Disclaimer: I own nothing.

CH 23

BPOV

Exploring the town with Edward was everything I had been hoping for. All day I'd been distracted with apprehension and anticipation. Alice had picked today as our move-in day to distract me. Somehow, she had gotten us access to our dorms a week before the rest of campus moved in. She had orchestrated our move in for the day I'd need the most distraction—clever girl.

Rose, Alice and I were sharing a triple in the building near the boys' dorm. I wasn't too keen on such close proximity to the five of them for an entire year, but figured I could escape when I needed to. Its not like I actually had to use the dorm to sleep. Alice seemed to be extra Alice-y today, designating where everything went, who slept where, etc. Rose and I dutifully followed orders, knowing any dissent would be useless.

My bed was the bottom bunk under Alice's, with Rose across the room. Like I said, not ideal. I had to admit that I was excited for it all. As a human, I had never questioned whether or not I would go to college—it was something I assumed would happen for me once I graduated. Here was the opportunity to experience that, though not at all like I imagined.

The set up of our room was over rather quickly with our vampire speed. Soon, we were headed to the boys dorm across the quad. Their room, in comparison, was not set up. Alice quickly got to work, asking Rosalie if she'd take me shopping in the commons to wait for Edward. She agreed, kissed Emmett good-bye and we were on our way.

I was glad Alice had foreseen my need for distraction. I was wound tight waiting for eight o'clock. Rose brought me into a few of the cute shops, pointing out things she liked or thought I would be interested in. She noted how many things followed with the Eco-friendly theme and related that back to her environmental studies with the focus on sustainability. Apparently, this would be a good place for her to learn more of what she needed to do to make a larger impact on saving the planet. She made me proud.

We spent a while exploring like this, her distracting me and making me laugh. She had just told me an uncharacteristically crass joke when she suddenly motioned her face towards the window, willing me to follow her gaze.

Edward was smiling at us through the window. I looked back at Rose and she reassured me today would go well and told me to relax and have fun. I tried to take her advice as I walked towards the door. He was a gentleman, of course, and opened the door for me. He looked handsome in his surprisingly casual attire. While in Forks, he'd always dressed more formal. He did enough to pass as a high school boy, but I'd never seen him in a simple short-sleeved t-shirt and khaki shorts. The sight of him did weird things to my stomach.

Before I knew it, he reached out, offering me his hand. I didn't hesitate in grabbing it. My heart swelled, feeling hopeful that maybe we didn't have to start over so thoroughly.

He took me around the entire town. It wasn't anywhere near a large city, but had Forks beat. The addition of the college and university created a lot more opportunities for the town, so it wasn't surprising to see many chains that simply didn't exist in Forks. With that being said, it still retained the beauty of a smaller setting. The character of the town was abundantly clear, especially downtown. I took us about two hours travelling at a slightly faster pace than a human to explore the town proper. He kept the conversation formal and light, not digging too deep or making things uncomfortable. It had eased my anxiety significantly. We were circling back to the center of town and I knew our time was coming to an end.

He spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Would you be open to a little more exploring?"

I wanted to jump up in delight but I had to act reasonable.

"Depends where you'd like to take me," I replied.

"There's a beautiful waterfall just twenty minutes outside of town. It's a tourist trap but a rite of passage viewing for any new resident of the town."

I was still very hesitant to be around large groups of people. That hesitation, combined with the last experience Edward and I had in the wilderness put me on edge. I was warring thoughts within my head when he took my hand again and asked again, this time adding "please" to the end.

It was pathetic, but I couldn't resist. The emotion in his question broke down my defenses. I agreed.

He smiled brilliantly and suggested we get started as it would be dark soon. As we approached the entrance of the park, I could indeed see that it was teeming with humans. Edward looked at me and asked if I was okay. I assured him I was fine. I could do this. I would not allow myself anything less than success and he would see his presence was not a death sentence.

We took the more difficult trail to the waterfall as there were less people. We passed a few hikers but Edward held my hand the entire way, squeezing tighter as groups passed. His hand was my lifeline. I thanked him each time they were out of earshot and he just gave me reassuring smiles back. It was surprisingly easy to distract myself with his skin touching mine.

I gasped aloud when we reached the waterfall.

"Wow! It's beautiful!" I said as I turned towards him. "Definitely worth the effort getting here," I joked as I nudged him playfully.

His eyes were blazing with some unsaid emotion. It took all my willpower not to embrace him right in that moment. I was mentally cementing my feet to the ground in an effort to control myself when Edward grabbed my face and kissed me.

The world fell away as his lips met mine. I had never in my life experienced a sensation so exquisite as Edward's mouth on mine. If I had still needed to breathe, I would have passed out. Before I could lose myself in him completely, he pulled his face away with a penitent look in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry—I should have asked first. I just couldn't stop myself"

I was stunned into silence for a moment before responding, "that was more than okay."

His features shifted from creased brows to a triumphant smile. I didn't hesitate as I leaned into him again, pressing my lips against his once more. He responded in kind, one of his hands moving to cup the back of my head while the other moved down my back, pulling me closer to him. I was lost in our kiss when I heard the sound of more people coming up the trail. Edward also heard them and gracefully distentangled himself from me. He took a step away from me and smiled at me ruefully.

"So much for taking it slow," he teased. His hand found mine again and we drifted to the side, allowing a wide berth for the hikers who had just emerged from the trail. I knew that we had just crossed over some undefined line in the sand and couldn't see any way to go backwards. From the look in his eyes, he didn't either.