Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight universe and characters. No infringement intended.

Chapter 19

BPOV

"I think that we might probably want to spend the night again, if that's all right with you?" I asked Edward, and he nodded and smiled.

"That's definitely all right. I can make some arrangements to stay at the same place if you'd like, my treat?" he offered generously.

Even though I wanted to protest about his spending money on me, I agreed. I understood his financial situation and he knew about mine. I knew that if the situation were reversed, I'd want to work things the same way.

"How about we see how fast you really are?" I challenged him.

He looked at me quizzically and I said, "It's a race to see who can be ready first. That includes phone calls, emails, and other arrangements being made before you get to the lobby."

"Oh fuck," Edward swore, but nodded, " Okay, but let's discuss a few things first."

"Sure."

"So, by the time we get there tonight, it will be kinda late; maybe around midnight. You don't want to go anywhere, do you?"

I shook my head.

"And tomorrow?"

"I doubt it. Edward, just pack what you want to pack. We can definitely go out for dinner tomorrow night, but again, I'm not that big on going anywhere that requires me to really dress up. I assume that making it back late tomorrow night is good with you?"

Edward shrugged, "Or we can get one of the morning ferries. We're not actually due into work until Monday at three. That will give us plenty of time to make it back without rushing. "

"Anything else to discuss?"

"Do you want to stay in the same suite?" he asked me, aiming for a tone of casualness that he just missed.

"I'd love to, unless you'd rather us have separate rooms this time." I sounded casual enough, but holding his gaze was difficult.

"I'd rather be with you," he admitted, looking me straight in the eyes.

"I'd rather be with you, too."

"All right then," he smiled challengingly. "Ok. Go!"

Just as I was about to bolt for the door, he pulled me close to him, and kissed me until we were both breathless again. He said with a tone of longing, "I'm still not done with you."

"Just wait," I assured him, and then ran for the door.

I couldn't hide my smile when Edward finally made it to the lobby, flushed, sweaty and decidedly annoyed that I was there first. He had a larger suitcase than me, and carried a backpack, his laptop, and a medium sized cooler that of which I could only begin to guess the contents.

I had a suitcase as well, that was battered and less than half the size of Edward's. My own backpack held a mini-laptop, some music, and a couple of packs of gum and some Twinkies for the road. It had taken me less than ten minutes to get ready, including returning a phone call to Charlie and leaving voicemail messages for both Rose, Alice and Esme. I closed the JG Ballard paperback that I had been reading, and stood up and walked with him out to the parking lot.

He was silent, and I was trying not to laugh. He opened the trunk and started loading our contents in, leaving the cooler to sit in the back seat.

"Whatcha got there?" I enquired, rolling my eyes as he opened the passenger door for me. He walked briskly to his side, and I popped the lock for him, opening the door for him from the inside. He rolled his eyes back at me and slid into his seat, taking his time at buckling his seatbelt and making sure his mirrors were adjusted correctly.

"Juice, pop, water, fruit, a couple of sandwiches, some chocolate, and a package of chips and some dip."

There's Twinkies in my bag," I teased as he started up the car.

"How do you manage dealing with me?" he asked, suddenly, once we hit the main road out of town. Before he spoke, I had been thinking random thoughts about him, and automatically, I could feel my face redden, even though his question had nothing directly to do with my thoughts.

"What do you mean?" I asked, hedging on an immediate response.

"My sisters… well… my whole family actually, have always teased me about being so anal. I get that. I know I need things to be a certain way for me to go about living," Edward began to explain, "Esme, Alice and Carlisle are as close to understanding that part about me because of they way they like order in their lives. I can tell, though, that you don't need that sort of system to get along. Now, the polar opposite to me in that regard is Emmett, though my habits annoy the hell out of both Rosalie and Jasper. Rose because she hates the idea that anything is more important that her way of doing things, and Emmett because he's a true fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of person. Jasper is just so laid back and casual that any attempt at preparation tires him out, generally."

