Thank you, as always, for reading, reviewing, rec'ing and adding The Trip to your communities and, of course, thanks MC. XOXO

Reminder: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. This all human version of events, however, is mine.

Enjoy.

Chapter 26: Revelations

"Aw, look at you," I teased after Edward was done with hair and makeup. "You look so pretty."

Edward smiled an embarrassed smile as he got up from his chair, diverting his eyes from mine and shook his head. It was hard to tell with the makeup on his face, but it looked like he was actually blushing from my comment.

I looked harder and I giggled when I realized, I had actually just made him blush.

Edward pulled his hand up to his hair and then stopped, upon seeing the horrified look on the hairstylist's face, jerking his hand away. Instead, he cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets and gave me a withering look that made me wonder if he was always this nervous on set or if it was just because I was there. I hoped it wasn't because of me. I didn't want my presence to be a hindrance to his ability to do his job.

Attempting to abate his nerves, I walked over to him and slid my arms around his waist, smiling up at him.

"You think this is funny, huh?" he asked, smiling down at me before giving me a soft kiss.

"Nope," I giggled, realizing he probably kissed the way he had so he didn't mess up his makeup. "I just think you're quite beautiful… with make-up on," I tacked on with a squeak, a fit of giggles quickly following.

Edward rolled his eyes at me and then flashed a glare at the stylists who'd joined me in my laughter.

"Oh, don't get crabby. I'm just teasing, baby," I placated him trying to stifle my giggles. "To be honest, you look incredibly sexy no matter what you're wearing."

Edward flashed a sexy smile of amusement.

"Or not wearing…" I tacked on raising my eyebrows suggestively, licking my lips.

"Don't start," he warned me. But his desire was evident in his eyes, making his reproachful scowl less impressive. "I have to work."

"Fine," I conceded sounding impressively petulant—probably because I kind of was. "But it's your fault."

Edward shook his head at me with a smile and let out a sharp, defeated laugh.

"Anthony?" a tall, brown-haired woman called, getting Edward's attention. "They're ready for you." And then she was off to whatever other task she had to do.

I found it so strange hearing everyone call him Anthony there on set. I guess I'd half expected that the people he worked with, who knew him personally, would just call him Edward. But then again, he was a pretty private person, so it made sense to me why he would maintain his stage name on set. It was his work name, and he was at work.

I realized then that it answered why it wasn't known by the general populous that he went by Edward in his private life—not many people knew it and those who did, guarded the fact. But that was the way it was with so many things about him.

Edward grabbed my hand and we walked over to where he needed to be. He pointed things out and explained a few technical things along the way. Being on set was really something to see. While everyone had a "let's get this job done" vibe, they mostly seemed pretty laid back. It was like everyone was busy, but they all had this effortless way of doing things quickly and efficiently. And there were so many "moving parts", everything seemed as if it was in constant motion—it was a bit overwhelming.

"You alright?" he confirmed before turning to the director.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I grinned holding the cup of iced coffee he'd had someone get me just a little while before, shaking it so the ice rattled. "I've got my iced vanilla latte. I'm all set," I said pulling the straw into my mouth and taking sip.

Edward laughed. "Alight then, I'll leave you to your iced candy in a straw," he said and then playfully stole a sip of my coffee, making me laugh with him. "Just don't OD on caffeine, alright? Those things are a lot more powerful than they seem."

"Speaking from experience?"

Edward chuckled. "If you get bored, you know where to go, right?" he asked, diverting the conversation away, not answering my question.

I narrowed my eyes, letting him know I'd caught him, which he returned with a sexy smirk, causing a fresh thrill of want to zip through me.

"Yes," I answered simply with a nod, trying to hide the direction he'd sent my mind to. He had already shown me around the set earlier, including his trailer, telling me to make myself at home and feel free to do whatever there. In response to his offering, I had eyed up the small bed with significance, earning a teasingly reproachful smirk from him as he shook his head at me.

I couldn't help but think of that bed again…

"I love you," he whispered with a smirk that told me I hadn't succeeded in hiding the direction my train of thought had headed as he pulled me into him. He reached up, releasing my lip from my teeth—something I'd not realized I was doing—and gave me a kiss, chuckling lightly. Then he turned to the director and another guy who immediately commanded his attention before I could tell him the same.

