DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the intellectual property of the respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

-Chapter Seven-

Shooting a gun was working wonders for my frustration. The almost kiss played in my head on a constant loop. Over again, it taunted and laughed at my attempt to have Edward see me as a woman and not some kid.

Every so often, he would shoot with me or sprout out a few pearls of wisdom about techniques and whatnot, but he mostly kept his distance and acted platonic toward me.

The up close and personal shooting lessons were a thing of the past. It sucked.

I closed my eyes, fantasized about every aspect of his face, and remembered how close his lips were to mine. A mere inch, if not fewer. Then for all of it to be snatched away and cock blocked by whatever morals he believed he had.

Edward acted like a man with morals and an ethical code to uphold.

Edward was a guy who put a gun to a man's face to see him squirm. This guy was a drug dealer and a proud criminal. He had more tattoos than the skin on his body—and that was a short list. I'm sure his infractions go on and on from there.

But me, I am forbidden for him to take?

That was bullshit. This whole situation was driving me to a psychotic break. All I wanted was for Edward to kiss me!

Pop.

I wanted to feel the roughness of his hands on me and his piercing to roll over my lips. I would take that damn thing between my teeth!

Pop.

I wanted him to grab me and throw me up against the hood of his car.

Pop. Pop.

I wanted him to rip off my clothes and press his lean and hard-rock body against mine, whispering about how much he had to have me. Right there! Right now!

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

Closing my eyes, I kept squeezing the damn trigger, but nothing was happening. It just clicked. The gun was empty. It was the third clip that I'd emptied for the sake of therapy.

I turned back to Edward. "I'm out again."

He was leaning on his car, watching me with an amused expression. He was saying something, but I couldn't hear him.

"What?" I shouted.

He laughed, shaking his head as he walked up to me. He handed me another clip from his back pocket.

"I said," his voice was louder, but a ringing in my ears drowned him out, "are you deaf yet?"

Edward was the closest he'd been to me since the failed kiss. Yet, I could still see the reservations in his eyes and this overwhelming display of disconnect. It bothered me.

Why did I care so much? I didn't know Edward. It's been, what, eighteen hours since we met? It was crazy to be having these feelings for him. They were strong, and shit was all too complicated. I knew that they went way beyond a simple crush. I didn't understand why, but I craved his closeness more than the air.

"Come closer, I can't hear you," I said, grabbing his shirt and tugging on it.

He relented and allowed me to pull him down. Our faces were an inch away, and I stared at his mouth and watched with lustful fascination as he chewed on his lip ring.

"Can you hear me?" he whispered.

I nodded, hypnotized by his words.

"Good," he said, smiling coyly. He jerked his body away, my fingers losing their grasp, and I frowned. "We should go."

He took the pistol out of my hand and carefully wrapped it up in a white cloth. The way he took special care of that gun—his baby—made me jealous.

"You did good, Kid," he said, patting me on the back.

I rolled my eyes at him, not even bothering to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "You did well."

"What?" he asked, cocking his head to the side with surprise. "Wait…are you fucking correcting my grammar?"

"Forget it," I said, brushing past him and stomping towards the car, mumbling about him under my breath.

He had no idea what he was doing to me. I was a tad impatient, but it was because he kept toying with me. One minute he's going to kiss me, and the next minute he's patting me on the back like a little buddy.

If I knew one way or the other how he felt about me, I could at least act appropriately around him.

I swung around to confront the jerk, only to find that he was standing over me with a smug smirk on his face.

"Why did you take me out shooting?" I asked, backing away from him, irritated with his closeness.

He stalked after me like I was his prey, and we began to circle his car.

"Because…you wanted me to?"

I scoffed. "That's the only reason? There's nothing else?"

We did a full lap and were back at my passenger side door. Edward took this opportunity to trap me there, pressing our bodies together and putting his hands on the top of the car. He surrounded me. I could smell gunpowder and dirt, but beneath all that was Edward—and he smelled amazing. It was confusing and intoxicating. I was an instant addict.

"Ask me what you want to ask me," he said, dark green eyes demanding.

All my courage was slipping away, and I struggled to keep my breathing under control. Edward was consuming me more than ever now. I couldn't think or speak, for that matter. I just stared up at him.

"Just ask me," he said firmly, noticing my reluctance.

Somewhere in the depths, I managed to summon the courage and just came out with it.

"Why didn't you kiss me?"

That shocked him."What?"

"You were going to kiss me, but at the last minute didn't, why? Is it the age thing? Because if you're worried about it, I'll have you know that I'm turning eighteen in less than two months—forty-four days to be exact."

The dam broke now, and truth spilled out, flooding us both.

"I'll be sure to mark that on my calendar."

"I don't care that you're old."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm not old."

"You're twenty-eight. That's two years away from thirty. That's old."

"So, why would you want to be kissed by old man like me then, hmm?" he asked, leaning down and hovering his lips over mine.

"I've got daddy issues?"

He laughed. "Jesus, Kid, what I am going to do with you?"

Well, I have some ideas about that, Edward, and the way you pin me to this car right now, I'd say we are halfway there.

That's what I should've said, but I chickened out and let my insecurity shine.

"Is it really about my age or is it something else?"

He groaned, leaning his forehead against mine."You don't want to get mixed up with the likes of me, Bella."

"I'm kind of already am."

His head snapped up, and he glared. "No, you're not. You're still good. I don't want to ruin that."

"I'm not as good as you think I am," I said, pushing him away.

He stumbled back. "No, I'm pretty sure you are."

"Really? Well, I do believe that last night you caught me trying to steal your car, Edward. Good girls don't steal cars."

"Yeah, but you got your techniques from watching movies, not through experience."

"So? What difference does that make? If you're so concerned about my amateur skills, why don't you teach me?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose with frustration. "Boosting cars are not something you can put on your resume, Kid."

I snorted. "I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed."

His eyes widened. "You're choosing a life of crime now? Do you know how crazy that sounds? No one chooses this fucking life, Bella, alright? It chooses you."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me, why did it choose you?"

"It didn't." He smirked. "I'm the exception."

Whatever circumstances had led him here, they weren't because he had no choice. He did, and that was when I realized I'd made the same choices: running away from home, living out on the streets, getting mixed up with the wrong people, taking that job from Jake, and deciding to trust a criminal.

"I choose it," I said with a single and firm nod. "So, I guess that makes me the exception, too."

There was no going back for me; he could argue and stare at me with that stern look of his all he wanted, but I wasn't budging.

And I think he knew that.

"Fine!" He groaned loudly, conceding to my demands. Then, he strode back up to me. "Are you hungry?"

I tried to hide my victory smile and shrugged with mocked indifference. "A little."

"Well, I'm fucking starving. Let's get the hell out of here before someone calls the police and go grab something to eat. And then, little brave one," he said, opening my car door for me, "I'm taking you to meet my family."