A/N: Here is the last chapter of Last Night. Thank you to all of you who have reviewed. You have all been so kind with your words and I appreciate that more than I can say. I love you all. I hope that I have gained some faithful readers with this little story :) After all, the reader is the reason writers do what they do. So I'll leave you to it. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

I woke up for the second time that day and I felt like shit. My head was pounding, my stomach was churning, and… as sappy and lovesick as it makes me sound… my heart ached.

I crawled out of Bella's bed and headed to my own room to shower and get dressed.

After finishing my morning routine, I made my way downstairs, meeting Jasper along the way.

Bella and Emmett were in the living room cleaning up the mess from the party. Jasper kicked her out of the room so he could help Emmett, which left me with the back deck. As I made my way through the kitchen I tried not to look at her. I was almost successful, but just before I opened the door, I looked. Her head lifted and those gorgeous chocolate eyes met mine. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her eyes were a sea of different emotions and it was almost impossible to name them. I gave her a small smile before turning around and opening the sliding glass door.

I wasn't sure of whom I should talk to about my predicament. Emmett and Jasper were both fiercely protective of Bella and I worried about my physical well-being if I told them what happened. I wasn't sure but I had an inkling that they already knew. I had overheard Emmett making a few comments to Bella over the last few days. And Jasper? Well, let's just say that if looks could kill I'd be taking a dirt nap right about now. Neither one of them had said anything to me as of yet but I figured that was Bella's doing.

Alice was really the only other option since she was the only one who even knew about my feelings for Bella. The only thing that stopped me was I wasn't sure if she knew. Bella wasn't the kind of girl that blabbed shit about her personal life to anyone that would listen. She was a pretty private person so I was unsure if she had talked to her friends about this.

In the end I decided that Emmett and Jasper were my best bet.

Emmett was honest to a fault. He had always been good at giving me a kick in the ass when I needed it.

Jasper was good with all the emotional shit and I had to admit that I was also hoping he would be willing to give me some insight as to how Bella was feeling about all of this. She confided in him about everything.

It was Thursday before I got the chance to talk to them without prying ears around.

Alice and Angela, who Emmett and Jasper were now seeing, had come to the house to drag a reluctant Bella on a shopping trip. Before they left Alice threw me a wink and a knowing smile. Sometimes I swear that the little pixie is psychic.

As the three of us lounged in the rec room playing video games, I wracked my brain trying to come up with a way to bring it up. Thankfully after Jasper dominated my ass for the first time ever in Halo, Emmett gave me an opening.

"Dude, what's your deal?" he asked. "Jazz never beats you. You've been acting kinda strange all week. What's going on?"

I figured Jasper would be offended by that comment, but he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't looking at me but it was plain to see that he knew exactly what was on my mind if the scowl on his face was anything to go off of.

"There is something that's been bugging me, but I'm not sure how receptive you guys will be to talking to me about it."

"If this has anything to do with what happened with Bella last weekend, I don't want to fucking hear it." Jasper said.

I was honestly surprised at the amount of hostility in his voice. Jasper was a pretty laid back guy. It took a lot to piss him off, but right now, he was pretty livid.

"So you know then?" I asked.

"Yeah, we know. Emmett saw the two of you and he told me about it a couple days later. How could you do that Edward? This is Bella, not just some random chick you can use up and throw out. You live with her for fuck's sake!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down and back the fuck up. What do you mean Emmett saw us?"

"Not in the act or anything," Emmett piped up. "I knew that Bella had had a fuckton to drink and after dancing with Angela for a little while I went looking for her to make sure she was okay. You know how much of a lightweight she is. When I couldn't find her I went upstairs to see if she had gone up there and passed out. I peeked into her bedroom and saw the two of you sleeping. Normally I wouldn't have thought anything of it since we all sleep in there with her from time to time. Bella, being the blanket hog that she is, had apparently pulled the covers off of you enough for me to be greeted with the sight of your ridiculously pale, naked ass. Seriously dude? We live in California. Get a tan."

I rolled my eyes at Emmett's last comment.

