A/N: I thank you all for your wonderful reviews and your encouraging words. I'm happy with the direction this story is taking and I hope all of you are too:)

That being said, there'll be a little bit of the thing that's been missing from the last few chapters... smut;) ONWARD!

EPOV

"Did you know that we are now all alone in our very own apartment, Edward?" Bella asked me with a mischievous grin. I knew exactly where this was headed.

"That we are, my dear. Whatever should we do now that all of our friends are gone?" I asked her in an innocent tone.

Bella's grin widened and she hopped onto my lap. We were still sitting on the couch in our living room, which was currently covered in the debris of our impromptu house-warming party. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie had left a few minutes ago and we were both exhausted at the idea of having to clean up the mess.

"I can think of a few things," she said suggestively.

I definitely liked the sound of that. My hands were on her hips in an instant, bringing her into direct contact with my sudden erection. Bella's mouth descended upon mine and I gripped her hard, rocking up into her as our tongues dueled for dominance.

She smelled like a mixture of cardboard boxes and lilacs, and I couldn't get enough of her. She had her hands buried in my hair as she turned and twisted on my lap, making me so hot I felt sweat beading between my shoulder blades.

"We...don't...even...have...to move...this...to the bedroom," she panted between kisses. I felt my dick harden even more at her words; she was completely right. No matter how shitty this situation was, we at least had this freedom to look forward to.

I pulled back and smiled at her as I pushed her back until she was leaning on the coffee table. I made quick work of her shirt and pants, leaving her bra on. I could see the wet patch forming on her panties, and I was transfixed by the sight.

Bella looked confused until I pulled her underwear off and brought her legs up to drape over my shoulders. She laid back on the table and whimpered as my tongue began tasting her inner thighs, building the anticipation for what was to come... or rather, who.

I blew over her wet folds and watched in fascination as she shuddered. My tongue delved into her wet pussy, ready to taste and tease. I watched from the corner of my eye as her eyes closed in ecstasy, and felt myself throb as she didn't even bother to smother her beautiful moans.

"Edward!" she gasped as her legs locked around me. I smiled into her lips and kept pushing and flicking my tongue over her, making her arch her hips up into my mouth. Her hands were gripping the edge of the table now, her head tossing back and forth as I devoured her.

I didn't want this to end too soon, so I pulled back and leaned into the couch, bringing Bella with me. She was shaking as she began tearing at my shirt, ripping some of the buttons off. My teeth scraped against her neck and collarbone as her tiny hands went to work on my jeans.

When I was finally free, I didn't even get the chance to kick my pants off all the way before Bella plunged herself down onto my painfully hard cock. I bit back a moan before I remembered I didn't need to worry about being quiet now.

Bella began to bounce up and down with her beautiful breasts jiggling mere inches from my face. I swallowed my drool and bent my head to lave her chest with my eager tongue as she threw her head back and arched her neck.

Our moans mingled together as I helped her keep the rhythm she'd begun. I felt myself getting closer to the edge and I wanted to take her with me.

"Come for me, baby," I panted.

Bella's whimpers turned into full-blown screams as I increased my thrusts, pushing into her fiercely. I watched her face as she came apart in my arms, yelling my name hoarsely. I followed her, pumping into her one last time as I filled her up, my eyes finally closing from the intense pleasure.

Her head dropped onto my sweaty shoulder, and I hugged her close. I whispered words of love to her while our breathing calmed. Even if were exiled from our houses, I felt that I was at home now more than ever before.

Home.

When Monday dawned, we rolled out of bed and got ready for school together. We grinned at each other while we brushed our teeth, our mouths full of foam. I watched in wonder as Bella did her hair and chose her outfit, saying she wanted to look nice for me.

We made it to school on time, and from the looks on people's faces, our predicament had been spread around town over the weekend. I hated that Bella was being subjected to so much malicious curiosity, but there really wasn't much I could do to stop the gossips from trashing us.

I heard snippets of conversation all through my morning classes, and I imagined that Bella was likely being torn apart by all the catty girls in our grade. There were many theories about our situation, including one in which Bella was "knocked up" and Charlie kicked her out. Another rumor was that we'd been arrested for having sex in the back of the police cruiser.

Honestly, I could never figure out why people were so fascinated with other people's misfortunes. I may be happy to live with Bella, but I knew that the happiness would be tempered by the looming responsibilities coming our way... such as the rent check that would be due in a couple of weeks.

We met up at lunch and I could tell by her face that she'd been put through the ringer. I hugged her close and whispered soothing nonsense into her ear until felt her shoulders relax. We held onto each other tightly for another moment before she pulled away.

"I'm going job hunting with Alice, so I have to go," she told me.

I nodded. "I'm going to talk to Carlisle. I guess I'll see you in class?" I asked. Bella nodded back and we kissed goodbye.

I tried to get my head straight as I drove to the clinic to speak with my father. I knew he wasn't angry with me, but I could tell that he was disappointed in me, and it made me feel horrible. The free clinic was in a shabbier part of town, but it was just close enough to the school that I could go there during my lunch.

