Okay.

1. I know you guys are ready to kill me. I've gotten messages about how long it's been taking me to update. I'm so sorry. But now that final exams are complete, I have free time!

2. I completely forgot I mentioned that Bella's mother had died in the first chapter. So I put that in here.

Thank you guys so much for your reviews and support!

- JayBee

EPOV

"I'm fine."

When my mom turned to talk to everyone else, I thought Bella might stop.

Okay. Wishful thinking.

Would my stubborn Bella stop? Of course not.

She loved this. And if I was being honest with myself, in hindsight I loved it too. But I couldn't fucking take this right now.

I stayed silent the entire time, while everyone else – including Bella – was chatting up a storm. When the waiter came, I hoped Bella would stop long enough for me to compose
myself and give him my order. No luck. I pointed at any random entrée on the menu and hoped it was steak. I couldn't read anything right now. And I sure as hell didn't trust myself to speak.

As soon as the waiter left, I grabbed Bella's hand and shoved it into her lap.

"Excuse me." I pushed my wooden chair back and crouched a bit as I turned away from the table. I stood and immediately made my way toward the restroom, looking straight
ahead. I caught the eye of a stout middle-aged woman as she looked at my crotch, then up at me. I shot her a mean glare and luckily she looked away. I continued walking,
but oh, fuck. My boxer-briefs rubbed against my cock with each step I took.

I dashed into the restroom and turned into one of the stalls. I sat down on the toilet with my pants on and stared at the ground. I considered taking my pants off, just to ease the
pressure. But, no. I know I wouldn't be able to control myself. And I was not going to jerk off in the Peter Luger restroom. I looked up at the ceiling and briefly marveled at the beauty of the bathroom.

I looked back down and rested my forearms on my thighs as I began tracing the patterns on the white marble floor.

I heard someone leave and wondered if he was here when I'd walked in. I continued to concentrate on the floor, and felt relieved when my erection wilted after a few minutes.

My head snapped up when I heard the door open.

"Edward? The food is –"

Her voice cut off as I quickly stood up. I jerked the stall door open and stuck my head out. "Bella, this is the men's room."

She looked around the room before looking back at me. "Who cares?"

I stepped out of the stall and her eyes darted down to my crotch as her lips turned up into a small smile. "Took care of your problem?"

I took a few steps toward her and pressed her back against the wall, skimming my nose against her jaw as I spoke. "Why are you so evil?"

She laughed as I spoke, but it turned into a series of moans as I pulled up the front of her dress and my hand crept into the front of her panties.

She spoke through pants and whimpers, and I forced myself not to give in. "Edward…we're in a…we're in a public bathroom."

"Who cares?" I repeated her previous words.

Her brows knitted together and her eyes closed as I slowly continued rubbing the bundle of nerves between her folds.

"Edward…please…"

I stopped what I was doing and pulled my head back to look at her. "Please what?"

She opened her eyes. "Please…harder." She let out a huff of air. "Why did you stop?" She placed her hand over mine and began using my hand to rub herself. It took all of my
control not to just let her continue, but I pulled my hand out of her panties before she had a chance to keep going. I wasn't going to let her have her way.

She always did this to me. And besides, I was having too much fun to just give in.

I brought my fingers up to my mouth and licked them clean before speaking. "It'll be better if we wait, remember?" She scowled at what I said as I walked over to a sink and washed my hands.

She gestured toward the stalls. "But you didn't wait."

I smirked at her and saw her try to hide a smile. "I didn't do anything."

I walked back to her and laughed at the look on her face. "Babe, it was your idea. Not mine. Can we just stop this long enough for me to enjoy my birthday dinner with my family?" Her face
fell and my heart sank. I shouldn't have said that. It's not like she ruined the dinner.

She spoke in a small voice. "I'm sorry."

I kissed her cheek to let her know it was okay, before taking her hand and walking out of the bathroom. "Come on. Let's eat."

There was a man standing outside the door, a stern look on his face as he gave us the side-eye before walking into the bathroom. Bella buried her face in my shoulder and I bent my
head to kiss the top of her head. I didn't blame her for being embarrassed – especially at a place like this.

When we got back to the table, I was glad to see that I'd ordered steak. I didn't even remember telling the waiter I'd wanted it done medium.

