AN: Howdy everybody. Thanks to all of you who have read my story. You all are great and give me encouragement to continue.

Big thanks go out to Mac214 for being a great Beta.

Once again, I do not own Twilight; I just like playing with them!

Now without further ado I bring you the next installment of Second Chances Never Looked So Good

*Eifeltwr*

Previously…

Please let the pouty face work… please let the pouty face work!

"You, Beautiful, are a dangerous creature. I knew that I wouldn't be able to resist that pout of yours," he laughed while running his hands up and down my back. "Of course I will stay with you."

I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding. I stood up and held my hand out to his.

He linked our fingers, got up from the couch, and followed me up the stairs.

Second Chances Never Looked So Good ~ Chapter Three ~

My mind was reeling as I slowly led Edward up to my bedroom. What are you doing, Bella? Isn't it a little premature to have him spend the night? I tried to push the thoughts from my mind as I felt Edward give my fingers a reassuring squeeze.

"What you are thinking about?" Edward asked softly.

I stopped at the top of the stairs and turned toward him, my bottom lip taking up residence between my teeth. "Umm…"

Edward sighed. "Bella, I don't have to stay if you're uncomfortable," he said reassuringly.

My eyes flew open. "No, no, Edward. I want you to stay, really I do. It's just that…"

"It's just what?" he asked, concern visible in his eyes.

Bella, get yourself together! Just tell Edward what you're thinking. Stop being such a baby. Squaring my shoulders and standing up straight, I looked Edward in the eye and took in a deep cleansing breath. "I really want you to stay. I want to know what it's like to fall asleep and wake up in your arms. I just don't know if I'm ready for us to have… sex." The word sex came out barely above a whisper.

Edward chuckled and brought his hands up to cup my face. "I'm not ready for us to have sex either."

I released a breath I hadn't noticed I'd been holding. "Really?" I asked, his thumbs caressing my cheeks.

"I would never lie to you. I will, however, take you up on your offer."

"My offer?" My mind quickly tried to figure out to what he was referring.

"I also want to know what it's like to fall asleep and wake up with you in my arms. I have my bag out in the car; I can go grab my stuff. That is, if the offer is still good."

He is the perfect man… and he's all mine.

"The offers still on the table," I said, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. "Go grab you bag, hot stuff."

"Hot stuff, huh?" Edward joked, his face then becoming more serious.

"God, Bella, you are so beautiful. How did I ever get so lucky?"

I blushed, placing the palms of my hands against his chest. "I am the lucky one. Now, go grab your things so you can take me up on my offer."

Edward jogged down to the stairs; I turned and headed towards my room. I raced to my dresser, quickly debating what I wear. I grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a tank and pranced to my adjoining bathroom. I had changed and started my bedtime routine when I heard Edward calling my name.

"In here," I garbled while trying to brush my teeth at the same time. I poked my head out of the bathroom and saw Edward standing in my bedroom door. I motioned for him to enter and turned back to the sink to rinse my mouth.

Edward was sitting at the foot of my bed when I re-entered my room. I quietly took a seat beside him. "Whatcha doing?"

"Not much, just taking in my surroundings, and they are absolutely gorgeous."

"Me or my room?" I asked playfully.

"Your room."

I laughed, whacking him lightly in the chest with the back of my hand. "The bathroom is right over there. Feel free to do what you need to do. I'll be in here keeping the sheets warm."

"Sounds good, I'll be right back."

Once Edward closed the bathroom door, I stood and looked at my bed. Hmmm… what's a girl to do? I haven't shared a bed with a man in quite a while. I usually sleep in the middle and sprawl out in all directions. How's that going to work? I shrugged my shoulders at the thought and decided to climb into the middle of my bed. I will let Edward decide.

I had just crawled under the covers when the bathroom door opened. Out walked a slightly sheepish-looking Edward, wearing flannel pajama pants and nothing else. Fuck me sideways… my man is HOT! I giggled at my internal monologue.

