"The Notebook." I grimace flipping the cover to the back and reading it. I quickly grow bored of reading and just put the damn thing in. I sat on the couch and watched the first few previews of the movie before the home screen came on. I picked up the remote and pressed play before wiping the snot off of my nose. As soon as the title lingered on the screen there were five quick knocks at the door.

"Who is it?" I questioned, not moving an inch.

"Edward, now get up." He sighed with another knock. I wiped my nose once more and crossed my ankles.

"I'm not in the mood."

"Good thing I'm not trying to fuck you. Get the damn door, Bella." He said before knocking loudly again.

"Go away."

"I'll make your neighbors think poorly of you." He threatened weakly. I rolled my eyes and fast forwarded through the movie I had no interest in.

"Edward, go away." I yelled, pulling out a tissue and wiping at my eyes.

"I'm not joking." He said seriously.

"Oh yeah, I'm so worried about my neighbors opinion of me-" I rolled my eyes until his voice rose to a scream.

"Did you think I was never going to see the tests, Bella?!" My eyes widened as he continued on. "They call everyone you've been involved with!" I jumped up and over the back of the couch, tripping over my blanket on the way. "Gonorrhea, Bella? Really?! You couldn't have tried to get something classier? I mean-" I ripped the door open and yanked him in by the collar. My face lit up as I noticed my older neighbor Katrina staring at us in horror.

"Sor- eh, whatever." I sighed in her direction, I wasn't quite sure if Katrina could speak, after living here for years I'd never heard a word.

"Edward!" I sniffled shutting the door on the nosy woman. "Why couldn't you just leave me be?" I huffed locking my door. I turned and gasped when I saw he was much closer than I expected.

"Cause you need me, babe." He leaned down and wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing me to him tightly. I sighed and sniffled into his shoulder while simultaneously taking in that beautiful scent that was just him.

"Ugh." I said despite the immense comfort I felt in his arms. That is, until he lifted the back of my shirt and pressed something icy onto the skin there. I arched away from the object and pushed my body closer to his.

"I brought ice cream!" He laughed before dropping a kiss on my forehead and moving away from me. "So now you can sit-" He leaned down and scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder.

"Why…?" I moaned as he carried me across the apartment. I wasn't in the mood to be playful, or flirt… I just wanted to cry, or maybe get drunk.

That's a good idea…

"-And you can tell me who upset you and where they live, so I can get my bat." He said before falling back onto the couch and twisting me so I sat in his lap right before I face planted. I gasped at the near miss and clung to him for a second.

"Right now you're upsetting me." I frowned, scooting off of his lap and turning to lay just my head in his lap.

"I brought ice cream." He reminded me, holding a pint of mint chocolate chip over my face. I reached for my favorite ice cream and he moved it away. He held it just out of my reach and tapped his cheek with his pointer finger. I leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth so he'd give up the goods.

"I love you." I whispered, taking the ice cream and popping off the top.

"I know." He started to run his fingers through my hair before looking at the tv. "Is this The Notebook?" His eyes lit up as he watched the redhead chick smile onscreen.

"Yeah…" I huffed as I licked at the top of the ice cream, wiping my nose when I stuck my head in too far.

"You're kinda gross, babe." He laughed, shifting to the side and pulling out a plastic spoon. "You don't have to rough it."

"I'm preparing for the rest of my life." I whimpered dramatically, pushing away the spoon.

"What happened?" He asked, brushing my bang to the side before playing with my hair.

"I was laid off." I said softly, sticking my face into the carton.

"What?! Why?"

"They're downsizing. Nobody needs Language Arts teachers anymore. Just like they don't want art and gym teachers…" I groaned. "I'm the forty seven percent." I whined.

"Bella, what the hell are you talking about?" He chuckled and I shrugged.

"This sucks, why is everything changing so much?"

"Baby, you'll get another job-"

"I don't adjust well to change, Edward. We both know that." My face crumpled and I turned in to his stomach. "I just lost my job."

"Well, that just means it's a new start for you, Baby. The one you've been wanting." I looked up into those bright green eyes of his and he smiled.

I pouted and he tapped my lip. "I don't want change. I want a job…"

"Work for me." He shrugged.

"You're an architect." I said unnecessarily, he nodded. "What the hell am I going to do with a teaching degree working in architecture?"