Right, like I'm gonna lay outside naked to tan my ass just to give Emmett a better viewing experience.

"Really?" Jasper exclaimed, bringing my attention back to him. "You fuck my little sister like she's one of your whores and the only thing you're worried about is Emmett seeing you? You are un-fucking-believable. I should kick your fucking ass just for looking at Bella in a more than friendly way. Even if Emmett hadn't seen you I would have known something was up. You won't even look at her and she's been walking around here like someone ran over her puppy since Sunday. She was a fucking virgin and you just took that from her! Probably without giving it a second thought. That should have been a special experience for her and now she has to remember it as some fucked up drunken mistake! She won't even fucking talk to me; no doubt in an attempt to protect your stupid ass."

That shocked me. Like I said, Bella confided in Jasper about everything.

"I think I'm gonna agree with Jazz here. You do need your ass kicked." Emmett added. "I mean, that girl has been our best friend for a long time. For you to just use her like that… Not cool, Edward."

The conversation went on like this for what seemed like an eternity. Both of them were lecturing me and yelling at me, repeating the same thing over and over and I was getting pissed. I hadn't fucking used her but neither of them would shut the fuck up long enough to let me explain that. Finally after the millionth time Jasper threatened to kick my ass I just blurted out what I needed to say.

"I fucking love her, okay!"

My declaration stopped both of them in their tracks. Their mouths hung open in shock and they stared at me like I had just asked them to explain the meaning of life. It was obvious they were both too surprised to speak, so I took the opportunity to defend myself.

"I'm in love with her. I don't know when or how it happened, but I am. I didn't use her. Hell, I hadn't even had the intention to sleep with her when the night started. All I wanted to do was get her alone and talk to her; tell her how I feel. I knew she was a virgin and I did, in fact, give that a second thought, Jasper. I didn't want her to regret anything. I even told her that we didn't have to do anything if she didn't want to, but she said she did, so… we did. As far as me not even looking at her, well I apologize for not wanting my heart to shatter every fucking time I do."

My eyes were beginning to sting, and that just pissed me off further. I was a man for fuck's sake. I wasn't supposed to be getting all fucking weepy over a girl. Regardless of how in love with her I was.

Emmett and Jasper both opened and closed their mouths several times, resembling goldfish, before Jasper cleared his throat and finally said something.

"Dude, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"How could you? I never told you and it's not like you gave me the opportunity to before you lit into my ass."

And just like that the mood was lifted. They both chuckled and I smiled at them, indicating that everything was cool. I knew that they would be upset with me, but like the best friends we are, a little yelling and a joke, and the air was cleared.

"So what are you gonna do?" Emmett asked.

"I was hoping the two of you could help me with that. I don't know anything about this love shit and to tell you the truth, I'm terrified of my feelings for her."

"Well, first piece of advice," Jasper said, "don't call it love shit. That will get you nowhere fast with a girl."

"Here's a thought," Emmett said. "How about you talk to her. It's pretty obvious that you guys haven't had the 'morning after' chat."

"Yeah, well that would have been kind of difficult seeing as how she ran from the fucking room like it was on fire when she saw that I was awake."

I shook my head sadly as that particular memory flashed through my head.

"Edward, did you bother to tell her anything about how you felt before you… well… you know?" Jasper asked.

I almost laughed at the fact that he wouldn't say what it was we had done, but I held it in. I was pretty sure that this conversation wasn't easy for him considering the other party involved.

I hung my head, ashamed of the fact that I had been too chicken shit to tell her when she was still awake. I should have told her before I let things get out of hand.

"No," I answered sheepishly. "I did tell her, but she was already asleep."

"Well that doesn't necessarily matter with Bella." Emmett said. "You can have a whole conversation with that girl while she's sleeping and she responds no differently than she would if she was awake. Did she say anything back?"

At this I smiled. Even if she hadn't meant it, it made my heart soar to hear her tell me that she loved me.

"Yeah, she did. She said that she loved me."

"Well, there you go. Problem solved. You love her, you already know she loves you, now all you have to do is man the fuck up and talk to her."