"Are you going to stand there all night, Cullen, or are you going to join me?" I asked, patting the covers next to me.

"Oh, I plan on joining you. I have one question first."

"Yeah, what might that be?"

"You do know that you're hogging the whole bed, right?" He laughed.

I felt my face flush slightly. "Umm, I wasn't sure what side you preferred. I usually sleep in the middle. So, I thought I'd give you a choice. What kind of sleeper are you anyway? I'm a stomach sleeper. Just so you know, if you sleep on the right side, I will most likely be lying across you. If you sleep on the left side, you might get kicked, but mostly my back would be to you." I stopped as I realized how my verbal diarrhea had gotten away from me. Oh man, now he's going to think I'm a dork.

I chanced a look at Edward and saw a huge grin firmly planted on his face. "You are so cute. I think I like the idea of you lying across me, so I'm going to take the right side of the bed," he said, making his way across my room.

I scooted slightly to the left to give him more room. "Oh, no you don't," he laughed as he grabbed a hold of my wrist. "You said that you were going to be lying across me. You can't do that all the way on the other side of the bed."

"You do make a good point," I giggled. After he got himself settled, he opened his arms up to me. I snuggled under the covers and into him. My fingers ghosted across his chest, stopping when I felt a slight dusting of chest hair. Unable to resist, I slowly ran my fingers through it.

"Good night, my beautiful Bella," Edward whispered into my hair, his fingers running up and down my back.

"Good night," I leaned up slightly to give him a good night kiss.

I laid my head on Edward's chest and put one arm across him, while the other slowly massaged his scalp. My legs tangled with his, and for the first time in my life I felt complete.

He is my home. He is what my life has been missing. I sighed as Edward's fingers tangled in my hair. Surrounded by his scent and the gentle sound of his breathing, I drifted off to sleep.

E&B*~*~*~*~*~*E&B

I was jarred awake as the sound of Riot by Three Days Grace blared from my cell phone. "What the fuck?" I glanced at my alarm clock and saw that it was 4:30 am. I sighed groggily.

Reaching over Edward towards my nightstand to grab my cell, Edward's arm held me firmly to his chest as he started waking up. "Baby, what the hell?" he slurred.

"I'm sorry," Finally grabbing a hold of my phone. A quick glance at the screen told me it was work. Why in the hell are they calling so early?

"Hello. Yeah. What? Water main? Wow, umm, okay, so are we open tomorrow? Oh, okay. Well, have a good Thanksgiving. Bye."

"What's the matter?" Edward asked as I placed the cell back on my nightstand.

I looked down at his sleepy face and couldn't help the giddiness I felt bubbling up from inside me. Still leaning against his chest, I brought a hand up and ran my fingers along his cheek. "That was work. It seems that a water main broke and part of the building has flooded. So, I guess I get an extra long weekend." I smiled.

"Good, that means I get to spend even more time with you," Edward brought his head up off the pillow to place a kiss on my lips.

"Umm, I like the idea of that," I murmured. Our kiss went from sweet to passionate in a millisecond. I reluctantly pulled away a few minutes later, realizing I needed to fill my lungs with oxygen. Glancing down I found my whole body was, once again, lying on top of Edward. How do I keep getting myself in this position? I asked myself as I tried to scoot off of Edward.

"Don't go anywhere," Edward whispered as he grabbed my waist to keep me from moving. "I really like having you right where you are, so don't move a muscle."

I giggled as I buried my face into his chest. I could seriously get used to these sleeping arrangements.

"Don't be shy, Beautiful." One of his hands ran through my hair, while the other created soothing circles across my back. "Why don't you go back to sleep?" he murmured.

I nodded and placed a soft kiss on his chest as he tucked the blanket back around us.

E&B*~*~*~*~*~*E&B

I moaned in pleasure as his mouth latched onto my nipple. My back arched as my fingers clung to his hair with a vice grip. Closer, he needs to be closer. I continued to press my body into his as he hovered over me.