I stepped away from the group of people surrounding the set, not wanting to be in the way, finding a place away from the commotion, contenting myself with watching Edward. I stood back, studying his mannerisms and gestures as he nodded his head, listened, spoke and reviewed things with the other men, and I giggled to myself each time I saw him catch himself about to pull his hand through his hair and then shove his hand back into his pocket.

"Bella, right?" a voice asked.

I jerked lightly with the surprise of being addressed. I looked over and saw a tall, dark haired woman standing next to me smiling. She was the same one who had flagged Edward indicating that they were ready for him on set.

"Yeah," I replied curiously, returning her smile.

"It's going to be a long day, you'll want this," she offered holding a director's chair. "And you know you can sit closer if you'd like. You aren't going to see much from all the way back here," she added as if anticipating my decline.

"Oh. Sure," I conceded. "If you're sure I won't be in the way."

"It'll be absolutely fine," she assured me.

"Thank you," I told her sincerely as I followed her. "What's your name?" I inquired as she unfolded the chair for me.

"Heidi," she said with another smile. "There you go. Let me know if there's anything I can get you, alright? I'll be around to check with you in a bit."

"Okay, thanks," I said feeling awkward, receiving such attention.

And then she was off before I could say anything else; quick and on the move, like everyone and everything else.

That afternoon, after helping myself to some assorted fruits, cheeses and crackers that had been lain out, I was walking back to my chair, hoping Edward and the other actors in a particular scene were finally done with it. I'd lost count of how many times they'd began it, made some adjustment and went again… over and over. I hadn't even been all that hungry, but I needed a break; even I was getting frustrated with the scene and I had just been watching it.

I was almost back to the set, taking a pull from my bottle of water when I heard the voice of a boy sounding utterly frustrated.

"I don't know," he said obstinately.

"You're not even trying," she snapped.

"I am! I just don't get it," he insisted.

My feet stopped, planting themselves in their place, though I wasn't sure why. I just had a feeling I should.

"Okay," she said letting out a sharp sigh. "Tell you what, Seth," a woman said, sounding flustered, "let's take a break, and start back fresh in say, twenty minutes?"

"'Kay, whatever," he mumbled obviously exasperated.

"Oh! Sorry!" I apologized, nearly colliding with the woman as she flew around the corner.

"Excuse me," she replied with hasty politeness, sidestepped me and kept walking.

I turned the corner and found a brown-haired boy, around sixteen, sitting at a table outside a trailer with a couple books and notebooks. He was flipping his pencil, tapping it on the table, as he looked at his book, aggravated, but still trying.

My heart went out to him. His inability to not understand the material obviously wasn't from lack of desire. I could see the concentration in the posture of his body and the serious expression on his face.

I stepped forward, wanting to help, but then stopped short. It wasn't my place. I tried to turn away from the brown-haired boy in front of me, but I couldn't do it because I knew that I could help him if he gave me the chance. Then before I could stop myself, I called his attention.

"Hey," I said softly so as to not startle him.

He looked up at me. He stopped tapping his pencil and sat up straighter in his chair.

"Hey," he said, still eyeing me curiously.

"What subject are you working on?" I asked, not able to see from where I stood.

"Biology," he said in a scoffing tone. "So much fun," he added, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

I smiled, relieved. I did pretty well with Biology, which was good, since it'd been awhile since I'd referenced the subject, I'd need that on my side for what I was about to do. Or try to do anyway.

"Having trouble?" I asked, even though I already knew it. Telling him I knew he was having trouble would only make him defensive, and then he wouldn't listen to a single word I said.

"Kind of hard to understand," he grumbled petulantly, "when I don't have a microscope to actually look at what they're talking about. These crappy drawings they have in the books aren't really helpful in identifying what it is in the pictures."

"Did you want some help?" I smiled, hoping he would see my genuine interest in helping him.

"It's alright, my tutor will be back soon," he said with a shrug.

"I was pretty good with Bio," I added, almost craving a try at it; wanting to help him learn.

I held my breath as he hesitated. It was only for a beat, but it felt like forever.

