As always: Everything and anything related to the Twilight saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is a work of fiction based on her writings. No harm is meant by it.

Special thanks and much adoration to my beta Kelly


Unforgettable, that's what you are.
Unforgettable, though near or far.
Like a song of love, that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me

Never before has someone been more…

~ "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole


Chapter Twenty-Eight: U is for Unforgettable

Edward had never been more content in bed than he had been Monday morning. It was sappy, it was lame, and he was pretty sure Emmett would say it was gay, but waking up with Bella beside him had been incredible.

At work on Monday, he hadn't been able to contain the smile on his face. Most of the people around him had suspected that he was happy about the Adidas campaign he had single-handedly acquired over the weekend (everyone knew that Mr. Austen really had no part in the campaign; it was all Edward's doing). None of them had any idea of what was really going on in his head, what the smile really represented. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been this happy.

In his head, playing in a constant loop, were the images of him and Bella kissing all day. He could still feel the warmth of her body pressed against his and the way her hands tugged at the roots of his hair as they kissed. The dull ache in his lips was a constant reminder of it to him and that was the only important part of it. Throughout the twenty minute drive to work Monday morning, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and another rubbing at the tingling, but very welcomed, ache in his lips.

Though no one knew what had happened to him the night before, he knew, and the ever present smiles meaning wasn't lost on him as it was on others.

Some people at work had commented on the possibility of Edward's promotion. It was a topic often brought up by the people who admired his work and by the people who envied his successes. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before Edward was made partner; there were absolutely no doubts about it. Regardless of his age, Edward had proven more vital to the company than others that have been working there for triple the amount of time Edward had been there. This year alone, Edward had garnered over five million dollars worth of campaigns for the company, from the most obscure little advertisements in the local newspaper to the new Adidas campaign that would be featured worldwide.

Some of the more crude, albeit invidious members of his company commented on the fact that Edward was just showing off about the campaign and showing off about possibly 'getting lucky' the night before as Riley Smith was overheard gossiping in the lounge. That was their reason as to why he had 'waltzed into the building with that shit-eating grin on his face' and 'looking like he had just gotten the best lay of his life'.

Alice however had been the only one to have any suspicion as to what the real reason was for Edward's good mood. The moment Edward had walked by her that morning with that luminescent smile and a bounce to his step, Alice had followed him right into his office taking strides to catch him before he closed the door.

"Although I know that you're happy about the campaign, what's with the swagger?" Alice asked as she sat down across from a still beaming Edward.

"What ever do you mean, Alice?" he retorted coyly, deliberately trying to evade the question. The smile still very alive on his face, and his feet on top of his desk; something he never does.

"I know this has to do with Bella. You should know that your dear brother has a hard time keeping his mouth shut especially when Jasper gets some whiskey into his system."

Edward's eyes widened and his feet immediately fell off the desk with a thud. Suddenly his whole demeanor changed. He went from relaxed to plagued in the blink of an eye.

"What do you know?" he asked apprehensively.

Alice smiled brightly at her cousin. Her hands were clasped together and held tightly against her chest. She looked unbelievably happy.

"So, it's true. You and Bella are together?"

"That's what he told you?" Edward asked, trying to figure out if his disloyal brother had spilled any more secrets.

"Yes, why? Is there more to the story that I should know?" she asked suspiciously and Edward mentally berated himself for even hinting at the possibility. Alice always caught on to things.

"No, I just thought he might have revealed something about how he found out."

"How long has this been going on?" she inquired, her eyes wide and demanding. Edwards' eyes shifted as he thought about when the game started. He had to stop himself from thinking about it too much as images of him and Bella on the couch, in the shower, against the fridge, on her bed, on his bed, in the playground, all started playing in his head.

"Almost four months now," he replied and Alice huffed out loud.

"Four months! How did this slip under my radar?" she wondered, perplexed by it all.

"We were pretty secretive about it. The only reason Emmett knows is because Bella accidentally told Rose."

"Don't try to comfort me, Edward. I never let these things get by me. I should've known the day you brought in the scrap book. Damn, I'm losing my touch," she whined and Edward chuckled.

"You're not losing your touch, Small fry. You're just stressed with all the wedding planning. How goes it anyway?"

