A/N: Thanks to all the wonderful people who have reviewed or put this story on alerts.

Chapter 32:

Bella

You know what they say about wanting something so bad that when it actually happens, you remain in utter disbelief? That's what I was feeling as I rested my forehead against Edward's, my arms around his shoulders, anchoring him to me. He was still breathing hard, and to be honest, so was I. As he exhaled, I breathed in his scent – a mixture of liquorice, soap and man. It was surreal to see him lose control once in a while. I was getting a complex by being under the impression that I was the horny teenager in our relationship….or whatever it is that we have.

His moss green eyes burned into mine and I couldn't look away. They seemed to be silently conveying something to me. I didn't understand. I raised a hand hesitantly and brushed away the hair falling on his eyes. "What is it?" I whispered.

He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he turned his face and gazed unseeingly at the only window of the room. Darkness was setting in. I had no idea how long we had been inside the classroom. Time seems to fly when you are…otherwise occupied.

He took a step back and dropped his hands from my waist. Instinctively, I removed my hands and he straightened up. I ignored the sudden chillness I felt at the lost of contact. He rubbed his face with his hands and seemed exhausted all of a sudden. "I have decided to go see my mother," he said in a voice that was muffled by his hands.

I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding. That man could be so cryptic at times. The way he was building up the suspense, one would have thought he was confessing a murder or something.

I took in his appearance. His grey t-shirt stretched across his pectoral muscles as he raised his hands to run across his hair. The vulnerable expression he wore on his face made him look ten years younger. He impatiently tugged at the strands of his hair that was standing up on his head, looking impossibly even messier. With a jolt of pleasure, I realized I had been responsible for some of that mess.

I pushed myself off of the blackboard and took a step towards him. He was still facing away from me. I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and brought them down from his hair. "You'll go prematurely bald if you keep doing this," I murmured. I tried to remove my hands from his but he held onto me, finally dragging his eyes from the window to our entwined hands.

"You don't have anything to say about it?" he asked, his eyes still trained on our hands. With his little finger, he traced the lifelines on my palm.

I sighed as I thought about how to reply. The sensations he was creating on my palm weren't exactly helping me form any lucid thoughts but I still managed a reply. "This should be your decision, Edward. You should want to go see her. I am an outsider in this case and I don't want my opinions to affect any choice you make."

"No, I get that. Of course, I want to see her. It's just that, that day when you mentioned how lonely she must be in that house, until then that thought hadn't occurred to me. It had been on my mind that she was there all by herself but I didn't let myself ponder on that thought, you know? And now that you have pointed this out, I just can't seem to get it out of my head. I mean, all her life she had worked so hard for bringing me up as a good human being and this is how I repay her? By leaving her all alone?" He shook his head at what I thought was disgust for himself.

"And she has been successful, hasn't she? I mean, look at you?" I said gesturing at him with out joined hands and taking a step back. "You are intelligent, noble and you care about other people. I would say she had done a pretty good job at bringing you up."

He looked up and locked my eyes with his. "Of course you would find some way to make me look like the better person here," he said, smiling knowingly.

I sighed audibly, rolled my eyes and said, "Well, it's not my fault that you don't see yourself very clearly." I cleared my throat and said in a more serious tone, "You should never let anything come between you and your family. No reason is good enough for breaking ties with you family."

He picked up our linked hands and brushed his lips across the back of mine. I closed my eyes in contentment. "Thank you, for reminding me this," he whispered, sounding genuine. Then he cleared his throat, dropped our hands and said, "Are you ready to leave? It's getting pretty late."

I nodded and followed him as he stepped out of the classroom and into the empty hallway. A few lights were on and the hallway was dimly lit as it hasn't been long since the sun had descended for the day. As we walked, I noticed the walls were covered with drawings made undoubtedly by the kids themselves. The colourful illustrations hung on the walls made the otherwise gloomy atmosphere more real, more cheerful.

