I don't own Twilight or any of its' characters

BPOV

Chapter 27

'One More Cup of Coffee'

It felt like we had barely been home when the new semester started. I would be glad to see Danielle, Martina, and Dorie again, but dreaded the thought of schoolwork. Edward and I had one or two classes together, but now this semester the separation between us was going to be vast. He was starting more of his culinary classes, spending the majority of his time in the technical building, while I, on the other hand would be spending my days in the psych department. Our schedules were very different in that I had a lot of night classes and he had a lot of day classes. How ironic for the ex vampire to be spending his spring semester in the daylight, while I lurked around like some creature of the night during mine. Regardless, we somehow managed to fall into a routine fairly quickly, adapting easily to our new schedules.

A few weeks into the new semester, I had already been assigned a group project which was quickly becoming the bane of my existence. I had to meet with my group on one of the few week nights that I usually was at home with Edward and I was thoroughly annoyed. It was about seven o'clock when I pulled into the garage, I had accomplished little to nothing with my group that night and I had a stack of work due the next day that I was only halfway through. I was in rare form that night and I hoped that Edward was home to cheer me up. As I pulled into my parking spot, relief washed over me when I saw his car sitting there. I got out of 'my' SUV and was assaulted by noise, not noise but music, coming from overhead. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and unlocked the back door into the kitchen. The music immediately was louder when I stepped into the house, I felt like someone had just taken a pair of ear muffs off of me. The music I was hearing was forceful and bluesy, demanding attention and presence. I followed the sound down the hallway, into the living and upstairs, it was getting louder.

When I found the source of the music, I almost needed a cold shower. Edward, classic, piano playing, lullaby writing Edward was the source of the music. There he sat, on the edge of a low coffee table, holding a Les Paul that was plugged in to a huge amp, strumming away. He hadn't heard me come in; I stood in the doorway watching him, unnoticed. I cleared my throat loudly, so as not to startle him and he glanced up quickly as he continued to play. He threw me a quick smile as a greeting and looked back down at what he was doing. When he looked up again I mouthed the word "hot" at him with a grin, he gave me a confused look and I pointed at him and made a gesture like I was fanning myself. He understood my meaning that time and rolled his eyes at me, followed by a sexy wink. After that, our communication ended and he focused again on what he was doing.

I watched his expression, his hands and body language made it look like he was playing with ease, but his face told a different story. His brow furrowed pensively and his brilliant green eyes darted back and forth over the neck of the guitar, I saw his lips move ever so slightly as he went along creating an overall determined look about him. He stood up then as the solo became more complicated and faster. He was playing the White Stripes version of 'Stop Breaking Down', and the music coming from the guitar was menacing and staticky. Edward had on a baseball tee style shirt and I watched his bare forearms work along the guitar with hungry eyes. Every muscle tensed and pulsed as he moved his hands steadily and I practically had to hold the side of the doorway to avoid collapsing like some infatuated groupie. Edward had been handsome and nearly untouchable to me in his former life, but now he oozed with sex appeal and I was drawn to him even more than I was before if that was possible. The song came to an end and he grabbed the neck of the guitar and spun it in his hand playfully and set it down, grinning widely at me.

"Where did you come from?" I asked with my arms folded over my chest.

He let out an embarrassed laugh and responded with, "Chicago." He settled back into his chair, looking very pleased with himself.

"You know what I mean," I said sitting down beside him. "Where do you learn to do these things? Even as a human, you're good at everything. You're making me feel inadequate."

"You should never say such things about yourself." He said shaking his head. "Besides, life with me isn't a competition."

I looked over at him and noticed that he was wearing a gray and green knit cap with a bill on it. "What is that?" I asked pointing at his head.

"It's a hat."

"You look ridiculous in it." I giggled, clearly lying, actually he looked mouthwatering.

"No I don't, besides it gets cold in Alaska in February." He said defensively.

"Play something else." I requested with a smile.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, anything."

He looked thoughtful for a moment as he tried to come up with a song. Then he picked up the guitar and made a few adjustments on the amp and the frets and placed the leather strap around his neck. He positioned his hands and began to play, "You should know this one." He informed as he started.

I listened to the first few bars and though it sounded vaguely familiar, I couldn't recognize it. I furrowed my brow and listened as he played slowly and bit my lip in deep concentration. "I can't place it," I said.

"Yes you can, you know this song very well."

I listened more closely as he strummed and to my dismay, still could not recognize it. I shook my head in disagreement. "No, I don't."

"Do I have to sing it for you?"

I nodded my head in delight, and Edward immediately looked nervous and hesitant. He took a breath and played for another second or two, still looking anxious. Then, almost too softly that I couldn't hear, he sang the first verse. It only took me a second to figure out what he was playing then. "Your breath is sweet and weak, and your eyes are like two jewels in the sky, your back is straight, your hair is smooth on the pillow where you lie. But I don't sense affection, no gratitude, no love. Your loyalty is no to me but to the stars above. One more cup of coffee for the road, one more cup of coffee, before I go, to the valley below." He wouldn't look at me while he sang, he just stared ahead at the wall, dropping his eyes to the floor often, his hands strummed slowly. The first verse ended and he continued to play and looked over at me, "Now do you recognize it?"

