CHAPTER 27 -

We stayed on the sidewalk, tangled in each other's kiss and embrace, with the rain falling on us for far too long, but I didn't want to let him go.

When we finally did break apart, I pushed the wet hair from his face. "We should probably talk." I said, trying to speak over the rain.

"Probably." He agreed, only to lean in and kiss me again.

I kissed him back for a few moments before pulling back with a little laugh. "I'm not freaking out." I promised.

He smirked. "Ya sure?"

I nodded and scratched his scruffy cheek.

"Maybe I am, then."

I laughed and didn't stop him when he tried to kiss me again, but when Winnie started barking from the front porch, Edward broke our kiss with a sigh.

"We should go inside." I said.

He nodded as I released him from my grasp and slid down to stand on the ground. We both quickly made our way to the front porch, and when we got inside, Edward held a finger to his lips as we tried to quietly make our way to the stairs.

Carlisle's voice came from the front sitting room as we passed by. "I'm getting deja vu, son." He chuckled.

Edward stopped and turned to his father with a sheepish grin.

"You better take those boots off by the door. Your momma's gonna tan your hide if you track that shit through her house."

Edward kicked off his boots by the front door. "You can go to the room. I needa talk to my dad for a minute." He told me softly.

I nodded and took Winnie with me up the stairs. When we got to the room, I dried Winnie off, and she went to curl up in the bed while I got ready for bed. I peeled off my drenched jeans and tank top, thankful to get out of them, and changed into some dry, comfy clothes.

When I walked back into the bedroom, Edward had made it up, and he was in the middle of putting his guitar back in its case. I was surprised at how nonchalantly he had done the task. He didn't seem annoyed or at all worried about it. Like he wasn't even surprised that I had it.

I apologized anyway. "Um, yeah. Sorry about that. I must've grabbed yours by mistake. I stopped driving as soon as I realized it…" I explained quietly.

He looked over at me with eyes that were softer than I expected them to be. "Did you?"

I nodded and leaned against the bathroom doorway, twisting my hands and wrists together. "I know I'm not quite Person of the Year, but I'm not a thief."

"Good to know." He said with a small smile before turning back to the case and closing it. He picked it up and rested it against the wall, staring at it for a minute. The room was heavy with silence for a moment before he sighed. "I think I have a confession to make."

"You do?" I asked in shock.

He moved to lean against the wall, still across the room from me. It was slightly unbelievable to think that only minutes ago we could barely keep our hands off of each other, and now, an outsider looking in could've easily assumed we were strangers.

"I knew I couldn't force you to stay… but I had to give you a reason to come back." He said vaguely.

I looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Your guitar's in the laundry closet. I switched the cases and hid yours."

I tilted my head at him. "You… you knew I was gonna leave."

He nodded. "As soon as you came out of the bathroom… I just knew that look. I'd only seen it one other time, but I knew what it meant. I'd talked you into staying then, but something told me that if I couldn't talk you into staying... I just needed to let you go this time. Let you come back on your own. And if you didn't… well, I guess I just would've had to press charges." He said with his cocky crooked smile.

"You're an odd brand of crazy, Edward Cullen." I said adoringly, giggling.

"Yeah, but so are you, bellbottoms." He said just as lovingly.

I didn't want the distance between us anymore. I quickly crossed the room and hopped up into his arms for the second time that early morning. Edward easily caught me and kissed me just before he walked us over to the bed. He laid me down and hovered over me for a moment.

"Just so we're clear, you're over the whole 'goody-two-shoes, this is my parents' house' thing, right?" He asked, his lips a mere inch from mine.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, but if you keep reminding me, I might not be."

"Let me shut the fuck up then." He chuckled and then captured my lips in his.

~ COFFEE & BOURBON ~

We laid in bed, tangled up together until Edward got up to turn off the light and a only few moments later, he was back under the covers with me. His arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me in so close that there was no space left between our bodies. I felt his lips softly brush my neck before he rested his head on the pillow, and after a minute or so of silence, I heard him whisper in the dark. "Baby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did."

I turned over and hid my face in his neck. "Me neither. And me, too."

"Is that how you feel, though?"

"Is that how you feel?" I asked, my voice full of emotion as I pulled my head back and tried to look at him in the dark. I knew I didn't mean what I said, but if he was even asking the question, that made me think that there was some truth behind his words.

"No, of course not. I was just pissed off. And hurt. I was aggravated with you and myself and with the entire situation in general. I didn't understand why you weren't telling me what happened or what she could've said to make you leave so easily. I just thought that maybe… maybe if I got you mad enough to stay and fight, I could get you to stay and talk and tell me what she said." He kissed my forehead.

I reached for his face in the dark and gently scratched his scruffy cheek. "I didn't mean it. I just wanted to make it easier for me to hate you, so leaving didn't hurt so much."

"Why would you want that?" He asked, upset.

I sighed. I needed to tell him about my conversation with Lizzie, and though it wasn't something I wanted to do in the middle of the night, the thought of waking up next to him, happy and back to normal, made me want to hash everything out right then and there. There was no sense in waiting. "Your aunt told me some things about my past relationships that there's no way she could've known without anyone telling her, and then she told me who she heard it from. It just sent me spiraling from there."