"Yeah, sure, why not," he said with a heavy sigh, shoving his books away from him slightly. "I don't understand it the way she's explaining it to me anyway."

I smiled at him, trying to mask just how excited I was about this, as I walked over to his side of the table and took the vacant seat next to him. I had him quickly catch me up to what section he was working on, telling me what he did understand and what parts specifically he didn't get to help me gauge what way might work to best explain things. Then I went from there.

I'd all but forgotten how good it felt to teach, and how amazing the small rush was when I would get someone to understand something they didn't minutes before. When I saw things beginning to click for Seth, it reignited something inside me that I'd snuffed out years ago. I could feel the already brewing feelings to ditch my job begin to bubble, growing more rapid by the minute and quickly threatening to boil over with the passion for teaching beginning to blaze in me once again.

Like how Edward made me feel when I was with him, I began to feel alive and whole—just in a completely different way. It was a fantastic feeling that filled me when I got through to Seth, and I knew he understood the lesson, a feeling spurred from the joy of watching the elation emanating from him with finally understanding something he'd been struggling with. It was such a satisfying thing to see.

When the tutor returned a short while later, I was quick to realize she didn't share our joy. She was angry and seemed almost horrified to find some strange woman "bothering" her student when he should be studying. To her credit, we'd progressed from studying to chatting animatedly. So to her, it probably did look like we were just goofing off. But what she didn't notice was the discussion was about biology—Seth, finally understanding, seemed to have begun to catch my enthusiasm for the subject. The tutor demanded to know who I was and why I was there. I quickly flushed, apologizing for apparently overstepping and trying poorly to explain who I was and that I had been trying to—and did—help him with his lesson. But she didn't want to hear an explanation from either of us. Instead, she just snipped, interrupting us both as we tried to reason with her, telling me to leave and not to bother her student again.

Only a minute with the woman and I was pretty sure I knew what Seth's contention was with his tutor; she was too intimidating. How could he learn in that environment? My brain was a jumbled mess just trying to articulate to the woman what I knew, how could someone obtain an education from someone who treated them like that?

"Well, I see you didn't goof around with that girl the entire time I was gone," she said in a huff looking at Seth's notebook as I timidly walked away, feeling sorry for my apparent overstep. "You got these questions right."

Of course they're right. I thought sourly to myself, causing my regretful feelings to fade. Seth was a smart kid, he just wasn't thriving with the tutor he'd been given.

I chanced a look back at Seth. Seeing the woman's back was turned to me, I smiled, giving Seth a thumbs up, mouthing "good job!" wanting to make sure he knew I was proud of him for the work he'd done. He looked back at me with big vibrant eyes and an adorable smile and I felt his pride, at a job well-done, beaming through me.

My phone rang, making me jump and I quickly I skittered away before the woman yelled at either of us for that too, afraid her anger would flare at the sound.

"Hey Rose," I answered, still smiling despite just getting reamed. I was too thrilled about the fact that I'd just taught someone again and sitting on that cheerful cloud made it hard to remain affected by the horrid tutor.

Excited to talk to Rose, instead of heading back to watch Edward, I went over to his trailer to catch up with my best friend.

XXXXX

When Edward found me in his trailer reading a book at the end of the day, I could sense something was… off with him. I wasn't sure what it was, but it made me feel on edge. I tried to brush it off, figuring it was probably just the long day he'd had, remembering that frustrating scene from earlier that I couldn't even handle watching any longer. As much as I wanted to ask him about it, I decided it was best not to press it regardless of whether it was just his day, or if there was something bothering him—he would talk to me about it when and if he was ready. So we walked to the car in an uncomfortable silence, as I tried to bat away the uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"So, I heard you were causing trouble this afternoon," Edward said when the driver closed the door to the limo. My chest burned, causing my fingers to tingle, and my face flushed as I felt tears immediately prick my eyes. Edward was angry, he was never angry. And worse, he was angry with me.

Wait. "What?" I breathed caught off guard.

The car began to move, pulling us off the lot, heading to the freeway.