We walked side by side, maintaining a distance. He shoved his hands inside his pockets and was staring straight ahead. I kept praying that we didn't run into anyone we know. At the end of the hallway, though, we saw Emmett standing, with his hands on his hips and a knowing smirk on his face. Along with that smirk, he wore an apron that said 'Don't upset me. I'm running out of things to break.'

"Fancy running into you here, huh?" Emmett remarked, winking.

"Emmett, did you just wink at me?" Edward asked, sounding truly baffled. At his reaction, Emmett threw his head back and laughed out loud. I was afraid the booming noise would blow up the ceiling.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself there, Eddie. I was just greeting dear Bella here, right love?" he asked, shifting his attention towards me. I giggled at his ridiculousness and at his even sillier nickname for Edward.

"Hi, Emmett," I managed to choke out. Edward rolled his eyes.

He walked up with surprising grace considering the two hundred and ten pounds of him and wrapped his arms around me, lifting my feet off the ground. He twirled me in a circle like I was a little child in his arms. In that circular motion, I noted Edward standing stiffly, with an expression of pure annoyance etched on his lovely face.

I smacked his pillar-like arms, asking him to put me down. When he finally did, my head spun, making me dizzy.

"Good to see you again, Bella," Emmett said happily. Then, he took a step back and appraised us, his eyes moving from me to Edward like he was following a ball in a tennis match. Finally, when he was done evaluating our appearance, a slow smile spread across his face. I noted the dimples in his cheek that made him look like a little boy.

"Well, well. You two look like you've had some fun times in one of those empty classrooms," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and motioning towards the said classrooms.

I felt my face growing hot and I tried my best not to look at Edward to see what his reaction was like. Even though I couldn't see his face, I could tell from the corner of my eye that he had frozen in his place.

Emmett obviously noted our discomfort and waved a hand in dismissal. "Now, come on, you two. I was just having a little fun. I wasn't serious."

I didn't believe him since he had been so close to guessing what we indeed had been up to. However seeing his expression, I slowly exhaled in relief but Edward didn't lose the rigid posture. He crossed his arms on his chest and asked, "What's got you smiling like that, anyway?" I recognized the subtle way in which he was trying to steer conversation towards a different direction.

"Well, Eddie, because of that charming attitude of yours, or lack thereof, I'm going to share this with Bella only." And with that, he placed one large arm over my shoulder and steered me away from Edward's earshot. I threw a glance over my shoulder to see Edward eyeing us suspiciously.

Dropping his voice conspiratorially, Emmett said, "It worked. The 'playing hard to get' method you suggested totally worked! True, it took me three whole weeks, but I, my friend, can now proudly say that I have the good fortune of having Rosalie's phone number."

I beamed enthusiastically at this and said, "That's wonderful! Wait, did you just get hold of her number or did she personally give it to you herself?"

He smiled even wider at this, truly resembling a grown child. "I wouldn't be this happy if it wasn't the latter case."

This time, I smiled almost as wide as Emmett and said, "I am truly happy for you." I was surprised when I realized how much I meant that.

That's when Edward cleared his throat noisily and Emmett and I walked back towards him. Edward seemed to have gotten in sour mood. I finally wished Emmett a good night and followed Edward outside.

His bitter frame of mind seemed to linger even when we were both seated inside his Volvo. As soon as he started the ignition, I couldn't hold off my curiosity any longer. "Are you mad or upset?" I asked, eyeing him carefully, looking for any signs of uneasiness.

He sighed and gripped the steering wheel harder. "How come you were offering Emmett relationship advice?"

I was a bit irked at the way he asked me that. I snapped back harshly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He spared me a glance, probably perplexed by my reaction. Seeming a bit uncertain, he continued, "It just seemed strange that you, of all people would go on and advice someone on their love life."

This time, I was really angry. I was just thinking of something mean and hurtful to say back to him just to let him know just how much that comment had hurt me. Was my inexperience in this relationship business so obvious that it came as a shock to him to see me offering some advice to a friend?

