Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I just like to play with the characters.

Chapter 12 – Hanging by a Thread

BPOV

I know I said Edward Cullen was a sex God, well I take that back! Edward Cullen is officially a self-righteous hypocritical ASS! How could I let myself fall for someone like that? What is it with me and men? I go from a self absorbed, emotionally stunted, momma's boy to a… hypocrite!

I have to admit, I was a little scared of getting on the zip line originally, but after the fight with Edward, I just needed to get out of there. He is damn lucky they held me back, or I would have beat the shit out of him for talking to me that way! He was just short of calling me a whore! The nerve of him! I had to get away from him and fast! I climbed on the zip line and stepped off the platform without looking back.

I could feel my adrenaline coursing through my veins. Part of it was from the fight, but part of it was from the ride. The zip line reached a pole then took a steeper angle, causing me to speed up. I held the rope tighter. My right hand was aching. I glanced at it and realized that two of my knuckles were bleeding. I hope I didn't break anything!

As I passed a large tree limb, I was distracted by some butterflies that fluttered around me. They were beautiful. They reminded me of my mom. Mom had a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. She got it when she found out she was sick. She said butterflies are the wings of hope. Like hope, butterflies are delicate and fragile but bringing happiness to everyone they pass. It was the butterflies that finally made me calm down.

When I reached the bottom of the zip line, a young man helped me get out of the harness. I was told to wait for the rest of my group, so we could all go to the falls together. I walked over to a secluded set of benches, sitting in the shade of a big tree, and thought about my dad. He was always so calm and reserved. I remembered him telling me about the importance of understanding people's perspective. He said, "Bella, you will never truly understand why a person does things until you understand them. You need to know how they think and how they feel to understand where they are coming from." Of course, he was talking about a murder suicide case, not relationships, but I am sure the concept is still the same.

I tried to see things from his perspective as I sat there, but I was still too caught up in my own feelings of anger, hurt, betrayal, and disappointment to be able to see things from his point of view. I heard a lady giggling as she came down the zip line. A few minutes later a man came down. They were animatedly talking about how much fun it was. They came over to sit by me while others started to come down. I knew Edward would have to come down eventually, but was I ready to face him? Sure, I had calmed down, but I was still angry. If he was to start his shit again, I could easily blow up and beat some sense into him!

I was sitting there concentrating really hard on the laces of my shoes when I saw a figure approach cautiously. "Bella… May I sit with you?" He sounded unsure of himself.

"Sit where ever you want, Edward. I don't give a damn." I snapped.

He sat on the bench beside me and cleared his throat. "Bella, I'm sorry. I was being an ass up there." He said softly.

"You're damn right you were being an ass!" I scowled.

"I should have come and talked to you instead of…"

"Instead of blowing up and turning into a hypocritical ass in front of a large group of total strangers!" I finished for him.

He was quiet for a moment then said, "I know I said some mean things and I'm sorry. I wish I could take them all back. I was just so surprised when I found out… I didn't really know how to take it."

"So you blew up at me for performing for you? That makes no fucking sense, Edward! You enjoyed my performances enough to keep coming back for more! Seriously, you have seen me every Thursday for almost five months and now that you know it was me, you are going to get mad at me for doing it?"

He hung his head down and said, "I'm not mad at you for performing for me. I am shocked to find out that you are not the person I thought you were. I had a totally different image of you in my head. You were Bella Swan, the sweet, quiet, high school librarian. I never expected that you were also Miss Izzy, the beautiful, confident, incredibly sexual performer. It was a shock to find out that the two people were actually one in the same."

I tried to stay calm and not let my temper get the best of me. I looked up and really looked at him. The skin along the outer corner of his eye was swollen and turning purple. Just looking at it made my hand hurt. I had never given anyone a black eye before. Maybe I smiled a little inside because he really did deserve it.

"You don't think I'm not suffering from a little shock, myself? You were Edward Cullen the sexy history teacher that's great with kids and funny as hell. Now I find out that you are also Shy Boy, the quiet, sensitive, loyal little pervert that comes to see me every Thursday. Not to mention the shock of realizing that you are also Dante, the sexy man who kept me from freezing up with stage freight and showed me that having sex with a real man is much better than anything I could do on my own!"

He blushed, "I thought you already knew. I thought you were just playing with me."

