A/N-t&a- WHOA. Just… whoa. You guys and your response to this story has been absolutely mind blowing and inspirational. You're all amazing. Seriously.

Anyhow… here's the next update. We don't own we just imagine. :)

It's a kiss sits upon her lips
That waits for planes and battle ships
She wants to be a dancer
And he has got a picture on his wall
And it's a sailor in a new port every night.
Yet, man was born to trouble
Like sparks fly upwards innocent.
Is this all we get? To be absolute?
Quiet, but I'm sure there's something here
Tell me everything cause I want to hear.
"Absolute" The Fray

When I was a kid, I would lay in bed at night and dream about becoming a magician. It was the disappearing thing—I believed in it and I wanted it. I wanted a reason, a sense of self, something that would set me apart. Anything that would make people want me.

And sometimes, a lot of the time, I just wanted to disappear. I wanted to blend. I wanted to close my eyes and think of some beautiful place, some place I belonged, and I wanted to be there. More than anything though, I wanted a place to belong to.

There are some days even now when I just close my eyes and wish for it. I close my eyes and I pretend that I'm little again, pretend that I still believe, and I imagine myself on a beach with a hot topless chick. Well, it's a cross. Some days I picture the beach and some days I think of home—all of them but mostly the two important ones—the first and the last.

Belonging is subjective though. Belonging has as much to do with the individual as it does with the group.

And now it's enough to just make sure that Finn never feels that way.

"Daddy, can I have a drink?" Finn asks me, arms crossed on the bar.

"What do you want?"

"Coke." His face lights up with so much fucking excitement that it's impossible to say no to him.

"Comin' right up." I pour his drink and then pop the top off a beer and lean against the bar. I close shop on Sundays. Partly because I can and mostly because I think everyone should take one day to regroup, refocus. It's important for mental health and, for my regulars, physical health. They can drink at home if they want.

I didn't actually mean it when I bartered the deal with Bella. But I figured it'd be the best way to get her over here today—by guilting her into it. I like having her around. Somehow, I feel so at ease around her despite her constant babbling and stuttering and general nervous ticks.

"So, Huck, my friend is coming over to help us today."

He sucks noisily on his straw because he's already finished the soda. I swear the kid is like a fucking vacuum when it comes to liquids. "Can I have another?" he asks.

"Not yet. You gonna be nice to her, kid?"

"I'm always nice," he says.

The bell dings, signaling the door opening, and we both look over. She's standing there in the entrance wearing a black skirt and a blue sweater clutching her bag again, unmoving. She loves the fucking doorway.

"I don't think we're expecting an earthquake today. You can move from the door."

Her hand goes up and she starts chewing on her thumb for a minute before she comes in. "I don't see any paint. Are we really painting?" she asks and drops her bag down on a table.

"Daddy, is that your friend?" Finn asks.

Bella looks at him sort of warily and I gauge her reaction. This is the ultimate test with any woman.

I nod at Finn slowly but keeps my eyes on her. "Yeah, Huck. This is Bella. Bella, meet Finn."

Her mouth falls open and she looks between me and Finn two times before she crouches down and says, "Hi."

"Hi," Finn says. "Are you gonna help us paint?"

She smiles tentatively at him before saying, "I'm gonna try. I've never painted a wall before."

His face lights up and he looks between me and Bella. "I have! I can teach you!"

"Yo, Huck, can you go get the paints from the back room?" I ask him.

His face lights up again because the kid loves having a job to do. He scrambles down from his stool, looks at Bella and says, "I'll be right back!" and then runs into the back room.

I laugh and then look at Bella. "So… hi." She smiles uneasily and stretches her arms high over her head, her sweater rises slightly to reveal a tiny bit of skin. I love that she wears skirts all of the time. At least she has the sense to show her legs off even if she is partial to more conservative tops. "Did you bring a change of clothes?"

She looks down and then back up at me, confusion masking her face. "Why? I thought this would work? I'll take off the sweater." She pulls it over her head and throws it on top of her bag. "Should I change?"

