Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Thanks to Jax713 for pre-reading and to mcc101180 for beta-ing.

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Bella and I discuss her results as Jane pretends not to be paying attention to us. Bella did an outstanding job with her samples, and even though I am extremely proud, I want her to know this doesn't happen often—so she can appreciate it when it does, but won't be crushed when it doesn't.

"Are you familiar with Murphy's law?" I ask, once she's done writing in her notebook.

"Yes… of course." She turns to look at me. "Oh! Are you named after him?"

"What? Not that I know of. His name was Edward?" I always knew the guy as Murphy.

"Yep. Edward Murphy." She closes her notebook and starts putting away her things.

"You're kidding," I say in disbelief, walking closer to her.

"No, I'm not."

"How do you know that?"

"I watch Jeopardy, a lot." A small smile tugs at her lips as she gazes up embarrassedly at me.

"Why am I not surprised by that?"

She shrugs as she removes her lab coat, and I am instantly distracted. "Were you going to say something about Murphy?"

"Yeah…" I snap out of my jeans-and-tight-t-shirt-induced trance, searching for what it was I was going to say to her. Murphy's law. Right. "His law applies to the lab too."

"Oh, I know. 'Everything that can go wrong will go wrong.'"

"Exactly." I nod.

"I don't believe in that though."

"Of course you don't." I've inched myself closer to her, and now I am standing right beside her.

She waves a hand over her successful experiment, making her point with a lovely smile. "Besides," she says. "Murphy was a pessimistic loser."

"And you're a glass-half-full kind of girl?" I probe, still towering over her.

"Technically, the glass is always full. Half with water. Half with air." Her eyes crinkle as she stares up a me, a tantalizing expression on her face.

"Are you trying to be a smart ass?" I rest my elbow on the bench, so that we are face to face.

"That depends." She lowers her voice— her eyes on mine.

"On what?"

"Do you like smart asses?" She runs a finger on my forearm, and I realize I've leaned into her way too closely. The touch of her finger sends an electric current through my body that ends exactly between my legs.

I give her a warning look as I stagger back.

She can't possibly be doing this to me!

I don't need another painful erection to will away.

"Anyway…" She takes a deep breath. "How many of his laws do you know?"

How classic Bella! I try to teach her a lesson, and it turns out she knows more about this than me.

"Just the one," I admit sheepishly, taking a deep breath myself.

"That's it?" She looks at me, surprised and with raised eyebrows.

"Enlighten me, then."

"'Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse,'" she recites proudly.

I might just be the biggest nerd on the planet, but I find the fact that she knows this shit incredibly sexy. My eyes dart to the clock on the wall; I still have hours of work ahead of me. How inconvenient!

I swallow hard. "That's a good one, and it's actually true."

"'Matter will be damaged in direct proportion to its value.'"

I chuckle at that one. "Also true."

"Geez, Edward, you're one of the grumpiest, most pessimistic people I know and you don't know any of these?" Her hands fly to her hips as she looks at me teasingly.

All right, that's it… I straighten my back from the bench and glare at her. She's asking for it. She's provoking me.

God, I want her so much.

"Last one. I promise," she says with a smile. "'Hot glass looks exactly the same as cold glass.' I learned that one the hard way."

My laugh combines with Bella's giggles, and Jane clears her throat from behind her bench. "Would you guys keep it down? I'm trying to do science here."

I roll my eyes at stick-up-her-ass Jane and turn to face Bella. She's running a hand over her ponytail as her giggles subside.

Her expression is one of true happiness, and my eyes get lost in hers. My own bottom lip is sucked under my teeth as I take in the beauty of Bella's face.

My eyes dart to the clock again— I couldn't possibly wait that long.

"Bella," I say, trying to keep my voice even, "I think we better go take a look at that gel." I can't believe the words that escape my mouth.

"What gel?" Bella asks, oblivious.

I stare intently at her, my back to Jane. "The gel, Bella."

"Oh… right," she says with a knowing smile on her face.

Bella heads out, with me trailing behind her, to the dark room.

Once inside, I turn the lights off so that the IN USE signal goes on. As soon as I do, Bella takes in a sharp breath.

"Are you trying to drive me mad?" I ask, reaching for her face in the darkness.

"Maybe," she whispers.

My hands travel to her neck, under her ponytail, where I seize the hairband and release her hair.

"Bella…" I press myself onto her against the bench. "This is not very smart. We could get caught." I grab her legs and pull her up on the counter.

"Not smart…" she says into my neck.

"Do you know how difficult it is for me to keep my hands to myself without you provoking me?" I run a hand under her shirt, over her ribcage, to cup her breast, and she gasps. "Do you know how hard it is?" I press myself between her legs to make the point.

"Oh, it's hard all right." She giggles, pressing herself against me, locking her legs around me.

"You make me insane, Bella…" I say, biting her lip. She moans against me as her hands fist my hair. "Please... can I?"

"Oh God, yes… Edward, please."

She doesn't have to ask twice. I lift her from the bench with one hand, while the other works the buttons of her jeans. A few seconds later, I'm pounding into her while I stifle my moans into her shoulder.

God bless the dark room!

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A/N: BlueBallBitterward no more *\o/*