"You're sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Edward and I were standing in front of the laundromat building after dinner.

"Yeh, no. I'm good. It's not far." If you keep looking at me like that I might melt into a puddle of mushy gooey Bella.

"It's late, I don't want to make you wander off alone."

I laughed at this and looked up at his handsome face, concern visible in the depths of his green eyes.

"It's earlier than laundry day." I watched Edward's jaw tick. "Fine." I sighed quietly, "If it will make you feel better."

"It would."

We walked silently to the end of the block, the breeze sweeping at my hair and skirt.

"Thank you for dinner, it was perfect."

"Thank you for joining me. I had a good time."

Edward's fingers brushed against my own and very casually he captured my hand in his. My stomach fluttered at the warm touch. His hand engulfed mine and I couldn't fight the cheesy smile that made my cheeks ache as we closed in on my building.

"This is me." I nodded at the brownstone that I currently inhabited along with two other tenants.

Edward's gaze drifted up the building and eyed my neighbor on the stairs.

"Hey Bella."

"Alec." I smiled at my friend while he smoked, "Thought you were giving those up."

Alec grinned, pushed his long dark hair away from his face and shrugged one shoulder in our direction, "Eh. You know how it goes."

Laughing I shook my head, "This is Edward, my uhh," I looked up at the man standing next to me and my throat went dry, "date."

"Hey, good to meet you, man." Alec finally stood and walked down the steps to us and shook Edward's hand.

"Nice to meet you as well." Edward's voice was quiet and if I didn't know any better, I'd swear he was a little bit jealous of my gay neighbor.

"If Collin sees you smoking you know he's going to throw a fit."

"Yes well, he won't see and you won't tell." Alec winked and tossed his cigarette butt into a Starbucks cup, "I'll let you two lovies get back to whatever it is you hetero people do at the end of a date."

"Bye, Alec." The front door of the building closed quietly behind him.

"So Alec and Collin?"

"Yeh."

"Well," he laughed quietly and rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm feeling like a little bit of a jerk now."

"Yes, well, we all put a foot in our mouth at some point. Me more than most, so it's nice to not be the one.. "

Edward's lips parted over mine mid sentence and all coherent thought escaped me. His hands cupped my face, tilting until he had the best angle and my breath was all but stolen. My tongue slid over his upper lip and he groaned, pressing his body into mine. Reaching, I let my fingertips stroke at the rough stubble of his jaw and cheek, my stomach warmed and knees began to shake as if there was a small earthquake raging in my legs.

Pulling away, I gulped in a shallow breath and attempted to gather my wits.

"I should go."

"Okay." Edward's fingers ran lightly over my cheek, "I'll see you Friday."

I nodded and nearly tripped up the stairs to the front door. Edward waved once and I closed the door behind me.

I was in deep.

...

It had been a long week. Work had gotten to me a few times, it was never easy telling someone that their beloved companion wouldn't be able to go home. It wrecked me every damn time. So even though I was looking forward to seeing Edward, I also just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep the entire weekend away.

I tugged a sweatshirt over my head and grabbed my laundry bag and made my way to the laundromat.

Edward was sitting against the back wall in a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans. His legs sprawled out in front of him and he was reading a Superman comic. I grinned, shaking my head while I grabbed some laundry soap and fabric softener.

After getting my wash going I sat down next to Edward and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Hey." His hand came up and rested on the side of my face, "You okay?"

"Yeh. It was a long week."

"Rough, huh?"

"I hate telling people their fur babies aren't coming home."

"I see."

We sat quietly for a while, which I was grateful for. I breathed in Edward's clean soapy scent and he ran his hand over my hair. The thought did occur to me that this closeness and familiarity with each other so quickly was a bit nerve inducing, but at the same time, it just felt natural to lean on Edward and take some comfort in the quiet strength he exuded.

"Whatcha' reading this time?"

"Superman." I could hear the smile in his words.

"Well no shit, Sherlock." I laughed.

Edward dropped the comic next to him on the bench and twisted to face me.

"There it is." His thumb touched my chin, "I really do enjoy that smile."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Edward." I winked, attempting to remain calm under his gaze.

"How I wish that were true." He whispered and kissed the corner of my mouth once.

Clearing his throat he grinned, "Tell me about the good things that happened this week."

"Well, Collin found out about Alec and his sneaky smokes."

Edward raised a brow and smiled, "Oh yeh? How'd that go down."

"A lot funnier than I thought it would. Collin is a little over dramatic sometimes, likes to put on a good show. But they're fine." I grinned at the memory of Collin tossing his giant chocolate chip cookie at Alec's head and then two minutes later kissing and making up.

"Cookies, huh? Doesn't sound so bad. Could have been worse." Edward laughed.

"My mom decided not to repaint the living room, which was good for me and my painters arm and my Dad didn't have to put up his usual fake fight about it again."

My machine beeped the end of the wash cycle and I stood.

"You didn't even bring clothes tonight, did you?" I looked over my shoulder at Edward.

"No. I did it earlier this week at home. You are more than welcome to switch up your Friday night washing spot if you'd like."

"Oh, I don't know," I shoved my wet clothes into an empty dryer, "I kind of like it here."

What I really liked was what I had with Edward here. It seemed special and I was worried that if we began to stray too far from what it was, it would change and maybe he wouldn't see me the same way anymore.

"You just say the word. I could cook us dinner and we could hang out at my place while you did your clothes."

"I'll keep that in mind." And I would, when I laid in bed at night and fantasized about being alone with Edward in his apartment.

AN
I apologize for the hiatus. Things in life have been chaotic as of late, to put it mildly. I hope that you all celebrated the holidays with you families and friends and loved ones. Here's to 2015! Happy New Year. xOx