Of course I did, it was off Desire, Charlie's most prized Bob Dylan album that I used to listen to all of the time. It was actually one of my favorite songs. I nodded slowly; stunned that he could play it. "Don't stop," I pleaded, urging him to sing the next verse.

"Bella, come on," He whined.

"Please?" I said pressing my hands together in a begging fashion.

He sighed deeply and started the next verse, this time, more loudly, like he was actually trying to make it sound pleasant. "Your daddy, he's an outlaw, and a wanderer by trade. He'll teach you how to pick and choose and how to throw the blade. He oversees his kingdom so no stranger does intrude, his voice it trembles as he calls out for another plate of food. One more cup of coffee for the road, one more cup of coffee fore' I go to the valley below."

Edward's singing voice was husky and low but incredibly mellow and soothing. Whereas he had seemed embarrassed and shy a minute ago he was now singing to me, observing my response me with a guarded look in his lovely eyes. The verse ended and my favorite part of the song was coming up next. It was the part of the song that talked about the subject's sister having premonitions and the subject sharing the same gift; it reminded me of Edward and Alice.

"Your turn," he smirked as he played.

"No, no way." I stuttered as a feeling of horror washed over me and my stomach knotted.

"Just one line please, the first sentence. I want to hear your voice," he pressed.

"Edward please…"

"One line, I'll do the rest, humor me…" he urged as he continued to play, it was getting closer now. The music of the third verse had started and neither one of us made a sound.

Then somehow, I managed to find a very small part of me that was brave enough, and I sang very tensely in a tiny voice, "Your sister sees the future, like your mama and yourself. You don't know how to read or write, there's no books upon your shelf."

"But your pleasure knows no limits…" he continued for me with a dark smile.

"And your voice is like a meadow lark," I sang to him, with more confidence as he watched me closely.

"Your heart is like the ocean, mysterious and dark." His face grew intense for a moment, and then we both sang together, "one more cup of coffee for the road, one more cup of coffee fore' I go, to the valley below." His strumming slowed as I watched him, completely mesmerized, and then he cautiously set down the guitar.

"Play something else." I encouraged almost immediately.

"No. I'm done; I just played two songs for you."

"Technically, I walked in on the first one, so really you only played me one." I said flashing my most persuasive pout.

"Edward has left the building." He said firmly as he shut off the amp. He removed his hat, tossed it aside and shook out his hair. "Why don't you play something for me?" he asked dropping his eyes toward the guitar.

"Because I don't know how to play," I said in a very obvious tone.

"Really?" Edward asked as he reached over and took a sip from a bottle of water he had sitting on the floor. I nodded at him. He paused for a moment as he twisted the cap back on and set it down. "That is a blasphemous lie and you know it." He said sternly as he crossed one of his legs over the other and folded his arms in his lap.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said standing up and pacing nervously.

He leaned forward, arms and legs still crossed and stared up at me, "Bella, I know you used to play guitar."

"No I didn't." I snapped quickly, "who told you that?"

"Charlie did," he said smirking. "You should never leave two men who have very little in common alone to wash dishes. Lots of information can get leaked."

"Ugh!" I growled, "I can't believe he told you about that."

"I don't see what the big deal is. Why would you keep a talent like that a secret, I certainly don't." He said smiling, the light shining off his perfect white teeth.

"I wasn't any good at it Edward. I gave it up after a year or two."

"You can learn a lot in a year or two, have you even tried since?"

"No."

"Did you enjoy it?" He asked innocently.

"Well, yes, when it wasn't frustrating me. Still, I think it was just a silly phase I was going through. I probably couldn't even hold a guitar at this point." I said shaking my head. It was true, I used to play at one time, but that was almost six years ago, and I never really thought I had gotten the hang of it, so out of frustration and despair, I quit. My guitar was still locked up tightly in its' case back at my mother's house in my closet somewhere never to be seen by the light of day again as far as I was concerned.

"Why don't you try?" He asked picking up his guitar and handing it to me.

"No, really I can't and besides, I used to play acoustic."

"Very well," he purred turning and striding over to the acoustic guitar hanging on the wall. "Try this then." He lifted it off its' mount and handed it to me.

"Please don't make me do this." I pleaded with fear in my eyes.

He put his hands up in front of him defensively, "I'm not going to make you do anything. I'm just suggesting," he said placing emphasis on the word 'suggesting' "that if you have any desire to play again, you should and that you can feel free to use this at your discretion. And if you ever want an audience, I would be more than happy to oblige. That's all." He said lightly, picking up the electric guitar, wiping it down and hanging it back up on the wall.

I held the acoustic in my hands, staring at the shininess of the wood and caressing the neck with my fingers. Maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought I was, maybe with a little practice I could even become good at the guitar. It could be something we do together maybe; Edward could probably give me a few good pointers at the very least. It's not like I had any hobbies to speak of that I took part in. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Edward's back was still turned to me as he fussed around with his carefully exhibited instruments hanging on the wall. I slipped the strap of the guitar over my head and sat down on the coffee table. I got into proper position and played a scale, it felt invigorating. Edward turned around casually and observed as I tested each note.

