I'm quiet for a moment while I try to figure out how to start this story. Edward doesn't prod, no doubt understanding that I need to collect my thoughts.

"Jake was my high school boyfriend. Our dads were fishing buddies, so I'd known him for a long time. I suppose we grew up together during the summers I spent in Forks. He's a year younger than me, but by ninth grade he'd grown tall and muscular, and often got mistaken for being much older than either of us. We started dating during my junior year in high school. Our relationship started slow and honestly stayed innocent while we were in Forks. We stayed together during the year we spent apart, too, while I was a freshman at UDub.

"When Jake got a scholarship to Seattle University, it seemed fated that our relationship should continue full-swing in the city. I was fairly naïve then - I hadn't wanted to have sex when either of us were in high school. His move to Seattle seemed like a sign, and I suppose it's expected that we'd sleep together after being with each other for two years. So, yeah, he was my first, and my last before you."

Edward's arms relax a bit. "So you stayed together though college?" he asks, knowing that the last time I slept with Jake was at the end of school.

"Yes, well actually until Jake got out of school. He finished in three and a half years. We split up after he graduated in December, when I was in the middle of my first year of teaching."

Edward tightens one arm on my torso, then rubs his hand over my upper arm. "What happened?" he asks.

"Well, to make a long story short, we'd been planning our life together. We'd gotten engaged when I graduated in June." Edward sucks in a breath hard through his nose, and I feel his chest rise against my back. I need to plough through this story, to get it out so we can move on.

"Right after our engagement, Jake left for a study-abroad program in Brazil. His major was engineering, and the law school offered an eight-week intensive environmental law program in Rio de Janeiro. The program counted towards more undergraduate credits than Jake could have earned during the same time in Seattle, and he was trying to finish school early. It was unusual that he even got accepted, so I was really proud of him and supportive of the trip. After Jake came back from Brazil he was distant. I knew he was focused on finishing his degree, so I tried not to think too much of it. And anyway, I was busy figuring out my first year as a third-grade teacher."

I pause because I'm not sure I should tell Edward that Jake and I didn't have sex again after he came back from Rio. Would I want to know that if it had happened between Edward and Maggie?

"Officially, we stayed together through Jake's final semester. But we were different, not as close. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, and cried myself to sleep a lot that Fall.

"Meanwhile, all Allie had ever wanted to do was travel. She got selected for the Alaska Airlines flight attendant program that summer and met Jasper almost immediately. They were head over heels from the moment they began dating, and between Allie's work schedule and new relationship, I hardly saw her. The few times we'd see each other at our apartment, she was in too good a mood for me to want to bring her down with my sad story."

"Bella, I'm sure Allie would have been there for you. It's obvious she's a good friend to you."

"I know. I think I didn't want to admit there was a problem," I say with a sigh. "Anyway, the school kids kept me sane. I loved teaching. It didn't pay very well - I think I made less at the Catholic school than I had giving tours and assisting cruise passengers with their shore excursions. But I felt fulfilled in my work, and I didn't need much money since I was still sharing my apartment with Allie. I was waiting for Jake to graduate. My plan was to look for a better-paying job in a public school once it was confirmed where we'd live. Jake had a strong chance of getting a job outside the area and before Rio we had talked about the possible places we might move."

"What happened between you and Jake," Edward prods gently.

"He did get a job elsewhere. An environmental engineering company in Austin offered him a great position. Jake broke the news to me just before his December graduation ceremony, when our dads were both in the audience waiting for me to sit with them. I remember hugging Jake tightly, so happy for him that he got the job offer and hopeful that we could move forward again. He pulled my arms from around his torso and told me we needed to talk. I think I knew what was coming before he said it."

Edward hugs me tighter again, rubbing his hands over my arms and shoulders. "I'm sure that hurt. I'm sorry you went through that. Maybe it's fate, though. If you and Jake had ended up together, we wouldn't have had the chance to get to know one another. I suppose that's just me being selfish, though."

"No, you're right, Edward. I like that thought."

After a pause I start again. "The truth is, when Jake and I split I mostly mourned the loss of my plans. We were going to get married, embark on our careers, and start a family. For nearly six years I had been forming that plan. You told me the other day that it hurt when Maggie broke up with you. I think it was the same with me - when Jake and I split, I felt rejected, uncertain about my future, and embarrassed. Later, the sting deepened when I learned that Jake had met someone in Rio. "

"My instinct is to hate this guy for what he did to you," Edward confesses, "but on the other hand I'm so grateful you didn't end up with him."

"I don't wish him any ill will, Edward. I've gotten over all that. Our split made me realize we weren't right for one another - I missed my plans, not Jake. That's hardly the mark of someone in love."

"How did you learn about the person he met in Rio?"

"Oh, my dad sometimes gives me updates. Apparently, she moved to Texas when Jake located there. I think they're still together. My dad's not the most obvious person in the world. When he brings up Jake, I usually change the subject. Jake is my past and I don't want to dwell on my past."

The bath water has turned tepid so we climb out of the tub. I wrap a towel around Edward's torso when he steps out after me. We hug for a moment before Edward gently pushes my shoulders so I'll step back.

"Let's go to bed, Bella." He leans down and places a kiss on my lips. "Hang on a minute. I'll grab something for you."

Edward leaves me in his bathroom and appears a couple of minutes later while I'm towel drying my hair. He puts a new toothbrush in the holder on his countertop. "You can have that one," he smiles at me before brushing his teeth with his own toothbrush. It makes me a little giddy that I have my own toothbrush at Edward's place. As I reach for it, my charm knocks against the countertop and I'm reminded that we've been together for only a week and a day. Should I be concerned that I already have a toothbrush here? Butterflies form in my stomach, though perhaps not the good kind. I decide not to think about it and push the nerves out of my mind.

A/N - Thank you to those who have been reviewing. I love reading your feedback. This fic doesn't seem to be pulling in any new readers, and more than half the people who read the first chapter don't move forward. If you have any ideas what I could do to make the entrance more engaging, I would love to hear your thoughts either through a PM or a review.