The Title

"Pinch me."

"What?" Bella laughed.

"Pinch me."

Gripping a section of Edward's skin between her fingers, she squeezed tightly.

"Ouch!" He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his chest. "What the hell?"

"You told me to pinch you."

"Yeah, but I didn't want you to do it that hard!"

"Sorry." Bella gave Edward her best pout. He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer. "Why did you want to be pinched anyway?"

"Just want to make sure I'm not dreaming."

"Why, does it feel like a dream to you?"

The expression on his face became serious. "I was in a bad place for a long time," he said. "A year ago, I never would have believed that I'd be out of prison by now . . . that I'd have a decent job . . ." Smiling, he shook his head. "A beautiful girlfriend."

Edward didn't miss the way the girl in his arms froze and suddenly looked like she wanted to bolt from the bed. Their relationship status wasn't something that had been discussed, but he assumed, after the last two nights, that they were on the same page when it came to having a committed relationship. But she hadn't corrected him, and that offered him a bit of reassurance.

Bella took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face. She shouldn't have been surprised. She knew how strongly Edward felt about her, and although she cared deeply for him as well, categorizing their relationship turned out to be more difficult than going to bed with him. She bit her tongue when she saw the nervous expression on his face. It was just a title. She reminded herself that they were the same as they'd always been. It obviously made him extremely happy to call her his girlfriend, and if he wanted to label her as such, she wasn't about to burst his bubble.

"I knew you'd be okay."

Taking her cheek gently in his palm, Edward closed the small space between them and placed a kiss on her lips. He was happy when she returned the kiss without hesitation. As he rolled on top of her, the sides of the mattress lifted into the air, and they both sank onto the floor. He had repaired the air mattress with duct tape the night before, but overnight half the air had leaked out, turning them into a human taco any time they got too close.

"I'm going to buy you a bed," Edward said.

"You don't have to do that. "

"I want to. It's my fault you got rid of the other one. Besides, you did blame me for popping this one."

"Is that how you plan to weasel your way into my bed next?"

"I'm here by invitation, remember?" Edward recalled his uncertainty the night before, trying to decide whether to ask Bella if he should sleep with her or start putting sheets on the couch.

"Coming to bed?" she had asked as she stood in the doorway to her bedroom.

Edward didn't hesitate to join her.

"I will gladly sleep wherever you tell me to. If you want me back on the couch, just say so."

Bella studied his face carefully. She saw nothing but honesty in his eyes. "No," she said with a shake of her head. "I like you in here."

Edward's smile slowly faded as he wondered how much longer their living arrangement would last. "Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about."

Bella instantly picked up on his nervousness. "What?"

"One of the guys I work with—Jasper—he's looking for a roommate."

Bella sat up and propped herself up on her elbow, causing Edward to roll onto his side. She looked down at him intently. "And?"

"And I think it might be a good opportunity for me."

"You don't want to live with me anymore?" Bella couldn't understand why else he'd want to move out. She always thought he had been happy staying with her, that he wanted to be with her. Now he was taking the initiative to leave. It didn't make sense, and if she were being perfectly honest with herself, she was a little hurt, too. She knew that sex didn't have to mean anything, but with Edward, it did—for her anyway. And after two nights of being intimate with him, his statement came as a shock. Hadn't he just referred to her as his girlfriend?

Edward frowned at the unexpected disappointment in her voice. "I do."

"Then why do you want to leave?"

"Bella, I can't keep taking advantage of your generosity. "

"You're not," she insisted.

"Eventually I'm going to have to support myself."

"But you don't have to yet. This place is paid for through July."

It was hard for Edward to explain the full extent of his reasoning. He wanted to prove himself, and he wanted Bella to see that he could provide for her. "Because I want to be responsible. I want to prove that I can do this."

"That's a stupid reason to leave!" Bella understood his desire to be independent, but she felt it was blinding him to what was in his best interests. "You'd be throwing your money away. Taking advantage of me and taking advantage of a situation that's presented to you are two completely different things."

Edward sat up and looked her in the eye. "I'm serious about us, Bella. You told me on Sunday that it wasn't a good idea to live together if we were going to be more than friends. If you think we'll stand a better chance if I leave . . ."

Bella's eyes stung with unshed tears. She was surprised by her reaction to him leaving. As unsure as she was about their future together, she had never pictured a time when he wouldn't be there. She always just assumed he would be. "Don't go." Her voice was soft and pleading. "If you want to be here, then stay."

"But I thought that's what you wanted."

"I don't want you to leave. I like having you here."

"Are you sure?"

When Bella nodded, Edward wrapped his arm around her and pulled them both down onto the bed. "Okay. I won't go."

.

.

"Thanks for considering me as a roommate, but I'm not going to be moving," Edward told Jasper on Wednesday afternoon.

"Oh." Jasper seemed surprised. "Okay. Where do you live anyway?"

"In an apartment here near the university."

"Why'd you decide to stay?" Jasper asked cautiously. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me," he quickly added.