They were calling our group to gather for instructions on how to do the rappelling. I stood up and turned to him and said, "I may be many different people, Edward: a librarian, a performer, a Police Chief's daughter, a friend, a lover, an innocent, and an exhibitionist, but I am NOT a liar, a gold-digger, or a whore! I am sorry that you never took the time to figure that out for yourself before you went and accused me of those very things!"

I turned and walked over to the group that had already gathered around the instructor. Edward stayed sitting on the bench, right where I left him, with his head hanging low.

"Miss Swan, you're up!" The instructor said.

I stepped up to the instructor. He handed me a plastic bag for anything I didn't want to get wet and a pair of water shoes. I put my hat, boots, and socks in the bag and put it in the cart that was going to meet us at the bottom. We were standing at the top of an icy cold waterfall. There were several ropes fastened to thick posts protruding out of the water. They put me in a rappelling harness and showed me how to position my hands and lower myself down. They explained how the safety mechanism worked and led me to the edge of the falls.

I had never been rappelling before. They told me that the hardest part was getting over the edge. Once I got over the edge, the rest would be easy. I backed toward the edge of the rock with the water rushing at my feet. I held the rope tightly and leaned back, allowing my body to hang over the edge. The instructor told me to keep eye contact with him and NOT look down, so guess what I did… I looked down. Holy shit! That is a LONG way down! I am going to DIE! I launched forward, away from the edge.

"I – I – I don't think I can do this!" I said with wide eyes.

"Don't worry. It is perfectly safe. It is natural to be a little afraid the first time. I promise you, we have children that do this all the time."

I gave him a look like he must be smoking crack, because there was no way in hell that any mother in their right mind would let their children go down these waterfalls dangling by a thread! I stepped aside to let the next person go while I watched. It was an older looking lady, maybe in her mid 60's. She grabbed the rope and backed over the edge like it was nothing. I watched her go down the rope. I watched a young man step up and do the same. He was going a little faster than the lady, but nothing too scary.

I took a deep breath. You can do this! You can do this! I told the instructor I was ready to try again. You can do this! You can do this! I backed up to the edge of the falls. Don't look down! Don't look down! I leaned back and felt myself slide along the rope. You can do this! Don't look down!

"You're doing great! Just keep going until you reach the bottom!" The instructor yelled.

I slid back further until I was parallel with the edge. I needed to move my feet, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was too far over to come back up, but too afraid to go further down.

"Miss Swan, you need to keep moving. Don't stop until you get to the bottom."

I looked down. Shit! I am going to die! I froze! I could hear myself whimpering as I clung to the rope with my eyes clamped shut. I couldn't think! I couldn't move! I couldn't even call for help!

"Miss Swan, calm down and take a deep breath. Look at me! Miss Swan, you're going to be OK, just look at me!"

I could feel the water pushing on my feet but I wasn't about to let them move. The sound of the instructor's voice faded into the sound of the rushing water. I could feel the mist from the water wafting up covering me in a sheer film of moisture mixing with my sweat and dripping into my eyes, making them burn. I needed to wipe my face, but I just couldn't move. My soar hand was throbbing. I could feel my fingernails cutting into my palms, but I just couldn't move. The muscles in my arms were cramping from holding on so tight and so long.

Somehow a voice made it through the sounds rushing around me and I heard, "That sure is a nice bike. Is it yours?" What? The voice got closer, "What kind of bike is that anyway? Can you tell me a little bit about it?"

I opened one eye and looked to my right. Dangling on the rope beside mine was a gorgeous man wearing nothing but cargo shorts and water shoes. "What are you talking about, Edward? I'm not on a fucking bike!?"

"Sure you are. It looks like a black Harley to me. What do you like about the bike?" He was looking straight in my eyes. All I could see was the sparkly green eyes as he smiled.

I tried to remember the bike. It seemed like so long ago. "I like the feel of the wind on my skin." I said remembering the way he looked at me that night. "I like to see my reflection in the chrome."

"Show me the way you move. Show me how sexy you are." He said as he slid down the rope a few inches. "Tell me about the leather seats."

I shifted slightly so I could see him better and accidentally let myself slide down the rope a few inches. I let out a yelp and clamped back down on the rope stopping my movement.

"You like the way the leather seat feels between your legs, don't you?" Edward said, maintaining eye contact with me and smiling.

"Yes, I like the way the leather feels. It's soft and smooth on my skin." I started to relax again.

He slid a little lower down his rope. "Tell me about the headlights. I love the headlights!" He licked his lips.

