A/N: Enjoy the last chapter before the epilogue...

EPOV

We spent the next three days together. We ignored the outside world; we cocooned ourselves inside my condo and left the real world behind. We caught up on our lives. We shed the guilt, the shame, and the sadness that made up the last eight years.

Bit by bit and piece by piece, we filled in the missing parts of the puzzle. We became reacquainted with those parts of each other that we knew forward and backward. We learned all the new things that made up the older versions of who we are. It amazed me how quickly we could assimilate both sides; the old and the new, to make a new whole.

We affirmed our love for each other. We expressed how we never truly let the embers die, they just smoldered. So we fed the flame, watched as our new love engulfed us. Never had it felt so great to burn.

As the days passed, I could sense Bella's hesitation, her fear of what awaited us at the end. But if I had my way, there wasn't going to be an end. Just a new beginning. A small part of my conscious whispered that what I was about to do was selfish, and I knew it was. But I ceased to care. I had spent too many years away from her, I wasn't about to let something like selfishness stop me.

So one afternoon as we were lying together, sweaty, sated, and blissed out, I flipped her so she was beneath me. She smiled up at me and for a moment, I got lost in it. I gave myself a mental shake. I twined our hands and held them above her.

"Why do I feel as if I am being held prisoner? Not as if I mind." She gave me a sassy smile and winked.

"Hmm, keep you as my prisoner. I like that. A lot!" She giggled and I had to ignore how her body moved with her laughter. "But since I have your attention. I do want to ask you something."

She quieted down. I was sure she sensed my serious tone. "I want you to stay with me. More than that, I want you to come with me and the band on tour."

The one time the real world intruded was when the band met with Peter Graves. He wanted to sign us to Midnight Sun and was willing to add us to their Emerging Bands Summer Tour. It paired established groups with new artists. I wanted Bella to be with me.

I explained it all to Bella.

"I know you don't have much of school left, but fuck Bella, I would never forgive myself if I didn't ask you to stay. I know it's selfish, but it's the truth. I want you, always, forever."

"Yes," was her simple reply.

A/N: Anyone need a kleenex? Please.. share your thoughts..they are like magic to me! See you for the epi in like an hour or so!