A/N: Big thanks to Amanda Herold without whom this chapter wouldn't exist. Visuals in my group on Facebook if you want to see the. Heheh.

When her alarm went off, Bella went through the usual wake-up haze. Her mind gained coherent thought in increments. What day was it? If the alarm was on, it meant she had work or class, right? It was Wednesday. Class, then.

What else? What was the last thing Jasper had said to her last night?

Nothing. Because he was gone. Because he'd left her. Because he'd decided overnight the life they'd had for the last nine years and the future they'd been working toward wasn't what he wanted after all. Her heart twisted. Her lungs seized. She sat up.

And as she did, she remembered whom she had spoken to the night before. Edward. Her heart skipped a beat and picked up in double time as she fought a smile.

They'd both had work to do when they left the Cabrillo Tidepools. He'd walked with her, hand-in-hand, to her car and had kissed her for five whole minutes. Then, someone had cleared their throat and they'd looked up to find a half annoyed, mostly bemused guy not-so-patiently waiting to be able to get into the car next to hers.

Bella should have been mortified. Instead, she'd driven away on a cloud with a grin so broad it hurt her face. She was like Bambi and Flower, stumbling over her words, getting all dreamy. Or maybe Bugs Bunny, doing that red-in-the-face a-woo-gah thing with her heart threatening to pump out of her chest at the mere thought of him.

Yeah, she was ridiculous.

"I could do without the rollercoaster though," Bella muttered, rubbing her chest. She was pretty sure her heart remembering it was broken a split second before it took off for new heights probably wasn't healthy.

Bella sighed, throwing an arm over her eyes. Smiling was better than frowning, and that rush of sweet giddiness was way better than the twist-turn of her broken heart. If she could master remembering Edward and all the happy-happy, joy-joy feelings first instead of the heartache, she wouldn't complain about her own ridiculousness ever again.

Reaching out with the arm not flung over her eyes, Bella groped for her phone. When she found it, she brought her arm down so she could scroll through the previous evening's conversation.

Agreeing for the millionth time that they should try to talk themselves out of whatever they were doing here, they'd engaged in a competition, each of them trying to expose a deal breaker in the other. They'd stuck to the really important topics. Like Disney movies they hadn't seen.

Bella: You haven't seen The Fox and the Hound? Yeah, we're done.

Edward: Most people don't know this, but the art of being manly has more to do with avoiding situations that might bring on tears than it does actually not crying.

He'd pegged her when he asked about her favorite Disney Prince.

Edward: No. No, no, no. Thor doesn't count as a Disney Prince. You can't just name your favorite beefy hunk.

Bella: Beefy hunk? Sounds like something I'd find in stew. When I say I'd take a bite out of Chris Hemsworth, that's not what I'm talking about. Ew.

Edward: Cannibalism should be a deal breaker...

Bella: ANYWAY. It's not my fault that Marvel was eaten by Disney. If I was just going to choose an Avenger, you bet your sweet ass it'd be Captain America. But he's not a Prince. Thor Odinson is.

Edward: … do you really think I have a sweet ass?

He'd eventually conceded the point because it meant he could choose Leia as his favorite Disney Princess.

Bella read the last line over and over again.

Edward: Well, it's no use. We're just going to admit we're flawless human beings who like each other.

As she was staring at those words, goofy grin driving her crazy, a message flashed at the top of the screen—a Facebook alert. She brushed her thumb over the screen to check it. Just the daily birthday notification.

Then, she did a double take. She blinked. Read it again.

Yep. It said what she thought: Edward Cullen has a birthday today.

"Oh, I see how it is. Little rat. Thought you were going to get away with that one." Bella brought up messenger, prepared to offer to take him to dinner, but stopped, a half-cocked plan forming in her head.

Her cheeks flushed hot and her heart raced. What on Earth was she thinking? She couldn't do that.

Could she?

Edward had orchestrated so many nice days for her. That he hadn't been trying to be romantic had her wondering what Edward in full romance mode would look like. No doubt he'd be a force to be reckoned with. What if she could beat him to the punch?

