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Ch 4 – Times Square

The next three weeks were filled with late night talks, random and needless trips to the diner to visit her when she was working, and text messages at all hours of the day and night. We were falling back into a relationship rather easily, and it was comfortable. I was happy. She bought me a few boxes of film for the Polaroid camera on my birthday, asking if I'd take some pictures for her as Emmett and I traveled.

This year, I'd finally talked Emmett into taking our laptops. I'd convinced him that it would be helpful as far as meeting up with Rosalie, and he quickly caved. I promised to email Bella every chance I got, and to send pictures back from each of the places we visited. She was sitting next to me as I blew out the candles on my birthday cake. When I walked her home that night, she held my hand, letting her fingers playfully flicker across my skin. Our arms swung back and forth a bit, and I couldn't help but notice the bright smile on her face. She was happy. Happier than I'd seen her in years.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said. Emmett and I were leaving the next morning, and this was most likely the last time I'd see her until August.

"I know, I'll miss you, too. But I'll write all the time. We can chat sometimes at night when we stay in hotels. Some of them have free wifi, so that'll be good."

"Okay, yeah, that sounds fun." She rocked back and forth, from one foot to the next for a moment before finally looking up at me. "Don't get crazy with any girls out there on the road, alright?"

"Why not?" I said, knowing what she was getting at. Our friendship had been light and fun so far, but I could tell she wanted more from me. I just didn't know if I was capable of giving it.

"Just don't. Please."

"Okay."

Like she really even needed to ask. She completely owned my heart, she always had. I just couldn't tell her that. Not yet, maybe not ever.

"Happy birthday, Edward," she whispered, then leaned up on her tip toes and placed her hand on my cheek, pulling my face down a bit. Our lips met and she sweetly, tenderly kissed me. It was the best kiss of my life, and as I lay in my bed that night I realized something. I would forever belong to her. No matter where I went, who I met, what I did...my heart belonged to the girl that lived across the street from me. And it always would.

The next morning, Emmett and I packed up and were just getting into the car when Bella came outside. She had a plate of cinnamon rolls in her hand and a bag of goodies for us to munch on while we drove. Emmett grabbed the food, calling dibs on the gummi bears and Funyuns, but I didn't mind.

"Be careful," Bella said as she stood next to me, holding my hand and tracing her index finger over my knuckles.

"We will. I'll find you on gchat tomorrow night. We're stopping at a motel somewhere in Montana. They have wifi, I already checked."

She smiled up at me and when Emmett called out to me, his mouth clearly already full of cinnamon roll, I laughed. "I guess I'd better go."

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon," she softly said. It was obvious she wasn't in any hurry to let go of my hand, or to step away from me. I wasn't, either. It was killing me. I'd waited my whole life to have her like this, and now that it was finally happening, I was leaving for two months. I lifted my free hand to her cheek, tilting her head up and looking into her eyes. She was sad, but I could see happiness there, too. It made me feel better.

"Bye," I whispered, bending down to lightly kiss her, pecking a few times before finally pressing my lips harder against hers. The little squeak moan that left her throat assured me she enjoyed it, and I smiled brightly as I backed away toward the car.

We waved to each other while Emmett drove my car down the street, Bella growing smaller the farther away we got. I wanted to stop, to turn back and grab her, make her come with us, but I knew that wasn't a feasible option. We were just getting to know each other again, and the idea of doing that over a long distance was somewhat romantic. I was actually a little excited about it.

Over the first two weeks, Bella and I talked online every few nights, and the nights when we couldn't chat, I made sure to call her on our old cell phone once we were settled in somewhere. The plan was to explore the East coast states, ending up in New York City in July before heading north toward Maine and Nova Scotia. If we timed it right, we'd end up back in Forks about a week before Emmett, Rose, and I had to be back to school. That gave me a week with Bella, and with each new place we saw, I found myself wondering how many days I could shave off the trip. I wanted more time with her. Plain and simple. Even though I was still trying to fight falling for her, in the back of my mind, and in my heart, I knew it was just a matter of time. She was it for me, and I couldn't ignore that.

