I turned the shower handle to the off position. The shower I'd been enjoying so leisurely cut off, and I sighed. I'd killed all the time I could: I was exfoliated, shaved, washed, shampooed and loofah'd - all thanks to Alice's shopping and careful product explanations, of course. The extra time led me to pull out the arsenal of bath products for the first time.

I'd enjoyed the leisurely shower time to think of Edward and my favorite time of day- or rather, night. When I got to spend time with him all to myself. Just as soon as Charlie went to sleep. Which should be soon now. I pulled back the shower curtain and stepped out into steamy the bathroom. I grabbed two towels; one wrapped around my body and one wound around my wet hair. Then I realized that I had left my clean underwear and pajamas in my bedroom.

I shook my head at myself. and headed down the hall to my room. I narrowly avoided an awkward encounter with Charlie, who was headed into his own room.

"Night Bells!" He called as he closed his door behind him without looking over his shoulder.

Perfect. I probably had about ten minutes before he was asleep and snoring. I walked into the safety of my own room, thankful I was spared that particular embarrassment with Charlie while in my towel. I flipped my head down to finish towel drying my hair and simultaneously closed the door with my foot. I was being particularly coordinated tonight. I tossed both towels onto the back of my desk chair and flipped my damp hair over my shoulder.

I froze in shock at the sight in front of me.

Edward stood wide-eyed in the middle of my bedroom. His body was half turned toward me and half toward the window, as if he didn't know which way he was going.

I barely contained a gasp at finding someone in my bedroom unexpectedly. I snatched up the towels and held them in front of me. We stared at each other for the length of one beat of my erratic heart. "What are you doing here?" I breathed. My heart was racing from the unexpected shock. I was also acutely aware that he had just seen me completely naked.

Edward remained frozen, staring at me. His eyes were as round as saucers and dark. I could see the conflicting emotions roll across his face. His hand twitched, the only movement on his unnaturally still body. In a movement almost too quick for me to see, he bolted out of my open window.

I gasped in surprise and stared at the open window. Had I imagined him standing there? No, the still open window was evidence enough. I flamed bright red with equal parts embarrassment and disappointment. I dressed and sat on the edge of my bed. I silently berated myself for forgetting my clothes and then for acting so alarmed at Edward's presence that he felt the need to jump out of my window. Yes, it was an awkward moment, but I could have made things easier if I'd just reacted calmly. I groaned to myself. He would take my surprised exclamation as an accusation. I still hadn't completely calmed when Edward returned about ten minutes later.

With my back to the window, I didn't know he was in the room until the mattress dipped next to me. The tingle along the left side of my skin were all that gave away his presence. Even though I knew he would be coming, I couldn't muster up the courage to look at him. Instead, I continued to twist my fingers in my lap. He finally cleared his throat. I knew it was an unnecessary action for him. It only increased my anxiety and I'm sure he could hear every beat of my heart to confirm it.

"I'm not sure of the right way to apologize for showing up in your room before you were prepared for a visitor. But I assure you, I wasn't trying to see you without your clothes on."

I flushed red instantly. "It's fine." I said. "I just wasn't expecting you so early."

"I had a surprise for you. But I would never intentionally try to see you naked - not that I don't want to - but that's not what I was trying..." He took a steadying breath. Another unnecessary action my mind noted with rising panic. "I can't even apologize coherently. I'm sorry. "

He was clearly flustered. I hadn't heard him this inarticulate, ever. And I was just getting redder and redder. I tried to breathe evenly to control my own embarrassment. I'm sure the extra blood flow wasn't helping him remain calm either.

"And I'm sorry I just jumped out your window like that. Without an explanation or anything. I'm afraid I showed my age a bit there. I was just so shocked to see you like that, and I didn't know what to do. Then my very Victorian upbringing came crashing back in on me all of a sudden and I jumped out your window like some vaudeville villain." He laughed once, humorlessly.

I watched from the corner of my eye as he ran his hand through his unruly hair. I finally mustered up enough courage to look him in the eye - I had to let him off the hook, even if I was embarrassed.