"Don't call me Small fry and the planning is going well. I can't believe it's coming up so soon. Only two and half more months."

"Yeah…only two and a half more," Edward teased and Alice rolled her eyes at him.

"Shut up! Now, have you told Bella that you love her?" she asked and a somber mood passed over Edward, quickly clouding the brightness in his eyes; it didn't go unnoticed.

"Yeah," he whispered and Alice smiled timidly.

"You know I've been waiting to hear you admit that you love Bella for years, I just never thought you'd sound this morose when you did."

"I'm not morose, Alice. It's just that…I told Bella that I love her, but she…she hasn't said it back," he replied and Alice nodded her head in understanding.

"Yet."

"Excuse me?" Edward asked.

"She hasn't said it yet, Edward," his cousin elaborated. "You know Bella, you know her better than anybody. It's going to take her time."

"I know, it's just that she was the one who initiated the whole conversation about our relationship and taking it to more-"

"Bella was the one to bring up the subject?" Alice interjected before Edward could finish explaining.

"Yeah, she's the one who wanted to take our friendship to the next level."

"I'm confused. How did you two even get to that point to even talk about it?"

"Fuck!" Edward hissed under his breath.

"What? What's with the swearing?"

"Do I have any meetings this morning?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"Nothing, but you have to go see Mr. Meyers in the conference room later on. They're going to surprise you with cake and probably a nice watch. You know how they operate."

Edward sighed, reclining back in his chair, tapping on the arm rest and contemplating how much he should tell Alice. He shook his head, frustrated with everything, and decided to go all out.

"Okay, Bella and I have been…fooling around for the last four months," he began and Alice sat quietly as she listened to Edward tell the story. He left only the explicit details out, and not once did Alice stop to question him. He told her about the beginning of the game, how it was his idea to play. He let her know about all the letters they had used and of course, he told her about coming home, the necklace, and the conversation.

"That's the whole story, Alice."

"Wow, how did I not see any of this?" She shook her head bewildered. "It was right under my nose the entire time. And what were you thinking Edward? This could have turned out terribly. You could have ruined your entire friendship."

"I know, Alice, but I had faith in it. I knew that if things started to get weird, I would have ended it."

"Would you? Would you have really stopped it all?" she asked looking straight at Edward before continuing. "From what you told me, the first time felt comfortable, even though you hid behind costumes and fake teeth. You two were able to get passed all the strangeness before you even began. Most people would've spent half the time laughing and giggling like little kids. Sounds to me like it was never really a game to either of you."

Edward sat silently as he processed what Alice had said. They had started with rules and lived by them, but quickly they had disregarded them. They didn't even make it through the whole alphabet.

"I'm going to take that silence as a yes." She looked at her watch and sighed. "You should probably start heading up to the conference room for the celebration. They want you there a little after ten."

"Thanks Alice, I'll be up there soon. I just need to check something."

"No problem, oh and I wouldn't be opposed to you telling Jasper about that Tiffany necklace. Maybe he'll take it as a hint," she said chuckling as she walked out of his office.

Edward collected his fluctuating emotions as he sat staring out of his office window. He knew that it would take Bella time before she would be able to tell him 'I love you' and though it hurt, he knew he would have to wait.

It was as he walked toward the elevator that he knew that he would wait as long as it took to hear the words because even if she didn't say them, he would still be able to wake up with her by his side, and that was enough for the moment.

=x=

Tuesday morning started just about the same way that Monday did, but this time it was Edward who woke up first.

He was able to watch Bella sleeping in his arms though it was hard to really see her since her head was tucked in snug against his chest. It was her warmth that sent his heart fluttering. Just knowing that she was there before he even opened his eyes was enough to bring the brilliant smile back to his face.

He brushed her hair aside as he watched as the morning light filtered into the room against her cheek and stirred her awake.

"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted her groggy yawn and chuckled as she still managed to blush.

"Morning," she murmured against his chest.

"How do you feel?"

"Sore. The roof isn't exactly the best place to lie down on," she chuckled bashfully and Edward brushed a hand against her cheek.

"I know, but at least we didn't fall asleep up there; it would've rained on us."

"True," she groaned as she pulled away from Edward.

"What's wrong?"