If you ever listen to country music you'll know that those guys love singing about girls in white beaters. Like, love. I don't fucking blame them. A hint of her bra shows through the thin shirt and it just accentuates her chest really nicely.

"I just haven't heard of anyone painting in a skirt."

I walk until I'm standing directly in front of her and wrap my hands around her arms. "Hi," I say before she can speak and then dip my head and cover her lips with mine because I can and because she looks fucking adorable.

She stiffens slightly and then moves in closer to me, parting her lips with a little coaxing. I slip my tongue into her mouth and sweep it over her shiny teeth before pressing it against hers. A tiny little humming sound echoes in her throat and vibrates against my lips.

I pull her even closer to me until our bodies are pressed together from our chests to our toes and put one hand on her back and one in her hair. I like kissing and I especially enjoy kissing this girl because of the way she vibrates to life instantly.

Her arms go around me and I feel her fist my shirt in her hands as our tongues battle for dominance. She shifts slightly against me and her tits rub against my chest and fuck if I don't want to touch them but I don't want her to run away before we can paint and painting with a hard-on is less than ideal. Especially with the kid here.

I pull away and hold her at arms length, taking her in before she opens her eyes. Her chest is heaving, cheeks are stained pink, and her lips are pouty and partially open. I brush one more kiss against them and then wait for her to open her eyes.

"How was your weekend?"

She stares up at me through cloudy, unfocused eyes and says, "My weekend was like all my weekends. Uneventful. I did manage to break my fan though, not sure how I did it, but it's hot as Hades in my studio now and I know I should have probably worn something other than a skirt, but I'm just sick of being hot."

Ah, there's my Babbling Bella. Back in full force.

"I can come by and take a look at it this week," I offer and take a long drink from my beer.

She shakes her head quickly and grabs my beer. She takes a quick drink from it, makes a face, and then hands it back. "No, I can take care of it. I'm just about to not be in your debt and I don't want to be there again."

I shrug. "I'm not the one sweating my ass off." Just then Finn comes scrambling into the room hugging a bucket of paint.

"Dad," he says with a scowl, "you're bigger. You should get the otha one."

I laugh and take the bucket from him. "Will you keep Bella company while I go get it?"

He pushes his glasses up and nods. "Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be right back." I ruffle his hair and walk away from the two of them who jump into an animated conversation about some movie that he loves. And it feels good. She's awkward but she's warming to him and she talks to him like he's a person. Nothing pisses me or him off more than people who talk to him like he's a fucking infant.

When I come back carrying paint and brushes, the two of them are in a heated discussion about which was better—Finding Nemo or Up. Bella would be up to date on her cartoons.

"Okay." I shush them and put both paints out on the floor. "Enough of that. We need to focus here." Finn comes to stand next to me and pushes his glasses up again. "Remember what we said, Huck? Bella needs to help us pick between these two colors."

He nods seriously. "I want the dark blue."

Bella comes and stands across from us, staring down at the two paint cans speculatively. I look up at her. "We need you to pick one."

She narrows her eyes in thought and then kneels down and dips a finger into the first choice. Then she holds her arm out and draws a line of dark blue down her arm before repeating the same motion with the other color.

She looks up at me through her big, thoughtful eyes and holds her arm out. But all I can actually think about is the fact that she's on her knees in front of me right now and… well, it's distracting. My dick, by the way, belongs to a 13 year old boy.

"I think I like the navy," I hear her say. "It kind of looks like night and stars. What do you guys like?"

"Daddy likes the other one. I like the one you like!" Finn says excitedly.

I kneel down next to her just to get the image of Bella sucking my dick out of my head, and take her hand to look at her arm. "I like the way the navy looks against your skin," I say with a nod.

Her cheeks flame red and she pulls her arm gently from my hand. "Navy it is then. Do you have brushes? And a drop cloth?" she asks and wanders away from me.

"No," I say and push back up to my feet. "I was figuring we could just use our hands and hope for the best."

"Ummm while that might be… entertaining, I don't think it would get the job done. What do you think Finn?"

"Finger paint," he says excitedly. "I wanna finger paint!"