I found Carlisle in the employee lounge, reading a newspaper. He looked tired, and there was a frown on his face. He looked up when he saw me enter, and I thought that I saw his eyes light up for a moment before he greeted me. "Edward, aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"I'm on lunch," I replied, stuffing my hands into my pockets. "I just wanted to come see you, because I know you're upset with me and I really wish you weren't."

My father sighed and re-folded his newspaper before setting it down on the table. He gestured for me to sit down in the chair next to his, and as I got settled, he began to speak. "I just know how much you're taking on, son. I want so much for you, and I worry that you won't get it now."

"If only Charlie hadn't kicked Bella out..." I began.

Carlisle cut me off. "But he did, and he had every right to. Bella is his daughter, and she was living in his house. That demands a certain amount of respect, and he even told me that he'd warned you not to fool around under his roof. I expected better of you, Edward, and that is why I am so disappointed in you," he explained.

I hung my head; he was right, of course. "But I love her, Dad. I didn't do it to disrespect Charlie, I did it because I need to be with her and she needs to be with me, too," I replied quietly.

"I know you love each other, but living on your own is a whole lot of responsibility. You've got bills to pay now; rent, utilities, food... those things don't come cheap," he warned.

"What do you want to do about my car?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

He sighed. "You can keep your car, Edward. I'm not mad at you, and I don't want to make this harder on you than it already will be. I just feel that it's time you learned that your actions will have consequences, whether you're prepared to deal with them or not. Just be thankful that it isn't an unplanned pregnancy or something even worse. I just want you to figure these things out, but I also want you to promise me something," he said.

I exhaled, relieved. "Of course, anything."

He looked me in the eye and laid his hand on my shoulder. "Promise me that, no matter what, you will go to college. I'll help you if I can, but you need to do this...not just for yourself, but for your future with Bella."

"I promise," I replied seriously. He gave me a small, relieved smile and dropped his arm around my shoulders, bringing me in for a hug.

"You're a man now, my boy. I just hope everything works out," he said into my shoulder.

I pulled back and sucked in the sadness. It wasn't like I was leaving him, for crying out loud. I smiled crookedly at him. "So what do I do now?" I asked.

Carlisle stood up and tossed the folded newspaper onto my lap. "I suggest you find a job," he replied.

The next day, I came home from school to find Bella sitting on the couch with Alice and Rosalie. They were doing homework and chatting about girl stuff, so I hightailed it to our bedroom to get out of their way.

Bella followed me into the bedroom and gave me a confused look. "Why aren't you at practice?" she asked me with a frown.

I heaved a sigh and dropped down on the foot of the bed. "I quit the team," I admitted.

Her eyes bugged out of her head. "You what? Edward, how can you quit the team? You need the scholarships!" she yelled.

I jerked my head toward the door and put my finger over my lips to tell her to be quiet. "Do you want everyone to hear this?" I hissed under my breath.

Bella came and sat down next to me on the bed. "Edward, why would you quit the team?" she asked, quieter this time.

"I got a job," I told her simply.

"What? Where?" she asked, turning towards me on the bed.

"I'm going to work with Emmett at his dad's auto shop," I said. I couldn't look at her now, knowing what she might be thinking.

"But Edward, is that even something you want to do?" she asked sadly.

I looked her in the eye then. "It may not be something I want to do, but it is something I need to do. We're on our own now, Bella, and I can't afford to turn down a decent job just because I don't want to do it," I explained.

"But I thought..." she began in a small voice.

I cut her off, saying, "Listen, I know that this sucks, and I know that you miss Charlie, but this is what happens. We were careless and we didn't think about how our actions would affect us. My father was right when he wouldn't let us live there."

"What do you mean?" she whispered, her eyes darting to the door where we could hear Rosalie and Alice laughing about something.

"I mean that we disrespected your father by having sex in his house. We should have listened to him when he warned us not to...it was careless of me, and I owe him an apology," I told her.

Bella pulled back and gaped at me. "Edward, we're teenagers. Sneaking around and having sex is what teenagers do!" she said.

"No, that's what other teenagers do. You and I were both raised differently than that, and you know it. Anyway, it doesn't matter now because we're here and we need to make the best of things, no matter what happens," I replied.

She looked at me with a sad expression on her face. "But your scholarships..." she whispered.

"I may not get to go to an ivy league school, but I know that we can afford to go to UW," I replied.

Bella's shoulders began to shake and I saw tears dripping from beneath her lashes. "I've ruined your future, haven't I?" she whimpered brokenly.

"Hey," I said, dipping my finger beneath her chin and bringing her eyes up to meet mine. "You are my future, Bella. This may not be the adventure we had in mind, but this is the adventure we have now, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Bella's beautiful brown eyes softened and I watched her mouth quiver. "I love you, Edward," she said.

"I love you too, Bella. We'll be okay, I know it. We'll be better than okay," I told her, bringing her in for a kiss.

We certainly had our work cut out for us.

A/N: Sorry for any mistakes, I switched word processors and this Open Office biznass sucks on the error-catching front. So, what do you think of this mess? Let me know your thoughts, and thank you once again for reading my little story:)