*Edward's Point of View*

I couldn't remember if time had ever passed at a slower rate.

Only a week separated me from the moment I last saw Bella, and yet it felt as if I was ten years older. I had never gone so long without seeing her, let alone without talking to her. There was always something that made us call each other, even something as inconsequential as complaining about a subway train arriving late. Not talking to her felt as natural as breathing underwater.

I waited for her call, the morning after I left her house in an awkward hurry. And the following evening. And every single day after that. I expected her to call the day Tanya came to me to tell me she saw the videos and that she was sorry and that she wanted to start fresh, assuming that Jacob had tried a similar approach with Bella. I ended up at my piano, playing depressing songs all evening — not because I felt some type of sadness after breaking up with Tanya, but because I was afraid the silence meant I had lost the one woman that actually mattered to me. My Bella.

At some point during the third day, I started considering the possibility of breaking the ice myself. I wanted to tell her that what happened between us was nothing, even if it had been everything, and that I really, truly could behave like a civilized man upon seeing her again, instead of listening to my instincts, like I did when we made that damned video.

The truth was, I thought about that video more often than I liked. My days began and ended with cascading thoughts of it.

Secretly, perversely, I wished I had a copy of it, just so that I could get another glimpse of the passion Bella and I shared. It had been unlike anything I had ever experienced until then. It felt shallow to label it as the best sex of my life, because it was infinitely more than that. Simply being inside her had been a transcendental experience. Then hearing my name rolling off her lips, seeing her so helpless in front of her own lust, feeling her squeeze the living hell out of my cock with her orgasms, seeing rivulets of my cum converging into small lakes on her delicate back, suppressing the hunger that called me to lick her freshly-fucked pussy and add to the mess with a new orgasm…

These fragments of perfection haunted me, because they confirmed something I had always feared might be true: the fact that Bella and I might be pretty fucking amazing together.

Not as friends. Not as lovers. But as both at the same time.

I already knew our personalities were two pieces of the same puzzle. But finding out that our compatibility translated so effortlessly into the bedroom? It was frightening, because it gave a new sense of purpose to what I felt for her, and that purpose held unknown potential within it. However, seeing that Bella had decided to ignore me, I realized there was no room for that potential to grow. For all I knew, she might as well regret everything, and the lack of contact was her way of telling me to leave her alone.

So I didn't call — at first.

But I was only human, so when Saturday rolled in and I noticed a poster for the upcoming Alice in Wonderland carnival in Humboldt Park, I could not resist. I knew how Lewis Caroll's book was the one that really got her addicted to reading when she was ten, and this was the kind of adorably ridiculous event she could appreciate. I dialed her number before I could change my mind.

I didn't have to wait long.

"Edward?" She seemed startled, and I fought with myself not to hang up. But hearing her voice was a good enough reason to keep going. I missed the warm inflections of her spoken words, her sweet cadence.

"Hello there, stranger." I tried to sound relaxed, as if I had not spent the last seven days obsessing over her. It didn't work, because all I got out of her was a small, sad chuckle.

"Hello," she mirrored me, clearly not in the mood to entertain a conversation.

"How is everything going?"

"Nothing to write home about. What about you?"

So my fears had not been for nothing. She was, in fact, mad at me, and rightly so. My abrupt leaving had not been my proudest moment, but it had arguably been the safest option. When I saw Bella immediately after the act — naked, consumed, and with my cum glazing her back — all I wanted to do was to take her into my arms, get her to the bedroom, lick the remains of her orgasm off of her spent cunt, and fall asleep with her in my arms. But neither of those things were acceptable options within the limits of our deal if I still wanted us to remain friends after.

And by God, I wanted to, which was why I was not willing to give up just yet. Worst case scenario, she turned down my invitation. At least then I would have more reasons to leave her alone.

"I was done with grocery shopping for today when I saw this poster right outside Walmart. Have you heard of the Alice in Wonderland carnival?"

Her moment of hesitation was followed by something beautiful: a sense of hopefulness. "Is that a real thing? Or are you messing with me?"

"I can send you a picture if you don't believe me."

"No, I do, I just… I'm surprised it exists."

Stepping on my anxiety, I let out the most important question. "So, do you want to find out what this whole thing is about?"

"W-what?"