"Seth, the kid who plays my little brother in the film, I heard you were distracting him from his studies," he elaborated tersely, cocking an eyebrow at me. "You know, I never thought having you on set would be like having Emmett around," Edward added in a frustrated tone, letting out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Hold on, distracting him?" I snapped, offended, my hackles rising in defense with the anger that rolled through me. It was one thing for that woman to refuse to listen to me and believe what she wanted, but for her to spout around crap that made Edward mad at me was not okay. "Says who?" I demanded, though I was certain I knew. "I was helping him! The poor kid had no clue what the hell his tutor was trying to teach him—or 'drill into him' would be more accurate," I corrected with a scoff. "I came walking by when the tutor had taken a break and merely offered to help because it was obvious how frustrated he was, I couldn't just not help him when I knew I could!"

"Well, Charlotte saw it differently," Edward pointed out shortly.

"Yeah well, she saw it differently because she didn't listen to me or Seth trying to explain. Maybe she needs to listen once and awhile, teaching isn't all about lecturing people," I seethed crossing my arms. "Though she seems to think so," I added indignantly under my breath.

"I know you were probably just trying to help," Edward replied with a sigh, attempting to drain his anger through it, "but like you seem to be aware, Charlotte isn't exactly the nicest person in the world. She tried to get you banned from the set—and almost succeeded—it was everything I could do to convince her to drop it. How about you just steer clear of her from now on, alright?"

"Fine," I conceded sourly. "But what about Seth? It doesn't seem like he's learning anything from her. He's a smart kid, he just isn't flourishing under the 'bark and intimidation' method she seems to be so fond of."

"Will it make you feel better if I mention it to someone?"

I considered that.

"No," I sighed sourly in defeat. "I don't want to possibly cost someone their job if I've got it wrong," I backpedaled. No matter how wretched she'd been to me, I didn't want that—though my intuition told me that I wasn't wrong about her. "Maybe I just caught her on a bad day," I added generously, not believing it.

"With Charlotte, I doubt it," he laughed without humor. "She's been varying degrees of that load of sunshine since she arrived on set," Edward said, reaching across his face to scratch his cheek with his thumb. I licked my lips with want in response. In an instant, I felt my petulance about Charlotte deteriorate and all that remained was Edward and how much I wanted him.

Charlotte who?

Edward chuckled, easily reading my swift change in thoughts.

"Maybe I'll bring it up with Seth and see what he says, alright?" Edward asked with a playful smile on his face at my easily read thoughts.

Wait. What? Oh, right. Seth. Charlotte. Teaching.

Focus Bella.

"I'm sure I'm just overreacting," I began to babble with a sigh, trying to recover from the mind-scramble effect Edward had on me. "It just felt so good to teach someone again. I can't believe how much I've missed it. Maybe that's what's bothering me," I confessed, hearing the longing in my voice.

"What do you mean, 'teach again'?" Edward asked curiously.

"What?"

"You said it felt good to 'teach someone again' and that you miss it," he elaborated.

"Oh," I blushed, though I wasn't exactly sure why. Edward, noticing my blush, reached up, dragging the back of his fingers down my heated cheek. "I went to school to be a teacher so I did some student teaching. It was great."

"You did?" he asked sounding like he found this fact interesting.

I nodded.

"How come I didn't know that?"

"Because I never became one," I said. "Well, I guess that's not really true. I got licensed, so technically I am a teacher, I just never got a job doing it," I said biting my lip and shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened, I changed my mind while I was still in college, got a business degree and then got a job at Newton's," I shrugged, chewing on my lip again.

"But you still finished your teaching degree and got licensed?" Edward clarified.

I shrugged, nodding.

"So, why bother with the trouble of doing all that if you had changed your mind?"

My cheeks flamed hotter.

"I don't know," I said quietly. "I'd done student teaching for my degree and I really loved it. So I guess since I knew I was going to be giving it up, I wanted to at least be able to say I was one, if only on paper."

"Hold on, I thought you said you changed your mind. What do you mean, 'give it up'?"

Shit.

I bit my lip again and sighed heavily; better out with it before I chew a hole through my mouth. Besides, I did promise Edward I would trust him, and I wanted to be open and honest with him.

