Tali: So lots of comments about the Jake scene! Wow. It's not intended to be so controversial or upsetting. Jake is Bella's first love and that's not something that's going to go away just because she loves Edward now. My husband is not my first love. My first love is married to another woman and the first time I saw him after we broke up, he was already with her. It was awkward and a little uncomfortable until we got away from other people to just talk. We were looking at a display and he wrapped his arm around my waist and rubbed my side like he'd done a million times before. We talked and decided we missed the friendship we'd had before we dated too much to let it go without a fight. So, we talked, we im'd, we emailed, I invited him and his then fiancée to my wedding, they invited me and my husband to their wedding. There will always be a special place in my heart for him. I'm just saying, Bella can still want to be around Jake and spend time with him and not WANT him. The emotional heart has lots of secrets that screw with your head. This is just one of them.

Bella's POV

We spent the rest of Sunday just lounging and resting up. We had a lot planned for the week. Really, Alice had a lot planned. She'd gotten online and written up a list of the music groups and movies, when and where they were, and then picked out a few of each for us to go see. Monday was going to be pretty exclusively movies, starting at 10 am and going until 2 am.

"My ass is going to be so sore," groaned Emmett. "We can't just sit for 16 hours watching movies."

"So we'll take a break and go get dinner and walk around," I shrugged. "It'll be fine."

"We're doing movies again on Tuesday," Alice informed him as she settled on Jasper's lap. "Your butt will already be numb so you'll be able to stand it much better then."

I rolled my eyes but laughed anyway. "We can do other stuff than SXSW, y'all. There's San Antonio just a short drive away. We can go down and hit Six Flags or Sea World. There's the Alamo and the Riverwalk, too. Plus there's lots of caves in the area. We can do lots more than just movies and music."

Alice turned to me with a frown. "But I've planned the stuff for SXSW."

"I want to do more than just that," admitted Jane. "I mean, how often do we get to come to Texas?"

Alice sat back against Jasper's chest and crossed her arms. "But I planned it."

I grinned. "How about you help plan other stuff, too?"

She sighed. "Fine."

I rolled my eyes and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen Mom kept in the side table. "Ok, who's interested in caves?"

We spent the next couple of hours checking prices and planning out our week. Emmett grabbed his laptop and earned a dirty look from Rose when she was unceremoniously dumped for it. He made a couple of reservations and bought some tickets, remotely accessing the printer in Dad's office to print everything off. Alice was still pouty that the time and effort she'd spent in planning out everything was pretty much being thrown out the window, but the groups and movies she'd been most interested in were being shown at night so we'd be able to see those anyway.

We finally said our good nights and headed off to bed.

"I thought Alice was going to skin you alive," Edward chuckled as we got ready for bed.

I grinned at him around a mouthful of toothpaste. "Me too." I rinsed and spit, then hopped up on the counter to watch him. "So how did you think today went?"

He looked at me confused for a bit. "You mean with Jake?"

I nodded.

He shrugged. "Ok, I guess. You're the one who had some kind of heart-to-heart with him."

I nodded again and studied my toes. "I miss him and he misses me."

Edward's arms slipped around me and he kissed me lightly, tasting of toothpaste. I smiled against him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'm glad you didn't go bat shit crazy insane."

He laughed. "Maybe I did and I'm just really good at hiding it."

I rolled my eyes and ran my fingers through his hair. "You can't hide anything from me, Cullen."

"Can't I?" he teased.

I shook my head. "Nope. I know you too well."

"Maybe I've got a few secrets I'm keeping close to the chest."

"Like what?"

He smiled mysteriously and kissed me again. "If I told you, they wouldn't be secrets." He slid his hands down to my butt and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me into the bedroom.

Edward's POV

Bella rolled out of bed early the next morning, kissing me lightly as she pulled her swimming suit back on and disappeared out the door. I sat up and frowned at the closed door. Where the hell was she going?

I stood up and pulled my shorts on before following her out the door and downstairs. I heard the soft sound of the patio door sliding shut. I frowned again and headed over.

I grinned when I saw Bella standing on the edge of the pool, braiding her hair quickly before jumping in the water and swimming a few laps. I headed outside and sat in one of the lounge chairs to watch.

She swam gracefully, long strokes and quick turns. I leaned back and closed my eyes. I was still sleepy but it was cool enough right now that I didn't really want to sleep. At least not outside in a lounge chair wearing nothing but shorts.

"Hey."

I opened my eyes and saw Bella standing on the edge of the pool, looking for all the world like Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I grinned and held out my arms.