"I was thinking we could go to the carnival together. Who knows when they'll set up something like this again?"

"Oh." Hesitation again. "Would you really do that?"

I was taken aback by this, but not enough to not answer immediately. "Absolutely."

"All right then."

"Perfect," I said, not quite managing to keep my insane enthusiasm under control. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at eight, how does that sound?"

"I'll be ready."

I didn't get to rest much that night. I was kept up until the early hours of the morning by thoughts of what I was going to say once I would be face to face with Bella again. I couldn't decide what the smarter approach was. On one hand, I could act as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, I could acknowledge the obvious and find a playful joke to erase whatever tension was left between us. Either option could work, depending on Bella's mood.

The next day, I felt agitated as I closed the last buttons of my white shirt. I didn't know whether I was going to regret this evening or not, but I was willing to at least find out where it was going to take me. If all else failed, I still needed my best friend.

When I picked her up, I made a point out of not staring too intently at her, despite the fact that she was wearing a blue dress that made her skin look like creamy clouds on an azure sky. But then she got inside my car, on the passenger seat, and I realized her dress had a slit that revealed enough of her thigh to grab my attention. I was instantly reminded of how appetizing the sight between her thighs was — wet, pink, throbbing — and my cock hardened in response.

With my jaw clenched, I reached over the gearshift and hugged her, like I always did. She hugged me back, but there was a certain restraint in the way that her arms circled around my neck, almost as if she had never done it before, and she wasn't quite sure how to do it without awkwardness tainting it. When I pulled back, my lungs were so full of her scent, I wanted to hold my breath just to make sure the soft tissues got imbued with it.

The atmosphere was decidedly different as we spoke sweet nothings about how our day had been. I could tell she was holding back. Her laughs were always cut off a little too early, her smiles disappeared with a tremble, and her eyes never held my gaze for longer than three seconds. I didn't know how to make her feel more at ease. Maybe ignoring everything was not the way to go, especially when the elephant inside the room was growing bigger and bigger the longer we allowed it to exist unnoticed.

We were waiting in line for tickets when I finally gathered up the courage to address the obvious.

"So, how are things with you and Jacob?"

Her eyes widened for the shortest second before she put her mask back on. "Well, we broke up."

She seemed to want to leave it at that, but I couldn't. As much as she tried to appear cool, as if it was no big deal, I suspected that, to her, it was. Letting go of a high school sweetheart was not exactly a walk in the park, or so I thought.

"That's what you qualify as nothing to write home about?" I quipped, hoping to convince her to expand.

"What can I say? I guess I'd known for a while the end was coming. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."

"What do you mean you knew?"

"I mean being with Jacob started becoming a burden a while ago."

We made a step forward in line, but all of my attention was on her. Because if what she was saying was true, I might have known a whole lot less than I thought I did. "A burden how?"

"I don't know, just… constant fights, I guess. And our interests no longer overlapped. When I wanted a quiet day, he wanted a loud party with our friends. It's like… we've grown up to be different people from who we were when high school ended."

She shrugged, looking down at her wonky shoes.

"You never told me this." It wasn't really an accusation, more of an afterthought that I happened to voice out loud. I didn't even expect an explanation, but she gave me one anyway.

"I wanted to. But then you found Tanya and it didn't seem fair to burden you with my problems when you were falling in love properly for the first time."

"I wasn't in love," I assured her.

"You know best, but you seemed happy there… for a while, at least."

"All surface level, Bella. I broke up with her anyway."

"Oh, you did?"

"Yes. But not before she tried to tell me we could start again, since we were even."

"Wow, that's… one way to react after you're caught red-handed. And quite presumptuous too, seeing that they had been going at it behind our backs since New Year's Eve. Or even earlier."

I felt a pang of disbelief, but it didn't last long. "Why am I not surprised?"

"I was. But… I don't know, I'm tired of spending so much mental energy on them."

I was getting ready to add more, when I realized we had reached the end of the line. I paid for the tickets, promising Bella I would let her make it up to me by buying caramel apples and cotton candy later. Once inside the carnival, it felt as if we had entered a teenager's psychedelic dream.