"Ever since I was little, I wanted to become a teacher, just like my mom," I laughed lightly at myself. "And when that desire stuck with me past childhood, I had every intention to do just that. But then when I was in college, I met my ex," I said, like his mention was last week's garbage. "He'd never really particularly understood why I ever would want to become a teacher. In fact he had countless objections, but mostly it was that it was a waste of my potential and the salary was 'shamefully crappy'. None of his complaints about it were ever a factor for me, though. I mean, I didn't pick that career to try and get rich," I rolled my eyes. "At first, I stuck with the plan to become a teacher but it became the source of several arguments between us. A lot of arguments, actually. He wanted me to get a degree in business like he was and kept on me about it, telling me all the long list of reasons why I should, over and over again. Eventually… I caved in," I said, feeling my face burn hotly with embarrassment of admitting that James had been able to dissuade me from pursuing my dream job. "But I couldn't bear dropping my teaching classes. I tried to, but I just couldn't do it. So I kept them and just tacked on the classes I needed for a business degree, graduating with both. He hated that almost as much because not only did it erase pretty much all my free time, it meant I was taking classes through the summer and I didn't finish in four years like I 'should have'. He thought it was stupid that I didn't drop my teaching classes all-together so I could graduate on time, and even dumber that I would waste the money to get licensed afterwards. But when I graduated with that business degree and secured a job at Newton's, the fact that I'd continued the teaching classes didn't seem to bother him anymore."

I remembered how he had smiled, satisfied, when I told him the news about my job offer at Newton's that day, telling me it would be good work experience for a few years until I got a job at some large corporation in Seattle.

Yes. James had big, corporate ladder climbing dreams for me. Dreams that I had pretended were mine too, to make him happy. He saw me as his key to being something of an unstoppable powerhouse—a power couple.

I realized right then that that was what was stupid—not that I'd clung to my dream, no matter how "pathetically", like James had always told me, but that I'd let someone else drive the direction of my life in such a way that it meant I had to abandon it.

Edward looked at me stunned with what I'd just unloaded on him. "Wow. Um, I'm not sure what to even say to that," he breathed, running his hand through his hair. "I have to admit, I'm pretty in awe of you tackling two different degrees at the same time, that's not something most people could do."

I shrugged. "Not to sound boastful, but school always came pretty easy to me. I was always in advanced placement and graduated at the top of my class—not that in a small town like Forks that's saying as much as a school whose class sizes exceed Fork's entire population. And it wasn't like I completed both degrees within four years; it did take me a little longer than that, since I was insistent on 'wasting my potential' continuing with my teaching classes," I tacked on with a bitter laugh, James' voice, saying those words, ringing through my head, making me hate him all over again.

"Bella," Edward said softly, dipping his head to look at my face, "was that the same guy who—"

Edward stopped his question seeing me close my eyes and nod.

I swallowed loudly and took a breath. "Yeah, but he's pretty much the whole list, so…" I told him, trailing off with a dry, uncomfortable laugh, not sure why I'd said all that.

"Don't ever do that for me," Edward told me after a small length of silence, sounding almost desperate, making me open my eyes and look up at him. When I did, I was met with his bold, green eyes blazing with emotion as they stared into mine, looking just as desperate as his voice sounded. "Don't ever give up something you want for me. I want to give you things, not take them away from you. Especially not something that's your dream."

XXXXX

Later that night, an idea came to me—which in itself was saying something because in that very moment, Edward and I were naked, tangled together in the sheets of the hotel bed, so the fact that anything outside of Edward and sex had been able to come to mind was a pretty remarkable thing. I had been contemplating on whether I should do the right thing and let Edward get some sleep, since he had to get up early to be back on set or whether I was going be greedy, climb on top of him, like I wanted, and make love with him again. We were lying there, talking about nothing really. It was that lazy talk after sex, where you were both contently spent and words were spoken in slow murmurs. I wasn't sure what Edward had said that triggered the thought, but what I did know, was the thought was so outside the serene little bubble Edward and I were laying in, that it felt like it had slammed into my head with a crash. I tensed and froze, considering… seriously considering the idea.

"What's the matter, love?" his eyes narrowed with concern.

"Nothing," I breathed honestly.