She sat down and snuggled against my chest. "Why are you up?"

"You left me without a word of explanation. I was curious."

She chuckled. "I swim every morning I'm here."

"Even in the winter?" She was way too cold natured for me to buy that.

She laughed then. "It's Texas. The winter isn't as bad as Illinois, though we do get cold. Then I just swim two laps and run inside."

I laughed. "So you've gotten out of shape the past few months then, huh?"

She elbowed me in the side. "I chase the kids around and go up and down lots of stairs. That helps."

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company before she finally pushed up and pulled me inside. "We need to get dressed and get breakfast so we can get to the caverns before too late."

I grinned and followed her upstairs. We showered and dressed in jeans and t-shirts, pulling on tennis shoes before we headed downstairs. The others were seated around the kitchen at the table and the bar, eating cereal, toast, and even scrambled eggs. Bella pulled a bagel out of the refrigerator and put it in the toaster oven while I poured myself a bowl of cereal.

The doorbell rang as we were gathering up our things and Bella answered it, ushering Angela and Ben in. They hugged their way around the room, which surprised me, but seemed perfectly natural to the girls.

"Let's go," announced Alice, fairly bouncing in place. Apparently, she'd gotten over her frustrations from the night before.

We piled into the cars, packed a little tighter than usual, but it was for the best. Bella drove one and Ben drove the other, both of them the only ones who really knew where we were going.

Twenty minutes later, we pulled off the paved road and onto a washboard dirt road. We bounced around in our seats before finally pulling up to a pathetic looking shack. I raised my eyes at Rosalie who was crammed against my side. She shrugged and pushed me towards the door.

I stumbled out and helped her down while Emmett fell out on the other side. Angela climbed down from the front passenger seat and Ben grinned as he walked around the front. "Sorry about that. It's hard to prepare you for this road so I just let people find out on their own."

I chuckled. "No worries. I didn't really need my spine anyway."

Bella laughed as she wrapped her arms around my waist. "Without a spine you'll be much more bendy. Could make things interesting."

I pushed her head lightly as we headed towards the shack. She giggled and slipped her hand into mine, squeezing lightly. We stepped into line and quickly got our tickets before joining the waiting tourists around a set of steps.

There was a bigger crowd than I'd normally expect for a Monday morning, but I guessed that most of the area schools were having their Spring Break now so it made a little more sense. I really hoped none of these kids started screaming bloody murder in the cave.

Our guide gave us a few words of caution, reminding us that we shouldn't touch the walls unless she'd said it was ok, telling us to watch out for low ceilings and water on the floor. Then we started down some rock steps that didn't look all that safe. Bella hung on tightly to my hand as we walked, using the other to steady herself against the hand rail. I grinned and tweaked her braid lightly.

Once in the caves, it was cool and dark, just like I'd expected. We walked through several caverns carefully, snapping pictures of the various things along the way. By far the coolest thing was the pool that was completely still and clear and also, supposedly incredibly deep. Bella leaned over to look at it and I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back against me. She looked over her shoulder, momentarily startled, then grinned.

"I'm not planning on taking a dip," she murmured, leaning back into my chest.

I rolled my eyes and pulled her along as we headed to the next chamber. It wasn't that I thought she'd jump in willingly; I was afraid she'd fall in accidentally. I wasn't sure what the emergency procedure was for tourists who fell into a giant icy pool but I wasn't real interested in finding out.

The tour lasted at least an hour before we turned around at the end and hiked back up out of the caves. I put my hands on Bella's butt to help push her up the incline and she laughed, swatting at me behind her.

Once we had all surfaced, Alice and Jane made a beeline for the shack which apparently held some souvenirs of some kind inside while the rest of us lounged around in the much warmer weather. Bella rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

"So how do you like Texas so far?" she asked sleepily.

"Not too bad. Why?"

She grinned up at me, opening one eye. "There's a saying that if you marry a Texan, you'll end up in Texas eventually. We all come home to stay at some point."

I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Well, I don't think that'd be the worst thing. No more crazy winters."

She snickered. "Depends on where in Texas you settle."

I definitely noticed her lack of the pronoun "us." I actually kind of hated that. My mind went to the box in my pocket and my hand started to reach for it automatically before I stopped myself. Now was not a good time.

Bella's POV

I wasn't sure what made me bring up the whole returning to Texas thing. Maybe my frustrations with Edward and that damn proposal were starting to get to me. Knowing there was a ring and a serious intention was aggravating, to say the least.