"My lips hurt. They hurt yesterday and today it's even worse," she whined and Edward chortled.

"I know what you mean," he concurred rubbing his hand against his lips.

"I don't really want to get out of bed," she announced as she stretched. Edward watched as the skin on her stomach tightened as she arched her back.

"Neither do I, but I think I have an RFQ waiting on my desk, or at least that's what Alice emailed me yesterday afternoon after I left the office."

"What the heck is an RFQ?" Bella asked as she turned over to lean on her hand. Edward mimicked the action, the two of them laying down facing each other.

"Request for qualifications. In other words, they want us to send over some brochures and what not before they send over possible information packages for a new campaign."

Bella chuckled and stretched her free hand to Edward's lips.

"You're lips look swollen," she commented, rubbing her thumb along the separation of the two.

"Oh cause you're one to talk," he chided, pulling her bottom lip between his thumb and index finger, eliciting a painful cry from Bella.

"Ow!" she shouted as she smacked his shoulder.

"It looks like a bee stung your bottom lip."

"Well if someone would stop biting it all the time," she murmured and Edward chuckled as he leaned forward to take her bottom lip between his teeth.

As he clenched her bottom lip, Bella groaning and he hissed, "Never."

"I don't want you to stop," she whispered as she pushed her lips tightly against his in a sweet kiss.

"Never," he repeated.

Eventually the two pulled away from each other and rose from the bed to get ready for work.

"Join me in the shower?" Bella asked and Edward scoffed.

"Did you ask me to join you in the shower? Like I need an invitation," he smugly replied and Bella threw a pillow at him.

"Come on, Smelly. Let's get you clean," she jested and Edward followed her toward the bathroom.

"Before we go in, I forgot to tell you something."

"Is it about that weird news at work you've been hearing about?" she asked.

"No, however I did find out that the rumors I've been hearing about Mr. Meyers having an affair with his secretary are actually true. I didn't want to believe them, but apparently, they were caught in the act on Friday afternoon when the janitor arrived to empty the waste baskets."

Bella stared at Edward wide eyed.

"Mr. Meyers? But isn't he like sixty?"

"Hey, age is only a number," Edward argued and Bella scoffed.

"His secretary is thirty. I met her at the Christmas party last year. Oh, eww," she groaned in disgust. "That's gross and his wife is so nice. What was her name? Ste—Sti, Stacy! She's such a sweet woman, albeit a little too religious, but nice nonetheless."

Edward stood in front of Bella laughing before he grabbed her shoulders to get her attention.

"Do you want to hear what I have to tell you or not?" he asked sternly.

"Depends," Bella negotiated. "Am I going to like what you tell me?"

"Depends," Edward retorted and Bella shrugged her shoulders.

"Umm…ahhh…" Edward stalled and Bella egged him on.

"Come on, what?"

"Alice knows all about us," he quickly answered. "And so does Jasper."

"How?" Bella shouted.

"Well, you see Jasper, instead of feeding Emmett food, gave him whiskey, and you know Emmett and alcohol…the two go together like peanut butter and ketchup."

"So he told her about all the umm…activities?"

"No, just that we were together," he answered, but Bella sensed there was more.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Well, Alice asked me about what Emmett told them and I ended up telling her about the game," he grimaced and with good reason. Bella's face immediately grew red and her brows furrowed in anger.

"Do you know how embarrassing this is, Edward? I don't even really know Jasper."

"I only told Alice, besides you told Rosalie," he contoured and Bella huffed in frustration.

"Yeah and looked what happened there. Alice is going to tell Jasper."

"I'm sorry," he apologized and Bella shook her head in disdain.

"I can't believe you, Edward."

"I'm really sorry," he countered and Bella again shook her head and stalked away.

"Come on, Bells. Does it really matter?"

"Yes, it matters," she argued. "Do you know how that makes me look to my future cousin-in-law?"

Edward's jaw dropped for a brief second before a dazzling smile appeared across his face.

"Future cousin-in-law?" he asked with a smug smile. This time, Bella's jaw dropped. Her eyes widened before she closed her mouth and swallowed loudly.

"What?" she asked in a daze.