As if he had just read my mind, Edward shifted slightly in his seat and asked in a timid voice, "Bella, since we've come this far and we've know each other for a few months now and have, um, kissed a couple of times, would it bother you if I asked you about your previous romantic relationships?"

My eyes grew wide at this and like a twelve-year old boy, had this irresistible urge to giggle at the way he had formed his question. Of course, the momentary impulse to find this situation humorous dissipated quickly as I thought about how to answer him. My 'previous romantic relationships', as he had put so wisely, included a kiss shared with a classmate at the age of nine and a date with my neighbour's son during my junior year in high school.

I told him this and he burst out laughing. At that moment, for some unknown reason I felt like all the previous tension from earlier had disappeared from his body. He visibly relaxed his posture for the first time since we had exited the classroom, stretched his endlessly long legs and sat back more comfortably.

"No, but seriously though, you can mention your ex-boyfriends now," he asked, sounding genuinely curious. I faced him squarely and continued staring at him until he turned to look at me.

"I did go out with this guy for a month during my first college year. His name was Aaron and he was my lab partner," I said, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable at bringing this up.

He continued driving like before except now he sat with his back ramrod straight and he subtly lost the relaxed posture again. I could feel he was holding his breath, like he was afraid of what I might say next.

"So what happened?" he asked, in barely a whisper. His voice sounded hoarse.

I fought against the inevitable lump that was constricting my throat. It was better to just get it out of my system once and for all.

"At the beginning, things were alright. Better than alright, actually. He was smart, funny and at times, kind too. However, the problem was that I was just too young and naïve. He could be so charming when he set his mind to it. He used to say all those things a girl wants to hear, you know? And, let's just say I was too stupid to see through his charade."

He suddenly took a sharp turn and the car protested making a screeching noise. Soon, he came to a sudden halt and I noticed that we were parked a few houses before mine. He turned his face and I was surprised to see a calm expression on his face.

"Please, Bella. Tell me he didn't harm you in any way," he asked, with a pleading look on his face now.

I sighed before replying. "No, don't worry. I'm probably making it sound a lot more serious than it actually was. It's nothing dramatic, no. It just turned out he was more interested in my friend and was kind of using me to get to her."

Edward swore under his breath but since we were sitting next to each other in his car, I heard him anyway. This sudden outburst was so unexpected that I stared at him for a long moment. His chest was heaving up and down like he was having trouble breathing. I also noticed that he still hadn't removed his hands from the steering wheel even though he had turned off the engine several minutes ago. Feeling my gaze on him, he turned his face and muttered a swift apology.

I rolled my eyes and tried to lighten up the situation. "Really, I'm glad things ended with him." I wouldn't have been able to sit here with you if it hadn't.

"Well, it was his loss if he didn't see the goodness in you," he said, recovering from his rigid posture again, for the second time that night.

I offered him a tight-lipped smile and didn't say anything. He ran his hands through his hair numerous times before settling them on his lap. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Can I ask you something else?" He wasn't looking at me but I still nodded.

"I might come off as a jerk for asking this, but, were you… I mean this guy and you, have you two….um, been intimate with each other?"

As soon as those words came out, he took in a sharp breath and shut his eyes, his face looking mortified. "Crap! That sounded worse out loud than it did in my head. Just forget it, Bella. It was a really inappropriate question to ask." He was still muttering incoherently as he turned his face towards the driver seat window.

"Come on. I've asked you so many personal questions. It's not a big deal," I replied as I waited for him to look at me. When he didn't, I continued.

"To answer your question, no. Nothing happened between us. We didn't even kiss," I said, focusing on my hands that were folded on my lap.

I looked up to find him watching me intently. Feeling self-conscious, I patted my hair and smoothed my now-rumpled skirt.

"Is there any chance that I was your first kiss?" he blurted out incredulously.

I kept my eyes trained on my lap as I felt my cheeks redden. Biting my lip, I decided to answer him back by saying something humorous. At least that would mask my nervousness.

