Edward's POV

"Bella?" She sounded terrible, and my heart broke for her. "I'll be right over," I told her.

When she mumbled an okay, I hung up the phone.

I threw on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, not bothering with underwear, socks, or shoes. I'd been naked and ready for bed when she called, and it wasn't like I was going very far—simply walking the few feet to her place next door.

By the time I got to her door, she was there, opening it before I had a chance to knock. I stepped inside, locked the door behind me, and then turned back to look at the woman standing in front of me. She looked miserable.

I got her to sit down on the couch before asking her, "Do you want something to eat or drink? I bet you haven't eaten today, have you?"

"I had donuts this morning," she huffed. "I don't know if I feel like much. Do you wanna watch a movie? I have some popcorn. I could go for some popcorn and a Coke."

I smiled. "Sure, a movie would be great. You get it set up, and I'll find and make the popcorn. Do you like butter or salt on yours?"

"Yes," she answered firmly, making us both laugh. "Do you need any help?"

I grabbed a Coke from the fridge and took it to her. "Nope. Sit and relax. You can sit here or come sit at the table and talk, but I'm perfectly capable of making popcorn."

"Okay." She smiled sadly. "Thanks, Edward. I just really didn't feel like being alone right now."

"My pleasure." I returned her smile and reached down to pat her shoulder, squeezing gently.

~*~*~CIBD~*~*~

Bella's POV

I realized I hadn't really brushed my teeth earlier, so I stood up quickly, telling Edward I'd be right back. I ran into the bedroom and opened my suitcase, found my toothbrush and cinnamon toothpaste, and then brushed quickly. I really didn't want to eat popcorn or be close to Edward with nasty breath.

When I made my way back to the living room, I found the box with my movies in it and picked out National Treasure, which was one of my favorite movies from the last five or six years. Plus, there wasn't much in it that would make me sad, so...

"Edward, did you find everything you needed?"

"I did, yes. It'll be ready in a couple of minutes. Just sit back and relax, and I'll bring it in when it's ready."

I sat there drinking my Coke and queued up the movie so it was ready to go. A couple of minutes later, Edward came in with a huge bowl of popcorn in one hand and two cans of Coke in the other. "What are we watching?"

"One of my favorites." I told him the name, expecting him to roll his eyes, but he just grinned.

"Nic Cage is one of my favorite actors, and I love the history stuff in this movie. Great choice."

Chalk another point up for Edward, I thought, giggling to myself. He's got good taste in movies.

"Oh! Sit down and get comfortable while I turn out the lights. Can't watch a movie with all the lights on! It's a rule, ya know," I said, grinning when he laughed.

As soon as the kitchen and living room lights were off, minus the small light over the stove I'd left on, I made my way back to the couch. Edward pulled up the blanket and patted the seat next to him. I smiled and curled up beside him. He arranged us both under the blanket and set the popcorn on his leg that was closest to me so we could both reach it easily. Grabbing the remote, I started the movie.

"Mmmm," I mumbled around a mouthful of popcorn. "Perfect amount of butter and salt."

For the next thirty minutes, we were quiet as we sat and watched the movie, eating the popcorn. Occasionally, our fingers would brush against one another when we reached into the bowl, and every time, I felt a small current between us. I didn't know if he felt it, too, but I certainly wasn't going to ask.

When we finished the popcorn, Edward leaned over and whispered in my ear, causing me to shiver. "Want more? I can go make it."

I shook my head no, so he set the bowl on the table and then handed me a paper towel he'd brought in with him. I finished wiping the butter off my fingers and tossed the wadded up paper towel into the popcorn bowl with Edward's. I pulled the blanket up and covered my arms, and the next thing I knew, I felt Edward's hand reach over and take hold of mine. We sat watching the movie much like we'd been sitting in the coffee shop the day before, with his thumb tracing circles lightly on my skin.

At a particularly funny part in the movie, I laughed out loud. I heard Edward gasp softly and turned to look at him. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. You just look so beautiful sitting there, the moonlight barely hitting your face, and when you laughed, it took my breath away." He said that quietly, almost as if he was trying to keep it to himself.

I used my free hand to turn the movie down a couple of notches before setting the remote beside me on the couch. Then I reached up and slowly stroked his cheek with my fingers. "You're the beautiful one," I whispered softly. "I'm plain compared to you."

His eyes went dark, and his free hand came up, slid behind my back, and pulled me closer. Slowly, oh-so-slowly, he lowered his head until his lips hovered above mine. When he spoke, I nearly passed out at the sensations overloading my system. "Absurd. You clearly don't see yourself like I see you, Isabella Swan." Then, before I could blink, his lips covered mine in a gentle kiss.

We kissed like that for what could have been hours. It wasn't rushed or harsh, just slow and gentle—almost reverent. Both of us used our hands to slowly touch all the visible skin on one another as we kissed. I ran my hands lightly up and down his arms, stroking his fingers softly with mine. He moved his hands up and cupped my face, his thumbs brushing softly against my cheeks.

When he slowly brushed his tongue across my lips, seeking entrance, I opened my mouth for him and felt a jolt when our tongues began to dance together. Moving my hands up, one cupped the back of his neck while the other tangled in his hair, my nails scratching his scalp gently. He almost purred into my mouth at that, so I continued while I brought my other hand back around to find one of his. I moved my hand so that our fingers came together, and we held hands with our fingers entwined again.

Every few minutes, one of us would make a soft noise of appreciation, but our lips never parted. Even when we needed to breathe, we barely pulled apart, just breathing in the essence of each other before our lips came slowly together once more.

We kissed and touched until the blue screen shined brightly from the TV, indicating we'd missed the rest of the movie. We finally, reluctantly, pulled apart, just enough to rest our foreheads against one another's. My hand moved from his hair to his chest, resting above his racing heart. His free hand was still cupping my face, his thumb now brushing softly across my tingling lips.

"I should go," he whispered.

I nodded. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would beg him to stay, and I didn't want our first time to be on a night that I'd spent so much of the day...grieving, for lack of a better word. Plus, as much as I wanted him, I didn't want to jump into bed with him. I'd never been that type of girl, and if Edward wanted someone like that, he wasn't the right guy for me. Thank goodness that didn't seem to be the case.

We stood up as one, our hands still clasped between us as I led him to the door.

"Thank you for coming over," I whispered, not wanting to break whatever magical spell we somehow seemed to be under at the moment.

"Thank you for asking for me when you needed someone." He wrapped his arms around me. "Will you be okay tonight? I could stay on the couch if you don't wanna be alone."

"I'll be okay now. Thank you for the offer," I said sincerely. "I'll probably go right to sleep."

He nodded and then leaned down to kiss me softly again. After we parted, he asked, "Would you like to go out tomorrow night? Dinner?"

I smiled. "I'd love that. Call me tomorrow?"

"I will," he said softly before kissing me once more. "I'd better go, or I'll stand here all night kissing you."

"Yes, you should, or I'd stand here all night and let you."

We both smiled, and then he kissed my cheek softly and walked out. I poked my head out the door until I saw him safely inside and then locked my door before I all but floated back to the couch.