"No, it's fine. I never really wanted to leave. I discussed it with Bella; she asked me to stay."

"Bella?" Jasper smirked.

Edward ducked his head. He could feel heat spreading across his cheeks. His coworkers knew he had someone special in his life, but they didn't know the full extent of it, and not once had Edward mentioned Bella by name to anyone but Carlisle. "Yeah," Edward said with a smile.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing. You two been living together long?"

Edward shrugged. "No, only about a month."

"Yeah? Where were you before that?"

Edward regarded Jasper carefully. Although they had spent time together almost every day for the past three weeks, they didn't really know each other. Edward wasn't sure if he was comfortable with his coworkers knowing more about him than they already did. But Jasper never struck him as being malicious or having ulterior motives. In fact, Jasper initiated conversation so rarely that Edward felt obligated to answer his questions.

"Before that?" Edward rubbed the back of his neck. "I was an inmate of the state. I still am, technically."

"That recently?" Jasper quickly reined in his shock. "Sorry, it's just . . . you seem so . . . I don't know. Normal?"

"Normal?" Edward repeated skeptically.

"Yeah."

Edward shook his head.

"Well, it's not like anyone can tell," Jasper said in defense of his word choice. "You don't exactly fit the stereotype."

"Maybe the stereotype is wrong," Edward snapped. Jasper held up his hands. "Sorry. I'm a little on edge. I didn't want everybody to know." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not going to tell anyone. Your past is your business."

"You may not, but . . ." Edward looked over his shoulder in the direction of Rose's lesson room. He wondered if she had arrived while he was in the back. It wouldn't surprise him if she wrote him off completely now that she knew his secret, and the prospect made him sad. As excessive as her flirting was at times, they otherwise got along well, and he would miss their friendship.

"Rose isn't going to say anything either. She has a way of getting into people's business, but she's not a gossip."

"If you say so," Edward said.

A few silent moments passed until Jasper spoke again. "Does Carlisle know?"

"He knew before he hired me."

Jasper nodded.

"I'm not a bad person." Edward could barely whisper the words.

"Never thought you were. Besides, I trust Carlisle. He's a good judge of character."

Edward looked at Jasper, with his multiple facial piercings, makeup, and tattoos. In the short time he had known him, the only thing Edward knew about the man was that he was socially withdrawn and had a seemingly neverending knowledge of guitars. He didn't know about his past or present life outside of work. He didn't know what made Jasper who he was. His appearance must cause people to judge him no matter where he went or what he did, and their preconceived notions were probably wrong. Edward realized that, even if Jasper was an outstanding citizen who had never so much as rolled through a stop sign, he probably faced more discrimination at first sight than Edward himself ever would.

For the first time since Edward began working at Cullen's Chamber, he felt an anxiety he didn't realize he was carrying start slipping away. Jasper accepted him, just as Bella and Carlisle had. He no longer needed to make excuses for why he couldn't go out with his coworkers or why he always left during the store's busiest hours. He didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing or dance around the eleven year gap in his past. He could finally start being himself.

"So this girl, Bella," Jasper said, attempting to bring the conversation back to a lighter topic. "You must have known her before?"

"Actually, I didn't. We met while I was in prison. She wrote to me," Edward admitted.

"Really?" This time Jasper didn't bother masking his surprise. "Nah, you're fucking with me."

"I'm not."

"Whatever, man." Jasper laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "You must be one smooth writer. That or she's a really amazing woman."

Edward's grin was wide as he leaned forward and rested his arms on the counter. "You have no idea."

.

.

"Your apartment is so awesome!"

"Thanks," Bella said as she followed her fellow classmate inside and closed the door of her apartment.

"You are so lucky. I would kill for a place of my own. If I have to live with my roommate much longer, I might end up in a padded room."

Bella laughed at the serious expression on her newest friend's face. "Whatever, Alice. How bad can it be?"

"Ugh!" Alice flopped onto the couch dramatically. "I didn't have any silverware last week. None! I found my entire set in her room, along with my dirty cereal bowls and coffee mugs, which were growing some sort of lab experiment if I may add. And she eats my food all the time." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Speaking of food, can we eat before we start studying? I'm famished."

"Sure. Pizza okay?"

"Oh, my god, yes! Can we get an extra-large? With extra cheese? Oh, and breadsticks, too? You have soda, right?"

Alice paced the apartment after Bella ordered from the pizzeria down the street, becoming more and more impatient the longer she waited. When the food finally arrived, she wasted no time filling up a plate and devouring everything on it. Twice. Then she grabbed the last piece of pizza before they began to study.

Bella looked at her friend and wondered how she could eat that much food. The girl was petite and built like a twig. Her thighs didn't touch, and she was so thin that Bella wondered on more than one occasion where she stored her organs. She didn't appear to be malnourished, though—her weight complimented her fine bone structure perfectly.

Bella was instantly jealous of her metabolism.

"I need a drink," Alice groaned an hour later. She spiked her pen onto the table and closed the lid of her laptop. "We should do a mid-semester celebration after we take this test. What are you doing Friday night?"