I looked up and locked my gaze with his. "Emmett was right. You do have a habit of getting ahead of yourself. I just told you that I shared my first kiss when I was nine. His name was……wait," I paused, holding up a finger as I tried to recall the poor guy's name. "I know his name.."

He relaxed visibly and rested his head back on the head rest. He rolled his eyes and said "Sure you do."

"No," I said adamantly. "I do know his name. It was…yes! His name was Walter!" I beamed at him with a look of triumph on my face.

"Walter? He sounds like a grocery store owner," he said, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"Say what you want. But, he used to have a fancy box of crayons that he was kind enough to share with me. Oh and he also was a really good kisser," I remarked back playfully.

In reply, he leaned over the console and surprised me by slipping his fingers through the hair at my nape. Bringing my face closer to his, he said, "I bet he didn't kiss you like this."

And then he was pressing his lips against mine and butterflies were doing somersaults in my stomach. I smiled against his lips and pulled back slightly to whisper, "Where did you get that line from? Some bad Lifetime movie?"

He laughed good-naturedly and kissed me once more. This time it was slightly awkward. Our noses grazed and my head banged with his as we both were shaking with quiet laughter. Yet, it left me feeling woozy and more un-coordinated than usual as I stumbled out of his car.

-------------------------------------------x--------------------------------------------------

After dinner, I put on my camisole and shorts as it was a warm night and prepared to get into bed. After plumping up my pillows once, I slid between the sheets, turned on my bedside lamp and grabbed my battered copy of 'Jane Eyre'.

My phone chirped at that moment. Just as I finished reading Edward's text that wished me sweet dreams (to which my inner thirteen-year old girl squealed in delight), my mother walked in through the door.

I put away my phone and sat up straighter as I realized what Renee wanted to talk about. After Edward started coming in for breakfast before driving me to work, we really haven't had the opportunity to talk about it. Rather, I deliberately avoided every possible situation where Renee wanted to bring him up. This time, I had nowhere to run. I might as well have that conversation with her and be done with the awkwardness that is sure to entail with that.

She walked towards my bed, her stride full of purpose and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"Hey, mom. What's up?" I began cheerfully, hoping she'd ask me about work or my volunteer work at the orphanage.

"I wanted to talk to you about Edward."

Crap. No such luck.

I started taking a few breaths to calm myself. She didn't look mad. She didn't look like she was about to tell me I was making a huge mistake. But she didn't look like she was overflowing with happiness either. I dropped my eyes on my well-worn book cover.

"Bella. He seems like….well, he's not the kind of person I expected you to go for."

At this, I stopped pretending to pay attention to my book cover. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've always been more outgoing, louder and cheerful than your brother. So, for obvious reasons I always imagined you to find someone who was equally fun-loving and as boisterous as you are," she explained. Her voice was compassionate.

I waited and motioned for her to continue. "But Edward is so…..mature. He is thoughtful and very observant. Sometimes, he's very serious too. To see that you have sought out someone who actually is that way made me realize that you too have matured. I have been noticing some changes in you. They are subtle, but they're there," she concluded with a smile.

I placed my book on the nightstand and waited for her to say something else. When she didn't, I replied, "So, that's a good thing, right?" My voice sounded hesitant.

She smiled and scooted closer. Placing one hand on top of my head, she smoothed my hair and said, "Yes. That's a very good thing. I had this feeling that he has this strength in him that's acquired by people who have gone through traumatic experiences. Yet, in spite of his sombre personality, it seems like he could crack a joke or two when he's in the mood."

I remained silent as a slow grin threatened to spread across my face. Finally, I asked her, "So, you, uh, approve of him?"

In reply, Renee wrapped her arms around my shoulder and pulled me in hug. "Yes. Definitely."

My happiness was short-lived as she brought up another issue now that this one was over. "But you need to tell your father about him."

A/N: Fic recommendation for the day: 'A Cannabean Betrothal' and 'A Rough Start' both by ItzMegan73.

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