"You said future cousin-in-law. Jasper is my future cousin-in-law, not yours," he replied, the smile still wide on his face. Those three words had sent his heart racing. To know that Bella thought of Jasper in that manner meant that she had thought about the possibility of marrying him in the future.

"How about that shower?" Bella tried to evade the conversation and Edward chuckled as he shook his head.

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's go, Mrs. Cullen," he jested and Bella blushed furiously. He couldn't help but smile at how lovely 'Isabella Cullen' sounded in his head.

"Shut up," she chastised as she stomped off toward the bathroom.

Edward quickly caught up to her before she reached the shower door and pulled her against him by the waist. Her back lay against his chest and he rocked them side to side for a moment before leaning down to whisper in Bella's ear.

"I love that you have thought about marrying me because I've thought about the same thing," he confessed and felt Bella shudder against him.

"I love you, Isabella Swan."

"Edward," Bella whispered sadly and Edward turned her around.

"As long as it takes, Bella."

=x=

The rest of the week passed uneventfully and before Edward knew it, it was six o'clock in the morning on Saturday, and he was being awoken by Bella tickling his feet.

"What the hell, Bella?" he half groaned, half laughed as he pulled his feet away from Bella's fingers.

"Wake up, Sunshine. We have a long day ahead of us."

"You're already dressed. When did that happen? I didn't feel you leave the bed," he said groggily as he struggled to sit up, eventually succeeding.

"I too can be stealthy at times. It's rare, but it happens. Now get off that cute butt of yours and get ready. I have a lot of things planned for my day," she ordered, yanking the bed sheet still covering Edward's torso off.

"Alright. Would you at least tell me what we're doing? Or at least where we're going?" Edward asked as he slipped on a pair of jeans.

"You'll see," Bella playfully answered and Edward leered at her.

Fifteen minutes later, Edward was dressed and standing by Bella in the kitchen as they sipped their coffee.

"Are you gonna at least give me a little clue as to what we're doing?"

"I shouldn't," Bella winced as the very hot coffee singed her tongue and Edward flinched for a moment. "But I'll give you one clue about where we're going."

Edward calmed down seeing that Bella was all right and watched as she pulled a fork out of the kitchen drawers.

"A fork?" he questioned and Bella nodded.

"Think a little, Edward."

"We're going to go eat," he assumed and Bella shook her head and pulled out another fork from the drawer.

"What the hell, Bella? Two forks? We're going to two forks?" Edward questioned and Bella's eyed widened as she tried to egg him on and Edward finally understood what she was trying to hint at.

"We're going to Forks. I…it's early," he defended himself and Bella broke out in a full out laugh, embarrassing Edward.

"Took you long enough, Cullen," she jabbed at his waning ego and Edward stuck his tongue out at her.

"Well, I'm sorry. It's the ungodly hour of six-twenty on a Saturday morning. My apologies, milady, for not solving the brain buster," he scoffed and Bella simply smiled at him.

"So, why are we going to Forks?"

"You'll see," she answered as she headed toward the front door. She grabbed her car keys off the side table and looked over her shoulder. For a moment, Edward was mesmerized by the way her eyes called to him.

"You coming?"

"If you're going, I'm already there," he declared as he walked through the open door. He could hear the little giggle she let out as she locked the door.

"I heard that," he whispered into her ear and she jumped away from him.

"What did I tell you about sneaking up on people?"

"Not to do it," he petulantly replied.

"Crabby," Bella murmured teasingly as they stepped into the elevator.

"Am not."

"Sure, sure Edward."

=x=

Three and half-hours later Edward found himself being shaken awake by Bella. He took a moment to notice his surrounding and saw that Bella had parked her car in front of the supermarket in Forks.

"What are we doing here?" he asked in between yawning.

"You'll see, Sleepyhead," was all she said as she stepped out of the car and headed toward Edward's side of the car. He pulled himself out of his stupor and got out of the car. He followed Bella into the supermarket and listened to the beep-beep of her car as she locked it with her key remote from afar.

"What are you planning on buying?" Edward asked as he watched Bella head over to the cookie aisle. He had to halt his steps quickly as she stopped halfway into the aisle and turned around to face him.

"Bella-" he called her name softly, concern starting to rise as he watched tears start to well in Bella's eyes.

