BPOV

"Wait, wait!" I panted as I grabbed my hip. "I have a cramp."

Edward stopped when he realized I wasn't jogging beside him and jogged back to where I was. "Just run it off. Come on." I guess I should follow him, because he continued jogging and didn't look back.

I looked up at the sun before looking out at the river and the skyline. I was momentarily blinded and blinked away the glare of the sun. I caught up to Edward, out of breath and in dire need of a break. "Can we…stop?"

"No. Come on." He tapped my back with his fingers. "Stand up straight. And don't gulp in air. In through your nose, out through your mouth."

Geez. Richard Simmons over here. "Let's…slow…down."

"We're jogging. Any slower and we'd be walking."

How could he look this graceful while running? And how was it possible that he wasn't out of breath? We'd been jogging for thirty minutes already.

"Walking is good."

"No. We agreed to go jogging together."

"Remind me…again…why I came with you?" I wiped the sweat off my forehead and looked at the sheen of sweat on Edward's face. He glanced at me sideways as I looked down at his bare upper body. Shit. He looked good.

"Because exercise is good for you. You're in good enough shape to be pushed this far. And stop talking."

"I know, I know," I grumbled.

Your fourth grade gym teacher tells you that talking while running wastes energy, and your boyfriend makes sure you remember it for life.

Thank you, Lord and all that is holy. We were approaching a bench, and I decided it would be best if I sat down before I died.

Edward looked at me incredulously. "Bella! Come on. Just a little more."

"I want a donut."

He looked out into the distance before looking back at me, breathing heavily, hands on his hips. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, sweat dripping off his face. "Okay. Let's go." He extended his hand to help me up.

Yesss. A strawberry frosted donut was calling my name.

"Are they gonna let you in without a shirt?"

Edward shrugged. "Whatever. What are they gonna do, kick out a paying customer?" We walked toward Dunkin Donuts in silence for a few minutes before Edward let out a small laugh.

I squinted into the sun as I looked up at him. "What?"

"You're the only person I know that would work out so hard and then ruin the workout with junk food right after."

"It's a reward."

"Reward yourself with an apple."

"Um…no. An apple isn't a reward. You know what is a reward?"

"Sex?"

I shoved him playfully. "No! A donut." I wiped my hand on his shorts. "Ew."

"Ew? Ew?" He opened his eyes wide and pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me.

"Edward! Ew!" My cheek was pressed against his wet chest, and I tried to stand as still as possible to keep from spreading the sweat around my face. Ew, ew, ew.

He let me go and continued walking. He smiled at me as I walked with my arms out in front of me. "You don't complain about the sweat when I come back from the gym and you're in the mood."

I felt my cheeks flare. Must be the summer heat. "I'm not in the mood right now."

"Mmm…It seems like you are." He brushed my cheek with the tip of his index finger and laughed when the blush on my cheeks deepened. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Cutie pie. I love you."

I tried to breathe through the fluttering in my stomach. "I love you, too."

Fifteen minutes later, we were ordering four donuts, Edward's coffee and my iced tea. We ate and drank as we walked back home.

I bumped hips with Edward as I took a bite of my donut. "Are all four donuts for me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna eat all of these by yourself?"

"I could." And then I'd probably throw up on the sidewalk.

"Well, tough luck. We're splitting them."

"What happened to not eating junk food right after a workout?"

"Yeah, well, that's why we're together."

"Because we eat junk food at the wrong times?"

"Because we both know there's no such thing as a 'wrong time' to eat junk food."

I fed him a piece of donut and wiped the icing off the corner of his mouth as he chewed.

It took us a while to get home, and the air conditioned air of the lobby felt amazing against my skin once we walked into the building. Edward leaned against one of the mirrored walls of the elevator and stood up with a hiss.

"That's fucking cold…" he mumbled. He turned to look at the mirror as if it had done something to him, and I couldn't help but laugh. He looked at me through the mirror before turning back around. "What are you laughing at?"

He closed the short space between us and held my arms at my sides as he kissed me fully on the lips.

I got on my toes to prolong the kiss and pouted when he pulled away.

I followed him out of the elevator and collapsed on one of the overstuffed dark brown leather couches.

Edward plopped down next to me, and I sidled up to him. I rubbed his stomach when he shivered, though I don't think that did anything to warm him up.