There were giant flowers, hidden cat faces, and swirling black-and-white patterns everywhere, all of them lit up by thousands of purple kaleidoscopic lights. The evening was barely setting in, but the soft breeze of the twilight had been overtaken by the heat coming from the popcorn machines and the burning sugar.

"How do we like it?" I asked Bella.

"Whoever set this up is a secret genius."

I laughed, motioning her to follow me through the dense crowd. We swam through the sea of beating hearts, making our way past a giant Ferris wheel and through long lines of people waiting to try the new carousels, until we reached an area that didn't seem as packed. When I turned around, she was right behind me. A part of me wanted to get back to our discussion from earlier, but seeing the new glimmer in her expression got me to stop.

We weren't here to mourn, after all.

For the first time today, Bella seemed joyful. I wasn't egotistical enough to think that I was the reason behind it, considering we were in the heart of her childhood favourite story, but I was confident enough to believe that I could keep her spirits up if I made an effort. Spotting a line of claw machines — with most of them already in use by several kids and teenagers — I invited her to take a look and tell me what she wanted the most.

Unsurprisingly, all I got was a serious roll of her eyes.

"Come on, you know these things are rigged," she explained.

"Yes, but it won't kill me if, for a night, I pretend they're not. We're in Wonderland, after all, are we not?"

Bella found this new thread of logic more acceptable, so she nodded in agreement, biting her lip and getting me to forget where I was for a moment. Her lip bites did have a certain effect on me, as the deliciously intrusive thought of what it would be like if I did the biting always made its way inside my brain. "Then surprise me."

I entered the first coin into the machine, then started maneuvering the joystick around, aiming for the green cat in the corner, knowing that, as a self-proclaimed cat lover, she would appreciate it. The claw entered its sharp descent, grabbing the toy's head and lifting in the air, only to let it fall immediately after.

"See? That's what I was talking about!"

"Shhh, I've got plenty of coins left to make this thing work."

"You may end up financially ruined."

"Worth it," I replied.

Five unfortunate trials later, Bella was laughing so hard, I could hear her better than the rapid-fire tempo music blasting from every speaker. Part of it was caused by my ruthless persistence, but most of it was a direct result of me accidentally ripping the head of the toy off during my last attempt.

"All right, now I need that cat," she managed to say, in between bursts of laughing. "It looks so stupid, with her little head cut off, I just—"

She didn't finish her sentence, as another round of insane giggling took over her.

"Watch me win this thing," I announced proudly.

Ten minutes later, she was still laughing at my utter inability to catch something, this time with a caramel apple in her hand. She took small bites out of it, while I kept making a fool of myself just to see her happy. Every once in a while, I got distracted by the way her dress flowed and revealed portions of her leg, or the way her mouth sealed around the soft caramel covering the apple before taking a bite. At one point, she even caught me staring, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she smiled, as if she could see right through me.

I must have lost around fifteen dollars by the time the giant claw grabbed the headless cat's underbelly and lifted it into the air victoriously, without letting it drop this time.

"Oh, my God, it's happening, it's happening!" Bella squealed, witnessing the miracle.

Once she finally had the maimed green toy in her hands, she thanked me and jumped to wrap me in a lavender-scented embrace. I responded automatically, pulling her tight against my body, and allowing my cheek to rest on top of her head. We lingered past the acceptable point of when we should have let go, just basking in the warmth of being close again after the most torturous week.

All of a sudden, I felt weak — not the kind of weak that left me in need of rest, but the kind that made my emotions flippant and unstable. Weak enough to tell her I had been thinking about her every waking moment in the past seven days.

Weak enough to cave and kiss her if she looked up now.

"Someone's getting laid tonight, boys!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Reluctantly, I followed the direction of the sound, seeing that right across from us, a few teenage boys were chuckling as they observed the show of affection in front of them.

"You and Susie could never, 'cause you can't catch toys for shit."

Bella must have heard them too, because she parted from me, frowning towards our interrupters.

"Just ignore them," I suggested.

She responded with a nod and she got further away, closer to a trash can, where she could throw the stick of her caramel apple. Her previously joyful mood had certainly taken a back seat. It was evident to me that hearing those words coming from strangers had not been easy for her, considering our recent troublesome history. We had just managed to slide back into a more natural, less awkward rhythm with each other, but now it appeared that we were back to where our evening started — in that tense place, in which we were hyper-aware of each other.