I'd managed to sneak in my digital camera so that I could email pictures to Bella every week. Emmett was offended at first, but once he realized he could take risque pictures of himself and send them to Rosalie, he was okay with it. As long as I kept taking pictures with the Polaroid, which I did.

New York City was much warmer and muggier than I'd expected, but I was just glad they weren't experiencing a heat wave during the week in July that we spent there. We'd experienced the Fourth of July in Washington, D.C., managing to miss the huge crowds of tourists in New York. Rosalie flew in to meet us, and we explored every inch of the city that we could. Or at least all the area's she thought were safe enough of two naïve small town boys like us. After taking in a Broadway show, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the subway system, and Times Square, I was ready to head north, hoping to cut off a couple days of our trip.

That night as I sat in my hotel room, there was a knock on the door. Unsure of who it could be, I was surprised to find Rosalie standing in the doorway, clearly uneasy about something. She and Emmett had turned in for the night a few hours before.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, opening the door and letting her inside. She was quiet, the hum of the air conditioner the only sound that filled the small room.

"I just wanted to apologize, Edward. Emmett told me about you and Bella, and I think it's great. I feel really bad, though."

I looked at her in confusion. "Why?"

"Well, back in school, in Forks...I knew she liked you. And I didn't stand up for her. She never told me, but I could see it on her face. Every time she looked at you, or talked about you, or when she saw you with that girl you dated...I could tell. I'm so sorry, Edward. I should have been a better friend to her."

Letting out a sigh, I sat down on the bed. "Rose, it's fine. There's nothing you could have done. I mean, Forks is a small town, and we all had our labels and our groups. No one person could have changed that. It's fine, I'm fine. Bella and I will be okay. Whatever happens, happens, but I think we're both happy right now. Please, don't worry about it."

"I know, but think of all the time you missed. I could have helped that. I could have done something, I just didn't know what to do."

I looked up at her as she stood nervously near the door. "Rose, really, it's okay. You have a good heart and I appreciate that. I'm sure Bella does, too. I mean, I'm glad I've finally gotten to know you, now that we're out of Forks. I'm really glad Emmett has you. You're good for him, and to him. I really respect that about you. I don't think anyone else is strong enough to handle him," I said with a laugh.

She smiled. "I'm glad I got to know you, too, Edward. You're kinda great. Bella's a lucky girl."

"Thanks, Rose. Don't worry about anything from back then. I don't, not anymore. That's just what small towns are like, you know? Nobody can really change that, and I definitely wouldn't have expected someone to change it for me."

Rosalie smiled a little brighter, her cheeks turning a bit pink. "I always thought it was so funny how much she liked you. I don't know how she managed to stay away for so long."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh come on, you knew that."

I grinned. "No, actually, I didn't."

Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at me. "What?"

I continued to smile, seeing how uncomfortable she suddenly was. It was kind of funny, though I knew I couldn't let her suffer for long. "No, I never knew. I mean, I had a crush on her from the first time I saw her in second grade, but I never knew about her liking me. But now, thanks to you, I do."

"Oh no, no, no, no, no. Please don't tell her I told you this. Oh, Edward, please don't. She'll kill me, please. I mean, she probably doesn't even know that I knew about it, but if she knew that I'd told you this, she'd just die. Please don't tell her."

I let out a laugh. "Sorry, Rose. I mean, she told me last month that she always liked me, but it's just nice to have confirmation of it, you know? Part of me thought maybe she was just saying that to make me feel better, but now that I've heard this...now I know she really meant it. Even though I don't know how she could have seen past my glasses and awkwardness. I was not attractive in the least."

Rose let out a nervous laugh. "Oh Edward, you were fine. I mean really, who is attractive as a teenager?"

I thought to myself that Bella was, but the rest of us? Yeah, not so much.

"Thanks Edward. I'm really excited about the rest of the trip. Thanks for letting me come with you guys."

"Sure thing," I said, standing to open the door for her. "Just promise me that you and Emmett will wait until I'm out of ear shot before you start getting down to business, okay? I really don't need to hear that."