His skin was warm as always, and a few shades darker than usual because of his summer tan.

He put an arm around me and rubbed my shoulder, making me hiss in pain. Crap. Sunburn.

He pulled his arm back and leaned forward to look at my shoulder. "Shit…" He looked up at me. "Does it hurt a lot?"

I looked at the pink skin and pressed a finger to it, digging it in before pulling my hand back with a gasp. "Yeah. When I do that."

"Then don't do that," he chuckled. "I'll be right back." He kissed my forehead before running upstairs.

Edward came back with a bottle of aloe vera lotion and squeezed some out onto my shoulder. He rubbed it in gently, and I lolled my head to the side to give him more space. He squeezed some more into his hand and rubbed it in.

He looked up at me when I let out a long sigh. "Feel good?"

"Yeah. Soothing."

"Good." He put some on the skin right behind my shoulder and got up to check at my other shoulder. "The other one looks fine but let's put a little bit on it just in case."

I watched his muscles ripple under his skin as he moved to my other side. Though the skin there was fine, he applied the lotion just as gently as he had before.

Every year, the same thing happened. I got burned while Edward's skin turned a golden color and the natural highlights in his hair became more prominent. If you didn't think Edward could any sexier, you were in for a treat when summer rolled around.

I just didn't think I'd get sunburn from jogging. Must be why people use special sport sunblock.

Edward stepped in front of me and dabbed some lotion onto my cheeks and nose before rubbing it in. "Does your skin sting?"

"Just my shoulder."

"Your face got burned, too." He smiled down at me. "Your freckles are starting to show."

"Ugh, no…" I brought my hands up to my cheeks, feeling the heated skin under the palms of my hands. Summer also meant freckles…which meant blotchy cheeks and nose.

"Oh, yes, yes, yes." Edward brought my hands down and laced our fingers together. "I love your freckles. Just when I think you can't get any cuter…"

He leaned down and kissed my forehead before slowly kissing down the side of my face, along my jaw, and finally my lips.

He nipped at my lower lip and I captured his lips in mine, trying to deepen the kiss and whimpering when he pulled away. "Lay down…" His hand was on the small of my back as he guided me down onto the couch and laid his body over mine. "Is your shoulder okay?"

I nodded slowly as he lowered his mouth and licked the outer shell of my ear. "Beautiful."

I felt my heart swell with affection. "I love you," I blurted out.

"God, baby, I love you, too. So much. Always."

He kissed my neck before biting the skin there. I couldn't contain the moan that escaped my lips as I wove my fingers in his hair.

Edward moaned into my mouth as he slipped a leg between my thighs and ground his hips into mine. The thin material of our shorts did little to work as barriers, and I felt a familiar spark in the pit of my stomach when I realized Edward might not be wearing any underwear.

I whimpered uncontrollably when I felt the head of his cock brush against my clit. "Edward…Edward!" I ground my hips against his, my hips moving on their own accord.

He moved a hand down between us and slipped it into my shorts. I looked into the pool of green in his eyes, the color that of a dark forest rather than an emerald. I looked down to see the light trail of hair leading to what I wanted most. The hair leading down to his cock had turned from light brown to completely blonde from the many times Edward had gone out shirtless in the sun.

My heart rate picked up instantly when Edward pressed a finger against my clit and rubbed small circles on top of the bundle of nerves. "Ungh…more! Edward, please…please!" I brought a hand down to the hem of his shorts, only to have him push my hands away.

"Patience is a virtue…"

"Fucking your girlfriend is a virtue!"

Edward's eyes opened in surprise and he slowly slid down my body, taking my shorts along with him. He tossed my shorts onto the ground and got settled between my legs, slowly lowering his mouth to nibble on the inside of one thigh, and then the other. I ground my hips down toward him and elicited a guttural moan.

"Baby, please…no teasing. Please, Edward."

He looked up when my voice cracked at the mention of his name. Okay, fine. Yes, I was about to fucking cry with the need I had for him.

He lowered his head and licked up my slit with the flat of his tongue. I saw black dots dancing in front of my eyes, and closed them tightly before letting out a series of moans.

My hands found their way into his hair, and I tugged hard, opening my eyes when he pulled back and let out a deep grunt. He looked up at me, his head pulled back and his mouth slacked open.