Though she had to admit what she was considering wasn't romantic so much as it was sexy. Or stupid. Was it stupid?

Possibly it was stupid.

Well, she had all day to work up the courage. In the meantime, she put Alice's name into messenger and sent a quick text. In all likelihood, Edward already had plans with the only member of his family accessible to him.

~0~

Alice assured Bella she'd have her little brother home early. They had plans for dinner together, but that was all.

Alice: Do you know how dumb a Disney-holic sounds when he says he doesn't like crowds? So, early dinner it is!

Bella gave them until eight-thirty just to be safe. As she walked into his apartment complex, she clutched her trench coat in a death grip, cinching it closed. She ran her fingers through her hair, hoping it still hung long and wavy. She adjusted the overlarge flower clipped at the side of her head.

Last chance to come to your senses.

But, no. She wasn't going to chicken out. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door as though she was a woman who did this kind of thing all the time.

As the door came open, Bella put on her best come hither simper. It fell and she stumbled backward when a man who was somehow familiar but definitely not Edward opened the door. He was a giant of a man, tall and broad with a mess of curly hair and a wicked smile. "You're not a Jehovah's Witness."

"I, uh. What?" Bella took another step back, discombobulated. She held on to her coat for dear life.

The door came open wider, and Edward appeared beside Gigantor. Shock registered on his face. "Bella. Hey."

Gigantor's eyes lit up with what could only be described as glee. "Bella. Your fiancee." He gave Edward a healthy thwack on the back and extended his hand to Bella. "I'm Emmett, your future brother-in-law."

"Uh." Beyond flustered, Bella only looked at his hand. She had to convince herself she could safely let go of her coat with one hand long enough to shake. She tried not to cringe as she reached out for him, wishing she could come up with something cleverer than the shaky, "Hi?" she managed.

Emmett shook her hand vigorously then, to her horror, he pulled her into the apartment. "Hey, everyone. This is Edward's fiancee, Bella," he announced to the crowd that had appeared near the door.

Bella nearly swooned, she felt so lightheaded. Now that she had some context, she'd hung out on Edward's Facebook feed often enough that she knew too well the faces that swam in front of her. The older couple were Esme and Carlisle, Edward's parents. Carlisle's expression was one of patient perplexity while Esme, who had sent Bella a friend request after the proposal debacle that she now regretted accepting, wore a mischievous, delighted smile that matched her eldest son's. The statuesque, skeptical-looking blond bombshell was Emmett's wife Rosalie, and the passed out toddler in her arms was Henry.

Alice, of course, Bella had no problem recognizing. Her oh-shit expression matched the refrain in Bella's head.

Time blurred as everyone introduced themselves. Alice darted to her side, squeezing her arm. "The family surprised both of us. They didn't tell me either." Her eyes begged Bella to understand.

"We wanted it to be a secret." Carlisle ruffled his daughter's hair.

"I can keep a secret," Alice protested.

"Bella, you know it's summer, right?" Emmett tugged at Bella's coat sleeve. She flinched backward.

Edward smacked Emmett's hand. "Will you quit touching her?"

"Possessive much?"

"It's a warm night. Do you want me to take your coat?" Esme reached for her.

Bella skittered backward, out of reach. "No! I...um. I'm okay. I should go. Let you all...I should go."

"Oh, no. Don't." Esme looked so sincere as she smiled at Bella. "Come sit with us. We were just talking. Edward didn't tell us he was expecting anyone."

"He wasn't," Bella mumbled.

Emmett beamed. "Oh, reeeeaaalllly?"

Bella felt a hand on her back and stiffened until she realized it was Edward. "Can you guys excuse us a second?" he asked his family.

Without waiting for them to answer, he pressed his hand to the small of her back and led her down a short hallway to what could only be his bedroom. She couldn't tell for sure given that she couldn't bring herself to look up. She might have been paranoid, but she could swear she heard someone—Emmett, no doubt—guffawing as quietly as anyone could do that.