His mouth suddenly released me with an audible pop. I stared into an emotionless face. A face I couldn't seem to place.

"You aren't enough for me, Bella. You can't give me what I want and need." I laid there stunned. Not only by this unrecognizable face but that this seemed like déjà vu.

"What… what are you talking about? How am I not enough?" I pleaded.

"You can't give me what I need. I have found someone else; I've been fucking the both of you for months." An evil smirk crossed his face.

"I… I don't understand. How could you do something like this?" Deep, heavy sobs tearing from my chest.

"You aren't enough to satisfy my sexual desires. You will never be enough." He vanished.

The last phrase steamrolled through my mind, over and over. 'You will never be enough.'

"Bella… Bella, wake up."

I started awake and realized that my face was covered in tears. Edward's hands were cupping my cheeks.

"Hey, baby, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" His fingers swept along my cheeks to collect my fallen tears.

I looked into Edward's concerned face as I tried to calm myself. The last phrase of my dream replayed in my mind. You will never be enough. I burrowed my face into Edward's neck as the sobs continued to control my body.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here. I've got you," Edward whispered, as he soothingly rubbed my back.

I had calmed a short while later, the tears weren't completely gone, but at least I wasn't sobbing anymore. I leaned up on my elbows and wiped the tears away from my eyes.

I shyly glanced at Edward. "I'm sorry," I said in a barely audible voice.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Umm… it was a dream, well more than a dream really. It was my mind replaying something from my past. Part of my past I have tried to hide from. It's kind of heavy," I said. Not sure if I was ready to spill my guts to him about my past before I had a cup of coffee.

Edward studied my face; he leaned his head down and feathered my face with light kisses. "You don't have to tell me."

Maybe I should suggest food first. Give myself time to come up with a good explanation of my dream. I took a deep breath. "I want to tell you. How about we go down and make some breakfast first? We can spend the day around the house in our pajamas. I haven't had a day like that in forever."

"That sounds perfect," he said, quickly flipping us so he hovered over me. Twining his fingers with mine he rested them above my head.

"Hey," I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You might need to remove your body from mine so I can get up. I'm kinda stuck down here. Not that I mind, I love the feeling of you above me," I admitted, a hot blush ran across my face.

He chuckled, leaned down and gave me a chaste kiss before pulling himself off me. Our hands still clasped together, he tugged me out of bed. Edward groaned. "Damn it all to hell," he whispered.

I looked up at him, shocked. "What? What is it?" I asked. Did my boob pop out of my tank top? I quickly looked down and saw that my chest wasn't exposed.

He pulled me into a tight embrace and whispered into my neck, "You are so damn beautiful in the morning."

"You aren't so bad yourself." I blushed and pulled out of his arms. "I'm going to start the coffee and get some food going. What would you like to eat?"

"I'm not picky; whatever you want is fine by me."

I let out a sigh of relief. "That's good because I'm extremely picky. Make yourself at home."

I swiftly made my way down stairs, only having to grab hold of the banister once when I almost tripped over my own feet. I giggled; nothing was going to get me down today. Even with the dream fresh in my mind, I still couldn't get over my happiness of Edward and I officially dating.

I skipped to the stereo, pulled up my favorite classical playlist on my iPod, and set the volume low. I made my way to the kitchen, started a pot of coffee and pulled out the makings for blueberry muffins.

My hands were covered in flour when I felt Edward's presence behind me. I quickly peeked over my shoulder and saw him leaning against the island, watching me work. From the looks of it, he had taken a shower, his hair still damp. But true to my request, he was back in his pajamas.

"I hope you don't mind, but I used your shower," he said as he headed over to the coffee pot.

Fuck, Edward naked in my shower. Holy hell, Bella, focus on your muffins. My muffins or Edward's muffins? Holy fuck, I am screwed! I rolled my eyes at my insane thoughts, trying to recover quickly. I said, "No, I don't mind at all."