I felt much more relaxed than before, and I was glad that I could enjoy my food without any…distractions.

Emmett leaned toward me and I looked at him as I cut a piece of the meat and put it in my mouth.

"So, uh…did you guys have fun in the bathroom?" He wiggled his eyebrows and I fought the urge to jab him with my fork.

"Shut up."

He sat back with a smirk on his face, and I shook my head slowly as I reached for my wine glass and brought it to my lips. My father reached for his as well, and held it up before
speaking. "Happy birthday, son." Everyone reached for their glasses and held them up, wishing me a happy birthday before taking a sip.

"Thank you."

I felt the tablecloth move a bit before Bella laced her fingers through mine under the table.

"So how does it feel to be an old fart?"

I turned to Alice with a raised brow. "I wouldn't be making fun. You're not too far behind." To be honest, I did feel old. And it sucked. Every year seemed to go by quicker than the
last, and I couldn't do anything to slow it down.

I looked at Bella as she let my hand go and squeezed my knee before leaning. "It's okay, baby. You're my old fart." She kissed my cheek before smiling at me, and I smiled back
instinctively.

I looked over at Jasper, who was sitting across the table. "So, Jasper. What do you do?"

He looked up from his plate, and I looked at the light green color of his eyes. I caught myself wondering if Bella found them to be nicer than my own eyes.

"Actually, I just graduated this past May. I started working at a law firm on Avenue of the Americas two months ago and I'm going to begin working toward getting my MBA
this coming September."

Wow.

I took a quick glance at Alice. She was staring at him with a big smile on her face. I looked back at Jasper, and reminded myself to be nice. This wasn't Brian.

He seemed really nice, and he didn't sound as if he was bragging at all. He was just answering my question.

"That's great. I work on Avenue of the Americas as well."

He gave me a small smile before speaking. "Yeah, Alice told me. At Rockefeller, right? For NBC?"

"Yeah. So are you an old fart, too?" I hope he has a sense of humor.

He turned to Alice with a raised brow and a smirk before laughing. "Yeah. I guess I am."

All three of us turned to my father as he spoke. "Alice, if being 23 makes them old, then what does that make your mother and me?"

Alice shrugged and held her hand out toward Bella. "I don't know. All I know is that Bella and I are still young."

Bella gave her a high-five across the table, and we turned toward Emmett as he spoke. "Ooh, ooh! So are we!" He gave Rosalie a high-five as she laughed.

I turned to Bella with a scowl on my face. "Bells, you're supposed to be on my side!"

"Sorry, but girls rule, boys drool."

"Fine. Bros before hoes." I held my fist out toward Jasper and he laughed as he pounded it.

"Edward." I turned to my mom and looked back down at my plate when I saw the scornful look on her face.

I muttered a "sorry" before turning toward Bella. "You made me get in trouble."

"Pfft. You did that to yourself."

I laughed as I cut my steak. She was right.

We spent the rest of our time talking and eating, and I realized that Jasper really was nothing like Brian, which let me relax a bit more about Alice.

He had graduated from Princeton University, and he was originally from Mississippi. I hadn't even noticed his southern accent until Bella asked him about it.

Everyone kept quiet on the ride back home. The only sounds were the occasional whispers between each couple.

I wrapped my arm around Bella's small frame and kissed the top of her head as she leaned into me. I looked out my window to watch the passing buildings and lights. The city
looked so peaceful when you weren't in the middle of it all.

I looked down at Bella as she let out a yawn. What little makeup she had on before was almost completely gone, and she looked exhausted. "Are you tired, love?"

"No."

She barely let me get out the word before she answered. I looked at her skeptically. "Okay." I wasn't going to argue about it in the car. I know she'd keep denying it.

She looked up at me. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm not tired, though."

"I know, baby. It's okay."

When we got home, we all went inside and sat around the living room table. Everyone had put their gifts on the table, and I cocked my head to the side when I saw them.

"Why do you guys do this?"

"Because we love you. Now shut up and open 'em."

I laughed at Emmett as I reached forward and took the first gift.

"That one is from us."

I smiled up at my parents as I unwrapped my gift. "Holy…yes! Thanks!" I set the box aside and got up to hug both of them.

"You're welcome. We hope you like it."