Rosalie giggled. "Okay, I'll do my best. But you know Em..."

"Exactly why I'm talking to you about this," I said.

We said good night and I watched until she was safely back in her room. After firing up my laptop, I spent the rest of the night gchatting my dream girl. I hung on every word as she told me all about how horrible her day at work was. Even though I felt bad that she had a terrible day, I was getting to talk to her, and I couldn't have loved it more.

The next few weeks of the trip went by faster than I'd imagined they would, and soon enough we found ourselves driving across the state of Washington, only a few hours from home. Bella had asked that I call and let her know when we'd be arriving, which I happily did.

We pulled into the driveway and by the time I stepped out of the car, she was already hurrying down the walkway that led from her front door to the street. The smile on her face was blinding and I could see her steps becoming a bit quicker the closer she got to us.

"Hey!" she yelled out, waving her hand in our direction. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Emmett run around the back of the car and straight toward her. She squealed as he grabbed her, picking her up and swinging her around.

"Bella, I'm so happy you're glad to see me! I missed you so much!" he called out.

We all laughed at his joyfulness, and I sighed in relief when he set her back down on the ground, messing her hair just a bit before returning to Rose. The two of them headed into the house, leaving Bella and I alone in the drive way.

"Hi," I said, feeling stupid and uncertain of what to say or do. I'd never been in this situation before, where someone was anxiously awaiting my return.

"You made good time. I wasn't expecting you for another half hour."

I smiled. "Yeah, well...I might have had a lead foot. Anxious to get back here and all."

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders when she was close enough, pulling her against my chest and smiling as her arms circled around my waist. She smelled so good and she was so soft, I couldn't let go of her, even when it got to the awkward stage of our long hug. I didn't care, I had her with me again, and I wasn't letting go.

"You wanna come inside?" I asked her.

"Sure. Aren't you guys gonna unpack and stuff? You want some help?"

"Nah," I said. "I think we'll just pull the car into the garage and do it tomorrow. We're all ready for some time away from that thing. And I think it needs to air out a bit, too. Two, and then three, people stuck in a car for weeks on end does things even the most aromatic air fresheners can't fix."

She laughed as I led her inside, my arm never leaving her shoulders.

We spent the next few days together, laughing and talking and just enjoying the time we had. She helped me unpack from my trip, then repack for school. We talked a lot about college and she was excited about the classes she'd signed up for. She was going to be taking some online courses though the community college in Port Angeles. They were just general education classes, but they would all transfer to a university, and I hoped that when the time came, that university would be the one I was attending.

"So, I was thinking about school next year," she said as we sat in my bedroom, surrounded by piles of clothes I was sorting through. "If my mom keeps improving, getting better, she probably won't need me, and I could go away to school."

"That'd be great," I said, hoping to sound supporting. Meanwhile, I was scared to death that she'd say she was headed off to some far away place.

"I was trying to decide if I should check back with Oregon or if maybe I should look at other schools. Maybe ones a little closer to home."

Her eyes didn't meet mine, and I knew she was nervous about what she was saying.

"You know, you could always come to U Dub with me. It's a great school, and they have a good communications program, if you want. I mean, you could probably even check into scholarships and stuff. You never know."

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at me with hesitancy in her eyes.

"Yeah, definitely."

I left a couple days later, both of us promising to use our time apart to keep rebuilding our friendship. If nothing else ever came of it—and I was really hoping more would come of it—at least we would be friends again. That was more than I'd ever thought was possible.

As the semester flew by, Bella and I both focused on our classes and homework, taking time every night to call or chat or skype with each other. Emmett gave me a hard time for not going out as often as I had the year before, but he understood. He and Rosalie were pretty solid and I was sure he'd ask her to marry him before we graduated. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was ready for a break, and anxious to see Bella. Our conversations had morphed into something different than just simply friendship, and I was curious to see how that would affect us when we were actually together.

I saw her every day that I was home, each of us spending the actual holiday with our families and then meeting up late that night. She talked me into shopping with her on Black Friday, and if I hadn't been so head over heels in love with her, I'd have left her behind instead of standing in a check out line for three hours at six o'clock in the morning. But she was so excited about her new flat screen television, I just couldn't find it in me to be upset about it. Plus, she held my hand the whole time.

