BPOV

This sucks. Not that I had ever been a big fan of my birthday – it really was just another day to me. But this year it was really bothering me. I was turning twenty and was spending the day re-stocking books at 'The Bookworm' where I had worked part time since I came to Seattle.

I had a box of gifts waiting for me at Angela and I's apartment when I had finished classes, courtesy of Alice. She always went overboard, no matter how many times I had told her not to buy me presents. Same with her overly generous brother. Alice had sent me a beautiful burgundy dress with matching high heeled shoes, a few books and a bottle of my favorite perfume. The last present was slightly odd – she had wrapped up the Forks High cheerleader uniform that I had worn to the Halloween party all those years ago. I found it extremely odd that she still had it, let alone was sending it to me. There was a sticky note attached to it that read 'Put this to good use'. I shook my head just thinking about it. I love Alice dearly, but sometimes her train of thought is a little hard to follow. I hadn't had much time to ponder the odd gift either, as I'd had to rush to change and get to work.

Edward had called me at 7am to wish me a Happy Birthday, knowing I would be getting up for class. I couldn't believe he'd gotten up so early to call me – with the time change, it was only 4am in New Hampshire. We talked for a little while and I promised to call him when I got home from work.

I grabbed the next cart loaded down with books to be stacked on the shelves and headed down one of the aisles.

"Hey Ang," I called as I passed Angela at the check-out counter. I had actually helped her get the job here a year back.

Angela shook her head at me and sighed, "I still can't believe you are working on your birthday."

I shrugged as I continued down the aisle. I knew it was going to be a slow night, spending Friday night at the bookstore wasn't a high priority on most of the college kids lists. I almost wished I had brought one of the new books Alice had gotten for me, thinking I might get a change to read some if it stayed this slow.

I had only been stocking books for about half an hour when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist from behind and swung me in a large circle. I was still too shocked by the action to respond when I heard the laugh. That beautiful melodic velvet laugh that could only belong to one person. A person I had been desperately missing all day, not to mention the three weeks it had been since I had seen him.

"EDWARD!" I screamed, turning to face him and locking my arms around his neck.

He laughed again at my reaction and twirled me in another circle, "Happy Birthday, Love," he whispered in my ear.

I loosened my grip on his neck just enough to pull back and look at him. I couldn't believe it – he was really here. Edward and I had been together for almost four years and I had never gotten to spend my birthday with him. We had gotten together a little over a month after my birthday when he was still in high school and the next two years he couldn't get away from school. I grinned from ear to ear before leaning forward and locking my lips to his.

"How long do you get to stay?" I asked when our lips finally parted.

"I have to fly back Sunday afternoon," he started, "So I am yours for the next 48 hours."

I smiled and hugged him tight again, "Mine."

He laughed and took my hand, leading me back to the front of the store.

"Ang," I cried excitedly, "Look who's here!"

Angela smirked at me, "Why Edward Cullen, whatever could you be doing here?"

I looked between Angela and Edward. "You knew?!?" I screeched at Ang. "You knew he was coming and didn't tell me?"

"That's why it is called a surprise Bella. Besides, who else did you think he would call to get you off work for the weekend?" she retorted.

That took me back. I was supposed to work until close tonight and from 10am-6pm tomorrow. "What do you mean 'off work'?"

Angela shrugged, "I did a little rearranging. You do have to come in from six to close on Sunday, but you are off," she glanced at her watch, then back up to me, "from now until then."

"Oh Thank You!" I cried, releasing Edward's hand to throw my arms around Angela.

"Happy Birthday B," she said, then shooing me away added, "Now get out of here and go enjoy it."

I bounced, literally bounced as I went to retrieve my jacket and purse.

"Oh, and Bella," Angela called, "I'm staying with Ben this weekend, so the apartment is all yours."

Edward took my hand and led me toward the exit, grabbing his duffle bag on the way. "So what are the plans for tonight?" I asked, leaning my head against his shoulder, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Tonight is completely up to you. Tomorrow night we're going on a date – I've already made reservations and have tickets. Tonight is yours though."

I smiled. "Movie night," I said simply. Edward knew immediately what I meant. It had been a tradition started by Alice and I many years ago. We would bring all of the pillows and blankets into the living room, completely stock up on junk food and watch movies all night long.

"Movie night it is," he agreed.

We quickly dropped his stuff off at my apartment and headed for my truck to go to the grocery store and movie rental place.