"I don't know, but people work in other fields all the time. You can be my personal assistant. I'll pay you better than that shitty job did anyway. And we don't have to eat cafeteria food either." He reached out and trailed his fingers up my side making me giggle and squeal.

"Edward… I told you I want to make things work on my own." I said, writhing away from his fingers.

"Everyone needs help every once in a while, honey. We could even get you out of this shithole." He said pursing his lips as he looked around the room. I scowled up at him. The place was no Cullen Mansion, but it wasn't horrible. I worked for my own keep and I was doing okay.

"I don't need your handouts though-"

"It's not a handout." He rolled his eyes.

"It is."

"Look, you want to be normal, right?" He asked watching as I nodded slowly. "Normal people get off of their asses and tear fests, and go look for other work. They also understand good opportunities when they come."

"Or they turn into alcoholics."

"That too… But I think we both know you aren't much of a drinker." He swept his thumb over my forehead. "Normal people need help too, Bella. Spoiled, self righteous rich girls try and break off with no help; they just come crawling back though, baby."

"Good talk, bud. Why don't you punch me in the stomach and tell me my puppy was hit by a truck too?"

"I don't mean to offend you," He whispered his eyes glued to the television. "if you don't want the job you can at least dip into your trust so that you can keep this shithole running…"

"Stop calling my home a shit hole!" I huffed and he gave me a withering look. "It has running hot water, electricity, heat and AC just like your place."

"Yeah but my house his cold water too, electricity in all of the rooms. It's also equipped with a heater and Air conditioner that don't get confused as to when they should come on." I rolled my eyes, it wasn't that bad. Sure, the bathroom didn't run cold water, the electricity in my bedroom was a little shaky and sometimes my AC and heater had some technical difficulty, but I was fine where I was.

"It doesn't matter. I gave away half of my trust fund anyway." He gaped at me and I shrugged. "It was for starving children. I'd rather them have the money than me."

"Well, that's only half… you have- what two million left?"

I nodded, "But after I 'splurged on kids I didn't know'-" I used air quotes for my mother's words, "they banned me from all but one hundred a month until I'm married. They think a man will help me 'manage money better'. I don't even want their money..." I sighed, reaching up and grabbing his hand, linking our fingers and setting his hand on my stomach.

"It just upsets you that they don't trust you?" I nodded, not even shocked by his accurate surmise. After over two decades of knowing him, it was kind of expected.

"They suck." I said petulantly.

"It's okay, babe. You've always got me. I'm all you need." He said nonchalantly, still staring at the screen. I let my eyes trail over the underside of his jaw and down his neck in awe. It was kind of ridiculous that everything about him was so ridiculously attractive, especially after knowing him for so long.

"You can say that again." I sighed, turning so that I looked at the television too.

"I love this part." The characters were sitting in a boat as Ryan Gosling paddled. I sighed as I watched the shit movie. Of course this would be Edward's favorite movie; the boy was twelve different kinds of weird.

Speaking of…

"That's where it came from!" I said with a start as I sat up. "This is your movie. Take it back, I don't want that shit in my house ever again." I picked up the DVD remote and hit the eject button. The ghetto-ass player shot the disc across the room, it landed on the floor next to the couch, skidding under it.

"What the hell, babe?" He shot off of the couch to retrieve the disc and I lay back down in the spot he'd vacated.

"Sorry,"

"It's all good. It didn't scratch." I sat up again when he returned and he pulled me into his side, running his hand down my arm.

"Well, I think you should seriously consider working for me. You could be my naughty secretary." He winked and I sighed.

"Your dad would not approve of you handing out jobs willy nilly for his million dollar company."

"Billion, babe."

"That's even worse. Anyway…"

"Pop Cullen loves you, baby. Maybe if I offer you a job he'll back off on my proposing for a while." He chuckled and I did too, burying my face in his chest.

"Ugh… If I hear one more thing about marriage, I'm going to shoot you in the foot."

His voice rose an octave, "What? Why my foot?!"

"I need mine…" I explained like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Okay, no more marriage." He held out his pointer finger and I locked mine around it. It was something we'd came up with in middle school after deciding pinky swearing was too main stream.

"Let's just cuddle."

"And if it comes to pity sex…" He tilted his head to the side and I huffed.

"I'll junk punch you." I said lifting a fist. He caught my wrist with his opposite hand and pulled my arm around his waist so that I ended up smashed to him again.