Like it? I fucking loved it! "Of course I like it! This is amazing!" They'd gotten me a MacBook Air, and I couldn't thank them enough. I wanted to wait until my desktop broke down and
I couldn't use it, but I was so glad I didn't have to use that old thing anymore.

I opened the rest of my presents, and loved every single one of them. Alice got me a GPS system and blue Rangers pajama pants, Jasper got me The Tipping Point, Outliers, and Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell, and Emmett and Rosalie got me a baseball signed by Mickey Mantle – fucking Mickey Mantle! I couldn't even imagine how much that must have cost them.

"We were gonna get you a signed Louisville Slugger, but it cost like $6,500."

Was Rosalie trying to apologize or something? "This is unbelievable! I'm gonna put this in a plastic case and no one's ever gonna touch or breathe on this thing."

I loved my gifts. And I loved my family.

After saying goodbye to Rosalie and Jasper, I sat back down, pulling Bella down on top of me. She let out another yawn as she leaned back against me.

"So you're not tired?"

"Nope." Another yawn.

"I don't know…you seem sleepy." Now I was just teasing her. I knew she wouldn't go to sleep.

"I'm not."

"I think you are. Come on. I'll take you home."

"No. I want to celebrate."

I couldn't hold in my laugh as I spoke. "But we just celebrated."

She turned her head and dropped her eyebrows as she looked at me. "Edward Cullen, you know what I mean."

"I'm not sure I do."

She turned around and straddled my waist as she rubbed my crotch with a flat palm. "I want to celebrate."

I let out an involuntary grunt as I pulled her hand away. "Okay, I asked for that."

"Please?"

"You're gonna kill me with that pout one day. But there's no need for it. I want to celebrate just as much as you do." I kissed right behind her ear before whispering, "You go on up
and I'll be there in a few minutes."

She beamed up at me, and I smiled back at her. "Do you want me to bring your presents up?"

"Please." I gave her a quick kiss before walking toward the kitchen. "Thank you."

I poked my head into the kitchen and was glad to see that Alice was the only one there. "Hey."

She looked up and smiled at me from her place at the table. "Hey. Happy birthday again."

"Thanks." I raised myself up onto the counter next to the fridge and watched Alice play with her cup of…whatever was in there. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"About…?"

"Jasper."

"Did he do something?"

"No. Everything's great. Perfect, actually."

"Good. I wanted to ask you, could you tell him I said thanks again? For the books, I mean. He didn't have to get me anything." I really didn't expect him to get me anything. Tonight
was the first time I'd ever even met the guy.

"Yeah, I'll tell him. And I told him not to get you anything, but he wanted to. He didn't ask me for help, though, so he was worried you wouldn't like them. He said they were amazing books."

"The books were a great gift. I already read The Tipping Point, and I loved it. I wanted to read the other two, so it was perfect." I didn't know if I should've started asking about him
yet, but I went for it anyway. "He seems really nice. Is he always like that?"

"You mean is he always nice? Yeah. And he doesn't even try. That's the best part. He's genuinely a nice guy. But we had a fight the other day. That kind of sucked."

They were already fighting? "About what?"

She let out a long sigh. "He never lets me pay for anything. Anything!"

I let out a laugh as I hopped off the counter. "Sounds familiar. That's not a fight. The only thing I'll tell you about that is that he likes doing it, so let him do it."

"Can I tell you something? But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Okay."

"I think he's the one."

I must have heard wrong. "Like the one, the one?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know already? You've only been together for…it hasn't even been a week yet."

"A girl always knows. Don't you want to be with Bella forever?"

Of course I did. "Yeah, but…I didn't know that a few days after I met her."

"You were 9, Edward."

"True. But it took years before I knew how I felt."

"Because you're not a girl."

I thought about it for a few seconds. Maybe she was right.

"Can I tell Bella?"

She waved a hand in the air. "Oh, I already told her."

"She didn't tell me."

"I told her not to tell anyone, including you."

Why? "Why?"

"Because I thought you'd kill me for wanting to get married so soon into a relationship. And then you'd go and kill whoever I wanted to marry."

I felt my eyes get wide and I took in a deep breath as I felt myself rage.

"Not now! I don't want to get married anytime soon."

I let out the breath in a big whoosh and told myself to calm down.

"Isn't Bella waiting for you upstairs?"

"Oh, shit. Yeah. Thanks."

