All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

I was glad I'd brought my book.

It was our first night in Maui, so there weren't any meetings, but Carlisle did ask Edward to meet with him for an hour or so. I took the opportunity to use the giant bathtub in our suite, reading and snacking and luxuriating in bubbles.

I heard the door shut out in the main part of our room, so I knew when Edward came back. He knocked on the bathroom door.

"You in there?"

Folding the page so I wouldn't lose my place, I set the book down and smiled to myself. "Yeah. I'm taking a bath."

His pause was almost audible. "Are you trying to turn me on? Because it's a little unnecessary. I'm already there."

"I'll be right out," I laughed, leaning forward to release the plug from the drain.

He didn't say anything else so I dried off quickly and wrapped myself in one of the thick robes provided by the hotel.

He was nowhere to be seen. "Edward?"

His voice piped up from the living room. "Ordering room service. What do you want?"

"Hold on," I called back, pulling a pair of shorts on.

Once I was decent I joined him on the couch. "Can't we just go downstairs and get something to eat?"

"You're not tired?"

I shook my head, and then yawned. "Well, a little bit. But I still wanna go."

He nodded, obviously contemplating this.

"Come on, old man. You only live once," I taunted.

"Bite me!" he teased back, mimicking my tone. I had him though. He sighed and got up. "Well, c'mon. Let's go see what kinds of debauchery we can get ourselves into."

Indeed.

Apparently the party went all year here at the Grand Wailea.

The bar downstairs wasn't packed the way it would probably be the tomorrow night – Friday – but still, quite a few people milled around, talking and listening to music. Edward took my hand, making my heart skip, and we went up to sit at the bar.

"What're you having? A pina colada?" he asked, teasing me as usual.

"No, I'll save that for the beach. I want something more night-timey."

He grinned, his straight white teeth practically glowing in the ambient lighting. "See, that's why I like you. You say weird stuff that makes sense somehow."

"Maybe I just make sense, period."

He yanked my bar stool closer so our legs were entwined. "You really do."

His lips were inches away. My breath hitched in anticipation.

Another voice joined the conversation. "Welcome to Botero. What can I get for you?"

Edward leaned away a little, winking at my likely disappointed face. He gestured for me to order first.

"I'll have a mai tai, please."

The bartender nodded and turned to Edward.

"SoCo and lime, please," he said, and then looked at me, barely suppressing laugh. "What a pretentious load of shit."

"What?" I giggled, looking around. "I think it's nice."

"It is nice, and totally normal to be drinking frou frou drinks in a tropical resort bar. I feel like I'm in an old Elvis movie."

I snickered, nodding.

Our drinks were brought out, complete with garnishes and little umbrellas and the like. I sucked the liquid off my umbrella and stuck it behind my ear, earning a smile from Edward. I'd be as silly or cute or charming as he wanted as long as he kept smiling at me like that.

The more we drank the touchier we got. Around midnight we were informed that the bar would be closing in a half an hour so we finished the drinks and the food we had and left.

"I'm a little tipsy," I slurred, holding Edward's arm.

"Well you had like six mai tai's." He linked our arms and swooped down to kiss my cheek.

"I had four!"

"Whatever…"

"You probably drank more than I did," I argued, feeling feisty.

"I had four," he said.

"But yours were stronger – "

He kissed me quickly on the mouth. "Shh."

"Okay," I whispered.

We managed not to stumble to the elevator. Once inside he trapped me against the wall, kissing me with these long, wet kisses tasting of lime and liquor.

I wanted him. Oh, how I wanted him. It was bad. I'd wanted him for weeks.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me along down the hall. Inside our suite, I kicked off my flip flops and went to use the bathroom. Edward was in bed when I came out, looking like he was dozing.

"You're asleep?" I whined, climbing on top of him.

His eyes opened and he grinned crookedly, rolling over so that I was beneath him. We started up with the kissing again, wet and excited, his hand deep in my hair and my hands in his. He started moving his hips and against me and I wrapped my legs around him, moaning when he hit a particularly good spot.

"I like you, Bella. I really like you."

I stilled, my heart beating so loud and fast I thought it might gallop from chest like a runaway horse.

"I really like you too. A lot," I said, stroking his cheeks with my fingertips.

"I don't want to mess this up." He was being drunk and honest and I dug it.

"Then don't."

"I don't want to."

"If it's meant to be – "

"Forget that," he said, shaking his head. "We either do or we don't, right? Nothing else."

"Okay." I wanted to trust him, trust in him, to believe his words.

And then I realized I did. Our kisses slowed down, drifting from a frantic pace to a more romantic one and then a sleepy-sloppy one. We feel asleep, fully dressed, in each other's arms.

"I'm glad you came with me," he said right before we faded.

"Me too."

The next morning Edward and I joined Carlisle, several of his associates and Heidi for breakfast.

The food, like everything else, was incredible. I managed not to totally stuff myself, though. The last thing I wanted was to rock a pot belly with my bikini at the beach.

All too soon it was time for business. Everyone stood, dismissing themselves politely. Edward stood over my chair, watching me with a wistful expression.

"I wish I was going with you." He tugged at the tie of my bathing suit poking out the neck of my t-shirt.

"I do too. You'll have some time off, right?"

"Yeah, the last two days. Dad scheduled it like that so we'd have to time to enjoy the island." He made air quotes with his fingers.

"So that's not so bad." I tried to sound encouraging, even though what I really wanted was to roll around the sand with him. "When will you be done today?"