"I think I saw a house of mirrors earlier," Bella said, out of nowhere. "Let's go there."

This time, it was my turn to follow her as she traversed the warm crowd. I tried to keep my composure, but the way her hips swung back and forth, revealing the round contour of her ass, got me erect again. It was hardly the first time she had this kind of effect on me, but now it was arguably worse, because I knew exactly what I was missing. I knew how soft her curves were to the touch, how intoxicating she smelled from up close, and how wet her pussy could get if I did the right things. And knowing that only made the ache in my balls feel more profound. I felt downright depraved for allowing my mind to wander that far off, but there was no off button either. What man was strong enough to dream of getting a slice of heaven, only to declare himself sated after finally getting that sweet, rare taste?

Inside the house of mirrors, nothing made sense, apart from the fact that I could now admire Bella from every angle while she walked in front of me. The lights were too dim, the music creepily low in volume, the pathways uncomfortably tight, the voices of others finding their way out of the mirror maze resonating from afar.

I felt trapped here, in this place where my lust and feelings reared their heads at every corner, not allowing me the chance to break free from them.

Hopelessly, I attempted the endeavor of repositioning my unrelenting hardness, so that it wouldn't be the first thing she noticed if she happened to turn around. We walked in silence, with Bella leading the way, still holding on to her green cat toy. I trusted her ability to find the correct path out of the creepy labyrinth, not suspecting for a bit that she might get confused.

I should have known better.

Because not even halfway through the maze, she bumped into a mirror. And because I had not been paying attention, I bumped right into her, my rigid length pressing right between her buttocks.

"Sorry," I rushed to say, taking one step back at the exact same moment she turned around, cheeks flushed, even in the poor lighting. "I'm so sorry."

"No, don't worry. It was my fault."

She glanced at me, then at the visible excitement in my pants, and it was actual torture that I couldn't just press her against the mirror, crush my lips into hers, and fuck her until she came hard, screaming her rapture into my mouth. How was I supposed to think clearly, with these scenarios swimming in my head?

"Let's move," I urged her, because I didn't know what else to do.

Bella stumbled as she squeezed between me and the mirror wall, to get in front once again. Desperately, I looked up — at anything else that wasn't her ass — only to be met by the demure sight of her cleavage staring at me from the mirrors on the ceiling. I closed my eyes, feeling caught in the strangest limbo.

I was starting to think this might as well be a fever dream, when I opened my eyes again, with Bella nowhere near in sight. A cold tingle ran down my spine, announcing the incoming panic, but the tingle withered the moment a soft whisper got my attention. I followed its trail, squashing myself through yet another tight pathway, getting further away from the illuminated part of the maze, closer to complete darkness.

Several more steps and I could no longer see any mirrors, only pitch black. For one reason or another, someone had forgotten to cover every secret crevasse of the labyrinth.

"I don't think we're supposed to be doing this." Bella's voice was still soft as a phantom. And even if I could not see her, every inch of my body was aware of her staggering presence. Pure electricity flowed between us, making the air itself taste like fire.

"We've done worse," I returned her whisper.

Without any source of light to guide me, I didn't know how to interpret her sigh. In the dark, I felt her hands searching aimlessly until they settled on my shoulders. My world started to melt.

"I wouldn't call it worse, Edward."

Her grip on my shoulders tightened. The electricity no longer flowed, it poured. From every direction, showing no signs of stopping. Encouraged, my own hands found a perfect resting place on her waist.

"I don't know if you're aware of this, but you are testing my every limit," I warned.

We breathed in, breathed out, and I had no idea how we even managed to find our way back to walking on the same dangerously thin line that separated what we thought was right from what was actually right. The same line we walked one week ago.

"I'm testing your limits?" she retorted with a chuckle of disbelief.

I was surprised when she repositioned herself in my embrace. I felt her moving, heard a delicate rustling, and then she was back to being motionless, palms on my shoulders.

Only this time, I realized she had slipped something into my hand.

"This is what you've done to me all evening," she murmured. "I thought I could handle you, but I can't. You're driving me insane."

Carefully, I analyzed the little gift she had given me, guiding myself using my tactile sense only. It was something light, almost airy in weight. And definitely lacey, pleasant to the touch. And… apparently fully drenched in warm liquids that I recognized instantly.