"The headlights are warm. Sometimes when I am driving, I like to reach forward and touch them just to feel the heat. Would you like to touch my headlights?" I teased with a sexy smile.

"I would love to, but you need to come down a little further so I can reach." He said sounding sexy as hell.

I slid down the rope a little but he slid at same time, so I had to go even further. He swung my direction and grabbed me by the waist, so he could whisper in my ear, "I love your headlights. I think about touching them all the time." His right hand slid around and discreetly brushed my nipple. My breath hitched and I felt myself relax against his warm chest.

His lips brushed against my ear as he said, "Mmmm, it feels good. Let's get down from here so I can give it the attention it deserves." Then he let go of me and swung back to his position and slid lower on the rope.

Now that he was back to his side, he said, "Tell me what the vibrations from the road do to you." He licked his lips and bit his bottom lip. His eyes were burning with desire.

"The vibrations from the road make me ache." I said as I slid down the rope to be even with him. I noticed the bulge in his shorts as he reached down and adjusted himself. I heard myself moan at the sight and felt the warm wetness in my panties.

He looked deep in my eyes and said, "Enough play. It's time to…" and he started lowering himself down the rope at a slow steady speed.

My mind flashed back to the last time I had heard those exact words. I had been riding him on a stool and he said, "Enough play! It's time to fuck!" then he lifted me up and spun me around, so he could fuck me from behind. That was the first time I felt him all the way inside me. Oh God, it felt good!

Before I realized it, I was at the bottom of the rope and in Edwards's arms. He placed a soft kiss on my lips before looking deep into my eyes and saying, "I love you, Bella... all of you, the good and the… naughty." He said with a gleam in his eye. He leaned forward and nibbled my neck, just below my ear, making me moan and my legs weak. "Now let's get that harness off of you so we can find a place to be alone!"

He fought with the harness and finally freed me from the horrible contraption. As he handed it to one of the attendants, I looked up the waterfall. It wasn't that high! I was making a big deal out of nothing. I was stuck up there like a chicken, but Edward came and saved me. He talked me down and eased my nerves. He knew exactly how to distract me and get me to work with him. Sure we had a lot of things to work on, and I was not even close to being over the hurtful things he said to me, but he told me he loves me and I know deep in my heart, I feel the same way about him!

He grabbed my hand and led me to the cart so we could dry off and change shoes before he led me toward the little shops selling souvenirs and trinkets. "Come on Bella, let's see if we can find you something dry to wear." he said as he gave me his sexy half smile.

He peeked into a few shops and finally found one he wanted to stop in. It primarily sold t-shirts but it had some other clothes as well. He glanced at a few racks and picked out a teal linen wrap dress with a beautiful floral pattern embroidered in cream, along the bottom of the dress. He also grabbed a pair of white linen pants and headed for the dressing room. A woman came over to help us. He said something to her in Spanish and she smiled. She unlocked the door to a dressing room that looked like a small closet with a single light bulb, a wooden chair, and a long mirror.

He stepped inside pulling me along with him. "Edward, what are you doing?" I said as he started unbuttoning my shorts.

"I am helping you try on that dress." He said, as he leaned forward and captured my lips with his. I felt his tongue lightly trace my bottom lip so I leaned into him and parted my lips, giving him access. The kiss was passionate but not hurried.

"You know, you would feel much better if you got out of those wet clothes." He unzipped my shorts and let them fall to the floor. His hands slid around and cupped my ass, pulling me against him. I felt his hard length straining against his shorts and my panties got even wetter.

His hands ghosted up my sides, slipping under my top and pulling it up over my head, exposing my naked breasts. His lips left a hot trail of kisses down my neck to my shoulder, and then down my chest to my nipple. I had to stifle a moan as he took the taught little nub in his mouth and began to suck it while flicking it with his tongue. His other hand started working the other nipple while my fingers tangled into his hair, pulling him closer to me. "Oh God, Edward, that feels so good!" I whispered softly.

When his mouth traveled across to give the same attention to the other nipple his free hand slid down to stroke the front of my panties before pulling them down to my ankles and helping me step out of them. He maneuvered me so that I was leaning against the wall and then had me lift one foot and put it on the chair, "You are so beautiful, Bella." He whispered as he kissed a trail down my stomach, circling my navel, then proceeding lower as he dropped to his knees in front of me.

My body was trembling with anticipation as he kissed each thigh, placed a gentle kiss on my pubic mound, and then dipped lower, parting my folds with his talented tongue. "Mmmm, Bella, you are delicious." He mumbled softly before his tongue traveled lower, circling my opening and swirling though my juices.