I turned around and ran toward the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I walked through the dark hallway and opened my door. "I'm sorry, I –" Was I seeing things? I couldn't help the huge grin that was plastered on my face. "What are you doing?" I
walked in and closed the door behind me before locking it.

Bella's head whipped around to look at me, her cheeks red. "Nothing!"

"Were you just checking yourself out in the mirror? In my Rangers pajama pants?"

"No!" She shoved the pants down, and I took a few steps toward her, leaning down to pull the pants back up.

"Leave them on." She looked so hot in them. I kissed her stomach and stood back up.

"No way. I'm not wearing these." I held her hands in mine when she went to take them off again.

"Please. Keep them on. For me. It's my birthday."

She put her hands on my chest and pushed me back, onto the door. "Okay. I'll keep them on. But you can't tell anyone about this."

I wrapped my arms around her waist and smirked down at her. "No problem. So, did you convert?"

"Never. I just like the blue color."

"And the logo pattern all over the pants."

She narrowed her eyes. "Ew. No."

I would love it if I could just make her love the Rangers one of these days. There was no chance of that happening, though. She and I both knew that.

I leaned in slowly to kiss her, only to have her put her hands on my chest and push me away.

"Wait." She walked over to my desk and picked up a small wrapped box, handing it to me. "Happy birthday."

"I can't accept this, Bella."

"Why not?"

"No more gifts. Please."

"Just open it."

I unwrapped the gift slowly, and looked at her with a smile before taking of all the wrapping paper and opening the box. "Thank you, baby. I love it."

"Do you not like it?"

"What? No! I love it." How else could I say I loved it? It was a black G-Shock. My other watch broke months ago, and I never got around to buying a new one. "Thank you. I needed one.
This one's amazing." I took it out of the box and tossed the box on my bed before putting on the watch.

"You accept gifts from others without any fuss. I want you to have something you love."

I stared at the wall behind her as I spoke. "I already have something I love. Unconditionally."

She turned her head around and looked at the wall before walking toward me. "Your awards?"

I looked down at her and stroked her cheek. "You."

I cupped her face in my hands as I finally let my lips touch hers. I pulled back and let out a breath of relief. I had been waiting for this the entire day.

We kissed deeply for what seemed like an eternity before Bella slid down onto her knees. "Oh, God…"

I willed myself not to come as she unbuckled my belt and pulled my pants and boxer-briefs down, taking me in her hand.

"Bella…shit…" I was so grateful that she wasn't going slowly. I couldn't handle that right now. On every other upstroke, she swiped her thumb across the head, and my hips bucked
up involuntarily. She kept up her ministrations, never slowing down.

I almost yelled out in frustration when she pulled her hand away. The first beads of pre-cum formed at my tip, and I screamed out when her lips wrapped around the head.

"Baby, be quiet. Everyone's home."

I honestly didn't give a shit who was home right now. I let out a meek "okay" before I felt her swirl her tongue around the head of my cock and suckle gently. "Bella, no teasing
tonight." My voice was strained as I forced the words out.

She sucked harder, and I felt my knees buckle before regaining my composure. She grabbed my hands before pulling off again. "I want you to fuck my mouth."

My mouth dropped as I stared down at her. Fuck her…fuck her mouth. Okay. Yeah. Okay. "Fucking…fuck. Like that…just like that…"

She put my hands behind her head and waited for me to…fuck her mouth. As much as I loved it when she was in control, or even when I was in control, nothing was sexier than
when she let me have control.

I thrust my hips forward, slowly at first, then harder with each push. I tangled my hands in her hair as she put one hand on my hip, her thumb resting on the V-shape there. I noticed
that her curls were beginning to loosen, and I ran my hands through them as I watched her take in my length.

"Beautiful…so beautiful…" She was so stunning.

She brought her other hand down and I saw her put it in the pajama pants. "Fuck. Fuck! Are you…? Bells…what are you…?" I couldn't ask it. One, I could barely speak. Two, if I even
thought about it, I'd be done. I realized I wasn't even giving her a chance to answer, and it took all the strength I had to stop thrusting.

She pulled back and let go with a pop. I looked at the way her saliva had made my cock shine. I missed the warmth of her mouth, and stopped myself from telling her to just take
me back in her mouth. "Am I what?" My eyes darted to the moving form in the pajama pants. "Am I fingering myself?" Oh, God. Why was she talking in a seductive voice? She was
trying to kill me. "Yeah. I am. Why? Does it turn you on?"