I swear sometimes it was almost impossible for Emmett to see anything negative about a situation.

"But what if she didn't mean it? What if she just said it because her subconscious mind heard me say it? She could have meant it differently. Like, I love you in a friend kind of way, not in an I-wanna-be with-you-forever-and-have-your-babies kind of way.

"Okay, three points." Jasper said. "First: no more talk of Bella having your babies, it's just weird. Second: When was the last time you heard Bella say something she didn't mean?"

He had a good point there. Bella was a lot like Emmett in the honesty department. She wasn't the kind of person that would lie to you just to spare your feelings.

"And third: has Bella ever told you that she loved you in any capacity?"

It didn't take but a second to answer that one. No, she hadn't. She told Jasper that she loved him all the time, and I had heard her say it to Emmett on more than one occasion, but never me. I knew that she loved me just like she loved the two of them, but she never said it. I'm sure that the fact that I acted like love wasn't an emotion I was capable of feeling had a part to play in that.

"If she told you that she loves you, then she loves you. The fact that she has never said it before makes me think she meant it in a more-than–a-friend way."

"Then why hasn't she come to me to talk about what happened? I'm not the only one at fault for that. She could come to me too."

"Edward, no offense bro, but with your reputation with the ladies, can you blame her for keeping quiet?" Emmett asked. "You say you love her, and I wholeheartedly believe that you do, but she doesn't know that. Not consciously, anyway. She probably thinks it was just a onetime thing."

Again, that was a good point. Since I hadn't made the decision to man up and talk to her she had no idea how I felt about her and more than likely felt that I had used her, just like I had with all the girls before her. I was such a dick.

The conversation ended there and Emmett and Jasper went back to their game while I sat and thought about everything they had told me.

One thing was certain. I had to fix this. I needed Bella like I needed the air in my lungs. She was the one. I could feel that down to my very soul. I couldn't let my fear of being in a relationship get in the way. Now all I had to do was find the courage, without the use of alcohol this time, to talk to her.

It was Sunday. Angela and Alice had come over and we were all just hanging out around the house. I still hadn't talked to Bella.

Emmett and Jasper had been nagging me about it since our talk. I knew they were just trying to give me that shove that I needed but all they were accomplishing was making me even more reluctant to do it. I couldn't face the rejection if she didn't want me.

We guys were standing around the grill having a beer and chatting casually while the girls lay out in lounge chairs soaking up the sun. I couldn't help but look at Bella occasionally through my periphery. She looked beautiful in her dark blue bikini.

I noticed at one point that the conversation the girls were having had turned pretty serious. Alice said something and whatever it was Bella must not have liked it because she was glaring daggers at her. I smiled to myself as I took in her expression. She was like a tiny angry kitten. She was adorable.

After a good twenty minutes of talking, Bella's expression changed. She looked as though something had just dawned on her, and then a look of fierce determination graced those angelic features.

She turned her head in our direction and I noticed the movement just in time to turn back to Emmett and Jasper before she caught me staring.

We all saw her approach us, so we turned to her to see what she wanted.

"Edward, can I talk to you inside, please?" She asked.

I looked at Emmett and Jasper, with what I was sure was a look of panic, before turning back to Bella. "Umm… yeah, sure."

She grabbed my hand and led me into the house and up the stairs to her bedroom. The irony was not lost on me.

"Sit," she told me, pointing to the bed.

I sat down and she began pacing in front of me. She looked extremely nervous and I wasn't sure what to make of that. Was she nervous because she wanted to tell me that it was a mistake and she was afraid I would be hurt? Or was she nervous because she wanted to tell me that she was in love with me and wasn't sure how I would take it? Too many questions and only one way to get the answers.

Before I got the chance to even open my mouth she started talking.

"Okay, so I want to talk about what happened last weekend."

"Bella, before you say…" She held up her hand to cut me off.

"Edward, please. Just let me say what I have to say before I lose my nerve completely. I'm already on the verge of saying fuck it and bolting from the room. So, please, just listen."