"Bella, I didn't tell Lizzie—"

"But you told Tanya?" My voice was accusing.

"Shit." He muttered and sat up in the bed. He reached over and turned on the lamp, and I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted to the light. I sat up as well and faced him. Edward took both my hands in his. "I did tell her what you told me the night you saw Jacob. I was drunk and still pissed off from the last time we'd talked. I was mad at you for calling me out and mad at myself for having feelings for you when I was already in a relationship. So, on the ride home that night, when she asked what happened and why you punched him, it just came out. I just needed to vent, and she was there."

"I get that. She was your girlfriend. You should've been able to tell her whatever you wanted. I mean we talk shit all the time, don't we?" I joked halfheartedly. "But it's just in that moment with Lizzie, I just felt like I'd gotten a knife shoved in my back. And then when she said…" I shook my head.

"Said what, Bella?"

"That I wasn't good enough to be with you and that you knew that, so you'd never be able to see me as a serious romantic partner and not just a fling."

Edward was fuming. I could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves, and as calmly as he could, he pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around me. He hugged me close for a moment before looking into my eyes. "Don't believe a damn thing she said." He said sternly before shaking his head. "Is there anything else she told you that I should know about?"

I shrugged. There was definitely more, but I wasn't sure if it warranted telling him. They paled in comparison to the other parts of our very short, very unpleasant conversation.

"Tell me, baby."

"It was just snide remarks aside from the big two, honestly. She said I fogged your judgment, and the word white trash may have gotten used. That's about it."

"Because attacking your adult nephew's girlfriend in the bathroom is so fucking classy." He muttered and rested his forehead against mine. "I'm so sorry, baby."

I barely heard anything after he called me his girlfriend. "Am I?"

"What?" He was adorably confused.

"Am I your girlfriend?"

Edward smiled crookedly. "Well, that's the impression I was under."

"Me, too. We just… never talked about it and I've never heard you call me that before." I said softly and brought my hand up to scratch his beard. "E?"

"Hmm?"

I closed my eyes and tried to push away the anxious feeling in my stomach. You have your shit together now, remember?

"What's wrong, bellbottoms?"

I opened my eyes again and tried to get impossibly closer to him. "I don't know if you've figured it out yet or not, but I don't wanna call it. Ever."

"Then we won't." He replied simply. "Ever."

I smiled and kissed his lips gently. "I'm sorry I'm such a drama queen." I whispered.

He smirked. "I knew what I was getting into with you the moment I saw you punch a whiskey drunk cowboy in his face, alright? I don't mind front stage tickets to the show, but just warn me next time you decide to cast me for a part."

I giggled and then sighed. "I'm sorry." I repeated pathetically.

He kissed my lips, and though it started chaste, it was only moments until I ended up straddling him with my hands buried in his still damp hair.

Edward rolled over and pushed me down onto my back. His lips left mine, and he looked at me for a moment, his eyes sincere. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too, E."

Edward's lips met mine again before they traveled down to my neck, and with the normalcy nearly returned, I couldn't help but feel a little nagging at the back of my mind. It was like I was forgetting something.

And then I remembered.

"Fuck. E, we're four hours from Fort Worth. And it's Sunday morning."

He leaned back on his elbow and eyed me curiously. "Yes?"

"It's Sunday. We're supposed to have lunch with my dad today."

"We'll just head out at six. It'll be fine." He assured me.

I whined.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I knew what he was thinking, even if he was too much of a gentleman to actually say it. We were only here because of me in the first place.

"Alright." I agreed softly.

He lowered his head to kiss me.

There was just one more thing nagging at me.

I put my hands on his chest. "Can I go look at that house with you?" I whispered.

"Ya sure?" He asked, his forehead lowering down to touch mine.

I nodded against him, playing with the small curls of his at the nape of his neck.

"I'm gonna need a verbal confirmation on this one, baby."

"I'm sure." I replied softly.

"About what?" He pressed.

I kissed him sweetly. "I'm sure I want to move in with you. For real. So I can be your little hippie homemaker. Dinner's on the stove, dog's already fed… ya know? That kinda stuff."

Edward lips stretched into a heartbreaking grin. "Oh, yeah? Full send, huh?"

"You're stuck with this shitshow now, Edward Cullen."

He chuckled. "I could think of worse things to be stuck with." He assured me and kissed my lips. His kisses trailed down from my mouth to my jaw as his hand traveled down my side.

"How many bedrooms is the house?"

I felt him smirk against my skin. "Three."

"And there's a yard for Winnie?"

"Mmhmm."

"What about—"

Edward kissed my lips before I could finish my next question. He was trying to shut me up, but he needed to try harder.

His kisses were moving lower and lower down my body again. His head was just above my belly button when I tried my question again.

"What about the—"

He groaned and hastily captured my lips in his again. It was long and slow. The kind that left me breathless and feeling a little drunk when he pulled away. "Bellbottoms?" He said against my lips.

"Hmm?"

"Hush." His head moved down my body again, and by the time he had finally trailed his kisses to their intended location, I needed him too much to think of more ways to be difficult, which was exactly where he wanted me.

A/N I'm honestly not sure when the next update will be. Work has kept me quite busy this summer, and I may need to take a break from writing during July. Please don't hate me too much. Until the next one, bebs.