All I could do was whimper and nod.

"Good. Because sucking your cock…" She opened up her palm and rubbed the head of my cock with it. "…turns me on."

"Oh God, baby…" Fuck…fingering herself…as she sucked me…with my wife beater and pants on. I don't know what I did to be so lucky, but this had to be the best birthday I'd ever had.

And the night's not even over yet.

She took me back into her mouth, and I let out a stream of grunts, moans, and profanities as she alternated between flicking the tip of her tongue against my frenulum and running
her tongue along the veins on my length. I continued to thrust in and out, and watched her hand as it move from the pajama pants to my sac. Feeling her juices on my skin did me
in. My thrusts turned into jerks, and I prayed to God she didn't gag. I couldn't control my movements.

I tapped her shoulder quickly. "Oh, God. Fuck. Shit! Unghhh…ah…get off, get off." She wouldn't budge! Did she not get my warning? I pushed at her shoulders and tried to pull
back. "Bella, get off! I'm gonna…"

She pulled back and looked up at me. "Come in my mouth, Edward." She held my cock and let the head rest against her tongue. I couldn't believe she was doing this.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit."

She let go of my cock as I brought a hand down to hold it, and I tapped it against her tongue a few times before finally releasing. "Fuck! I'm coming!"

I held still to make sure not to get any on her face. I watched as spurt after spurt shot into her mouth…and she took it like a fucking champ.

She licked me one final time before swallowing everything.

I slumped back against the door and fell to the floor slowly, coming eye-to-eye with Bella. I let out a long breath and looked at her with a smile. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me."

"I know you didn't like doing that."

"I didn't do it for myself. I did it for you."

"Thank you."

She laughed, and I laughed in response. "Don't thank me."

We both flinched when someone knocked on my door. "Bro, I'm glad you're having a happy birthday, but can you shut up for like three minutes so we can go to sleep?"

I looked at Bella with wide eyes and tried to hold in my laugh when I saw her blush.

After Emmett walked away, I sat on the floor for a few more minutes, my knees bent up, waiting to…recover.

I caught Bella looking between my legs, and quickly closed my knees and dropped my legs. I gave her a sheepish smile. "Don't look…"

She let out a small laugh. "Why not? You're my boyfriend. My other half. And it's not like it's something I haven't seen before. A penis and balls is a penis and balls."

I laughed at her choice of words. "Bella, that was more a 'penis and balls'. That was everything." Being spread eagle was different than just being naked.

"Good. I want to know everything. I know there are still things we don't know about each other, even if they aren't things like…that." She gestured toward my crotch and I
squirmed a bit. "Would you want me to feel shy and embarrassed when I'm with you?"

"No, of course not." I thought about it, a smile creeping over my features. "Well…I don't know. You're cute when you get shy."

She let out a small laugh. "Edward, please don't be embarrassed when you're with me."

"Says the girl who blushes for everything."

"That's involuntary!"

It felt silly to think that she had to remind me not to be embarrassed when I was with her. She was absolutely right, though. She was the sole person I could be completely
comfortable with.

I held Bella's hand and stood up, pulling her up with me. I held the backs of her thighs, pulling them up and around my waist as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I walked
us over to my bed, laying her down on her back as I hovered over her. The only light in the room was the dim glow of the moon. I couldn't help but stare as it gave a pale blue tint
to her skin. She was perfect.

I lowered my head to her neck and kissed it gingerly. "Beautiful…"

My hands crept under the hem of her shirt, rubbing her soft stomach as I crashed my lips onto hers. I tried forcing myself to slow down, to savor the moment, but there was no way
I could hide my need for her. I bit her bottom lip before running the tip of my tongue along the same line.

Bella let out a soft moan, and I knew I wouldn't be able to take much more. I grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it over her head, bunching it up into a ball and throwing it on
the floor. I couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds, wondering for the millionth time that night, how I'd gotten so lucky.

I kissed the swell of her breasts, speaking as between kisses as I moved down her body. "As much as I loved seeing you in that dress…and as much as I…love seeing you…in these
amazing, amazing pants…" She tugged lightly on my hair and I looked up at her with a smirk. "…I'd much rather prefer you…with nothing on."

