Polaroid Chapter 16: Moving forward, a twilight fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own them...

Thanks to Dinia Steel and Jylway for pre-reading and editing this chapter. My lovely friend SunflowerFran3759 was off line this week and they were nice enough to step in and help. Thanks guys!

BPOV

It's early morning and the sky is still dark, but I am unable to sleep.

The most beautiful man is lying next to me and I'm scared that if I close my eyes, he'll be gone when I wake up. More than that, when I close my eyes, I get flashes of our night together.

Lips against skin.

Fingers digging into my waist.

Hot breath on my neck.

Green eyes looking into my brown ones.

I run the tips of my fingers along the side of his face. It's so strange not to know things about him. Not seeing him is a blessing and a curse. I'm so used to knowing things that I'm having a hard time adjusting. Not to say that it isn't exciting, getting to know him on a level I've never experienced. But at the same time, it's terrifying to know that I won't be prepared if he ever does decide to leave. I can sympathize my Grandma Marie's feelings now; I'll never want another man after this.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

His voice was soft but gruff with sleep.

I can't stop my smile, "you." I tangle my fingers in his hair, and softly scratch the back of his head with my nails.

He hums and moves his hand down my body, pressing into my lower back and pulling me into him. His erection is trapped between us and I can feel him swelling against my stomach. I moan, filling the quiet room with the tension inside of me.

His hand moves to my thigh and he lifts my leg over his hip adjusting himself so he can slide into me. And it feels...God, it just feels; it's everything and nothing that I can describe.

We're connected as one, he is soft skin and hard body and his muscles flex under my fingertips. His lips never leave my skin and no one has ever paid this kind of attention to me before.

I pull his hair, lifting his face to mine. His eyes are dark green; fiery. He lies on his back, and my elbows rest on either side of his head. My hips are grinding against him, not willing to lose the full body contact.

I kiss him, and kiss him, and kiss him; slow and wet, the sounds filling the room.

His fingers are flexing on my waist but I'm still grinding against him. He moans when I grind a little harder, and then he is lifting me and dropping me onto him, quickening our pace. It's delicious, and I feel my body shudder.

One hand glides along my back and he pulls me to him, pulling my breast into his mouth. The other hand is still guiding my hips to the pace he's set.

I have one hand behind his head, holding him to me. My eyes are closed and I'm focused solely on the sensations I'm feeling. His fingers tighten on my waist and I open my eyes.

He's looking at me with clear eyes; his hands move to the side of my face and he kisses me. It's slow and soft and feels like so much more.

He rolls us over and starts moving again; it feels like he's caressing me, slow and deep. His lips hover over mine and we are sharing...everything. A tear slips from my eye and he watches it roll across my temple before looking at me and I swear he can see into my soul.

Whatever it is that he finds there, flips a switch in him because
all of a sudden, he's on his knees and he pulling me onto his thighs and we're connected chest to chest, mouth to mouth and the adjustment has his pelvic bone grinding deliciously against me. The stars I see catch me completely off guard but he follows right behind me with moans of his own.

"Bella..." he whispers.

"You've ruined me for anyone else," I respond, unable to hide how I'm feeling. I'm completely exposed to him.

He lifts my face from his shoulder and his eyes are soft as they look at me.

He kisses my mouth, and then trails soft, sucking kisses along my jaw up to my ear. "Good," he whispers; my body breaks out in goosebumps.

He lays me on the bed and walks into the bathroom, coming back into the room with a washcloth. He begins wiping along the inside of my thighs, before holding the cloth gently against my center, soothing me.

No man has ever done that before; taken care of me afterward and I'm once again filled with emotion.

"Edward," I whisper. His eyes meet mine and it looks like he understands what I'm feeling.

He tosses the towel toward the bathroom and I hear it hit the tile floor. His arms wrap around me, "I'll take care of you as long as you allow me to Bella. Let me in."

And I let go of the last bit of caution that was holding me back. "Okay."

When I wake up later that morning, the smell of coffee and Edward's voice make me smile.

It was real; he's still here.

I laugh at myself and head off to the bathroom to handle some much needed business.

"Yes, that sounds good. Schedule the Murray deposition for next week and see what Jenks can find out about Marius Robertson. I feel like there is something there that we are missing." He was quiet for a few minutes, but nodding his head in agreement. "Exactly, I want to know everything...Thanks, Barb. Once you get that taken care of, take the afternoon off. We'll go over everything in detail first thing Monday morning...Sure...thank you, you too...goodbye."

He is wearing his boxers and a t-shirt, glasses on his face and his laptop open. As he reaches for his coffee cup, he must see me in his periphery because his head snaps around and he smiles.

"Good morning."

I walk over to him and sit in his lap. "Good morning," leaning in for a kiss. One of his arms wraps around my legs while the other is around my waist. I love the feel of him surrounding me.

"Working?"

"Just a quick call this morning but I have the rest of the day off."

I kiss him again, smiling against his lips. "I need to stop by the estate this afternoon. I have a meeting with one of the contractors at two o'clock. Other than that, I'm free today also."

"Well, it's still early. Why don't we get ready..." he frowns, and I smile.

"Walk of shame time?"

"No. Never shame, not with you," his voice is soft, as is his smile. "But I do need to go home and get some clothes." He tilts his head, "Let's get away for the weekend. We can leave after your appointment and come back Sunday night."

"Really?"

"Are you up for it?"

"Absolutely. Come on! Let's get ready," I pulled him off of the couch. "How do you feel about saving water?"