By Sunday night, we had full on made out twice, and I was starting to wonder just how far things would go during Christmas break, when I would be back for three weeks.

We decided not to do anything too elaborate for each other for Christmas. Bella was struggling to save as much money as she could for school, and I was hopeful that if she had enough, she'd come to Seattle the next fall. I couldn't help myself, though, and Christmas night I gave her a little box with a charm bracelet in it. Each charm was for one of the places we had dreamed of going together on the summer trips that we never got to take. She cried as I explained what each figure had to do with the location. That night she let me unbutton her shirt, and just like I'd always dreamed, her breasts were the most perfect ones I'd ever seen. They tasted good, too.

Any time she wasn't working, we were together. One night, as we walked around the downtown area, listening to Christmas carols as they floated through the cool air, my worst nightmare began to unfold before my eyes.

We had just exited the ice cream shop and were laughing about the fact that even though the temperature was near freezing, Bella wanted ice cream. I had my arm around her waist as she snuggled into my side. Her smile was so beautiful as she looked up at me, pursing her lips as she requested a kiss.

"Hey Bella," I heard from someone near us. Her body stiffened, and her head jerked to the side.

"Riley."

I looked up, seeing her old boyfriend as he stood nearby with a few of his friends.

"I didn't know you were dating anyone," the jerk said, hatred and jealousy evident in his voice. "So who's this?"

It was obvious he didn't recognize me, and as I stood an inch or two taller than him, I straightened my back so that I could look down at him.

"What the... Cullen?" he said, a snarl on his face. "You're kidding me, right? You're dating this dork? What happened, Bells? Did I ruin all other men for you? You had to resort to this?"

"Riley, this is Edward, my boyfriend, and he's not what you said, so stop it."

"Hey Riley," I said, offering my hand for him to shake. As much as I hated him, I wanted to at least attempt to be civil with him. If there was any trouble, it wouldn't be coming from me.

He laughed at my gesture, his friends joining in as they walked closer to us. Riley stood in the center, flanked by the two guys I'd known all my life. I didn't think there was anything to really worry about, but I could smell alcohol on them, as well as see the empty beer cans on the ground where they'd been sitting. This could be bad.

"Come on, Bella. Let me show you what you're missing, baby. It's been a long time since I had a piece of you. I know you miss me."

He tried to touch her arm, but Bella moved closer to me instead.

"Riley, stop. Just leave us alone. You and me are over, I already told you that."

"Did you leave me for him? Seriously, you little slut? He can't give it to you like I can, you know that."

"Riley, just go away, okay?" she said, trying to push me around one of his friends and away from the problem.

"Did our little Bells here ever tell you I was her first, Edward? Did she tell you all about me popping her cherry in the back of my car? Huh? Did she tell you how good it felt and how loud she moaned my name?"

His eyes were glossing over and I knew he was drunk, but the things he was saying... It was all I could do to not punch him. Plus, I knew even if I got him good, his friends would most likely get me even worse. Bella was shaking, and I knew it wasn't from the cold. In that moment, I felt like it wasn't as important to defend her as it was to get her away from them, and I tightened my hold on her waist.

"Riley, shut up!" she yelled, slapping him across the face. "How dare you! Just go away!"

With that, she grabbed my hand and turned around, pulling me back toward the ice cream shop.

"Come on, Bella. You know you wanna piece of this again. I wanna hear you scream for my fingers, baby! You don't belong with a nobody like him, Bells. You belong with me. Come back!" he yelled to us as we quickly walked away from them.

By the time we reached my car, Bella was crying. I got her settled into the passenger seat and then ran around to my side, turning on the heater so that she could warm up. She stayed quiet, sniffling and looking down at her hands that were clenched together in her lap.

"Bella?" I said softly, not wanting to startle her, but needing to know what she was thinking.

"Just drive, Edward. I wanna go home." Her voice was so quiet, empty sounding. It worried me, but I did as she asked.

~o~O~o~