I laugh, put one hand on Bella's waist and one on Finn's head and lead them to the back wall. "Let's start here," I say. "That way if we only get this one done today, it won't look as unfinished tomorrow."

They both nod and reach for a brush and paint. Bella hands me one and we all start working in comfortable silence with the exception of Finn's random input, stroking the wall into a dark blue that will forever remind me of this crazy girl.

"So, Bella," I start conversationally when I get bored of the silence, "where are you from?"

Her face twists into something that resembles pain or intense discomfort and then swallows hard before refocusing on the wall. "Nowhere exciting," she says with a shrug. "Anywhere, USA."

"Anywhere USA?" I snort and look over at her but something's changed. Her jaw is tense and her eyes look a little lost and she's not looking at me. "If you're from there it's somewhere, Bella."

She tilts her head slightly and then walks away from me, putting more distance in between us. I've upset her, clearly.

"Tell me a story, Edward. You only ever ask me questions. Tell me something true about you."

"Oh, daddy, tell her about the time we went to Six Flags and the gawaffe licked the window!" Finn interrupts excitedly.

I grin indulgently down at him and then look at Bella and shrug. "We were going through the safari and a giraffe licked our window."

"Was his tongue black?" she asks Finn. "Giraffes have black tongues." Then she moves a little closer to me, until our shoulders are touching and our brushes meet. "Why don't you tell me a story, Finn?"

Finn bites down on his lip for a minute without stopping his painting and then his eyes brighten. "My class visited a farm!" he says with more enthusiasm than a kid at five AM on Christmas. "Bella, did you know that milk comes from cows? We watched them get it."

"Yeah?" she asks him with wide eyes. "That's crazy. Did you drink it?" And then she bends over slightly and brushes against my side.

I wrap my free hand on her hip and pull her closer to me. Finn, who is completely oblivious, says with a frown, "Miss Perry said no."

She laughs slightly and gives me a small smile. "Well, Miss Perry probably knows best."

Finn frowns and I know he's about to argue so I put my hand on his head. "How 'bout some dinner, big guy? I think we've painted enough for today."

"Pizza?" he asks.

I laugh, Bella scowls. "We had that last time," I say and lift him up into my arms. "How 'bout some pasta?"

"Ziti?" he asks with wide excited eyes.

"It depends. Does Bella like baked ziti?" I ask and look over at her.

She grins and nods. "Bella loves ziti."

"Good. Let's order."

*x*

"I think we should watch a movie," I tell her once Finn's asleep and we're all fed.

I sprawl out on the couch and she sits as far from me as possible, chewing on her thumb again. "That's fine. I could go for a movie."

"Do I smell weird?"

She tilts her head and gives me a weird look, as if I'm the one with the weird special issues. "Not that I can tell. Why?"

"I just can't figure out why you'd be sitting so far away. It's okay, I'll come to you." I flip my body so that my head is by her and rest it in her lap. "That's better. I wouldn't mind if you decided you wanted to scratch my back."

She lifts her hand slowly from her side and runs her fingertips over my back, on top of my shirt. "You wouldn't mind? That's smooth, Edward. You could just ask."

I sigh and press my face into the smooth skin of her thigh. "I wanted you to feel like you had a choice."

"You have a son."

I nod. "I have a son." She increases the pressure on my back and I groan softly. "Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all. It's just… more than I expected."

I smile against her leg. "Let's pick a movie." I don't really want to talk about my kid anymore tonight. He's the highest priority in my life but I saw her with him, and she said she's okay with him, so that's all I need to know for now.

"I don't really care. But it's going to be hard to turn it on when you're laying on top of me."

I open my mouth against her thigh and exhale heavily against it before pushing myself up and grabbing the remote off the table. I hand it to her and resume my position. "Just pick something."

The girl's little fingers run up and down my back, venturing occasionally into my hair and it's so fucking relaxing. I don't even turn my head to see what movie she's choosing.

I trace my fingers up her thigh to her hip and then a little higher. The position is awkward but I can't help touching her. I've figured out that in order to get Bella to relax and be calm, she has to be distracted.

"Aren't you going to watch the movie?" she asks.