We headed back into town and stopped at a Schlotzsky's for lunch. There wasn't one in Decatur and I'd missed my sourdough sandwiches. We ate with relish before heading to the house to rest up for a bit before heading back for some movies. I headed upstairs, feeling a bit of a funk setting in and wanting to be by myself for a little while. I kicked off my shoes and curled up in the bed, pressing my face against the pillow and smelling Mom's smell. I hadn't talked to her in a while, so I dug my cell phone out of my pocket and called her.

"Hello?"

"Hey Mom, it's me."

"Hi sweetie. Is everything ok?"

I laughed. "Everything is fine. I just wanted to check in. I didn't talk to you last night like I usually do."

She chuckled softly. "So are you all in Austin?"

I shifted on the bed when I saw Edward come in. I motioned him over and he toed off his shoes before crawling into the bed next to me.

"Yeah, we're here. Edward and I went to church yesterday and saw the Blacks and everyone. The kids all came over yesterday and we grilled out."

"Did you meet Jake's new girlfriend?"

I stiffened slightly. "Yeah. She's nice. We didn't hang out or talk just the two of us, but she seems pretty cool."

"Mmm." Mom was non-committal.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

"Nothing. I've heard a few things, that's all."

I narrowed my eyes. "Anything you care to share?"

"Not especially, no."

I gritted my teeth. "Well, then I'm going to take a nap. I'm tired."

"Alright. I love you sweetheart."

"Love you too. Tell Dad I love him."

"I will."

I closed my phone and set it on the nightstand and stared at it for a beat. Edward's arm snaked around my waist and pulled me against his chest, his breath warm in my hair.

"Everything ok?"

"I guess."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly, no."

He kissed my ear. "Ok."

Edward's POV

The movies that evening were definitely…different. Not quite what I'd been expecting, but not terrible. We were packed into a theater and there weren't snacks, but it was fun all the same. We exited the last movie around 3 in the morning and stood around the cars, discussing. Bella leaned against my chest, pulling my arms around her for some heat. I was more than happy to oblige.

Something her mom had said had upset her and she didn't want to talk about it. I knew I would never completely understand her, such was the nature of woman, but I kept thinking I'd get a toehold on understanding and then she'd blindside me by something random. I just had to figure out how to tell her I was up for a lifetime of blindsides.

"I'm starving," announced Emmett, with his usual tact and grace. "Is there a Denny's or something around here? IHOP?"

Angela made a face. "Sweetie, you're in Austin. We don't eat at those places. We eat at Kerbey Lane."

Bella leaned forward against my arms. "Oh my god, I haven't had Kerbey Queso in a million years. I may just order that for my entrée."

Angela grinned. "No joke. Let's go."

I raised an eyebrow at Bella but she didn't notice. She was practically giddy at the thought of this queso. We all piled into the cars and headed out, Bella leading the way. A little while later, we pulled up to what looked like a rundown shack on the side of the highway and headed inside. A light mist was in the air and it definitely dropped the temperature.

We had to wait for a table since there were so many of us and, amazingly, the place was really busy. I guess with SXSW in town, late night diners like this were busy. We finally settled at a table and ordered our drinks.

"So are you enjoying Austin so far?" asked Angela, leaning forward expectantly.

Rose grinned. "I am. My family travels all over but we've never been to Texas. I kinda like it."

"That's because Texas is awesome," laughed Bella. She and Ben did a high five across the table.

I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my soda. I didn't really need the caffeine at 3 in the morning but whatever.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" asked Jasper.

"State Capitol," grinned Alice, fairly bouncing again. Seriously, it was like someone had stuck a spring in her ass: she could hardly sit still.

"How early are we doing that?" asked Emmett warily.

Bella chuckled. "Not until noon. It's only a couple hour tour, then we'll hit a couple more movies, then we're having dinner at The Oasis."

"The Oasis?" apparently now I was the one asking questions.

She grinned. "It's an awesome restaurant on a cliff over Lake Austin. Might be a little cool, but totally worth it. We'll have to head out earlyish so we can catch the sunset."

I nodded, but was still confused.

We all ordered something different and asked for extra plates so we could share. It turned out to be an odd assortment of entrees, but everything tasted great. Almost better than Bella's cooking, but no way was I going to even hint at that. She ordered the Kerbey Queso and really did eat that as her main entrée, stealing bites of my blueberry pancakes once in a while. I winked at her and pushed the plate a little closer so she had better access.

After we finished, we sat and chatted for a while, not quite ready to break up the party, even though most of us were staying in one place and could easily continue the party. Finally Alice stood up.