"I kind of need my junk, sorry, babe. Caressing only." I rolled my eyes and he leaned his head against mine. "And I think we both know you're always allowed to give me a little lovin."

"I just lost my job and essentially almost every penny to my name and you need loving? If anything, I'm the one that needs loving." He nodded and gripped my outer thigh, pulling it until I straddled his waist. I sighed and he slid his hand behind me so that they rested dangerously low on my back.

"I can do that." He said seriously, his green eyes darkening as he looked up at me. He leaned forward and kissed my neck, much like he did in Tanya's driveway. I bit my lip and he gripped my hair, not hard enough to hurt me but just enough to tilt my head to the side. I ran my fingers through his hair as he laid a sensual open mouthed kiss on my skin.

"I don't need your pity sex…" Nor did I need his pity job offer, but at the rate we were going, I was subject to accept both.

"Okay, well I've got more than pity. I have a whole archive of different sex I can give you." He smiled playfully at me and I grinned back, tilting my head down to rest my forehead against his. "I love you, babe. Everything will be alright." He pecked my lips and hugged me to him. I pushed my face into his neck and took a deep breath.

"I hope so."

"Here, lay down." He pushed me backwards a bit, his hands still bracing my hips as he shuffled around on the small couch until we were both laying down, him behind me. He pulled me back against his chest and I let my eyes flutter shut, just relishing in the comfort being in his arms gave me. After about an hour of watching Allie and Noah flit about the screen in a whirlwind of romance and drama and blah, blah, blah… Anyway, the movie quickly coaxed me into a coma like state until Edward dropped a kiss on my head.

"I love you." He whispered, tightening his grip around me. I furrowed my eyebrows and patted his hand.

"I love you too, Edward." I whispered as his rhythmic breathing lulled me to sleep.

"I found out how... Uh..." I tried to pull myself out of the deep, suffocating sleep that was pulling me under.

"Bella?" My eyes drifted closed and his finger tip trailed up my side, leaving a tingling wake, until he'd reached the crook of my arm.

"I found out what happened." He whispered before tickling me. I would have shot off the couch, had he not been there, holding me to his chest.

"Edward," I huffed quickly growing impatient with his beating around the bush. "Just tell me." I had no fucking clue what he could have been talking about, and he was quickly losing me.

"She had my phone bugged." He blurted, I adjusted my head on the pillow and pulled the blanket up to my chin.

"Edward, I swear, if you don't just spit it out." I pushed my hips back into his, my eyes shooting open when I felt his hardness. I tried inconspicuously to move away but his hand splayed over my hip, keeping me in place.

"Tanya..." He breathed into my hair. I froze and my eyes widened.

"Um..." I gasped incredulously, I pushed his hand away and he kissed my shoulder. "You're horrible."

"Tanya had my phone bugged on prom night." I felt a little dumb for my reaction as he finished his sentence. "She was always had a little crazy side to her and she had me traced. But that's how she found us, see I told you I never told anyone." I skeptically melted back into him and he rubbed my hip.

"Traced?" I said, disbelief coloring my words.

"Her father's business is one of the largest spyware producers in the States." He shrugged.

"So?"

"So I'm sure somewhere along the way she learned how to bug a phone." He huffed.

"I thought it was like... Spyware for computers!" I gasped. "Like FBI people use Denali stuff?!" He chuckled at me, trailing a finger down my cheek.

"Yeah, but she'd traced my calls and talked to everyone I did."

"And how'd you find this out?" I asked turning in his arms to face him, our chests smashed between us.

"Lauren, she cracks under any kind of pressure." I lifted an eyebrow. "You don't want to know." He laughed, kissing my forehead.

"Edward... Did you pay her?"

"Not really..." We locked eyes and I held contact until he glanced away.

"Please don't tell me you let her take a ride on your disco stick." I shook his shoulder and her chuckled.

"I'm not much of a Lady Gaga fan, babe." He shook his head. "I gave her a little tip for helping me out." He shrugged.

"What kinda tip?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"The monetary kind."

"So you paid her."

"Yeah, basically." I smirked and rolled my eyes.

"Thanks, babe." I'm sure he knew I was talking about his finding out what happened, not his paying off Lauren. "It means a lot." I whispered, tapping his chin. He smiled and leaned down, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips.

"Anything for you, dearest."

I hope you all enjoyed!

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