I was transfixed. Shocked.

Convinced I was imagining this. Aware that I was not.

My fingertip started tracing patterns in the small pool, against my better judgement, and a delicate waft of Bella's arousal made its way to me, sweet and decadent. In response, my erection twitched painfully and my tongue twinged with hunger.

She didn't know it yet, but I had just gone past my breaking point.

I had fought against my impulses for the longest time when it came to her. Looked the other way each time her beauty set my less noble desires loose. Scolded myself each time I dared to imagine anything more with her. Hated myself for never being able to push aside all the different ways she made me ache.

There were no more fights left in me.

I was in love with her, my ethics be damned. And I wanted her with an urgency that would have left me scared if it weren't for how much I loved her. I could not deny these truths forever.

Led by my needs alone, I stuffed her underwear in the pocket of my jeans and shimmied the skirt of her dress up, rolling it across her hips, and kneeled in front of her. Bella parted her legs dutifully, and in the shadows, my mouth started a discovering journey from her knees to her thighs, from her thighs to their apex, and finally — at long last — arriving at the destination.

Feeling her taste on my tongue was a new kind of paradise, one I had been dreaming of for years — and even more so in the past week. She was so wet, that her juices instantly dribbled down my chin once I had my first taste. Ravenously, I opened my mouth wider, deciding to not lose another delicious drop. I wanted it all for myself.

In an effort to get more from her, I grabbed her buttocks tightly in my palms, forcing her body to press down on my hard-working tongue. I took my time, licking at her dripping entrance, then kissing along the slit of her pussy, then back at her entrance, finding an exasperatingly sweet pace. I teased and teased, wanting to preserve this moment for as long as possible, taking in every minute reaction from Bella.

Her breath was coming in short gasps, her thighs trembled against my ears as she tried to remain steady on her feet, her fingers were in my hair, pulling and caressing. Meanwhile, all I could think about was how I never wanted it to end. I was very much in a heaven of my own making.

When my tongue grazed Bella's clit and she shuddered in pleasure, I could no longer be patient. I returned to her hardened pleasure centre, moving the flat of my tongue from left to right, then alternating with more circular strokes. And even though I couldn't see a single thing, I could perfectly hear Bella's struggle to remain somewhat silent, all things considered.

No words were shared when she came, just a broken whisper of my name leaving her throat. Her first orgasm flooded my mouth violently, and I kept her on the crest of the wave for longer by continuing my onslaught on her clit. In comparison, her second orgasm felt calmer, deeper — not like the tsunami hitting the shore on a sunny day and ravaging everything in its wake, more like the slow, gradual return of a tide at night.

I savoured it with her, swirling my tongue lazily in the ocean between her legs, to help her ride the after waves all the way to the shore. Once she came back to earth, I became more aware of other looming necessities. My cock was straining painfully against the zipper of my jeans, ready to burst out, overly jealous of my mouth and tongue.

Revved up, I climbed my way up her body with kisses, that soon turned into bites, born out of frustration over the fact that she was still covered by her dress. I stopped, content at last once I found her barren neck, and started suckling on the fragile skin there, while my hands grabbed her ass and lifted her up, pushing her right against the obvious bulge in my pants.

"Please," she implored, wrapping her legs around me. Her impatient fingers managed to set my erection free in no time. Next thing I knew, the tip of my cock was nestled between the silky lips of her pussy, basking in the sloppy aftermath of her orgasms. "Please!"

I didn't offer her the chance to beg again. I lowered Bella's body and entered her all at once, sinking in her hot tight depth with one long upward push of my hips. The feeling was otherworldly, and somehow a thousand times better than I remembered. My immediate grunt got muffled by her neck, but she hadn't been as lucky. With nothing to hold it back, her cry echoed in the darkness, reverberating beyond the walls, right into the mirror maze.

Knowing we couldn't risk being heard, I stopped her sounds quickly, by placing a palm over her mouth. She moved her hips frantically, attempting to establish a rhythm, but not quite managing to from where she was.

"I know," I murmured. "I know how you want it, Bella."

