AN: Here it is. Finally. Life has been complicated and the babies come first. Always.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll do my best to get the next one finished soon.

Chapter 10

My lips tasted like cherry lip smacker.

I was licking it off my mouth. The theater was so dark. Edward's shoulder was touching mine.

This was the most stressful experience of my life. My whole body was feeling every sensation. He made me tingle.

I had been to the movies with boys before. Okay, technically it was with Jacob. That was pretty much just like hanging out with another girl so he didn't count.

Edward was a boy you kissed. He brought me a My Little Pony coloring book when he picked me up. I had always imagined that my first date would have a flower bouquet involved. A coloring book was something I never imagined. Edward was a weird guy.

A year ago, Mike was the guy I imagined taking me on my first date. He would be the guy to give me flowers. I find that I prefer My Little Ponies that I can color.

I hate the way he was making me get all girly.

It was pretty awesome actually. But I made a promise to myself that Edward was going to have to work for it if he wants to be around me. It starts with handholding, coloring books and the snacks he got for us at the concession stand.

He kept staring at me every time I took a sip from my soda. Like he would zero in on my lips. I'm glad it was dark and he couldn't see my blush. My cheeks were burning.

The movie's music was making me tap my feet, but I could barely focus on the words the characters were saying. I mean, the guys in it were cute and all, but they were no Edward.

Edward, of the super cuteness, yawned and placed his arm round my shoulder. It made my heart feel like it was going to burst out my chest and splatter all over the screen. That was a really nasty thought.

"Smooth move, Ex-lax," I snapped.

That made him roar with laughter.

"Shh!" A man behind us hissed.

I turned around to see a balding, old guy with the large size popcorn that I think was bigger than his head. The guy was also sweating profusely. The light from the screen made the sweat glisten. It was gross.

"You want me to move it?" Edward asked. He was smirking.

I turned from the weird man behind us. "No. I didn't say that, did I? It's chilly in here."

My head was held up high, but inside I was having an Edward induced panic attack.

Edward's mouth went to my ear and he whispered, "That dude behind us is totally getting off on the plaid skirts."

I punched him in the gut. "Stop being gross, Cullen!"

Edward started cracking up again. I had never seen him this happy. It was really cool. I could possibly like this boy more than just for awesome kissing. He was also a lot of fun.

"Fucking kids," the man grumbled and he heaved up his huge body. There was a lot of muttering and grunting as he moved away from us.

"Good," Edward stated as he watched the man leave. "I didn't like that perv being behind you."

"You were protecting me again," I stated in wonder. Was Edward deeper than I ever imagined?

He pulled me closer to him. I wished there wasn't an arm rest between us. Edward put his cheek against mine. "Always."

Damn him for making me almost forget that I was still kind of mad at him.

"You want to move to the back?" His voice was thick. His mouth was now against my cheek. Oh how my heart was pounding even more than before.

I pulled away slightly to look at his face. "Why?"

"Its dark and perfect for . . . You know . . . Umm . . . Stuff."

"Stuff? Movie watching stuff or—" I began. His hand was behind my neck and slowly pulling my face closer to his.

"Kissing stuff," he explained. Edward licked his lips and than proceeded to take his tongue and sweep it over my mouth. I shivered in response. "You taste good."

I stared at him and tried to look cross. "Always in the dark where no one can see me, right?"

"Nah," he said. He smiled and played with my ear lobe with his long fingers. "James is here with Vicki."

I saw him glance near us. James and Victoria were practically doing it in the tiny movie theater seats. James had his hand on Victoria's breast.

It made me kind of want Edward's hand on mine. It was pretty cool when he did it before. I liked it. A lot.

Control was what I needed. With a deep breath, I lied, "I really want to watch the movie."

Edward's nose rubbed against mine. "Okay. You watch the movie and I'll watch you."

I turned my head to the screen, but all I was aware of was the movements he made. The tub of popcorn went to the floor. Our joined hands went onto his lap. It was right on top of the bulge in his pants. Occasionally, he would shift our hands as the characters fought on the screen. My hand was rubbing against him as he moved. My eyes widened at the sensation.

"Are you okay?" He placed his head on my mine. "You doing good, girl?"

"My hand is on—" I might faint.

He kissed the top of my head. "I'll behave."

The question wasn't if Edward could behave, it was if I could.

XXXXXX

"You want to head somewhere else?" Edward asked, as we headed to his car after the movie finished.

We swung our clasped hands. I wondered if he liked doing this as much as I did. It felt like were a real couple. It made me dream of things that could break me in pieces later.

"It's still early." I glanced at my watch. "My dad won't be sitting on the front porch waiting for you yet."

To say that my dad wasn't impressed by my dating was an understatement. I couldn't help grinning at the memory.

"No. No way. No how," my dad stated, as I led Edward into the house.