"We need to get going," she announced. "It's getting later and we've got stuff going on."

I checked my watch and groaned. It was nearly 5. "Is there really any point to going to sleep now?" I asked with a yawn as we headed towards the exit.

Bella laughed. "You could stay up but you'd be alone, I think the rest of us are pretty tired. Plus, we're going all day and you won't be allowed to stay home alone."

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "I won't? I bet I could keep you awake."

Her cheeks flushed in the darkness and Emmett laughed and elbowed me in the side.

"Are you two in for everything?" asked Bella, turning to Angela and Ben.

Ben shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do," he grinned.

Angela rolled her eyes. "I may skip the capitol tour, but I'll be there for the movies and dinner." She pulled Bella into a hug and said something that made Bella blush and laugh, looking at me sneakily.

Bella's POV

Edward didn't try anything when we got home. Truth be told, he was as exhausted as the rest of us were. There were quiet sounds throughout the house of people brushing teeth and using the bathroom before everything settled into silence. I lay in the darkness and stared into space. Edward pulled me against his chest and curled around me.

"Ready to talk now?"

I sighed. "Not really."

"Do I get a hint as to what the issue is?"

"Jake. And my mom."

He was silent, his thumb rubbing up and down on my bare stomach. "Your mom is sleeping with Jake?"

I snorted into my pillow. "Not even. He's still a virgin."

"Really?"

"Well, according to Angela."

He was quiet, his thumb still rubbing. "So what, your mom wants you to get back together with him?"

I sighed. "Yes. She hasn't said so in so many words, but she kind of disapproves of you and our relationship. She's convinced that if I'd stayed with Jake, that I'd still be a virgin and we'd be happily engaged and planning a wonderful future of babies and work here in Austin."

"And instead you're living in sin with a guy she doesn't know in a distant state and who knows what the future holds." He sounded almost sad when he said it, like he was afraid he'd screwed up my future.

I twisted in his arms and wriggled up so my face was level with his. I couldn't see anything in the darkness but I knew he was looking at me. "I'm living in sin, sure, but I love you. I'm a girl, so of course I'm planning a wonderful future full of babies and work but I can do it in either Chicago or Boston or Springfield or Austin or wherever you are." I reached up and smoothed his hair in the darkness. "I just want to be with you, Edward. Everything else is gravy."

He sighed softly in the darkness and kissed me. "What the fuck did I do to deserve you?"

"You don't deserve me," I teased. "That's why you're always so insecure and nervous when I talk future plans."

He chuckled softly. I noticed then that the room wasn't quite as dark as it had been. The sun was rising now. He kissed my forehead and pulled me tight against him. I snuggled close and drifted off to sleep.

Edward's POV

If ever there were a perfect moment to propose, that was probably it. Shit.

Bella's POV

We were all dragging ass the next day as we wandered around the capitol building. Alice was snap happy with the pictures, ordering us to pose for her. I'm sure there weren't many smiles in her pictures but she didn't seem to care.

Edward looked somewhat troubled, as though he were missing something or had forgotten something. I linked my arm in his as we walked across the grass back towards the car.

"Everything ok?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I'm great. You?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you're so great then why are you in a funk?"

"I'm tired. You kept me up until like, 6 this morning professing your undying love and talking about how your mom wants to make it with Jake."

I rolled my eyes. "Witty."

"Shut up, I'm tired." He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

We headed back to the house for lunch and naps, deciding to skip the movies that afternoon and just go after dinner.

Edward passed out almost as soon as he hit the pillow and I wasn't far behind him.

Edward's POV

The Oasis really was a pretty awesome place. We were seated around a huge picnic table on a deck overlooking the lake and it was gorgeous. We watched the sunset over the water, turning it orange and gold and lighting up the red and gold in Bella's hair.

To our surprise, there was live music that night, so after we finished eating, Bella dragged me out on the dance floor in the sparse crowd and we danced. She taught me the Texas Two Step and I refreshed her swing moves. A song that seemed perfect for Bella was played and I grinned, spinning her in and out as she laughed. Brown Eyed Girl was definitely my Bella. I really did feel like without her, I'd be lost.

The song ended and she wrapped her arms around me, kissing me and laughing against my face at the same time. I tightened my arms around her waist and twirled her lightly. She tilted her head back and I sighed. Another perfect moment missed, all because I'd finally taken the damn ring out of my pocket that afternoon when we lay down to nap and forgot to put it back in. I was such a jackass.