"Three."

"Oh! That's early!"

"Says the girl who's going to the beach at – " he checked his phone – "nine o'clock."

"Edward. You're here for the company. Go. I doubt your dad will appreciate tardiness on the first day; he'll think I'm a bad influence," I said, poking him.

"Maybe you are a bad influence," he said, quirking an eyebrow.

Rolling my eyes, I shoved one last mango spear into my mouth and stood. "Bye, Edward."

"Bye Bella." His eyed me from head to toe. "Have fun without me."

"You can have fun with me tonight, if you want," I muttered.

He heard me and looked back, winking before disappearing around the corner.

Armed with a beach bag, a pina colada and my book, I went down to the beach. There were a good number of people hanging out, but again, it wasn't crowded. There were families and couples, and then a few flying solo like me. After snapping a couple of scenic shots, I took a huge swallow of my drink and started reading.

When the sun beating down on me began to feel a little uncomfortable, I decided to go for a swim. Unlike the ocean back home, the water here was warm. I breathed a sigh of relief as I waded out. This was the life.

Edward had been right. Getting away from it all really was doing wonders for me. The sights, smells -even the sounds - were all so different from what I was used to. I felt … alive. Not that my existence at home was terrible, but I could now appreciate the value of getting away. I made a mental note to start going on road trips with my mom again, like we'd done when I was a kid. Maybe I could even persuade Alice and Rose.

And, of course, Edward.

I'd gladly go anywhere with him.

I swam out, admiring how clear the water was. Maybe tomorrow I could go snorkeling. I'd always wanted to do that. Eventually I swam back, a little tired from all of the swimming and treading. I could tell by the position of the sun in the sky that a few hours had passed since I'd first come to the beach. As if it was listening to my thoughts, my stomach growled.

Deciding to call it a day – for the beach, anyway – I packed my things and headed to the pool. One of the brochures I'd been poring over had detailed the various bars and restaurants and I really wanted to try out the Grotto Bar, which was apparently inside the pool. Probably ridiculously expensive, but I had the cash. It wasn't liked I'd had to pay for anything yet.

After grabbing a sandwich and wolfing it down, I got into the pool and swam to the bar inside.

The bartender was absolutely gorgeous. Jet black hair, cut really short, perfect body, muscled but lean. He was deeply tanned, and I could tell it was natural; he was obviously a local.

He grinned at me, his big brown eyes sparkling. "Hey, how's it going today? Enjoying yourself?"

"I am, actually, thanks," I replied. "How about you? Having a good day?"

He shrugged. "Not bad. It helps having nice scenery, you know?" He looked pointedly at my body. Any other guy, and that would've been sort of skeevy. But this guy pulled it off.

Shaking my head, I laughed, glad for my tan because it likely covered my blush. "Okay. May I have a strawberry daiquiri please?"

"Coming right up."

I don't know how long I stayed, or how many frozen drinks I threw back. All I know is Jacob – that's what his name was- was quite the story teller, and he had me cracking up. He'd do silly faces and voices, imitating other guests or his friends and at one point I was so hysterical that I didn't even realize he was trying to get my attention.

"Hey, is that your boyfriend?"

I sort of gasp-choked and whirled around. Edward was standing at the edge of the pool, watching me with an amused expression on his face.

Yeah. No matter how cute the bartender was, no matter how charming and funny, no matter how damned white his teeth were… he didn't hold a candle to Edward Cullen.

Sighing a little ridiculously, I turned back to Jacob. "Yeah. That's him."

"Nice. Romantic get-away?" I could almost see him switching gears.

"Kind of." I reached for my wallet.

"Ten's fine."

"Ten?" I gave him a look. "Come on, I drank a lot more than that."

"They're on me. Just promise me you'll come back some time."

I gave him fifteen dollars. "I will."

"That looked cozy," Edward commented, lending me a hand to help me put of the pool.

"It was, actually. Only thing better would've been you in there with me," I said, pleasantly mellow from my alcohol consumption but not drunk; thank God.

"I bet." He smiled sideways at me, watching me dry off.

I pulled my skirt on and grabbed my bag. "So. What's on the agenda for tonight?"

"What do you want to do? We can go to dinner if you want later…"

"That would be perfect." And very romantic…

Back in the room, I took a bottle of water out of the fridge, wanting to cool my parched throat before taking a shower.

Without warning, Edward's hands were on my hips, pushing my skirt down to my feet. I paused in mid-sip, and then swallowed, putting the bottle down. He turned me around and urged my hands up and then took my tank top off, is eyes never leaving mine.

"You got a nice tan today," he murmured, running his hands all over my body. I was wearing a bikini, but I felt naked beneath his touch.

"Thanks," I whispered back.

He pushed me gently back, making me sit on the couch, and then knelt between my legs, dragging my hips forward. In a second I knew exactly what he was going to do. He hooked his fingers through the little ties on either side of my bottoms and pulled, opening the knots.

I watched silently, nervously, reaching hesitantly for his hair.

He took one long lick. The pressure made me want to scoot away but he held me still and started kissing and licking me. "Mmm. You're still salty," he hummed.

"Not…chlorine?" I gasped.

"That too," he agreed and holy crap here was another thing he was gifted with.

He went down on me until I was shaking and coming and crying for him to stop.

"What was that for?" I asked, closing my legs awkwardly, my heart racing.

He pulled me up so that standing and pulled the ties on my bikini top. It fell to the floor. "You looked good enough to eat."