She whimpered as I hooked my thumbs in her panties and pulled them down below her knees with the pants. She kicked them the rest of the way off and I pushed myself up to give
her a quick kiss on the lips. I traced over her tattoo with my fingertips, trailing kisses where my fingers had touched as I listened to the soft whimpers and sighs that left Bella's lips.

I realized she hadn't gotten her release before. I spread her legs farther apart before laying between them. I suppressed a groan when I saw her soaking wet center, and I realized that
I was fully hard again.

"Edward, don't. I want tonight to be about you."

I peered up at her. "This is as much for me as it is for you."

I lowered my head, lapping at her juices as I laid a hand on her stomach. Her breathing had picked up, and on impulse, I moaned every time she did. The sounds emanating from her mouth
were suddenly stifled, and I looked up quickly.

She had grabbed the pillow from under her head and covered her face with it.

"Don't. I want to hear you."

"Your parents –"

"It's okay." They were probably asleep by now anyway.

She put the pillow back under her head as I lowered my mouth to suck on her clit.

"Fuck! Fuck…more."

I growled when I heard her curse, and she moaned in response.

"I love your taste…"

She wove her hands in my hair as she began to writhe.

I alternated between licking her outer lips and sucking on her clit. She tugged on my hair, and my hips thrust against the mattress on their own accord.

"Edward…ughhh…baby…fuck…baby!"

She was close. I flicked my tongue vigorously against her clit, scraping my teeth against it lightly.

She held my head in place and pulled my hair as she climaxed. I moaned loudly as her juices flowed over my mouth, lapping up as much as I could.

I wiped my mouth on my arms, looking at Bella as she stared at me. An idea crossed my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything about it.

She'll find it repulsive.

Fuck it. Just ask her.

I raised my eyebrows, hoping I wouldn't make a fool of myself. "Do you want a taste?"

I thought I imagined the small nod of her head, but then she nodded more forcefully, and I felt my heart race.

I lunged onto her, attacking her lips once more. She moaned into my mouth, and I think I died and came back to life when I thought of the fact that she was tasting herself.

I pulled back and held her wrists in one hand, bringing her hands above her head. I looked up at our hands before looking down at her.

"Is this okay?" It broke my heart to think about the past right now, but I had to make sure she was fine with this.

I relaxed when she looked up at me with a small smile. "Yes. Don't worry." I rolled my hips, grinding my cock onto her stomach. I looked down to see that I was already
leaking, and grabbed my cock with my free hand. I positioned myself at her entrance, rubbing my tip up and down her slit.

I trailed kisses along her jaw, up to her ear, before nibbling on her earlobe. "Are you ready?"

She breathed out a shaky "yes," letting out a heavy sigh as I entered her slowly.

We made love for a while, slowly, as we kissed softly.

"Edward…" We were both panting hard, our words barely audible.

"Yeah…yeah…"

"Harder…fuck me…fuck me…"

"Jesus Christ…" I spoke through clenched teeth, drilling into her as I held her hips in a tight grip.

I focused in on my Bella, and nothing else existed. Nothing other than her.

I dropped my head into the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent as her hands went to the back of my head.

"I. Fucking. Love. Your. Pussy." I drove into her with fervor, emphasizing my words with each thrust.

"Edward!" I felt her clamp around my dick, and I brought a hand down to rub circles on her clit.

"God, Bella…I fucking love you…I love you."

"I love you, too. So…so much. I…fuckkk!…"

I continued thrusting into her as she clenched around me and came, whispering everything I felt for her in her ear. I stilled my movements as my cock twitched and I spilled
into her, a series of grunts leaving my mouth.

I pulled out and lay down next to Bella, hugging her to my chest.

"Happy birthday."

I pulled back to look at her. What an angel. "Thank you." I kissed her forehead before we got under the covers. We lay together for a while, not saying much.

"Edward, this was amazing."

"You're telling me."

She giggled as I poked her hip. "Do you feel okay?"

I played with her hair absentmindedly, running my hands trough her locks as I looked into her eyes. I suddenly wished I had turned on my lamp. "Yes. Why?"

She kept quiet, and I thought about her question. It finally dawned on me what she was asking.

"I'm fine, Bella. I've gone longer than a week without it before. If I can't handle it, I'll let you know."