I smiled at her and gave her the go ahead to continue. I had had every intention of telling her everything before she cut me off, but she looked as though she would burst if she didn't get out what it was she wanted to say. Like the gentleman my Mom raised me to be, I let her go first.

"I feel like what happened between us has fucked up our relationship beyond all recognition. You've barely spoken to me since it happened and every time you've looked at me the only thing I see in your eyes is regret. It hurts more than you can imagine seeing that because I don't regret it at all. Maybe making a drunken decision to lose my virginity was not the best decision I have ever made, but I wouldn't change it for anything. The fact that I even remember it is a huge fucking miracle considering the amount of alcohol I drank that night. But I do remember. Every detail, every word, every touch, every sound. It's all ingrained into my memory and my mind hasn't allowed even an hour to go by without replaying everything about that night."

You and I both, baby.

She was damn near whispering by the time the last words left her lips and I could see the unshed tears in her eyes shining in the light. It killed me that she thought I regretted what happened.

Again, that look of determination flashed across her face as her eyes met mine. In that moment I knew that she loved me, even if she hadn't said it. I could see it; all the love she felt shining in her soulful eyes. It was almost overwhelming, but I wanted nothing more than to see her look at me like that every day for the rest of our lives.

"I love you, Edward. I don't know when it stopped being a crush and turned into me being head over fucking heels in love with you, but it did. I've tried not to but I can't stop."

Her tears finally broke free and began to fall rapidly down her cheeks.

I reached out and grabbed hold of her, pulling her down into my lap. I wrapped my arms around her tightly and held her as she cried into my shoulder, drenching my shirt. As much as I hated that she was crying because of me, I was doing an internal happy dance because of her confession. I used the tips of my fingers to gently brush away her tears. I wanted to tell her I loved her and kiss her senseless, but decided to wait. I had a few other things I needed to say first.

"Shhh… don't cry, baby. No one so beautiful should ever cry."

I gave her a few minutes to collect herself before speaking again since my last words just made her cry harder.

"Is it my turn to talk now?" I asked.

She just nodded, but never moved her head to look at me. She left it resting against my shoulder.

"I need you to look at me, Bella."

Still no movement. I slid my finger under her chin and nudged her face up, holding her there so she had no choice but to look at me.

"Love, look at me. I DO NOT regret what happened between us that night. I regret the way that it happened because you deserve better than that. I didn't want to bring up what happened because I thought that YOU regretted it. The next morning, you acted like you would rather be anywhere than in that room with me when I asked you to come back to bed. It broke my heart to think that you would have to remember your first time as a drunken mistake. That was the regret you saw. It was for the circumstances, not what happened."

Of course I had also thought that she didn't want me and would reject me if I approached her about this but I decided to keep that to myself. It didn't matter now anyway. She loved me. A declaration that I still needed to address.

I sat for a moment collecting my thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to word this without sounded like a total dick.

"I've never been in a relationship, Bella." I began. "Even in high school I never had a girlfriend. Girls threw themselves at me all the time. I could have any girl I wanted, so why limit myself to just one? The idea held no appeal to me. Not to mention every girl in my high school that I was even remotely attracted to turned out to be an airhead.

"I preferred things that way. I laughed at all the guys that I saw being dragged around by the short and curlies by their girlfriends. I had no desire to ever be that way, to allow some woman to tell me what to do and when to do it. I loved the fact that I could go out and party all night and never had anyone to answer to."

I could tell that she was not enjoying my little story, so I decided it was time to get to the point. She looked nervous and maybe even a little scared. I needed to tell her now.

"Six months ago, that changed. I had always looked at you as a friend, a best friend, but still just a friend. I don't know what triggered it; I don't even remember what we were doing when it happened. All I remember is looking at you and it was like I was seeing you for the first time. I knew in that moment that I wanted you, and only you."

My eyes never left hers as I spoke and I hoped that they were able to convey how I felt about her.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what came next. I had never told any woman, other than my mom, that I loved her. This was a huge deal for me. It was irrational, since she already said it, but I still had a small amount of fear that she might laugh in my face. Yeah, I know. Like I said… irrational.