I felt the vibration of another moan in my palm once I started thrusting back and forth, sliding almost all the way out of the thrumming home of her cunt, before sliding back inside, forcing her juices to gush out and slide down my balls. It seemed to send her into sheer insanity, going by the way her nails started digging paths in my back, over my shirt, so I kept at it, wondering how long I could withhold myself from coming at this pace.

Barely a minute had passed when I heard voices beyond the wall, getting closer to us. They were laughing and didn't seem to be aware of the depravity unfolding behind the mirrors. Still, I stopped, slowly exiting Bella's body and letting her feet back down on the floor.

"Someone's close," I muttered, zipping my jeans back up. "Come on."

Without thinking about what I was doing, I grabbed her hand and guided her out of our hiding place, back into the labyrinth. Several feet in front of us, a young couple, followed by two kids, was trying to find their way out. We said nothing as we walked behind them, but we didn't let go either. Our hands held onto each other, as one last remnant of the secret we shared.

Daring to glance at her, I noticed how completely ravished she looked; with her dress rumpled in places and still breathing hard, she was beautiful in a way I had not had the pleasure of observing before. I still wanted her, even more than before, but the moment had just passed us by. Her underwear in my pocket suddenly felt heavy, as if it was trying to mock me.

When we were back outside, it felt like another world. The night had fully set in, with the carnival lights glowing brightly from every corner. I breathed in the popcorn-taffy-saturated air, disappointed only because my previous bliss met its end, but also because, somewhere between the exit door and getting back outside, Bella had let go of my hand. I looked at her, surprised to realize she still had the decapitated toy in her hand. I followed the direction of her gaze, and I saw the giant Ferris wheel, shining brightly not that far away.

"Do you want to go there?" I asked. "The Ferris wheel, I mean."

"Y-yes, let's… let's do that."

I felt like a fool as we walked together through the crowd, acting as if we hadn't just fucked each other rabidly minutes ago. As if I didn't almost come all over her again. Whatever game we were playing, it was starting to wear on me. Because to me, the stakes were too high. My relationship with her — however warped it was at this point — was not a game to be played. It was a vital part of what I wanted my future to look like, and I had grown tired of pretending that it wasn't.

My frustration was almost palpable as we got onto our seats, buckling in. It wasn't until we were up in the air that my inescapable thoughts started to get the best of me.

And I could have taken a more tactful approach when I opened my mouth to talk, but I had gone past that point not that long ago, in the house of mirrors. "I've reached my limit, Bella."

"What do you mean?"

I dared to look at her, and I regretted my harsh approach as soon as I sank in the unending wells of her eyes. When I spoke again, I chose my words with a little more thoughtfulness. "I mean everything changed, and I'm tired of walking these blurred lines. Believe it or not, I'm not playing games here. I can't afford to do that with you."

"I'm not playing games either," she retorted, almost insulted, and hearing her irritation got my own indignation to bubble up and spill over.

"Then why didn't you call? Not even once, even though you told me you would."

If before I might have worried I was alone in despairing over what happened between us, she managed to prove me wrong the next moment. "Edward, you left my house the second you finished, what was I supposed to do? I thought you regretted everything, and that you no longer wanted me around… like, at all. Not as a friend, not as anything."

Startled, I tried to digest the meaning of her confession, quite in disbelief. "I only left like that because I wanted to still be your friend. And I couldn't do that, had I actually done what I wanted to."

"And… what was that?"

I took a deep breath in, no longer battling if I wanted to be honest all the way or not.

Here goes nothing. Here goes everything.

"I wanted to fall asleep with you in my arms. And to wake up the next morning still holding you there. And to repeat the cycle again and again and again." She went silent, but something about her rosy cheeks encouraged me to continue. "I knew you said you only wanted to make that video as revenge, so I didn't want to cross any additional lines with you at that point. Because if I did, I risked losing you altogether."

"Edward—"

"No, I'd like to finish this, because I've been carrying this weight on my shoulders for way too long, and I want to free myself from it." Her eyes went wide, and in the background of my conscience, I realized we had almost reached the top of the wheel. "You don't know how it's been eating at me. For days on end, I thought everything ended. Your silence only cemented my convictions. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't focus on anything but the fact that we weren't talking and instead we were behaving like strangers. And I thought that was it. That it was, in fact, the very end of us. But I couldn't come to terms with such a thing. How could I, really? You know me better than anyone, losing you is the equivalent of having half of myself removed forever." My words were an unstoppable river now, as they poured freely out of me, escaping from their prison. "So I called you. And I thought I could strangle that part of me that wanted more when I saw you again, but then we went into the mirror house, and I knew there was no escaping it. There is no escaping it. Whatever I try, no matter how much I struggle, it all circles back to the same things. I want you. I need you. But above all else, I am in love with you. And I have been pretty much from the moment I first laid eyes on you."