"Oh God, Edward, that feels so good!" I said quietly as I thrusted toward his lips involuntarily.

His tongue traveled forward, making small circles around my clit, but not touching it. The sensation was driving me wild. I had one hand fisted in his hair and I was pinching my nipples with the other one. He looked up at me and moaned, sending delicate vibrations through my body, as he slid two fingers in my pussy and started sliding them in and out slowly.

I wanted him to go faster. I wanted him to lick my fucking clit and stop teasing me. I wanted to cum! My hips thrusted forward into his mouth faster and harder. I could see the smile in his eyes. He knew what he was doing to me. He knew how badly he was teasing me. I was breathing hard and could feel the heat rolling off of my body as I made quiet little gasps and moans. I was wound so tight, I was about to explode.

Just when I thought I was going to go absolutely insane, his fingers started thrusting fast and hard, hitting that place inside that makes me throw my head back and moan. I bit my lip in an attempt to keep quiet. At the same time he started sucking my clit and rubbing the coarse part of his tongue against it firmly. My entire body shook as I came harder than I have ever cum in my life. Edward had to use his free hand to keep me from falling over! My bones had all turned to jelly.

He sat me in the chair and gave my nipples each a quick soft kiss before standing up in front of me and undoing his shorts. He didn't need to ask. He knew I would reciprocate. As his shorts and boxer briefs fell to the floor, I took a good look at him. He was mouthwatering! He gave himself a few long strokes as he said, "I won't last long, Bella. I am already so close, I can feel it."

I leaned forward and licked the little drop of pre-cum off the end and then placed a little kiss on the tip, causing him to hiss. I ran my tongue from the base to the top, swirling around the head and then back down. "Fuck! Bella, that feels so good!" he whispered.

On the second pass, I let my tongue circle the head and then I wrapped my lips around it and gave it a soft suck as I let it slip out of my mouth before placing another soft kiss on the tip. "Oh fuck!" His voice was tense. I could see his jaw clenching.

I parted my lips, taking him into my mouth and letting him slide all the way to the back of my throat. Damn he's big! I was close, but still hadn't taken him all the way in. I used a little suction for some smaller stokes as I adjusted myself in the chair, giving me a better angle. I took a deep breath through my nose then slid forward, relaxing my throat muscles so he could go all the way in. When I reached the back, I stuck my tongue out and teased the soft skin where his dick meets his balls before coming up and going back down to do it again. "Holy shit! No one has ever done that to me before! That is so fucking sexy! It feels so…. Oh my God!"

I kept doing it over and over in long deep fast strokes with a tickle of the tongue when he was all the way in. His hands tangled into my hair and his hips were thrusting in time with my strokes. I felt is butt cheeks start to clench so I reached up and started playing with his balls. "Oh shit! That feels so fucking good! I'm gonna… I'm gonna… Oh God, Bella, I'm cumming!" His muscles tightened up and I pulled back slightly allowing me to swallow without choking.

He shook his head, attempting to clear it, as he leaned against the wall and tried to regain his balance. I don't think he had ever looked as handsome as he did at that very moment, all out of breath and flushed with his orgasm.

"I don't even want to know how you learned to do that!" He said, as he took the dress off of the hanger and held it so I could put it on. It fit perfectly. Even without a bra, it looked nice.

"I read it in a book." I said as I turned to look at myself in the mirror.

He picked up the pants and pulled them on before gathering our things and unlocking the door. "I now officially love the fact that you read books." He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

He still didn't have a shirt on. He walked over to the racks and found a nice shirt that went well with the pants then went to look at shoes. He found us each a pair of sandals. He found me a necklace and earrings made out of cream colored shells, and a new hat for himself before we went to the check out.

He said something to the lady that I couldn't understand and she smiled as she rang up our purchases and he paid her.

"What did you say to her that made her smile so big?" I asked.

"When we came in, I told her that we were newlyweds and we were fighting. I told her that I needed to use her dressing room so I could beg for forgiveness as a good husband should. Then I promised that if she let me do this, I would buy us each a complete outfit and pay in cash."

"Oh my God! You didn't really tell her that did you?" I blushed.

"Sure. When we were checking out, she asked if I was forgiven. I told her I was, thanked her for her hospitality, and gave her a considerable tip." He winked.