Edward waited silently for a moment, letting me gather my thoughts. But when one moment bled into two then three, he prompted me.

"Bella, could you please tell me what you're thinking before I go mad?" he pleaded tilting my chin up to look at him.

"Sorry," I blushed. "I was just thinking I should do that," I breathed feeling the revelation.

"And what is 'that' exactly?"

"Teach."

"You should," he agreed adamantly. "You said it was what you really wanted to do."

I beamed at him, loving him even more for giving me unconditional support—something that, prior to Edward, was foreign to me in a relationship. The feeling resonated with me, helping me believe and trust in Edward in a way that was closer to what he deserved from me.

"But I was thinking, more specifically, being a tutor for kids like Seth," I elaborated, feeling out what he thought about that.

"It would mean a lot of travelling," he warned.

"That's kind of the point, baby," I said with a laugh like it should have been obvious, placing a hand on his cheek, realizing he hadn't caught up to my reasoning. I stared into his eyes, waiting for him to catch up to where my mind had just leaped to moments before.

Then, I saw it. Edward's eyes brightened in the dim room, locking with mine and an excited smile began to grow across his mouth.

"You'd be able to come with me when I'm filming," he breathed happily.

"Ideally, yeah," I nodded, my face beginning to hurt, my smile was so wide. "Of course that's all in theory. I don't know if my license is still good or if I'd need a special one to do this. Or even how to get into doing such a thing, much less managing being able to get a job on the same films you're doing. Plus I've never actually taught officially outside of my student teaching jobs, I don't know if they'd even want me…"

"We'll figure it out, okay?" he said nodding as if doing so would get me to agree more quickly.

It worked. I began nodding with him before consciously doing so.

"If that is what you want to do, we'll figure it out. I'll make some calls and mention it to some people on the set tomorrow," he added, "and see what I can find out."

I marveled for a moment at how alive I felt. I had found a way not only for Edward and I to potentially be together more without him giving up his career and dream, but also for me to actually get mine. It was a dream I'd given up on, stuffed to the back of the closet and shut the door; forgotten. I was so happy that I could feel tears of joy and relief threaten to spill over.

And then reality hit and I could feel my face, my whole body, slump under its weight.

I had a job I couldn't just quit; I had an apartment I had four more months left on the lease that I needed to keep paying on. I didn't know how long this would take to set up or even if it would bring in enough money to cover my rent, much less food and other things.

I felt… stuck. Like I had come just within reach of everything I ever wanted only to have a wall dropped between it and me.

Those tears of joy quickly turned into ones of sadness and frustration as they fell quickly down my face.

When Edward asked me what was wrong, I told him, feeling even more defeated hearing the words out loud.

"Bella, that's nothing," he chastised in a loving tone as he wiped away my tears. "Let me help you, I'll settle your lease. That's not a problem at all. Then you can be free to quit your job as soon as you want and focus on this."

I didn't want him to do that. I opened my mouth to tell him just that, but he anticipated me, easily reading my thoughts.

"Bella, you're going to have to get over this issue you have to me spending money on you. We're together, you can't keep thinking about it as my money or as it being separate from yours. The way I see it, it's all ours."

I knew he thought my aversion to him paying for things, that made him far beyond generous, was absurd, but it was difficult for me to accept money that I hadn't earned.

"Fine," Edward said, in response to my expression, which I was certain betrayed my thoughts. "You can pay me back for it, if it will make you feel better," he added with a defeated laugh when I didn't answer immediately.

I considered it. I wanted this more than anything in the world; getting to be with Edward and have my dream job.

"Besides," Edward added, "I've been debating on asking you something. Not because I'm unsure, but because I'm unsure of what you'll say."

Diverted, I eyed him curiously.

"What's that?"

Edward pulled his hand through his hair and cleared his throat looking down at the sheets.

He was nervous.

"Move in with me?" he asked, his eyes looking back up at mine.

Wait. What?

My stomach tightened and I took a sharp breath and held it, forgetting how to exhale. And it was as if I could feel all my inner Bella's shaking me frantically, demanding me to say "yes".

"What?" I breathed, unable to manage anything else.