With all my secrets out, I felt lighter. And even if a thousand lights were shining below my feet, all I could focus on was Bella — and how, out of all the things she could be doing right now, she was smiling.

"You were faster than me," she said, leaving me confused.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean earlier, when I interrupted you, I wanted to say that you hadn't been alone in wishing you stayed that night. I wanted you to stay too, Edward. It broke my heart that you didn't. And… it was the moment I stopped fighting my own feelings. For years, I tried to play it off as a harmless little fantasy of mine — as if the way your very presence made my heart beat faster was nothing but my dumb brain playing tricks on me. But the more I fought against the idea, the worse it got for me. And it did take me being cheated on to finally admit to myself that… he was never going to be the one. But you are, Edward. And I wanted to tell you this much earlier, but I was so scared to call you, fearing you didn't want the same things. So yes, you were faster than me — and much braver, might I add — but that doesn't change the fact that we reached the same conclusion. I'm in love with you too. Actually, I have been in love with you for far longer than you can imagine. And each second I spend without touching you is killing me as we speak."

Speechless, shocked, relieved — and, above all else, happier than ever — I turned around in my seat, realizing she was closer to me than I realized. So close in fact, that I barely had to move to press my palms on her pink cheeks.

"I love you," I admitted out loud, knowing that I no longer had to worry about allowing the truth to roam freely. Leaning forward, I witnessed my wildest dream come alive as our eyes closed and our lips met. Softly — so very softly — at first, just to indulge ourselves. After holding back for so long, I didn't expect my high expectations to be exceeded.

But they were. Big time.

After the initial sweetness dwindled, something raw and a million times more powerful came to take its place. Our mouths opened, throwing us into a pit of temptation, with no way out. Bella still tasted like the caramel apple she had earlier, while I still had the taste of her orgasms on my tongue. Nothing had ever been as delicious as this sinful mix.

She threw her arms around me, and, thirsting for more, I grabbed the back of her neck and deepened the kiss, until our tongues met. There was no delicacy in what came next. The kiss turned into a wild, luscious mess that made me lose control altogether. I retreated just to get a hold of her bottom lip, sinking my teeth inside it, euphoric to explore the plumpness with something other than my hungry eyes for the first time ever.

"I love you, Edward," she managed in between two strokes of our lips.

Not ready to part, but mesmerized by hearing her declaration of love, I pulled back, admiring what was in front of me. I missed the moment we had reached the peak of the ride, but it didn't matter. As we came down, my Bella was positively glowing.

"So, how about a date?" I asked, only half-joking.

"Doesn't this count as our first?"

"Mmmmm, absolutely not," I disagreed, carefully tucking a few stray strands of hair beneath her ear. "What kind of man would I be then? Fucking you on our very first date… I can do a whole lot better than that, sweetheart."

"Hmmm, I wouldn't be so sure. I can think of something even better."

"And that would be?"

She giggled. "Well, fucking me on our second date as well, obviously."

I couldn't suppress my laugh, nor the way my erection responded to her promising suggestion. I leaned in for another kiss, quietly grasping the fact that I was on a path to getting addicted — not that I minded.

By the time our ride reached its end, our lives had already begun again.

The end :).

I hope you enjoyed this ride, as short as it was! It was certainly fun to take a break from vampy stuff and write an AH story for once, but I probably won't get caught doing that again, LOL! I need the bloodlust and darkness a little too much for my own good, as proven by the other stories I wrote.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter, or the overall story! It's hard to explain how happy it makes me each time I get to read your reviews, so thank you to each and every one of you who took the time to comment.

And thank you all for taking the time to read, it means a lot.

If you want to get early announcements about my future projects, you are more than welcome to join my Facebook group (the link is on my profile page).

Stay safe and happy!