"What are you making," he asked, stepping behind me, his hands resting lightly on my hips.

"Umm, blue… blueberry muffins,"

"That sounds heavenly." He groaned into my neck.

I chuckled as I heard the faint sounds of Elvis. "I believe that's your daughter calling. Go spend some time talking with her; I'll get the muffins in the oven." I said, wiping my hands off on a towel.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Edward grinned as he dashed to the coffee table to answer his phone.

E&B*~*~*~*~*~*E&B

After we enjoyed a quiet breakfast, we snuggled on the couch, classical music playing softly in the background. My mind was still trying to determine how to tell Edward about my dream. Fuck, Bella. Just tell him and get it over with. If you want to be with him, you need to be honest about your past.

"Hey, Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm, remember this morning when you asked me about me dream?"

"I do."

"Well, I want to explain to you what it was about." I looked down at my lap.

"Bella, look at me, please." When I didn't, I felt Edward's hand lightly grab my chin and turn my face towards him. "You can tell me anything."

As if channeling an ad for Nike, I silently chanted, just do it… just do it! "Okay. About three years ago, I ran into Jacob Black - you remember him from school, right? He played the bass guitar in jazz band." Edward nodded, so I continued. "Well, I hadn't seen him since high school and ran into him at a restaurant in Port Angeles. Anyway, one thing led to another and shortly after thereafter we started dating." I felt Edward's body stiffen slightly, so I looked up at his face to try to decipher what he was thinking. No such luck.

"Please go on," Edward said calmly.

"We dated for about two years."

"Why did you break up?"

I looked down at my lap again. The thoughts of what Jacob had told me were humiliating. I tried to summon all of my courage to tell Edward what had happened.

"Hey," Edward said softly. His hand under my chin again, I looked up into his eyes. I felt myself starting to cry. I was still so embarrassed.

"Baby, please don't cry. You don't have to tell me until you are ready." His voice was laced with sadness, and his fingers danced across my cheeks, wiping away the tears.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to get my emotions under control. "No, I want to tell you, Edward. I'm just so embarrassed about what happened; it was my fault. I don't want you to think that I'm not good enough."

Edward pulled me into a tight hug, nuzzling my neck. "You will always and forever be good enough. Don't you get that, Bella? I have been harboring feelings for you for the better part of ten years. When I met you my first day of school, I knew you were the one for me."

I pulled out of his embrace and stared, opened mouthed at his confession. HOLY FUCK! Did he just say what I think he said?

"I was so dumb and incredible shy to do anything about it back in school. I'd decided that being your friend would have to be enough. After we graduated I knew I needed to get over my feelings for you, so I moved to Portland. I went to college, got my degree, and used an inheritance from my grandfather to buy my ranch. Through all of those years, you were still on my mind. One night I was at a bar and met Lauren. We dated for a few months; she found out she was pregnant. My whole world turned upside down. I didn't want to marry her. I didn't love her. Every time I thought about who I wanted to spend my future with, you were still the only person on my mind. So, I did the only thing I could do. I stayed active with Lauren's pregnancy and became a devoted father." He took a deep breath and continued. "My curiosity got the best of me and I searched and found you on Facebook. It took me a month before I was able to summon the courage to request you as a friend. You will never know how elated I am to be here with you now."

My mind slowly processed all he had told me. My mouth was still hanging open, so I snapped it closed. Oh my God… Oh my God… Oh my God… did Edward just admit that he's been in love with me for years? YEARS!

"Please, say something, Bella."

I stared into his pleading eyes and could see the love he had for me. He wasn't giving me some line; he was telling me the truth. Bella… come in, Bella. Say something. Don't just keep staring at him; he'll think you don't want him. And trust yourself… YOU WANT HIM. He declared himself, I need to do something!

