalogue?"

Bella took a step back and sat on the air mattress.

"Alice gave me the first one, the Lasik. I had mentioned an interest and she knew a good place. Sam saw it and jumped on the bandwagon. I guess he thought he was being helpful, but I really didn't appreciate the way he went about it. I don't know why he's even with me if he finds so much wrong with me, my teeth, my waistline and my wrinkles." Bella flung herself back on the bed, bouncing slightly.

"I'm still in my mid-twenties, damn it. I don't have any wrinkles. And even if I did, who cares? Wrinkles would just show that I lived, I smiled and frowned, showing emotion. Why is that a bad thing?"

"Well?" Edward stood over the bed and looked down at her. She looked lovely. "Why are you with him? He's an ass."

Bella lifted her head and glared at Edward before giggling.

"He really is, isn't he?" She sniffed and wiped under her eyes. "But he wasn't at first. He was charming and sweet. He listened to me. I thought he was different. But I seem to attract real winners. I think I should stop trying, stop dating and just live my life alone."

Edward perched on the end of the bed and waited for her to continue.

"I've only been back and dating for a few months, but if this is representative of the dating pool, I'm getting out of the water. Or perhaps it's just this city. Maybe I need to expand my horizons somewhere else."

He flopped back on the bed, lying beside her, his head held up by his hands. Bella threw both arms across her face to block out the light. She could feel his eyes on her, judging her and most likely finding her coming up short. Their friendship was good for her. Alice was too busy growing a baby and Rose was too in love to talk to. However, her friendship with Edward was another reminder of her complete failure when it came to the male of the species. He was her biggest and most spectacular malfunction. Edward had changed though, he was no longer that frat boy asshole who ran over her heart and flattened it. They were much better as friends and Bella was comfortable with that much. The height of the pedestal she'd placed him on had leveled out and she felt on an even plane with him, although she knew he held her to a much more lofty position. Bella knew he wanted her, but she struggled with wondering if he wanted her, the real her, or the idealized version he had created over the years. Or if he just wanted her carnally, that was another possibility.

When they first met, the balance of power had tilted in his direction. Bella hadn't known how to fight for herself or how to protect her heart. She was too young and naive and she'd let him rule. However, now she was not as quick to give her heart. And she wanted to give her heart to someone who would look after it, cherish it. Bella wanted a lover and a partner. She wanted forever.

"I'd miss you if you left again." Edward brought her out of her thoughts and back to the here and now.

"And really, you've only just started looking. Maybe you need more time or a better pool of suitors. What do they say? You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find a prince?"

Bella huffed. "Do you know how hard it was for me to open up enough to start seeing anyone? Do you know how many nice guys I turned down over the years to protect myself?"

"Because of me? Because of what I did to you?"

"No, Edward, not just you, because of every guy I've known in my life. I blame Charlie for giving me exceptionally high expectations of how a man should treat the woman he cares for and every other guy I've met since for ruining them. But I want what my mom had; I want my Charlie. I want a man who looks at me like I'm the sun and the moon and every star in between. But I also want someone realistic. I'm well aware my farts stink, I don't want someone telling me I smell like roses all the time. I know my teeth are crooked and I could get them fixed, but I'm not sure it's worth the pain or money for something purely cosmetic. I could get contacts or lasik and stop wearing glasses. My crooked teeth and bad eyes don't bother me one bit. Why should I waste my time on someone who is bothered by them? I know I'm not beautiful, but I'm kind and smart. I want someone who will honour those parts of me. Where is that frog prince?"

It felt good to say it all out loud. She felt freer, lighter.

"What if he's right here, under your nose? What if it took him longer than expected to turn into a prince? Maybe it's not instantaneous, but more gradual. Maybe the process takes years and distance and pain. What if you need to kiss the same frog over and over again to enact the magic?" His voice was quiet, but she heard every word.

"Edward." It was a warning, the way she spoke his name, full of skepticism and fear.

"Just listen, please. I know I hurt you, but I'm not that man anymore. I grew up; you helped me grow up. I like the person I am now. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to be better. The one thing missing from my life is you. I don't care if your teeth are crooked, I don't care if you don't have any at all. I just want you. You wouldn't have to change to be with me. I'd never ask you to. I want to love you the way you should be loved. If you'd let me."

Bella didn't respond, but Edward didn't let her silence dissuade him.

He rolled over and pinned her to the bed, his legs on either side of her hips, not sitting on her, but caging her in. He'd be off her in a second if she made any complaint. He braced himself on his hands, arms straight, looking down at her.

"I've wanted you like this for years. But I will wait for as long as it takes for you to be where I am. You've forgiven me for the past, but I won't forget. I'll wait for you because you are worth the wait. Just as you are, right now. You're worth the wait."

Bella raised her hands up to cover her eyes, to buy some time to make her brain work again.

Edward dropped down to rest on his elbows. He took both her wrists in one hand and pinned them just above her head with a gentle grip. His other hand traced her cheek and threaded into the soft hair at the base of her head. He gazed at her, watching the emotions play across her face. Once her brow relaxed and her eyes softened, he leaned down and kissed her gently. He pulled back and studied her face again. His thumb caressed light circles on her jaw. He leaned down and kissed her again, longer this time and with more purpose. He could feel her chest rise and fall against his shirt, quick breaths, but not panicking. Letting his eyes close with joy, Edward lost himself in the kiss. Bella freed her hands from his grasp and placed them on his shoulders. It was sweet and chaste, a kiss of pure affection, with no pressure or expectation.

Edward pulled back again, this time to run his tongue over his lips and savour the taste of her there. Bella craned her neck and reached up to kiss him, firmly and more passionately than he had kissed her. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and stroked along his. He wanted to hold her closer, to love fully, but he held himself back. Edward slowed the kiss to gentle pecks, on her nose, chin and forehead. He pressed his forehead to hers and sighed.

"I'm on my knees for you Bella, I'll wait here forever if I have to. There is so much; too much to say, too many feelings running through me. I don't want to scare you or push you. If this, this moment, this kiss is all you have to give me, I'll take it. And I'll cherish it for the rest of my life."

Bela closed her eyes, then scrunched them together tightly.

"I need time to think."

"And Sam?"

"Either way, I'm letting Sam go. I don't need Sam in my life."

"Not because of me?"

"Because of me. I think I deserve better."

"I know you do. I hope the man you choose is worthy of you. Although, I really hope it's me and I know I'm not worthy."

Bella began to wriggle out from her Edward-cage. He took the hint and moved off of her, leaving a quick kiss on her cheek as he did.

Edward went home, leaving Bella to her thoughts. He arrived first thing in the morning with coffee and bagels. They didn't talk about the night before, they just worked together on her loft. They talked about Rose and Emmett, Alice, Jasper and the baby. They argued political affairs and discussed current events. They just were and it was what both of them needed.

AN: Song for this chapter - I Will Wait by Mumford & Sons.