"I'm sorry. Holy hell, did that just happen? I'm sorry." She covered her flaming face with her hands, blushing so hard and hot she could have cooked an egg on her skin. "This is a damn disaster. What was I thinking?"

"Whatever you were thinking, it couldn't possibly be your fault." Edward took her by the shoulders, guiding her gently backward so she was sitting on the edge of his bed. "I didn't know my family was coming. How were you supposed to know?" He sat beside her and bumped her shoulder. "I'msorry. We aren't even defining this thing we have going, and you walked into an ambush. Meet the parents is a needy move. Plus, my brother is a jackass. He's enough to scare anyone away."

Bella exhaled in a gust, letting him bring her hands away from her face. "Under normal circumstances, I'd say I don't scare easy. Today, though…" She shook her head. "This was a bad idea."

"What idea was that?"

"Well, after I found out from Facebook that it's your birthday, I thought I'd surprise you. I guess I'm not the only one with bright ideas." She ducked her head, pulling her hands from his. "That's obnoxious anyway. If you'd wanted to see me, you'd have told me."

"Whoa. Hey." Edward took her hands again and tilted his head to catch her eyes. "I've been told before I don't know to play it cool. I already dated you when I was trying to be just a friend. I was trying to give you space. Let you lead." He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. "If it was up to me, Bella, I'd see you all the time. Of course I wanted to see you today. I'm glad you're here."

Her heartbeat did that delightful flutter she had yet to get used to, and she had to bite her lip to control her smile. "You might rethink that when you figure out I've put us both in an embarrassing situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath. She sighed and stood. After a couple of frozen moments, she rolled her eyes and held her coat open, giving Edward a good look at what she had on underneath.

His jaw dropped, and his eyes about popped out of his head. "Sweet mother of everything unholy."

Bella bit the inside of her cheek, flushing for a whole other reason than before as Edward swept his eyes up from her toes. "Happy birthday?" she asked, shy and amused and…

Yeah. Apparently, despite her utter and complete mortification, she was really hot and bothered for this guy. Her nipples went taut under his visceral gaze.

"Ffffuck me." His voice was a rasp.

"That was the original idea." She started to close her coat, but he leapt to his feet, grasping her wrists.

"Let me look at this, since I can't unwrap you." He moaned. "Ariel. You're supposed to be Ariel."

Bella was wearing almost nothing beneath the coat. She had on a deep purple, strapless bra—no lace, just solid color. Her thong was teal and doubled as a garter belt, holding up sheer thigh high stockings with ruffled teal tops.

Before she could answer—of course she was wearing Disney inspired lingerie—Edward attacked. He gripped her waist and took her lips with his. Hard. Demanding. He walked her backward until he had her pressed up against the wall. There, he kissed her relentlessly until she was gasping into his mouth.

"This… This is so not a good idea," she said between kisses. Despite her words, when he ducked his head to kiss her chin, she brought his face back up, claiming his lips as her own. "Really bad idea."

"I know." With a groan, he rested his forehead against hers. His fingers traced the skin of her upper legs. "There's something so deliciously filthy about this. Something about a mermaid fantasy I never knew I had." He cupped her ass.

She squeaked. "You know your whole family is not even twenty feet away right?"

"Give me one minute. I'm going to go tell them all to take a hike."

"Edward."

He grumbled, but took a large step back. When she finally closed her coat, he pouted. "Putting more clothes on you is the opposite of what I want right now, but can I interest you in a pair of skinny jeans and a Captain America shield shirt? Then, you're gonna have to give me a minute to think of...I don't know. Shriveled, spotted dick or something."

A/N: Incidentally, Ausha Pasha, for whom this story was written, has a lovely mermaid tale going on—The Siren's Curse. Just in case you want to indulge in a little Mermaid fantasy. Hehehe.

Hey, guys. Send some extra hugs Packy's way today, yeah?