I shrugged, "I have definite areas of order in my life. Work is the most obvious example, but I like consistency. I guess, maybe I admire the way you operate because you seem to have it all together. I'm not as organized as you are, and a perfect example of this is if your car were to break down right now, all I would have on me is a credit card with enough funds that might take care of a minor emergency. I have about 4 dollars worth of air time on my phone until payday, and I have a couple of Twinkies and two juice boxes. Personally, your way of life can get you further than mine, I think."

"You take more risks," he said, with a tone of admiration.

"That's both a negative and a positive," I pointed out.

"Bella? Honestly… in your past, would you go out with someone more… spur-of-the-moment than someone like me?" he asked.

I shrugged again, " Edward, I told you before, I never really dated, aside from Ren's father. I guess, I was, at the time, attracted to the type of guy that might have been considered rebellious and impetuous. Yet, I was a late bloomer. I wasn't much into the whole dating thing until my mid-twenties and then everything happened all at once. I quickly understood the meaning of responsibility and I'm drawn to people like you… you seem totally capable and put together. Yeah, you got some weird habits like your obsession about making sure everything is lined up correctly which blows my mind. Your organisational systems for all your collections is freaky… but kinda cute. I love the fact that you carry your own hand sanitizer around with you, too."

He grinned at me, shaking his head, "Tell me why you were blushing a few minutes ago."

"No," I said, shocked that he had noticed my expression.

"Were you thinking about me?"

"What's it to you?" I asked, sort of annoyed and sort of embarrassed that he was spot on.

"I'd like it if it was true," he admitted, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I might have been," I returned, grudgingly. From my sideways glance, I could see the corner of his mouth turn up.

"What were you thinking of?" he demanded.

"Nuh-uh," I protested, "I'm not going there, sorry. That's private."

"Oh come on," he said, "why not? I'm intrigued. Was it something sexy?"

I couldn't stop my laugh, but I answered anyway, "It might have been."

"Tell me," he said again, pleadingly.

"Fine. I guess I was considering what might have happened before if we had not have been interrupted."

Edward didn't say anything for a few moments, but I knew he was focused on my response, "I wish we hadn't been interrupted."

|Me, too," I said after a long pause.

"Do you think things are moving too fast?" he asked.

I shook my head, "I'm not used to… being close to people. To be honest, that's kind of why I moved out here. I wanted to start fresh and I didn't want any sort of relationships; be it friendships, relationships, or work companions. I thought I could move to a place far away from what I considered home, and be alone. I'd move to a place where I would not have to answer to anyone, or have to socialize with anyone, but when I got here, you and your family welcomed me. I know friendly people, but when I met all of you… I just felt this… connection."

"But aside from how I feel about your family, I feel something completely different with you. It scares me how much I feel… connected to you. I didn't count on this happening at all, but I don't think there's much I can do to stay away from you, Edward."

"Yes," he breathed. "I know what you mean. I wasn't expecting this either, and I can admit that I'm worried that something bad is going to happen now that things are getting good. Isn't that the way things work?"

"It is for me," I admitted.

"Yeah, me too."

"Are you worried about anything specifically?" I asked encouragingly.

"Only that Marcus has flown out her to somehow convince you to leave with him," he admitted, trying to sound light-hearted, but failing.

"Edward, the last thing you have to worry about is Marcus. He's my best friend from back home, and he's going to meet you and everyone else soon enough. He's got his own thing going on, and everyone is going to adore him, eventually."

I looked at him dead on, and I couldn't understand why he seemed worried, "We have never been in love, but there's this… click between the two of us. And maybe before I got to know you, I would have compared how I felt about you similarly, at first, but now…? It's not even the same thing at all," I told him, trying to make him understand. "I do love him, but like a brother."

"Does Marcus know you feel that way about him?" he asked.

I nodded.

"All right then. I feel relieved, I guess," Edward said.

"Edward, don't worry, please," I told him, "I am certain that you will like him, and once you see us together, you will know that there is nothing at all to be worried about."

He pulled me closer to him, and the only thing that I could think of doing to reassure him was to bring his lips to mine.

A/N Thanks for reading, responding, and the encouragement. Internet at home makes this a lot easier.