"Don't get any ideas." I muttered without looking up, "I just wanted to see if I could remember a scale."

"That's fine. I didn't say anything." He said patiently. "What did you used to play?"

"I only knew a few songs all the way through. Very typical ones too, like Black Crowes, I knew one by them, Oasis, I knew a lot of Oasis, because I used to really like them." I strummed the guitar lazily as I tried to remember my brief musical career back when I was thirteen. "Oh, I did do something really impressive once. I really loved the song 'slide away' off their first album, but it was electric, so I tried to teach myself how to play it 'unplugged' and came up with a pretty good rendition of it. I spent all day and all night trying to master it for weeks, until one day I finally did. Then I got so caught up in schoolwork and looking out for Renee that I kind of, lost interest."

By now I figured Edward would be bored out of his mind listening to me jabber on about a silly song by a group he didn't particularly care for. I was convinced that he had to be nodding off and I looked up to confirm my assumption. To my surprise, he looked like he was in fact, listening very carefully to everything I said. He seemed fascinated actually. He stood against the wall with one arm crossed and the other on his face consuming every word I said. "Show me." he said, once he knew I had finished my thought.

"No, no way. You probably don't even know the song, so you won't be able to determine if it's badly done or not."

"Sing some of the words." He said dreamily. "I won't laugh, I promise."

He was completely serious, not only did he want me to play an instrument I hadn't touched in six years, but to sing on top of that? Had he never met me before?

"Please Bella." That was it, that was all he had to say, those two words together and I would do anything he would ask of me.

It took me a moment or two to get my bearings, but once I had started, I couldn't believe how quickly the song was coming back to me. I decided in my mind that I would give him one verse and a chorus and that was it. Anything beyond that and I would truly die of embarrassment.

"Slide away, and give it all you got, might today, fell it from the top, I dream of you and all the things you say, I wonder where you are now. Hold me down, for all the world to see, I need you now, you knock me off my feet. I dream of you, and talk of growing old, but you said please don't. slide in baby, together we'll fly, I'll try begging but I don't know what you'll say to me.

Now that you're mine, we'll find a way, of chasing the sun, let me be the one, that shines with you, in the morning, we don't know what to do. We're two of a kind, we'll find a way, and do what we've done, oh, let me be the one that shines with you and we can slide away. Slide away. Slide away." I played for a few minutes more, but the singing definitely had to stop, even though I could hear my voice growing stronger and brimming with confidence with each note, I was still uncomfortable. I finished out the song and nearly dropped the guitar as if it had burnt me when it was over.

Edward still had his back to the wall with an intense look in his eyes, it was fiery and passionate. He silently stepped toward me and took my face in his hands and said quietly, "you underestimate yourself tremendously, Isabella Swan." He smiled seductively and leaned forward and kissed me longingly on the lips. "That was beautiful."

"Thanks." I said breathlessly.

"Thank you." He replied gratefully, kissing me softly on the head.

He lifted the strap off of my neck carefully and hung the guitar back up on the wall. He sat down beside me, grabbing up his hat and readjusting it back onto his head. "Now," he said, looking at me mischievously, "you have done something that I asked of you, now it's my turn to do something for you."

"Anything?" I chirped, quickly sliding into his lap.

"Within reason please." He added seriously, wrapping his arms loosely around my shoulders.

"Come on Edward, asking me to sing and play a guitar is reasonable to you?!" I growled.

"Those are perfectly innocent requests." He said smiling, "I don't see what the problem is." He leaned closer to me and brushed his lips against my jaw and whispered, "I'm sure what you want to request is far from innocent."

"Don't flatter yourself Mr. Cullen." I said sarcastically, trying to maintain my resolve.

I heard him smile and then kiss my neck softly, "what then, is it that you desire of me, my Bella?" He murmured sensually in my ear.

I shut my eyes and let the electricity that he was giving off course through my body and then said in a throaty tone, "I desire…"

"Yes?" he breathed.

"I want you…to…" he kissed my neck again in anticipation, "make…"

"hmmm?"

"me dinner." I smiled, satisfied.

He drew his face away from my neck and stared blankly at me. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said offhandedly, "Whatever you like."

"I like the thought of food." I said lightly.

He lifted me off his lap and settled me back down beside him, "Dinner it is." He stood up and sauntered toward the door and then paused, looking back at me. He held his hand out to me, "keep me company?" He asked hopefully.

"Piggyback?" I asked smiling brightly.

He smiled and nodded at me and I quickly got off the table and hopped onto his back and I felt his legs waiver slightly at the weight of me. He reached behind, grabbing my thighs and hoisted me up. "Let's go," he sighed, "you can be my sous chef."

"What are we having?" I asked as he walked down the stairs.

"What would you like?"

"Pasta." I replied.

"Sounds good to me."

I kissed the side of his neck and said sweetly in his ear, "I love you Edward."