"Nothing?" Bella answered lamely.

"Great! Let's go out and have some fun."

"Okay, sure." The prospect of having some girl time sounded fun to Bella, and she couldn't remember the last time she went to a bar. Guilt briefly washed over her as she thought about Edward. It wasn't possible to invite him along, and she hoped he wouldn't take it personally that she was going out without him.

"Yay!" Alice clapped her hands together. "I can't wait." She picked up her pen and chewed on it as she thought. "Almost as much as I can't wait to graduate."

"What are you going to do once you graduate?" Bella asked.

"I won't actually be done with school this spring." Alice grimaced. "I'm going on to get my Master's in Social Work. I've always wanted to work with foster families."

Bella replied with a grunt. She was hoping to find someone else who was in the same dilemma as she was. "How did you know you wanted to do that?"

Alice shifted in her chair. Her eyes met Bella's, and she gave her a soft smile. "It hits close to home."

Her words sank in slowly. Bella's eyes widened as their meaning dawned on her. "Ah, I see."

"What about you?"

"I don't know. I have no clue what to do with a Bachelor's in Psychology. I've been so focused on plowing through everything that I never stopped to think about what I wanted to do with it. I should have picked something else. Anything else."

"What are you passionate about?" Alice asked.

Bella thought for a moment. What was she passionate about? "I don't know," she answered honestly. "I want to make a difference in people's lives, I guess."

"That's a good place to start," Alice said reassuringly. "You'll figure it out."

Bella wasn't so sure.

The girls were interrupted by the sharp ring of the telephone. Bella groaned as she went to answer it. Her suspicions were confirmed when the caller ID showed the name of her apartment building. The caller introduced himself as Officer Cameron, and Bella buzzed him in. When she hung up the phone, she stood in place and stared at the door, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. This was going to be awkward. What would she tell Alice? Deciding honesty was the best policy, she took a deep breath.

"Look, Alice—" Bella winced as a knock on the door cut her off. "I'll explain everything later, okay?"

Alice was confused but nodded anyway and watched as Bella opened the door for a uniformed police officer.

It wasn't the first time an officer had inspected the apartment since Edward moved in. Bella knew it was going to happen, and often, but it still made her uneasy, nevertheless. She much preferred when Officer Evenson was the one to perform the inspection. Sometimes Esme only glanced around, and sometimes she performed a more thorough search, but her warm smile and soothing nature always made Bella feel comfortable.

This was Officer Cameron's third time in the apartment. He never made small talk, and he went through everything with a fine-toothed comb. The drawers, the cupboards, the refrigerator and freezer, the closets—he even pulled apart the couch once. Fortunately the apartment was small and Bella didn't have many things to clutter up the place.

When he was satisfied that everything was on the up-and-up, Officer Cameron dismissed himself. Bella turned to Alice and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Do I want to know what that was about?" she asked.

"My . . . boyfriend is on, uh . . . parole, so . . ." Bella wrung her hands together as she slipped back onto her chair at the kitchen table.

Alice gawked at her, eyes unblinking and jaw open wide. "Your boyfriend is on parole," she repeated just to be sure she heard correctly. "That's—" Alice shook her head in an attempt to collect her thoughts "—the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

"Tell me about it," Bella mumbled.

"And he lives here?"

Bella nodded.

Alice felt completely lost. "I didn't even know you had a boyfriend!"

"It's kind of new."

"Where is he now?" She glanced around the living room as though she could have somehow missed Edward's presence during the past couple hours.

"He's at work."

"Do I get to meet him?"

Bella glanced at the clock. She didn't expect Edward home for a few more hours. The smile on Alice's face was bright, and she felt a sense of relief because of it. Her friend had taken the news surprisingly well. Bella found herself smiling in return and said, "Only if you're willing to stick around."

.

.

Edward was exhausted when he arrived home Wednesday night. The only thing he wanted to do was wrap Bella in his arms and be close to her again. It took him by surprise when he entered the apartment and found her sitting on the couch with a girl he didn't know. The feeling that he was intruding struck him once again, but he pushed it away as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey," Bella called. She stood and gestured for him to join them in the living room. "This is Alice. We have a class together. Alice, this is Edward."

"It's nice to meet you," Alice said as she stood and extended her hand. Her bubbly nature instantly put Edward at ease.

"You, too." Edward looked between the two girls briefly. Alice was beaming, and Bella's cheeks were a lovely shade of pink. He suddenly found himself self-conscious as they both looked at him. "I'll just be in the other room." Unsure of how Bella felt about displays of affection in front of others, he leaned in and placed a quick peck on her cheek. Then he retreated to the bedroom.

"He's cute," Alice mouthed once Edward's back was turned. Bella had to place her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. For the first time, Bella felt giddy about her relationship with Edward. Alice's excitement was contagious, and for once, Bella was relieved to not have to defend her decision to let Edward into her life. It was a much welcome change from the reaction she was used to.

"Yes," Bella agreed. "He is."