"Be nice, Dad," I implored. "This is Edward Cullen."

Edward nodded at my dad. "What's up, Mr. S?"

My dad's eyes widened. I think he wanted to literally throw Edward out of our house. Like pick him up by the back of the shirt and toss him through the front door.

"Bella, is this boy eighteen?"

"No . . . Well . . . I'm not quite sure." I looked Edward up and down. "How old are you, Edward?"

My father's face got so red, that I thought his head was going to explode.

"I'll be like eighteen in June." He ran his fingers through his hair. I might have sighed a little. It was completely unintentional.

"Charlie, let the kids be. You two have a wonderful time!" Mom explained. She had this weird look in her eye. I think she was swooning over Edward in that Mom way. Kind of like he brought back memories when she had a boyfriend like him. You know, before she married dad and got old.

Edward gave her his special smile. "I see where Bella got cute, Mrs. S."

My mother got all giggly.

My father looked like he wanted to punch something. He muttered, "Jesus, Renee."

At least I had Mom on my side.

Edward, in the most nonchalant way, asked, "Will he be using his gun to scare me?"

"Dad didn't have one when you picked me up, but I'm sure that he ran right out to a gun shop to get one." I gave him a huge smile, as his usual bravado fell away.

"You're shitting me, right?" he asked. We had arrived to the car. He leaned me against it. Edward was right in the middle of my personal space. I decided to enjoy it for a few minutes.

"Maybe. I think we should wait and see what he does." I tapped his cheek. "It's more exciting that way."

"God, you're cute." He moved in toward my mouth and I slipped away from him. "You're still mad?"

"Maybe." I gave him a wink. This boy probably never worked for anything in his life. Well, he'll be working now. It will be good for him. He'll grow some positive characteristics.

Edward opened my door. "You'll forgive me."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, as he helped me in.

He kissed the back of my hand. "It's already started."

The car door shut and my brain was flip flopping all over the place. Edward Cullen was a cocky bastard. I was attracted to his cocky bastard. I was so going to cave, unless—

I moved my body to the edge of the car seat as far as I could with my seatbelt on. We needed physical distance. It would help me keep a clear head.

"Come here," he instructed. Edward took my hand and pulled it so I moved closer. "Don't be shy."

"You can't drive if I'm sitting on your lap," I pointed out.

He grinned down at our hands. "Nah, but it would be fun."

"Edward." I tried to sound offended.

"I can at least shift gears holding your hand." He let go for a minute to start up the car. "I'm like good at doing more than one thing. You wanna head to Emmett's?"

The thought of that dark house made me cringe just a little. I'm sure Emmett was cool and all, but he was just so big. He was kind of a giant that was like nice, but maybe not really. I couldn't explain it very well. I just had a feeling about Emmett. It seemed to crawl under my skin and it didn't feel good. Maybe I was just being silly, but—

"Nope. Really don't want to go there." I turned to look out the window as we pulled out of the parking lot. A new group of movie viewers were lined up to buy their tickets. It made me wonder about their lives. Do they head to horror movies so they can scream and hug their dates? That was a pretty great idea actually. Maybe they get lost in what's happening on the screen, because it makes for an escape from what's happening in their real lives? I think they might be glancing at Edward's car and maybe thinking about what we are doing in here. Why a girl like me was with a boy like him? I was just like them. I had no idea how I got in here either.

Edward sort of made this humming noise and started heading in the opposite direction from where my house was located. I realized as he drove that the guy was a speeder. He had a lead foot. My one hand was intertwined with his and the other was gripping the handle on the door like it could it could protect me from the impending crash into a tree. How in the world he was driving at this speed with one hand and not having us dive off a cliff was a miracle.

"Do you always drive like a Nascar driver?" I glanced at my knuckles. I was squeezing the handle so hard that they were becoming a snowy white.

He chuckled. "This isn't nothing. I can go faster. You think you can stop digging your nails into my hand? I want you to keep holding it, but it's starting to hurt."

I only relaxed a little. It seemed to be enough, because he didn't say anything. That little smile remained on his lips.

It appeared that we were heading to the bluff. The road was winding and surrounded by trees.

"This is bordering on creepy, Edward. Taking a poor girl into the dark woods and—"

He sniffed my palm and made an odd hissing noise. "Yum."

"I'm serious here," I stated, trying so very hard not to laugh.

"You mean like, you know, a guy with a hook on the door?" He started going up a gravel road.

"I guess."

"Yeah. I would stop him." Edward looked thoughtful. I was certain he was going to say something about protecting me, but instead, "Can't let him mess up my paint job."

I looked at his face. His tongue peeked out of his lips and he licked them quickly. I glanced down and my knees and murmured, "Glad to know. I can defend myself while you rescue your precious."

There was a squeeze of my hand and I looked up into those green eyes of his. The special smile he always gave me made me feel so happy. "I guess, Bella. You seem like a tough girl. I can save you, if you get in a jam. You know, once the car is safe."