She nodded, leaning forward to give me a quick kiss. "My dad's gonna kill you," she said with a small smile.

"Why?"

"I'm starting to spend more nights here than I do in my own home."

I pulled back, holding her shoulders and raising an eyebrow. "I didn't invite you to stay the night."

"Shut up!" She buried her face in my chest as I laughed and stroked her back. I was so grateful she didn't take everything seriously.

I reveled in the feel of her hot breath on my skin as she spoke. "I can't walk out of this room tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"We weren't exactly trying to keep quiet. Your family is gonna give me the side-eye and I'm gonna die of embarrassment."

"Bella, they know we have sex. And this definitely isn't the first time…or the tenth time…or the hundredth time –"

"Okay, I get it!" She laughed as she grabbed my hip.

"I'm just trying to say that I'm not gonna stop having crazy animal sex with my sexy girlfriend just because they can hear it. I know it's rude, but I'm just gonna be selfish
on this one." I smiled to myself when she didn't answer. I'd bet anyone a thousand dollars that she was blushing right now. "Or I'll just move out," I said with a shrug.

I felt a wetness on my skin and pulled Bella back to look down at my chest. It was too dark to see what it was, but I looked up at Bella as soon as I saw something glisten on my skin.

"What? What happened?" I felt frantic as I saw the streams falling down her cheeks.

"I miss my mom."

I felt like such a dick for being shocked.

But I was shocked. Not because she missed her mom, but because she mentioned her mom. Bella only mentioned her once after her death, and that was when we were thirteen. She
hadn't said much back then, and she didn't say much right now. Just like she did when we were thirteen, she just cried.

I stopped myself from probing any further into the issue. We would talk about this another time, when we were both thinking clearly and not ready to go to sleep. I would do my
best to comfort her for now.

I hugged her to me tighter and kissed the top of her head.

No, I couldn't take this. If she wanted to tell me about it now, I would listen.

I spoke in the softest voice I could manage. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head, and I pulled her back to wipe her cheeks. "Bella, it's okay. She loves you so much.
Think of how proud she is every time she looks down and sees how much you've grown." I didn't really believe in life after death, but Bella believe in those things way more than I did.

All she said was a simple "yeah" as she looked into my eyes and nodded.

I held her face in my hands and kissed her lips softly. "Okay?"

"Okay." She gave me a small smile, and I smiled back, feeling my heart break at her pain.

We would definitely talk about this.

She turned her back to me, pushing her back against my chest. I buried my face in her hair and we laid in silence for a few minutes.

I looked over her shoulder and saw my journals stacked on the top shelf of my closet. Bella had begun reading them last week, and it felt amazing that someone besides me knew
my thoughts. She'd get jealous whenever she read something about a girl, and it was adorable. Other than that, she didn't get mad at anything, and she didn't really question any of
my thoughts. That was the best part. To know that someone accepted my deepest thoughts without judging me, and to know that that someone was Bella.

Though I knew it wouldn't make her feel much better, I tried to lighten things up a bit. "So, now that you spent all this money on my gifts, how are you gonna pay for our date?"

She kept quiet, and I felt myself being to worry. "I was kidding, Bella."

"I'm thinking." I smiled at her as she stared at my watch and looked back up at me. "I'll rob a bank."

"What?"

"That's how I'll pay for our date. I'll rob a bank."

I could tell she was smiling, and I felt myself relax. "I don't think robbing a bank will be an easy task for us. And going to jail won't be too good for us, either."

"You mean you don't think it'll be good for me."

"No. Us. I'm not leaving your side."

She turned back around, curling into my chest. "Don't move."

"What?"

"Don't move out. I don't know what I'll do without you as my neighbor."

She was listening when I had said that?

"Let's find a place together. Move in with me."

I shut my mouth as soon as I heard what I'd said.

Ahhh! What is Edward saying?
(Okay. If Edward [or Rob] asked me to move out of my house and move in with him, my shit would be packed and in a U-Haul truck in a heartbeat.)

A little fact: There's actually a player in the NHL named Matt Cullen. And there used to be a John Cullen, but he retired. Matt Cullen did play for the Rangers as a free agent, but only for one season. And that was five years ago. Here's the back of Matt's jersey, just for a visual:

As always, please review!