Disclaimer: I own everything but their names.

July 4, 2001 – Santa Cruz, California

"It was good seeing you," he said, looking over at Lisle. "Come on buddy, let's leave Bella alone."

He turned to leave and my heart sunk. I wanted to stop him so badly that my mouth blurted out the words before my brain could stop it. "You don't have to go!"


Edward stopped and licked his lips, staring out at the water before shifting his gaze back to me.

"Really?" he asked, adjusting Lisle on his hip.

I nodded, even though on the inside, I was freaking the hell out. What did I just do? Why didn't you just let him walk away, Bella?

With his free hand, he ran his fingers through his hair and looked contemplative. "Actually we were— we were about to head up into the village for dinner," he said.

"Oh, okay…" I said, deflated.

He tugged his hair. "Did… I mean, do you… want to join us?"

Um, yes. A million times yes!

I breathed in and out before answering him, afraid my voice would somehow betray my thoughts if I didn't. "Are you sure? I don't want to impose on your time with Lisle."

Before Edward could answer me, Lisle wiggled to be set free and Edward bent down to put him on his feet. He ran toward me, wrapping his arms around one of my legs as he looked up. "You come too!" he insisted.

I sighed and wondered if they knew how hard it was to refuse them. I couldn't seem to tell either one of them no.

"Okay," I told Lisle, squeezing his cheek. "But you're buying."

He giggled and rolled his eyes. "I gots no money, Bella."

"Well, then, it's a good thing you're cute."

Edward and Lisle played in the sand as I threw on my clothes and gathered my things. I tried my very best to hide how nervous I was, concentrating hard to keep the shake out of my hands. When I finished up, Lisle latched onto my hand and pulled me in the direction of their things so they could do the same.

After stopping quickly at Edward's Jeep to drop everything off, we ended up at this little pizza joint in town. It was busy and noisy, but cute. The tablecloths looked just how you'd expect them to look, all red and white checkerboards, and every table had a killer view of the ocean.

We were seated quicker than I expected. Edward settled Lisle into a booster seat and I hid my hands beneath the table, twisting my fingers together as I peered at the menu.

"Hey, Baby Boy, you want pepperoni?" Edward asked, pushing the kid's place-mat and crayons in Lisle's direction.

"Yup," Lisle answered, already digging into the cup of colors.

"Do you think Bella wants pepperoni on her pizza, too?"

With a bright green crayon in his hand, Lisle looked up at me, his face twisted in confusion. "Bella, you like 'roni?"

"Of course I do," I told him. "It just happens to be my favorite."

He beamed at me. "Mine too!"

Just then, the waiter greeted us and asked if we were ready to order. Edward looked over at me. "You don't mind sharing, do you?"

I shook my head. "Not at all."

After Edward had placed our order, he scooted closer to Lisle, grabbing his own – purple – crayon as he attempted to explain the puzzle on the back of the placemat.

"Each of these dots has a number." Edward pointed. "And when you connect them, it makes a picture." He put the crayon in Lisle's hand and wrapped his much larger one around it. "Like this. One… two… three…"

"Four!" Lisle shouted proudly.

"That's right!" Edward laughed, the smile on his face so genuine it made me fall just a little bit more.

I'd seen them together before, inside the shop, but here, now, Edward seemed freer. It was kind of amazing.

Lisle eventually told Edward to step off his placemat, making me giggle. Edward scowled at me and crossed his arms over his chest, all pouty faced and wow, it was clear where his child got it from.

Our pizza arrived, distracting all of us from anything but the gooey goodness of the delicious food. It was mostly quiet except for Lisle chattering on as he slowly covered himself, and much of the table, in pizza sauce.

Edward took a sip of his soda. "So, Jasper tells me you're headed to SC in the fall."

I wiped my mouth and nodded. "Yeah."

"Any idea what your major's gonna be?"

"Not a clue," I laughed. "All I know is, I want to travel… pretty much any job that can give me that, I'm in."

Edward's eyes seemed to darken as he took another bite of pizza. He finished chewing. "You're still young… you'll figure it out."

I looked down, hating the mention of my age.

"I hope so," I admitted. Needing a change of topic, I turned the tables. "What about you? Did you always plan to take over the shop?"

A crease formed between his eyebrows. "I guess." He shrugged. "I never really considered anything else."

"Did you go to school?"

He nodded. "I graduated right before Lisle was born. I have my business degree, which I guess worked out kind of perfect, considering."

I frowned. Edward had never spoken of his father's passing, and I wasn't sure if he would have been uncomfortable with me bringing it up. I decided to stay quiet.

"It must be hard, though... to not really have any choice about what you do with your life."

He was quiet for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Remember what I told you before? We always have choices; it's up to us what we do with them. I wouldn't have made the decision I did if I hadn't truly wanted it."

I nodded but elected to stay quiet. I hadn't meant to insult him for the decisions he'd made, but it felt like I had. We finished eating dinner quietly. The pizza was absolutely delicious, the company even better.

Even though things had grown a little tense at the end...

Once Edward managed to clean Lisle's face and hands, we got up to leave. Outside, the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon, blanketing the city in moonlight. I sighed quietly as we strolled back toward Edward's Jeep, hating that the night hadn't ended on a positive note.