We were walking along the sidewalk, when I stopped and turned to face him, "Edward, I want you to know that the things you said up there really hurt me. It is going to be really hard for me to get past that. I think we need to sit down and talk about what you said and why you said it. Once we discuss it, we can find out what the real problem is and then we can work on fixing it. Just because we messed around in a dressing room doesn't mean that everything is back to normal. Sex doesn't fix things; it is just a temporary distraction."

He reached up and put his hand on my cheek, "Bella, I really am sorry about what I said. I don't want you to be hurt. I love you."

I leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I love you too, Edward. I know we can fix it if we both try. Now let's get some shopping done before we have to get on the bus."

As we walked through the shops, we held hands and enjoyed each other's company. I bought some things for my dad and he bought some things for his parents. We even posed for a picture with parrots on our heads. Thank God we didn't get pooped on!

When we made it back to the boat, we found a VERY intoxicated Jasper singing karaoke while Alice stood there laughing. The DJ looked like he was ready to sweat bullets. He had his hand on the switch to the microphone, ready to turn it off if Jasper got out of hand. Jasper was smiling ear to ear as he sang "I'm on a Boat" by Lonely Island.

"…Igot my swim trunks

and my flippy floppies

I'm flippin' burgers

you at Kinko's straight flippin' copies

I'm ridin' on a dolphin

doin' flips and 'beep'

The dolphin's splashin',

gettin' everybody all wet

But this ain't Sea-world

this as real as it gets

I'm on a boat mother'beeper' don't you ever forget.

I'm on a boat and

it's goin' fast and

I got a nautical themed Pashmina afghan…."

Edward turned to Alice and said, "Did he just say mother beeper?"

She giggled, "Yes. He insisted this was a good song to sing on a cruise but the DJ said it has too many bad words. Jasper promised that he could sing the entire song without using a single bad word! It's hilarious!"

Jasper continued singing, editing the words along the way by replacing every bad word with the word "beep". I was impressed that he could do this completely shit faced drunk. I wouldn't have been able to do it sober!

"Never thought I'd see the day

when a big boat comin' my way.

Believe me when I say, I 'beeped' a mermaid." He winked at Alice.

When he finished the song, I saw the DJ let out the breath he had been holding. He was glad it was over. The small crowd that had gathered around while Jasper was singing applauded. He took a bow then came over to us.

"Hey, Bella. Where have you been? Did you go to the Mexico outside?" He smiled really big, like he was proud of himself for asking a valid question. Right!

"Um, yes? I went hiking, zip line riding, and rappelling down waterfalls. Where did you go?" I asked with a giggle.

"I didn't go to those places. I went to Mexico! What about you, Edward?" he said putting his arm around Edward's shoulders.

Edward laughed and said, "I went with Bella."

Alice piped in, "We did a little submarine ride. It ended early so we went to one of the bars. Jasper found some really smooth tequila that I fully expect he will see again tonight when it's time to lay down for bed." She crinkled her nose.

"Holy BEEP, Edward. What happed to your face? It looks like someone kicked your BEEP!" Jasper said poking at the purple bruise on Edward's eye.

"Shit, Jasper, don't touch it, it hurts!" Edward winced.

Jasper turned to me and said, "What happened to your hand?"

I smirked and said, "Edward got mouthy and I had to put him in his place! I can't go having my men getting mouthy on me!" I gave Edward a wink.

Alice laughed, "That's the way to do it, Bella! Set him straight!"

Jasper looked at me with his mouth hanging open for a moment and then said, "If I wasn't so drunk… my dick would be hard right now! I like women who take charge!"

We all laughed. We helped Alice drag her drunk ass husband up to their room and then Edward and I walked up to my room. I invited him inside. It was time we had that talk.

A/N – Happy Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed this one. It is drama with a touch of lemon. I absolutely love writing drunken Jasper! Edward may be sexy as hell but Jasper is definitely the coolest guy ever!

Stats update: 804 people following though favorites and alerts and 576 reviews, as of this morning. It absolutely thrills me to know that so many people out there are following my story! I read every single review. Unfortunately I don't have much time to respond to all the reviews, so please know that I do read them and I do appreciate all you kind words of encouragement. Thank you to everyone that takes time to post a review.

As always, I want to thank Vicki (NoWayWithWords) for being my wonderful beta and support system. She is the peg leg to my Long John Silver. Without her I wouldn't get very far. Not to mention that I would look kind o stupid trying to sail my pirate ship from a lawn chair on the deck.

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