"I don't know how to be a boyfriend, Bella." I said. "I can't promise that I won't fuck this up. I can't promise that I won't forget important anniversaries or even your birthday. What I can promise is that I will love you every day with everything I am. I can promise that not a single day will go by that you won't know how beautiful you are and how much I adore everything about you."

I smiled as I thought about all the things that I loved that made Bella, Bella.

"From your crazy obsession with vampire movies," I reached up and used my thumb to pull her bottom lip from between her teeth, "to the adorable way you chew your lip when you're nervous or deep in thought. I love you, Isabella Swan. Please, tell me you'll be mine."

The most beautiful, brilliant smile I had ever had the privilege of seeing broke out across her face.

She didn't answer me. Instead she grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me. This was no sweet, innocent kiss. She poured every ounce of love and passion that her small body held into that kiss. It was mind-blowing.

When we pulled apart we were both struggling to pull in air.

"Is that a yes?" I teased.

She laughed. "No, that was a HELL yes!"

I grinned and leaned in to resume our kiss. I could spend forever kissing this woman and never tire of it. Not to mention the way her lips moved against mine was just hot as fuck.

Our kisses started to become frantic and needy as hands started to wander. My dick was hard as hell. It wasn't helping that she was straddling me in nothing but her bikini. A fact that I hadn't really noticed until now. I fingered the tie of her bathing suit that was around her neck. I had every intention of untying it, but she stopped me. At first I thought maybe she thought things were going too fast, but I was wrong.

"Hold that thought," she whispered before running her tongue lightly over the shell of my ear. I shivered from the heat and I felt her grin against my skin.

I was confused as she hopped up off of my lap and all but tiptoed to the door. I almost asked her what she was doing, but before I could she reached out, and yanked the door open.

I burst out laughing as Emmett, Jasper, Alice, and Angela all came tumbling down, landing in a heap of tangled limbs at her feet.

They all looked up at her with innocent expressions on their faces.

"Something you need?" She asked in an overly sweet voice.

"Uh… we were just… ummm…" I laughed harder at my brother's lame ass attempt to come up with an excuse as to why they were all hanging out outside Bella's bedroom door.

"You were just… eavesdropping?" Bella supplied.

"Oh, Alice do you hear that?" Angela asked. "I think I hear our phones ringing."

They both jumped up and ran back down the hall toward the stairs. I had never seen either one of them move so fast.

She looked back at Emmett and Jasper and I knew without even being able to see her face, that she had raised her eyebrow at them in a silent question. That look never failed to have them both stuttering like fools.

They both jumped up, mumbling out an apology, and quickly followed after Angela and Alice.

Bella giggled and shook her head at the antics of our nosy friends as she closed and locked the door. I was still chuckling quietly when she turned around. I smiled at my girl and held my arms open to her.

"Come here, beautiful."

There was no hesitation. She bounded back to the bed and literally jumped into my arms. I chuckled at her silliness, just another thing I loved about her, and wrapped my arms around her as tightly as I could without crushing her and placed a small kiss to her soft lips.

"I love you, Edward Cullen," She sighed.

I leaned my forehead against hers, goofy grin in place.

"Say it again," I said.

"I love you, Edward."

I held her tighter and kissed her again.

"Again," I demanded.

She giggled at me but did as I asked.

"I love you… I love you… I love you…" She repeated. After each declaration she placed a kiss on my lips.

"I'll never get tired of hearing that. I love you too, baby. Always." I told her.

And I meant that. She was it for me.

I kissed her once again, only this time I deepened it.

I couldn't have been happier than I was in that moment, holding my beautiful Bella in my arms. She was my everything and I would spend the rest of my life showing her just how much I cherished her.

Now, what's the acceptable amount of time for us to be together before I ask her to marry me?

The End... ?

A/N: So there we have it. What did you all think of Edward's POV? It was difficult to write from his perspective, so kudos to those of you that can do it and do it well. Leave me some love :)