"Move in with me," he breathed again, less a question this time. "I've been wanting to ask you purely for selfish reasons, but now… now it just makes sense; especially if you're going to quit your job and pursue teaching…" he trailed off.

It did make sense. It made a lot of sense.

But I shook that thought off; I refused to let that drive my answer. I'd spent too much of my life letting what "made sense" and what I felt I should do drive my decisions. I wasn't going to do that anymore.

No. This had to be on what I wanted; what would make me happy. And if this was a decision I was making solely on what made me happy, there wasn't a doubt in my mind.

"I know, it's really soon," Edward added, filling the silence. "But it doesn't feel like it's too soon—it just feels… right."

A huge smile spread across my face; I didn't need persuasion. I knew what I wanted. I knew that without a shred of doubt. And like he'd said, it felt right, us being together. I began nodding frantically—feeling as if it were in time with my headful of Bellas doing the same—too full of sheer joy to speak.

"You will?"

"Definitely," I breathed, finding my voice, feeling fresh tears spill over. My emotions were all over the place tonight. "Absolutely. Yes."

Edward grabbed me, kissing me in earnest. Our kisses quickly turned into more, making it apparent that sleep was not going to happen any time soon, as he rolled himself on top of me and we detangled ourselves from the sheets slid between us.

I froze and my eyes flew open when I felt him push himself against me, beginning to push himself past my threshold—he hadn't put on a condom.

Edward looked down at me, meeting my eyes as if acknowledging my concern. His breathing was heavy with desire as he kept his eyes locked with mine for a moment, and then brushed his nose against mine as his lids closed heavily and he went in for another kiss.

"Edward—" I breathed, pulling back as he rolled his hips lightly, just barely entering me. I looked desperately for his eyes, my breathing heavy, wanting it, but knowing Edward's reservations.

"I know," he replied, meeting my eyes, before closing his again to deliver another kiss.

"Are you sure?" I murmured between kisses.

He opened his eyes again, smiling softly. "I've never been more sure about anything, as I am about you, Bella.

"I know what you mean," I smiled, marveling at the man I was somehow able to call mine. I knew this was a big thing for him, and the significance of what he was doing because of that made it mean that much more. "I love you, Edward."

"I love you too," he said, kissing me again, but didn't proceed.

After a moment, I began softly nodding, letting him know I wanted him to keep going, I was ready. My hips rolled lightly with impatience as I held his head in my hands, greedily keeping his lips on mine.

Edward breathed a light chuckle, holding himself from me. I knew though, he wasn't hesitating because he was having second thoughts about what he was going to do, the smile I felt on his face gave him away, he was hesitating to tease me because he knew my body was begging for him.

"Your fault," I breathed petulantly as I relaxed my hips back down to the mattress abruptly.

"Don't tell anyone," he whispered into my ear with a smile of amusement in his voice at my petulance, "but I love that I do that to you."

I began to laugh, but it was cut off by Edward's lips, eager and wanting. Then just when I felt I couldn't take one more minute not being connected to him, he pushed himself into me causing me to gasp and Edward to let out a curse, both of us pausing for a moment, taking in the feel of nothing between us before we resumed with ardor.

"I'm really glad I never knew exactly how much better it felt not using a condom," Edward confessed when we were done.

"Oh no, baby," I laughed. "It's only me that feels that good," I bragged jokingly.

"I don't doubt that for a second," he replied hungrily and completely serious, kissing my temple.

Hmmmm…

Oh, I'm sorry. Hi. Yeah. Ahem. I kind of forgot you were there for a moment, distracted by the warm, fuzzy happiness that I got with this chapter.

Anyway.

When I sent this chapter to MC, I realized I hadn't had a song rec for any chapters recently. I tried to think of a song that might fit this one and came up short. But then, kismet happened. I was listening to my iPod on my drive to work this morning, having it shuffle all the 6,000 songs I think I have on there now, and this song came on.

It was perfect.

Have a listen and think… Edward singing this about Bella and what he's learned about her and James… I think you'll agree… sorry I couldn't find a better vid of the song:

http: / / www (dot) youtube (dot) com / watch?v=G504KJCc93A

As always, I love to know what you think. So, click the [Review] button and let me know.

Thanks for reading.

-TJE