My body moved quickly, swinging a leg over him and straddling his lap. I brought both hands up to cup his cheeks and kissed him with all the feelings and desires I had bottled up since high school. Edward moaned into my mouth as I pushed my tongue to meet his. I felt his arms wrap around me and pull me close. My body acting instinctively, I ground myself into his lap, eliciting groans from the both of us.

Tell him, Bella. He just confessed his soul. Explain the dream, he needs to know. Pulling away I rested my forehead against his as we tried to calm down our breathing. "Edward. I, umm… I'm scared," I admitted. I saw a flash of hurt run through the features, so I quickly added. "I'm not scared about what you just told me. I'm scared because I wasn't enough for Jacob, so how can I be enough for you?"

"Baby, what do you mean, you weren't enough?" His fingers lightly ran through my hair.

"He… he cheated on me. He met some girl about a year after we started dating. He went behind my back for months before I found out. He said that I didn't meet all of his needs, sexually, so he found it elsewhere." My body slumped against Edward in embarrassment.

"That jackass, I need to go kick his ass," Edward ranted as his hands balled into fists against my back.

I sighed. "No, you don't. My brother was living in town when it happened. He found Jacob a few nights later and broke his nose and jaw."

Edward started laughing. "Remind me to thank your brother. Assholes like Jacob give all guys bad names; he wanted the best of both worlds. Just because he's an ass doesn't mean that the rest of us are." I buried my face into the crook of his neck, my hands playing with his hair.

"So, that's what your dream was about?" Edward asked a few minutes later.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why I even dreamt about it. Maybe it's because I'm still embarrassed about why he left. It didn't boost my confidence any, that's for sure." I chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Edward. You shouldn't have to hear about me being with another guy. I honestly don't have any feelings for him, other than rage. I want you to believe that."

Edward studied my face for a moment; he brought his forehead to meet mine. "I believe you. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I want you to know I want you, every part of you. I want you to be a permanent fixture not only in my life, but my daughters, as well."

YEAH BABY! I sighed. "I can't think of anything that would make me happier. How would Lizzy-Bear - and Lauren, for that matter - feel about me being around?"

Edward smiled. "I love that you call her Lizzy-Bear."

"I'm being serious, Edward."

"I am too. Okay, I know that my daughter is going to love you. You don't have to worry about Lauren. She has her own life, and as long as I'm happy and being the best father I can be, she doesn't say anything." Can she really be that accepting of someone new in Edward's life?

"Besides, she already knows about you."

I looked up at him in shock. "What do you mean?"

"You might have been mentioned once or twice throughout the years. Lauren knew I was never in love with her. She told me once she could tell when I looked at her I was seeing someone else. As hard as that was to hear and actually admit to, it was the truth. I only saw you. No matter whom I was with or where I was. It was always you."

"Wow, Edward. I'm honestly speechless." Still straddling his lap, I sat back a little and gazed at his face. My eyes drifted lower, sweeping across his neck and chest, then down to our linked hands resting in between our bodies. I slowly brought his hand up to my lips and placed a sweet kiss.

He has, once again, bared his soul. Don't crush the hot man's hopes with your silence! "Damn, you're good, Cullen," I said grinning, as I leaned in to place a kiss on his lips. "Let's do this. Let's be together. We owe it to ourselves to see where this will lead."

Edward smiled brightly. "I know it's going to be hard since we live hours apart. But I can promise you I want you and nothing but you. I hope you can trust me with your heart. I guarantee I will take care of it better than my own."

My mind and body seemed to liquefy at his words. He wants to be with me. He wants my heart! "Only on one condition." He arched an eyebrow. "You can have my heart, but only if you promise I can have yours." I stated boldly.

Edward let out a sigh. "You have always had my heart, and you always will," he said, as he leaned in for a kiss.

AN: Hey all, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know if you have any ideas of where you would like this story to lead. I am always up for suggestions. Thanks and please take a moment to review. *Eifeltwr*