I look up to see her frowning down at me. "I've got a pretty good view right here."

She rolls her eyes and then looks down at the way her skirt is bunched up. Her face turns so red I think she might hurt herself, and then she pushes me until I sit up.

She adjusts her skirt and then crosses her arms over her chest.

"Oh, relax," I say with a laugh and then tug on her arm until we're both horizontal, and pull her against me. I bend my knee until it pushes in between her legs and then sigh. "I love cuddling almost as much as I love having my back scratched."

Especially when her cute little ass is pressed right up against my dick.

She wiggles slightly—to get comfortable no doubt, not to turn me on. I bite back a groan anyway because she's making my dick hard.

"Edward, are you even watching the movie?"

I grab her hand which she's been flailing around aimlessly because she probably doesn't know where to put it. I bring it back to rest beneath mine on her stomach.

"What is this shit?" I curl my arm around her head and let my hand rest lightly on her collarbone, and then I tighten the arm around her waist until there's not even a centimeter of space between us.

"A Beautiful Mind." Her voice is a little raspy and breathless.

"Is there any nudity in it?"

"Should there be?"

"I just figured that if you were gonna make me watch something, it'd at least be something good."

"A movie can be good without nudity, Edward."

I hum my disapproval and slide my hand up to her ribcage and then higher, between her tits, until I can push her hair aside. I take her earlobe in between my teeth and then I suck on it.

She gasps, tenses, and tries to pull away but I hold her still. "See what happens when I watch movies without nudity?" I whisper into her ear and she shivers. "I love your ears."

"There's nothing to love about them."

I suck on the lobe again and then bite down. She jerks again. My hand is splayed along her ribs, my thumb just barely grazing the bottom of her tit. She puts her hand over mine and tries to remove it.

"Where are you trying to go?" I press my lips to her neck, right where it meets her shoulder, and suck on it. Little whimpers keep escaping from her lips and travel straight to my dick. I press my hips into her and then turn her head so that I can kiss her.

Her lips meet mine hesitantly at first but then she shifts slight, sliding her arm up and around my neck, and then she turns until she's on her back beneath me. I nudge her legs open with my knees and settle between them.

I deepen the kiss, tilting my head and pressing my tongue into her mouth, tangling it with hers, and grind my hips into hers. Her skirt is bunched up around her hips now but I don't think she cares. I slide my hand up over her shirt and palm her tit and this time she pulls her head back and gasps.

I squeeze it once and then rub her nipple through the shirt with my palm and she squirms and raises her hips up to meet mine. And fuck if I can't feel how warm and wet her pussy is through my shorts.

I groan and dip my head to suck on her tit through her shirt and then she's pushing me away.

"Edward," she breathes. "Edward, stop. We can't—can we just watch the movie?"

Fuck me, right? I sigh and drop back into the spot between her body and the back of the couch. She curls up into me again and places my hand back on her stomach.

I'd thank her for my blue balls but she's letting me touch her without having a full fledged panic attack so I decide to stay quiet.

I pry my eyes open and wonder briefly where I am because my fucking shoulder is numb. And then I feel Bella trying to move my hand so she can get up.

I tighten my hold on her and groan into her neck. "Stay here," I tell her.

"I have to go home. Go back to sleep."

"No. Let's go to bed inside." I don't make a move to get up though; I just drape my leg over hers and hold her tightly to me. "If you leave I'll have to cuddle with Walt. And he smells bad and doesn't have pretty boobies like you do."

"Well, give him a bath."

"Now? It's 2 in the morning. You can't walk home at 2 in the morning, little girl. Stay here with me."

"I can and I will. Time to let go, Edward."

"Nope." I bury my face in her hair and hum. "Go back to sleep. Good night, Bella."

I close my eyes but I don't let her go.

Needless to say, in the morning when I wake up, she's gone. But she covered me with the blanket from my bed and left me a note on the coffee table.

You sleep like the dead, it says, thanks for yesterday. I'll see you tonight.

In the garbage can in the kitchen, there are 8 crumpled drafts of her note. I shake my head and laugh. Crazy little girl.