"Did Alice know you were coming to Seattle?" I asked as we were on our way back.

Edward smiled, "You know I can't keep anything from that little pixie." He shook his head, then added, "But no one else knows I'm here. If my mom found out I was this close to home and didn't come see her she would probably disown me."

Alice's presents were suddenly making much more sense. The dress and shoes were probably for the date tomorrow night. I had a sneaking suspicion of why she had sent the cheerleader uniform now too. Edward had always told me he thought I'd looked sexy in that outfit. Well, I guess it was better than her sending me lingerie. I guess.

Edward and I spent hours curled up together in the living room watching the movies we had picked out and eating junk food. At one point he disappeared into the kitchen under the pretense of getting more soda. When he returned he had a chocolate cupcake in his hand, complete with a single lit candle on it. He sang Happy Birthday to me as he bent down in front of me, getting close enough that I could blow out the candle. It was unbelievably sweet.

I laughed, taking the cupcake from him as he removed the candle. I reached forward quickly and smeared a small amount of the frosting on his nose, giggling at the shocked expression on his face.

"Get it off," he playfully growled, leaning towards me.

"Nope," I said, giggling again and jumping up to my feet to scramble away from him. Not a good idea when you have the coordination I do. Edward quickly tackled me down onto the blankets. He had my arms pinned over my head in no time.

"Get it off," he repeated, grasping both of my wrists in one hand and bringing his other hand down to tickle my side.

"Never!" I screeched, laughing so hard my side hurt. It felt so good. I hadn't smiled or laughed this much in the entire past month. It took a few more moments of his ferocious tickling before I started yelling 'Give'.

His hand paused over my side, preparing to tickle again if I went back on my word. Slowly I leaned forward and licked the icing off of his nose. When I leaned back, I knew from the look in Edward's eyes that we would not be watching any more movies tonight.

The light streaming in from the living room window woke me. I reached over, feeling for Edward and coming up empty handed. I wrapped one of the blankets around myself and glanced around for my clothes. I chuckled to myself as I reached to pull Edward's t-shirt off of the top of the tv, quickly putting it on.

I wandered toward the kitchen, finding Edward standing there in his boxers making what appeared to be omelets.

"Mmm, that smells delicious," I murmured, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face in his back.

Edward finished the omelets and slid them onto the plates he had sitting on the counter, turning to give me a quick kiss.

Edward and I decided to head out a few hours later, wandering around and seeing the sights. We got home shortly before 4pm, giving us two hours to get ready for our date. I couldn't wait. Edward was taking me to the Space Needle for dinner, then on a boat ride around the coast.

"Happy Birthday, B," Edward whispered as we watched the lights of the coast float by. I don't know where he had hidden it, but he suddenly had a small package, wrapped in beautiful silver paper with a dark blue ribbon around it.

I shook my head, "Edward, you being here is more than I could've ever asked for on my birthday. You didn't have to get me something too."

Edward just grinned at me, "But I wanted to." Then he leaned down to place a quick kiss on my lips. That boy always knew how to get what he wanted out of me.

"Fine," I huffed, taking it from his hands. I gently unwrapped the package to reveal a small rectangular black box. I was extremely nervous as I reached to open it. I cracked the box open, revealing a beautiful heart necklace, with multiple diamond accents. "Edward, it's beautiful," I breathed. I turned the heart over to find 'Love You Forever B' inscribed on the back. My eyes were glistening with tears when I looked back at him. "What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?"

Edward leaned forward and skimmed his nose against mine. "And here I was wondering what I did to deserve you."

I leaned forward to press my lips against his, "Thank You." One of the tears escaped from my eyes, Edward brought his hand up to wipe it away.

"I love you," he responded.

"I love you too," I whispered back.

I cried the whole way back to my apartment after dropping Edward off at the airport. This was just getting more and more difficult. We'd only been apart three weeks and it seemed unbearable. We wouldn't get to see each other again until he was home for Thanksgiving. That just seemed like an eternity.

EPOV

This was getting harder and harder. Leaving Bella was becoming nearly impossible. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy her time in Hanover. I wondered if I should try to attempt to talk her into transferring and coming to New Hampshire. If she didn't want to go to Dartmouth, there were several other good options close by. I would've happily followed her to U-Dub, but she wouldn't allow it. She would never have let me give up on my dreams, no matter what it cost her. I loved that girl so much.