First and foremost, I have to apologize for taking so long to update. I really am sorry for keeping you waiting.

Something very difficult to deal with has happened in my life, where my Grandma, whom I was very close with, passed away at seventy four years old. I couldn't wrap my head around it, and I just found it so difficult to write.
I truly am sorry for making you all wait so long. It's just hard to concentrate and get into the mood to write when your family has been thrown into grief.

Thank you all so much for your patience, and I hope you're still here with me on this stories journey.

I hope you all tell your family, friends, everyone endlessly how much you love them, because it is tragic not being able to express it anymore. xxx

Chapter 13

He looked me up and down, which felt like the millionth time he had done it.

"You look lovely in that dress," he said slowly, grudgingly. "Very beautiful." Talk about a 180 degree mood swing!

I blushed nonetheless, beyond happy. "Thank you." I tried to give him the same appreciative look that he was giving me, back with my eyes. "You don't look too bad yourself."

It was his turn to look embarrassed. "Thank you," he said quietly. "There's not a lot of it, though."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Pardon?" I thought I must have misunderstood him.

He opened the car door for me, and held it there. "It's just a little difficult to get used to, seeing you with so little clothes on," he said. "Usually you are not so scantily clad."

"Edward, I'm wearing a dress!" I looked down at my dress self-consciously, considering what I must have looked like in his eyes. Did he not like what I was wearing?

He seemed to read the look of uncertain panic in my eyes, because he quickly explained, "It's very short. I can see your thighs." Almost as a way to stress his point, his hand travelled up and down the thigh closest to him, rubbing against it quickly. My face felt completely flushed and hot. I really hoped Charlie hadn't happened to see it, if he had been spying on us through the lounge room window. "I think I would have liked it better, had you worn a long skirt."

I choked out a bitter laugh, and folded my arms across my chest. I couldn't believe how stupid he was being!

"Let's go, then," he muttered, a little impatiently.

I sat in the passenger's seat, and he shut the door gently from behind me. My eyes followed him as he walked over the front of the car to his side. I was still amazed at how good he looked. As he hopped in, he draped his navy blue jacket on the ground at my heels, and started the ignition.

Then, he asked something else, which irritated the hell out of me. "Are you wearing underwear underneath it to cover yourself?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," I said indignantly. "All this talk is embarrassing me!"

He laughed, a deep amused chuckle that, funnily enough, affected me in imaginable ways possible. Every part of my skin suddenly felt as if it were tingling. "I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable," he said seriously, and I could tell he truly meant it. "It's just... I don't want any guys at the party tonight hanging around you. It would devastate me if they tried anything on you because of what you're wearing." He looked really worried, but it was hardly necessary.

"Edward, stop being silly. And... to answer your question before..." With a spur of boldness, I hitched the skirt piece of my dress up just the slightest bit above my hips, so that I could show him that I was wearing underwear underneath. He looked completely shocked, yet as if he liked it at the same time. He peeked, but seemed as if he was trying hard to appear as if he wasn't really looking. He returned his eyes to the road at once. "I'm dressed like this, for you. No one else, but you. I wanted to impress you."

"That was hardly necessary. You impress me regardless of the way you dress."

"And, are you satisfied now that you know for certain I'm wearing underwear?" I laughed. The whole thing was so silly.

"Very, and you have very pretty legs. I'd still prefer a long skirt, however."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are annoyingly stubborn?" I asked, teasing him.

He smiled. "I tell myself that everyday."

"Well, just to let you know, I'm wearing this dress," I told him firmly, in all seriousness now. "I can't change into something longer. It's too late now."

"Fine," he whispered lowly. I could tell he was not pleased, to say the least, with not getting his own way.

I decided to change course into another, more important, direction. "When we were in your apartment on the couch... and you were kissing me... you..." I took in a deep breath. "...you said something that shocked me." I could feel my heart racing with the nerves I was trying to hard to suppress.

"Yes?" He sounded concerned, but he didn't glance over at me. "What was it?"

Everything was silent for a moment. All to be heard was the tyres of his car rolling over the ashphalt.

"Bella?"

"You said that you were so in love with me," I finished through stiff lips. I still couldn't get over it. He was the first guy who has ever told me he loved me- aside from Charlie, of course. And there was no doubting I felt the same way, some intense feelings for him. I didn't know whether I loved him exactly, but I did enjoy his company. And, frankly, I found him to be the most amazing, gorgeous man I had ever met. "I do too, you know," I confessed, in a voice as soft as a whisper.

For a moment I thought he hadn't heard me. But then, he turned to slowly glance over at me.

I got a tight feeling in my chest, partly due to anxiety, over wondering how he would respond to what I was telling him.

Suddenly, I understood why he was looking at me so intensely the way he was. Confusion painted his features, and he hardly blinked once, his eyes dark and searching. "You do, what?" He asked, unsure. He swallowed audibly. He was nervous too, it would appear.

I could feel my breathing speeding up, and I let it out again, "I do love you, too."

"Do you honestly mean that?" He asked, his voice a little quavery. I found it very endearing.

"Yes. I do!" My voice sounded a little uneven and shaky, too. "I mean, I have no experience whatsoever in relationships. But I wanted to make this clear to you tonight, before we got inside, that... that I do love you, too. I feel strongly for you, and it's kind of... scary because I've never felt this way before. Ever."

He didn't reply. At least, not until we arrived and he parked the car a few roads down from Michael Newton's house address. The street was full of cars blaring with stereos and groups of people from the school hopping out to head inside. I looked around briefly outside, hoping to catch sight of Rosalie. I wanted to introduce her to Edward for real but, unfortunately, I hadn't found her, as yet. But, I knew it would be easier, once we were inside.

"Bella, darling." His voice broke me out of my restless searching through the car window. I turned to look at him. He leaned over the console, and my breath hitched in my throat. I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth, and I was ready for it. But as he bent in to kiss me, his mouth went straight to my neck.

"Someone has a neck fetish," I breathed shyly, shivering.

I felt his silent laughter vibrate through his lips as they slowly traced the lining of my throat. Slowly, my eyes closed without my consent. I honestly loved the way he seemed to like kissing me on my neck; it was very pleasurable. It was like he was highly aware of the effect it had on my body, and he used it to his full advantage.

"You have no idea," he breathed and, rather purposefully, his front teeth nipped lightly at my skin. I jerked a little in the car seat, in surprise.

"What about you, though?" I found myself blurting urgently, as his teeth then plucked at my chin.

"What about me, Bella?" he asked, in that seductive, smooth voice of his. I almost never wanted to get out of his car. For the briefest of a second, I thought, Screw heading into Michael's for the party. Let's just stay in his car and make-out all night!

"I was, um, wondering if..." I swallowed thickly, feeling my cheeks redden.

"Yes?"

"Well... since you were so generous to me before in your car when you pleasured me... I was, well, wondering if you would like me to, uh, do something for you- in return?" The words came out so fast, I was afraid he might ask me to repeat them again.

"But just being with me, as my girlfriend, is enough for me," he said, amusement lurking in his voice. "What do you think I would ever need from you in return?"

It flew out of my mouth, so quickly I couldn't even recognize myself, "After the party finishes, I want you to take me to your apartment afterwards. I want to give myself to you, completely. I want you to make love to me."

Hope you're still interested in the story. please let me know x