Author's Note: Nice reviews are better than chocolate, unless maybe you're licking that chocolate off someone.

Six

Edward hovered by the phone all evening. He knew very well that in a few hours he may be back in his normal life and he couldn't stand it. Pacing, phone in hand, all he could think about was what would happen tomorrow.

I'll be alone again and people will be saying 'Bella was' instead of 'Bella is'.

His soul hurt, that was the only way he could describe the pain that blossomed outward from his chest. Edward knew this was a possibility, but it was something he had refused to entertain. Now it was inevitable. Tomorrow she would be gone and it could not be fixed; he could not go back.

He felt his fear rising from his middle, blotting out the goodness from the day.

The phone rang, jarring him out of his pain.

"Bella?"

"Hey, I'm on my way over," her voice sounded thick from tears, stress.

"Are you driving?" He asked her, remembering the last time she planned to come over.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering, do you remember how to get here?" Nothing. "...Bella?...Are you there?" His heart beat faster.

There was a knock on his door; he ran to open it. "You lived closer than I thought," she looked exhausted.

Edward dropped his phone and pulled her inside, closing the door and pushing her up against it. He put one arm around her middle and a hand behind her head. His kiss wasn't gentle; it was desperate and rough, it felt like a crash. He felt her body responding to him, her hands were in his hair as she pressed herself into him. Bella kept her body against his, but pulled her face back to study him, breathing hard. She ran a thumb across his left cheekbone and it took all of Edward's will power not to pull her face to his again. He wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she seemed to find it because a moment later she pulled him back. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her; at the same time she wrapped her legs around him. Letting go of her with one hand, he used his hips to help hold her up while he pulled at the button of her pants. He pulled too hard though and the button flew off, spinning on the hard wood floor a few feet away. She didn't seem to care.

He let her go then and they fell with an audible thump onto the floor with her on top. They worked each other's clothes mostly off and then Edward flipped them over so he was above her. Before he moved inside her, he looked at her eyes. She watched him, his gaze soft; it shook something loose in her. They moved together then, slowly at first, and then faster until they couldn't hold back any longer. He kept his eyes on her face the entire time, only closing them for an instant when he came.

Afterward, as they lay on the floor next to each other, he finally spoke. "The location wasn't exactly what I'd planned," he ran his hand up and down her side slowly.

"It was perfect," she grinned sheepishly, "but can we move now? I'm freezing."

He laughed quietly at that and helped her out of the last of her clothes, which was counterproductive but she didn't argue, he took off her bra, which they didn't have time to take off before. He shook off his pants and underwear, which had only come down to his feet before. Edward stood up then, helping her, his eyes lingering. "Bedroom." He started to lead her away when she started laughing.

He turned, suddenly very self conscious, "what?" He watched her move closer and stand on tip-toe so they were almost level; she kissed him lightly.

"I was actually thinking the kitchen."

His expression went from curious to mischievous, "there is good too." She tilted her head and grinned crookedly. "Oh, you meant…" He turned a light shade of pink and Bella thought it was possibly the cutest thing she'd ever seen. He kneeled down and grabbed his sweater and pants, handing her the sweater, he slipped his pants on sans underwear, which did not go unnoticed by Bella. They were low slung, resting on his hips.

Edward led her into the kitchen; he pulled open the refrigerator and a few cabinets, trying to decide what to have. He didn't have much else besides breakfast foods for some reason. He took out croissants and some strawberries asking her if that was ok and apologizing for not getting groceries. She found a plate, put everything on it and sat it on the island. He took out some orange juice and glasses just to round everything out and sat beside her. They ate in companionable silence; he didn't even try to make excuses to touch her anymore. They sat close enough that her legs were between his; the proximity plus the strawberries were almost too much for Edward to bear.

Bella took a sip of her orange juice and a tiny drop fell, landing on her knee; it slipped down the inside of her leg and she reached for a napkin. Edward lifted her leg by the calf and leaned forward, sliding his tongue along the inside of her knee. He heard her gasp and continued a trail of kisses up her thigh. When he got to the hem, he nosed it upward most of the way before she stopped him. "Bedroom now?" Her eyes were heavy lidded and her face flushed. He grabbed her around the middle and lifted, carrying her into the bedroom.

Edward was determined not to fall asleep, but after having so little over the last couple of days, he felt sleep pull at him like an anchor. Just a little while longer. He focused on asking Bella questions, memorizing the answers.

"If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

He ran his fingertips up and down her back, he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but there was no way he could. "I guess it's not really one thing, but I'd be less afraid. It's never led to anything good in my life." He closed his eyes and kissed her head. He ran his fingers over her face, putting every detail into memory. A little more time, I'm not ready to say goodbye. His movements began to slow, his hand coming to rest on her arm.

"If you –" she began, then quieted, listening to his steady, deep breathing. She tilted her head up and pressed a light kiss on his jaw. Then she closed her eyes to join him.