His smile was downright luscious.

Edward dropped me off at the Estate while he went home to change. I was a little nervous about what his mother would think if she caught him going home to change in the middle of the day.

I took a seat on the rocking chair on the porch, enjoying the sunshine. I am more relaxed than I've ever been. Last night and this morning with Edward was just...amazing. He is...I don't know, perfect? I mean, I know he isn't perfect. Everyone has flaws, but things could not have gone any better last night.

I'd always thought I was a three date kind of girl; but everything with Edward is so natural. I feel like I've known him for years rather than weeks and it takes all of my strength not to attack him every time I see him. I won't lie; I love how it feels to be with him.

On the flip side, I have been seeing a lot more lately; ever since we ran into that tiny woman at the restaurant. I keep seeing the images of three women; two blond haired, blue eyed and one dark haired, Alice from the restaurant.

I'm not exactly sure what I am supposed to make of it, though. I see the three of them together.

Leaning into one another in deep conversation.
The blond with long, unkempt hair, turning away from the other women to wipe away her tears.
A baby with dark hair and sad blue eyes.
Alice screaming, yelling, hands frozen in fists.
The three women and a baby boarding an airplane.

I see snippets of everyday things also. I'm not sure what to think about these women. Edward told me that Alice is Kate's sister, I'm not sure about the other woman; another sister perhaps? She doesn't look old enough to be their mother.

If I had to guess, I'd say that these women will burst our bubble soon. I have no doubt that Alice informed Kate that Edward was here in North Carolina, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say she probably told her about our date. I mean that's just girl code, right?

So the luggage and the crying means the sisters will show up soon. It's inevitable. Especially if Kate didn't come clean and is still trying to claim that Edward is her baby daddy.

I can't help but roll my eyes. Even I can see that the kid looks nothing like him.

Tires on the gravel interrupt my train of thought. Time to work.

We walked through the entire house looking at all of the woodwork. Window sills, floor boards, door casings...everything.

"Have you already ordered the windows?"

"Yes, we are replacing all of them, as well as the french doors in the kitchen and family room."

"Okay, we will come in and remove the casings and hopefully we will be able to salvage some of them. The wood is old and may not survive the removal, but we will do our best."

"Sounds good. When will your team get started?"

Chuck, the contractor, pulled out his phone. "Wednesday morning. Does that work?"

"Sounds great, see you Wednesday."

"Isabelle."

I turned around to find Mr. Masen behind me. "Mr. Masen, how nice to see you. I didn't know you'd be here today."

"Well, I've been stopping by everyday." He held up a digital camera. "Been snapping some pictures before the house starts changing."

Oh, this broke my heart a little bit. I can't imagine how hard it must be for him to move forward from the memories he keeps.

"Mr. Masen..."

"I'm just a sentimental old man, Isabelle. Don't worry about me."

"The house will look like it did when you and Elizabeth first moved in, with just a few little modern conveniences. It will be just the right amount of old and new."

"I have no doubt it will be wonderful. Do you have plans for dinner? I'd like to talk to you for a bit."

"Actually," I was interrupted by another set of tires. We both looked up to see Edward parking and getting out of the car. He gave me an apologetic smile and walked over to passenger door, helping his mother out of the car.

"Hello," she sang.

She walked over quickly, hugged and kissed her father and then gave me a bright smile and squeezed my hand.

"Isabelle, how lovely to see you."

I smiled. "Mrs. Cullen, it's nice to see you again." I still didn't feel quite comfortable around her. The Dinner Inquisition, as I now called it, had shaken me up a bit. It also left me feeling that she felt I was inadequate for her son.

"I was hoping I could convince you and Edward to come to the house for dinner tonight."

I looked over at Edward with wide eyes.

"Esme, they don't want to hang out with us. They just started dating; they're in the lovey dovey stage. Give them a break."

Her eyes narrowed. She did not like being told no.

"Mother, I told you that Isabelle and I have plans for the weekend. We aren't going to be in town. We will schedule dinner for another night."

An image of Esme Cullen as a teenager with narrowed eyes and arms crossed over her chest flashed and it took everything inside of me not to giggle.

Mr. Masen was smirking though, so I'm sure he knew exactly what I had seen.

"Esme, knock it off. Isabelle and Emmett will be in town next week. They can both come to the dinner interrogation you have planned. Now," Mr. Masen took my hand and led me toward the house. "Let's talk about what this contractor wants to do to my house. I heard a lot of nonsense about ripping and replacing."

Esme sulked behind us as Edward laughed.

"She's always gotten her way. Only child syndrome; I don't know how Carlisle deals with her."

"I heard that, old man. If you don't want to end up in a nursing home, you'll take that back."

"Yeah, yeah. Just put me in one with lots of hot grannies," he wiggled his eyebrows and I could no longer hold in my laughter.

The image of him with a lovely, familiar woman named Charlotte was filed away for another day.

a/n: Hi everyone! Hope your weekends are great so far. I hope you like this and that it made up for leaving you all hanging last week. :) Thank you for all of the lovely reviews. It makes me extremely happy that you are enjoying the story.

I've been reading a bit this week...I'd like to say I read a book - like an actual book that has real pages - but I can't. My iPad is my best friend. I've been reading Wake by Abria Mattina formerly known as Dead on my Feet by CescaMarie. I love reading published works by fanfic authors. I also bought a book (an e-book, of course) called Beautiful Bastard. I did not read this when it was a fanfic, but it is all over the place these days so I had to see what it was all about.