I eyed my car, parked not too far away, and stuck my hands deep into my pockets. "Well, um, thank you for dinner."

Edward's eyes drifted to where mine lingered and he frowned. "Are you leaving?"

"I should probably get home…"

Lisle tugged at my hand. "Come watch works 'wid us!" he insisted.

I looked up at Edward, confused.

"Fireworks," he whispered. Something about the look on his face begged me to stay, but he didn't put it into words. He didn't need to.

Even though I knew I was doing exactly what I'd promised myself I wouldn't, I wanted to be with them. And it wasn't like I had anyone waiting for me at home.

"Okay," I agreed, smiling down at Lisle.

He cheered and wrapped his free arm around my leg. "I so essited!"

Edward laughed loudly as he opened the door of his Jeep and grabbed a thick blanket from the front seat.

After locking up his car, the three of us made our way onto the beach. Families were gathered around fires burning in the sand, and the smell of marshmallows hung in the air. We ended up finding a spot easily, and I helped Edward spread the blanket out so we could sit and wait for the show.

I danced at the edge of the blanket, waiting for Edward to make the first move. I wasn't sure where to sit, what to say, where to go. I was seriously reconsidering agreeing to join them.

Clearly not feeling any of the awkward, Lisle wasted no time spreading out on the blanket. Edward kicked his shoes off and did the same, stretching his long legs out in front of him and resting back on his hands.

A few seconds passed while I pulled myself together and then I followed suit, kicking my flip flops into the sand and taking a seat, probably a little further away than was necessary.

Almost immediately, Lisle nestled himself against Edward's leg and he seemed to be down for the count, snoring and everything. It was adorable, even if I was freaking out about how to act without him as a buffer.

"Some date he is," I said, laughing softly as Edward tugged the corner of our blanket up and over Lisle's legs.

Edward laughed, too. "He's had a big day," he whispered. "I'm sorry he guilted you into staying."

I shrugged and stared out at the water, rubbing my arms against the breeze of the ocean. "It's okay. This is nice."

"Here." Edward sat up and unzipped his hoodie before slipping it from his shoulders. He offered it to me.

I accepted it gratefully, wrapping the thick jacket around my body, relishing in the warmth of Edward that still lingered in its threads. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, soothed by his familiar oceany scent.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I hadn't planned on being out this long."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

There were so many things I wanted to say, but I still really didn't have any clue how to talk to him like a normal person. I wondered if it was the same for him. Was he just as nervous as I was… or secretly wondering how long it would be until I wasn't bothering him anymore?

That thought was depressing. With a shake of my head, I lay back and stared up at the sky. Edward shifted next to me, leaning back on his elbows.

"I had fun today," he said, tipping his head to the sky. "I know Lisle did, too. Thanks for humoring him."

I turned and admired his profile in the moonlight. "I had fun, too. He's really great." And so is his father…

He turned his eyes to mine, a smile held within. "He's a total handful, but I can't imagine life without him."

I knew Edward's time with Lisle was precious, and I imagined it was probably really difficult to have to spend so much time away from him.

"Is it hard?" I asked, curious.

"What?"

"I mean, is it difficult to be away from him so much?"

Edward was quiet for so long, I feared he wouldn't answer. He reclined fully next to me, lifting his hands to his hair and sliding his fingers through it.

"It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. There's not much I can do about it, though. Mak's a great mom, she just…" he stopped, and I heard him sigh. "You really don't want to hear this."

I scowled at the sky, tempted to scold him for assuming I didn't want to know more about him. Instead, I opted for a much more rational response.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to hear the answer."

He shook his head. "We were too young, that's all," he said, his voice so soft, filled with an underlying layer of unmistakable hurt over what must have been the deterioration of his relationship with Lisle's mom. I hated her for hurting him. "But I wouldn't change it, because without her, I wouldn't have him."

"I'm sorry," I said.

He laughed lightly. "What on earth are you apologizing for?"

"I don't know… I just hate knowing that things were shitty for you."

He rolled his body toward mine and I turned my head to look at him. "They're not shitty right now." My chest expanded with a heavy breath as I looked into eyes filled with honesty. He lifted one hand, as if to touch my arm, but pulled away, curling his fingers into a fist. "You're… kind of amazing, you know that?"

The way he stared, coupled with what he'd said, made my insides feel like liquid. I had no idea how to respond, how to act. I could only smile and shake my head like the smitten young girl I was.

Suddenly the sky exploded, inky black melting into reds, whites and blues. More than anything, I wished I could tell him he was amazing, too.

But I didn't think we meant it in the same way.

I really am sorry for leaving you guys hanging like that, but I do hope it was worth the wait. Thank you so much for reading, tweeting, alerting… just everything. I'm always convinced I have the best readers in the fandom, because I do.

Have you ever surfed before? Tried to surf? I'm very curious about this. Some of you have commented on my research for this story, and I have to be honest, I really didn't do much. I grew up in NorCal, and I was a fish my mom couldn't keep out of the water. It's been years since I've done it, but like riding a bicycle, you never forget.

Reviews are love, but you already know this.

Until tomorrow!

xx