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Rated: T

Notes: continues scenario & characters established in "Palm Trees".

Prompt: Musical Mastery: Listen to the sample and then write whatever comes to you first: Django

*google / youtube John Lewis "Django Live" to see what the song sounds like. It's pretty great, obviously; it can inspire a scenario...

It was difficult to romance a girl in a place like Panama City during spring break. Edward had figured as much, yet he still went the safe and expected route and took Bella for beers and music at a local joint. It was hard to hear but they had a fun, and were later joined by Rose and Alice, who immediately asked where Edward's "cute friends were". By the time Edward and Bella left, their friends had coupled off to do body shots.

Bella stuck her finger in her ear, jiggling it around. "I think my hearing's gone," she joked with a grimace.

"No kidding," Edward said, lightly guiding her toward the car.

"Do you think they'll get home okay?" she asked worriedly, casting a glance back at the bar, which was now fairly bursting at the seams with lights, music and coeds.

Edward grinned, holding up the keys to the rental car he shared with Emmett and Jasper. "They'll have to call a cab."

"Oh, good," Bella breathed. She appreciated that every person needed to take stock of their own actions, but she still usually felt like the responsible one. Her girlfriends had more than happily agreed to go home with the guys – they had "history" with them after all – but Bella didn't want that to mean they'd be driven by drunk drivers.

Inside the car, Edward quickly found a jazz station and began driving.

"I love Miles Davis," Bella smiled, leaning back comfortably.

It was a perfect night, the moon full and bright, glowing spookily through the clouds, an almost chilly breeze passing the through the half open windows of the car. Northern Florida might be hot during the day, but at night it cooled down considerably. Bella wrapped her cardigan a little tighter, closing her eyes dreamily.

"Cold?" Edward asked.

Bella shook her head, her eyes still closed against the soft wind. "It feels good."

He smiled too, loving her openness and ease. She was so, so sexy, and she had a sort of understated confidence about her. Yet, she was real as all hell. Edward suspected her lack of pretense was one of the reasons she was so attractive.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel, or…" he paused at a stop sign.

Bella sat up, shrugging. "What else is there to do?"

"We could just keep driving," he suggested, pressing gently down on the gas once more.

"All right," she agreed, knowing she was essentially agreeing to go parking. She was decent, but she wasn't naïve.

Sure enough, they ended up at a quiet beach. Edward pulled up so that they were facing the water and turned the music down so that it was more subtle.

Bella's heart began to beat a little faster. This was the first time they'd been so alone. After meeting the day before, she'd opted – regretfully – to stay in, wanting her hands to get a chance to heal some before being overly active. She and Edward met the next day and spent hours talking and swimming. Rose and Alice had been doing the rounds, and were excited that Bella had found "such a hot guy". So when daylight started fading, and Edward asked her if she wanted to go out later, she'd readily agreed.

It was not often that Bella was so affected by a boy. She'd had plenty of crushes, some of which had blossomed into relationships and some which remained unrequited, but this was different level of attraction. They'd spent hours talking, so she knew the basics, but because their time together had been short in the grand scheme of things, she really didn't know him.

And besides, she lived in Washington State while he went to school in Chicago, Illinois. Nothing could really come of this, and no matter how desperately she wanted him, she also wanted to guard her heart. This trip was supposed to be fun, not full of angst and heartbreak.

Another, lilting tune spilled mellowly out of the speakers and they both reached to turn the volume up, laughing when their fingers touched.

"Like Lady and the tramp," Bella grinned.

"Huh?" Edward looked genuinely lost.

"You know - when they were eating spaghetti and ending up kissing…"

"They weren't kissing," he laughed. "Their noses touched."

"It was their first kiss!" Bella huffed, folding her arms.

"So," Edward said, a playful smile at his lips, "if I were to do this," he leaned closer and touched his nose to hers, "would that be our first kiss?"

Bella instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a shaky breath, her stomach coiled into a nervous knot. Edward began to slowly move away but her hands shot out and held his cheeks, stilling him.

He touched his lips softly to hers and she reciprocated, pushing hers against his. Several times they kissed this way, and she'd never known how pleasant it could be to simply just touch. She could feel him smiling into their kisses and it made her smile too.

Bella sighed and began to let herself float back against her seat when Edward reached forward and stopped her, imitating what she'd done before. He slid his fingers into the hair right at the nape of her neck and brought her closer, kissing her with his lips slightly open, catching her bottom lip.

She pressed the button that would release her seatbelt and pressed a little closer, opening her mouth to him, a little startled but fully pleased when he teased his tongue into her mouth.

The song ended, and next one was a snappy little number whose playful insouciance broke the spell.

Edward and Bella leaned back against their respective seats, gazing at each other. On the console between them, their fingers touched, and then linked one by one.