The radio was softly playing some song. I turned it up to hear the guitar riffs filling the car. It was so very warm and I was tempted to roll down the window. The idea of the wind in my hair and it cooling down my heated face seemed like a great idea. The heater wasn't on, so I couldn't blame that. Of course, the heat coursing through me might not be due to the car, but the contact I was having with Edward

A drum beat replaced the guitars. I was trying to use the music to distract me. It wasn't working at all. I was like hyper aware of his every movement. The way he tapped the steering wheel with his fingers to the beat. Edward also had a tendency to not concentrate on the road. I think he was glancing at my boobs. I don't have much there, so he might be trying to search for them like a scavenger hunt.

Why was he still holding my hand? They felt sweaty again. I was probably stuck to him like glue. He couldn't shake my wet fingers off, because he didn't want to crash the car. This was so embarrassing.

The car was pulled close to the edge of the cliff. There were a few other cars around us. Their windows were all fogged. A part of me was curious who was in them and what they were doing in the cars. Could they be discussing their futures? Whispering words of love in each others' ears? They were probably just making out. I think romance is just a dream in your head. It's just a figment of a teenage girl's imagination.

Edward shut off the car. There was quiet. No music to break the uncomfortable stillness or the anticipation of the boundless possibilities of what could happen next.

He unbuckled his seat belt and then reached over to do the same to mine. "There you go. More comfortable."

"Thanks," I squeaked in a reply.

My hands, free from his hold, now clutched my knees. I stared out the front window at the water below us. My body was as stiff as a board.

"What do you wanna do now?" He lazily asked. So relaxed like nothing in the world ever fazed him.

"The stars are lovely. I think I see Cassiopeia," I answered. I turned my gaze to the stars. I had no clue what the hell I was looking at. The only one I could pick out was the Big Dipper. Cassiopeia sounded so much cooler.

His finger started tracing my ear. It started at the top then followed the curves. My whole body felt those simple movements.

Edward scooted closer. "You're prettier than those stupid stars."

"I wouldn't discount those stars. They like shimmer. They'll last so much longer than you and me."

The stars seemed brighter to me. I just stared at them, because one look at the brightness I saw in Edward would draw me in even more.

"You talk, you know, a lot. I kind of like it." He said this into my neck. His breath made me giggle.

"I kind of like—" My words were interrupted by his mouth pressing against mine.

That completely changed what I was going to say. Originally, I was going to tell him I liked the cliffs. Now I just like kissing his face. Really liked it.

He had twisted his fingers in my hair and one hand was going up the back of my shirt. His skin was moving up mine. My chest pressed against his. The taste of Edward was so strong as our tongues moved together. He actually didn't smell like cigarettes. Instead he smelled like boy. It was a wonderful scent.

More. More. More.

Edward was unhooking my bra.

"Whoa there," I objected, breathlessly. Edward's palm was flat against my back where my bra was originally connected. "What are you doing?"

"Touching." His mouth was still against mine. It was like we were kiss talking. "Does it feel good?"

"Yes . . . No . . . Sort of." I pushed him away. "I said we would be going slow."

Edward looked confused and started messing with his hair. "This is slow."

"What's fast to you? Should I be naked in the backseat?"

His smile grew big. "You want to?"

"No!" I struggled to fix my bra. How something that I do everyday became difficult to do at this moment was a mystery. "You can take me home now."

I expected him to start the car and pull out without speaking to me ever again. Instead he said, "Bella, I—"

"I'm serious, Edward. I'm not going to be doing that stuff yet," I explained. "I don't know you. Not really. I'm going to be in love if, you know, I do it. You're cute and all, but I'm not in love with you."

Not yet. After this night there would never be the chance.

"You think I'm cute?" Edward asked. He held my chin and looked into my eyes.

"That's all you got out of what I said?" You have to be kidding me.

"Nah. You're different. Bella Swan, you're one cool girl. I want to get to know you." His arms wrapped around my waist and I felt him under my shirt again. "I like you, girl."

"Did you forget about slow?" I gave him the meanest look I could muster up.

He hooked my bra and patted the clasp twice. "Just fixing you up."

"Oh." Whiplash, thy name is Edward Cullen.

"Can I still do this?" Edward inquired, as he pulled me close again.

I clutched the sleeves of his flannel. "Sure."

He rubbed his nose against mine. "This?"

"Okay."

The bottom of my lip was tugged on by Edward's teeth. "You good?"

"Uh huh." I was trembling in his arms.

He kissed me. I kissed him back.

"This good, pretty?" He called me pretty again and I wanted to melt into him. I sighed, as he ran his nose from my forehead to chin.

"Please," I sighed.

The kissing started up again. I was seeing a whole different set of stars now and they were all made up of Edward.