"Almost twenty-two years ago, my scatterbrained mother decided to not pay attention to where she was pushing her shopping cart, but pay attention to my crying instead and she ended up crashing into another cart," Bella began as Edward watched tears stream down her face.

"Thank fuck for that because it brought me you. We were four and even then you knew how to make smile," she continued through her tears pausing to take a deep breath. Edward just stood silently and watched her pull something out of her pocket.

"I was crying and you turned to me," she said and held out her hand. In the palm of it was a strawberry delight. "You turned to me and gave me a strawberry delight and said-"

"Pretty girls shouldn't cry," Edward interjected as he pulled Bella to him and hugged her tightly, not caring that her tears were seeping into his t-shirt. Moments later, Bella pulled herself away and Edward wiped some of the tears that had streaked down her face away.

"Every moment we have ever shared is permanently etched into my memory. The thought of you alone does things to me, Edward. I can never forget this moment right here, the moment in which I met you. Edward Cullen, you are unforgettable to me. No one has ever meant more to me or ever made feel this way. It's you Edward, only you that I've ever felt this way about," she declared, tears once against streaming down her face. Edward didn't refrain from wiping them away.

"Bella, it's the same for me. I feel exactly the same; it has always been you."

Bella lunged at him and he gripped her tightly as she threw her arms around his neck. Every part of his body felt alive. His heart felt full.

Without even saying 'I love you', Bella had made him the happiest man alive.

"What now, Bella?"

"Now," she sniffled as she pulled away. "I'm kind of in the mood for some banana nut pancakes."

"Forks Diner!" Edward gleefully shouted and even through the drying tears and sniffles, Bella still managed to smile. Edward smiled right back at her and grabbed her hand as they walked back out of the supermarket and to Bella's car. This time, Edward drove.

They were at the diner in five minutes.

"Do you always have to drive like a maniac?" Bella chided, not at all serious. Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"You know how I like to drive."

Walking into the diner was like being hit hard by déjà vu. It almost felt like being slapped in the face with countless memories.

"Edward! Bella!" An elderly man greeted them as they stepped further into the familiar diner.

"Hey, Mr. Jones. How are you?" Edward greeted the diner owner as both he and Bella each sat on one of the bar stools.

"Good, my boy. How have you two been? I haven't seen you in here in years. You both still best friends?" he asked, smiling at them.

"We're good, Mr. Jones," Bella answered, grabbing Edward's hand and presenting it to him. Mr. Jones smiled widely as he saw their joined hands.

"I always knew you two had something special," he smiled and winked.

"Really?" Edward asked and watched as Mr. Jones nodded.

"Oh boy, it was clear as day that you two cared about each other. I don't think you two knew how much you two really cared though. I knew it because of the way you looked at her," Mr. Jones pointed to Edward.

"Me?"

"Yeah you," he replied. "You looked at Bella like she was the only girl in the room, regardless if you're arm was around a pretty little Betty, you never looked at that girl like you did at Bella. Or, I should say like you still look at her."

Edward smiled at Mr. Jones as he caught himself staring at Bella as she stared at Mr. Jones.

"What about me?" Bella asked Mr. Jones.

"You too, Bella. It was in the way you clung to every word Edward said. It didn't matter if he was talking about getting some cheese fries to eat; you listened like he was singing your praises."

Edward chuckled as he looked around the unchanged and cozy diner. He still felt very much at home in the diner as he did years back. Mr. Jones still had his tab board up in the corner and Edward got up to read it, spotting a paper with a familiar name and date on it.

"Oh my god. I still owe you five dollars for two sodas and basket of fries," Edward announced as he pulled the receipt off the wall.

"Don't worry about that now, Edward. Why don't you and Bella go sit down and I'll send Julie over to take your order."

"Sure thing, Mr. Jones, but just bring two orange juices and a large double order of banana nut pancakes and home fries," Bella answered and headed over to a booth by the front window and Edward followed suit with the receipt in his hand.

"Look at this thing," he said, passing it over to Bella, who took the faded, yellow receipt and read it over quickly.

"Oh my god," she whispered as she looked up at Edward and he nodded.

"This is the day you asked me to lose our virginity," Bella said and nodded again.

"I know. I can't believe it's been up there this entire time."

