SEVEN

Wednesday afternoon

Putting out the cigarette with the ball of his shoes, Edward looks up to see Isabella wandering towards him. She looks awkward and doesn't bring her gaze up from the floor, her hands buried deep in the pockets of her blazer.

He is grateful that the car park is almost empty. There are a couple of students milling around, but none of his friends are here.

"Hello," She squeaks when she reaches him.

"Hello. You got my note."

"Yes, I did. How comes you don't want to go to the library today?"

"I learned from the best that it's healthy to have a change of scenery sometimes." She grins. "You ready?"

The atmosphere between the pair in Edward's car is electric and he is worried about accidently speeding from the anticipation. At the library on Monday, Edward had caught Bella biting her lip as she eagerly finished Wuthering Heights and he swore that he had almost broken the nib of his pencil.

As the two become more comfortable in one another's company, his need to feel her lips against his had also grown. At first, he had simply enjoyed the companionship, the ability to share his imagination with another human being. Now, something different brewed within him.

He reaches for the gear stick and brushes a finger against her bare thighs, hearing a soft squeak escape from her lips. Her breathing is ragged, shallow. From the corner of his eye, he sees her cheeks are flush. He is happy that this is the kind of reaction he can get from her.

The two remain in uncomfortable silence as Edward pulls the Golf into his driveway. They do not say another word to each other until they are safely within his hallway.

"Would you like a drink?" He asks. Esme taught him the importance of good manners.

"Just water, please. My mouth is a bit dry."

He leads her into the kitchen, which is at the back of the house. Grabbing two glasses from a cupboard, he fills them with the tap and then passes one to Isabella. She thanks him.

"What was it that you wanted to show me?"

"Just my bigger sketchbook. It's in my bedroom. I thought you would like to see it."

"Absolutely." She nods eagerly.

Edward makes his way up the stairs, with Bella trailing along behind him. He made sure to make his bed this morning and kick any dirty boxers out of sight. He had even stolen the reed diffuser from Esme's room to mask any unwanted smells.

"Your room is nice."

"Thank you. I keep meaning to redecorate. I always forget to get round to it."

Isabella sits down on the bed, bouncing slightly. Edward gulps and hurries to locate his sketchbook, which is coincidently right underneath where she is sitting. As he comes up to join her, he makes sure to rub his shoulder against her exposed skin.

"The first Invisi-girl is in here. Mum was going to get me another book like this one, but I got impatient and started in a smaller one. There's a lot more detail here."

Isabella runs a delicate finger over his drawings.

"I can't believe you hide these away. I love them."

While she is distracted, he moves closer to her on the bed. Their heads are directly next to one another now, and, if she moves, she will undoubtedly collide with his cheek.

"Do you?"

She turns her head, and he follows, their lips achingly close. Her sweet breath washes over him. "Mmmhmm."

"If I do something right now, you won't pull away, will you?"

She shakes her head slowly, delicately, as though she worries that it will fall off with sudden movement.

He inches forward gradually so as not to scare her. He imagines that this is her first time kissing someone else and wants to make sure she enjoys it. Raising his gaze, he looks to see if she doesn't want it. Her eyes are closed, and her lips are already slightly puckered.

When they finally meet, they are just as soft as he expected them to be. At first, they merely touch, cautiously, until Edward moves to deepen the kiss. Cradling the back of her head with his hand, he uses his tongue to push her lips open and pulls her flush to his body.

Their bodies intertwine, uncomfortably, as they discover one another. She seems just as hungry as he is because she interlocks her hands in his copper-coloured hair, throwing a leg over to straddle him. Their lips continue to dance against each other.

A low moan escapes from his mouth and she stops, giggling softly. "Am I good?"

"Isabella, you're incredible. Where did you learn to do that?"

"I read it in a book. Seemed like a good way of showing someone you like them."

"Did that book tell you any other ways?"

"Yes. Would you like me to show you?"

Finally! The boy has made his move, hopefully now Bella won't feel so alone in the world :)

A nice update after the pain of trying get onto the site this morning! So happy to see so many of you reading along - love seeing any indication that you're loving where this is going!

Will probably update again later on today - see you then x