"No, really. I'm the one that should be apologizing. I forgot my clothes in my room and I knew you were coming - I should have been more careful. I was just surprised is all. And I couldn't even tell you that it wasn't your fault before you had to leap out the window to get away from me. Really it's not your fault." My words stumbled into each other in my rush. Was I even making sense? A horrible thought dawned on me just then. What if he thought I had done it on purpose? Did he think it was all planned? "I'm so sorry I made you uncomfortable, I promise I didn't set this up on purpose! I know you didn't want to see me naked and it's all my fault!"

If he didn't have super hearing, he might not have understood my desperate, high pitched, words. I snapped my mouth shut before I further embarrassed myself.

He laughed. The unexpected reaction deflated my panic, and I laughed with him.

"Oh , Bella. What a pair we are. Trust me - I definitely want to see you like that. It makes me 'uncomfortable' in a completely different way than you think." He gathered me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. He inhaled deeply. "I just don't trust my self control when it comes to you. You are simply too irresistible. It's getting harder and harder for me to want to wait until our wedding to show you how irresistible you really are."

His voice was soft, but intense. I took a steadying breath as he kissed the inside of my wrist.

"And I must insist on taking full responsibility for what happened. I shouldn't have come early and unannounced. I heard Charlie heading upstairs and I was just eager to see you."

"We're such a mess," I laughed.

"We have eternity to sort it out." He kissed up the inside of my arm. I thrilled over his casual mention of our future together. This would have been a huge argument just a few months ago.

He paused when he reached the inside of my elbow, hovering over my pulse point and then releasing my arm. I took the opportunity to remember to breathe. "Aren't you going to ask about my surprise?" he asked.

"You know I hate surprises."

"Hmm," he agreed. He swept my wet hair slowly from my neck and focusing his attentions there.

I tried to repress a small shiver, but I could feel his smile against my skin at my reaction.

"It's just as well, I suppose. Our emotions are running a bit high. Perhaps what I had in mind would put us dangerously close to the edge of this cliff we are so eager to jump off."

I could hear the teasing in his voice. He knew he was baiting me. Tempting me to ask him for the surprise. He continued to kiss and stroke my neck made coherent thought impossible. He paused. I opened my eyes to see a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Oh all right. I give. What surprise?"

"Alice seems to be in the mood for shopping, lately," he said.

"What? Why are we talking about Alice's shopping obsession?"

He chuckled and moved himself so he was sitting behind me on the bed, his long legs on either side of my hips, hanging over the edge of my bed. I snuggled in closer against his marble chest, happy with the closeness. He stroked my shoulders gently with his capable hands. I hope he didn't expect me to participate in any logical conversation because all this attention was making my brain fuzzy.

"Well, it seems we've both decided to take her up on her latest shopping obsession - your skin smells amazing. Very complimentary to your natural scent. And it's quite intense with your wet hair."

I blushed. Talking about how I smell always caught me off guard. His responded by inhaling deeply again. My heart started racing again.

"And I came here with something else Alice purchased." I followed the motion of his hand to look at the small assortment of bottles sitting on my desk. I hadn't noticed them before.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Massage lotion."

"You're going to give me a massage?" An excited smile broke out across my face. This was the best surprise ever. I would have to remember to thank Alice for her thoughtfulness. This was the type of surprise I could happily accept.

"Yes." He hesitated. "Well, not tonight. I would like to try, but I'm thinking it would be wise to wait for another night."

"Hmmm," I tried to hide my disappointment.

"It's a nice change to see you actually excited about something I want to give you." His eyes twinkled with delight. "And, now you know why I feel like such a rascal. Showing up with massage lotion and catching you in your bath towel." He laughed. "A completely unintentional coincidence, I assure you. Although, I might have a word with Alice about that. She did remind me of her 'gift' and suggest I use it tonight."

He frowned with mock disapproval. I laughed out loud. The devious little pixie was always up to something. Looks like her plan backfired tonight, though.

"Maybe tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow," he agreed. "We'll try."

"That's all I'm asking for." I smiled at him, my heart filling with love for this man. Our relationship was complicated, to say the least. Our physical relationship was confusing. And still, with all of that, he was the best thing that had ever happened to me.