"I can't believe you never paid the man," Bella teased and Edward scoffed.

"If memory serves, you ate the last French fry."

"Semantics!" Bella argued as Edward looked down at her hand as she kept running her fingers over the date at the top of the receipt.

"Do you remember that day?" he asked her.

"How could I forget it? I thought you were out of your mind," she laughed and Edward joined in her joy.

"Yeah, we were so awkward. I mean, who just stands there and asks to take clothes off," he detailed and Bella laughed again.

"I think about that day a lot," Bella admitted quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've heard such horror stories about other girl's first time, but mine was beautiful. As awkward as it was, it was beautiful. You made me feel so comfortable, so safe, and even though it hurt, you still managed to make it amazing. I cherish the memory of that day," she stuttered out as tears once again began to well in her eyes.

"Do you ever think about how much time was lost because of that day?" Edward asked and Bella meekly replies 'yes'.

"Stupid Emmett and his stupid no kissing rule," Bella protested and Edward chuckled in agreement. "I love kissing you."

"I love kissing you."

"I love being kissed by you. I feel so beautiful and so loved when you kiss me," she said and started crying again. "Even my first kiss was better than most. Even though the entire class saw it, I felt like it was just you and me in that room."

Edward reached over the table and wiped Bella's tears away with a napkin and then leaned over the table and gave her a sweet kiss.

"I love you," he whispered and another tear fell down Bella's cheek as she grimaced.

"As long as it takes," Edward comforted her. "As long as it takes."

=x=

They left the diner, full to the brim and happy. Edward paid for breakfast and his tab and the two of them wished Mr. Jones a good day.

"Where to now?" Edward asked as they got back into the car, Bella again taking the wheel.

"The Quileute Reservation cliffs."

Edward's entire body froze as she turned on to the familiar stretch of highway.

"Why?" He asked. His hands were clenched on his thighs in the form of fists. He was digging his nails tightly into his palm, his knuckles whiter than usual.

"Trust me, Edward," Bella turned to him and Edward didn't turn to look at her.

"I can't go back there, Bella," he muttered. "Every time I think about that day, I think about losing you. I was such an idiot."

"Hey," Bella said, relaxing the fist on Edward's left hand and slipping her hand into his. "I'm still here and even though the day ended sourly, I still remember the thrill of ditching school and running like a bunch of fools to your car. I remember driving to the cliffs, the radio blasting Nirvana loudly. I remember how happy you looked and the smile you couldn't take off your face even though I was a nervous wreck and thought we would be caught. Those are the things I remember about that day."

Edward remained silent as Bella held his hand and drove on. The drive over to the cliffs was the longest ride of Edward's life. It was only a twenty-five minute ride, but right then and there it felt so much longer. The moment the cliffs came into view, the image of Bella falling hit him like a ton of bricks and his grip on Bella's hand tightened.

"Bella, can we please leave?" he pleaded and Bella replied that they wouldn't.

"Please Bella?"

"No," she repeated. "We need to be here," she said as she parked the car a few feet from the side of the upward climb of the cliffs. Edward watched in a daze as she stepped out of the car and walked over to his side to pull him out. It was as if he was hypnotized as he stepped out and took her hand. He let her lead him all the way up to the cliff from which they had both jumped from eight years prior.

"Edward, that day can never be erased from our memories," Bella began as Edward took her hand. He kissed the scar on her wrist lovingly.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered and Bella brushed it aside. "Always and forever sorry."

"I've forgiven you for that day countless times. It was not your fault so please, please stop apologizing," she spoke. "The moment is unforgettable, unfortunately, and though we can't erase it, I want to make a new memory at the cliff."

"What are you saying?"

"Jump with me," she said and Edward took a step back.

"What?" he asked and Bella grabbed his hand.

"Jump with me," she repeated. "We can't erase that day, but we can create a new unforgettable moment. Jump with me."

Edward looked into Bella's eyes and saw the yearning in them and he conceded. Bella smiled at him and stepped to the edge of the cliff, gripping Edward's hand tightly.

"On the count of three. One," she began.

"Two," Edward continued.

"Three," they both yelled and they jumped off the ledge.

As they fell, Edward heard Bella shout something, the wind carrying it all around them.

"I love you, Edward Cullen."