Fuck me if that wasn't the hottest sight.

He licked my juices off his lips and pulled his head out of my grasp. He lowered his head again, and I ground my hips own onto his face as he flicked the tip of his tongue back and forth over my clit. His hands crept up my body and under my shirt. They found their way under my sports bra and tweaked and rolled my nipples between his thumb and forefinger.

I arched my back and tugged at his hair, which drew out a series of moans from him. I felt the knot in my stomach ready to snap when he stopped.

Edward lifted his head and I pushed at his shoulders. "Go back…go back!"

He chuckled and licked his lips before trailing his lips along my jaw. "I wanna be inside you."

I nodded as my hands flew to his shorts and I pushed them down. He sat up, pushed them the rest of the way down, and tossed them on the floor.

I watched his cock bob around as he got settled, and I almost screamed in anticipation. He positioned himself at my entrance and looked up at me when I cradled his face in my palms.

"What's wrong?"

"I want you," I said quietly.

"Baby, you have me."

"No…" I shook my head. "In my mouth."

"Bells, I was disgusting and sweaty not thirty minutes ago. Trust me, you don't want to taste that."

"I was sweaty, too."

"Yes, but that made no difference. You still tasted like your delicious self."

He rubbed the tip of his cock along my slit, and we moaned in unison at the contact. I waited for him to enter me. And waited…and waited. I was going to explode with desire. I couldn't fucking take this anymore!

I grabbed Edward's hair and pulled him down to me. "Stop teasing…and fuck me."

"Oh, fuck…" He plunged into me, taking my hand out of his hair and bringing my hands up above my head.

A guttural sound made its way through my mouth, and my eyes all but rolled back in my head at the pleasure of being plowed into the couch by Edward.

"Is this what you wanted? Huh?" He was spearing in and out of me, and I looked down to see where we were joined. I whimpered at the sight, and forced myself not to look at his tan lines. I looked up at him, into his eyes, and fuck, that was a mistake as well. How did he still have this effect over me?

They're just eyes!

No, you fucking idiot. They're not just eyes.

"Answer me, Isabella," he said through clenched teeth.

Oh, shit… "Yes…yes!" I felt it. The clenching in my stomach. The knot was getting tighter and tighter. I couldn't – fucking hell! I turned my head to the side and whimpered into the couch cushion."I'm gonna come!"

"Oh, God…fuck! Bella! Bella!"

I felt Edward's cock swell inside me as he thrust in and out, his hips jerking sporadically. He let go of my hands and grabbed the arm rest, nuzzling my neck. "Baby…baby…" he panted against my skin. "Jesus Christ…fuck…milk my cock…" A guttural moan escaped his lips, and that did me in.

My inner walls clenched around him, and I grabbed at the hairs at the base of his neck. "Edward!"

I felt the knot in my stomach come undone and my hips jerked up as I rode out the waves of my orgasm.

Edward continued thrusting and whispered absolutely nothing and almost everything all at the same time in my ear.

"Shit…so wet…fuck, Bells!" he ground out through clenched teeth. He was panting harshly, and I couldn't help the impending heat I felt in the pit of my stomach. "Oh, God! You're so…fucking…tight. Tight…pink…fuck, I love your pussy." His eyes were shut tight and a series of grunts escaped his mouth. "Beautif–" His words got caught in his throat as he opened his mouth in a silent moan, looking pained. "I love…you. I love you. Always. I've always loved…we were – ungh! – we were nine…I loved you…Bella…" He whimpered before his body went completely still. I felt his cock twitch a couple of times inside of me before he emptied himself into my body.

I followed right after with another orgasm, trying my best to ignore the lump in my throat as Edward leaned down to kissed my forehead. "I love you so much, Bells."

"I love you, too." I ran my hands through his damp hair. My heart felt as if it was going to burst through my chest with emotion. I had so many things to ask. I didn't even know where to begin.

Edward pushed himself off me and sat back. "We need to take a shower."

"We need to talk."

"About?"

I had no idea how to word my question, so I just said the first thing that came to mind. "Edward…since we were nine? You've been in love with me since we were nine?"

He ran his hands over his face. "That slipped out."

"What you mean, that slipped out?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

"No. Now."

He stood up and picked our clothing up off the floor. "Let me at least take a shower first." He walked up the stairs slowly, and I followed behind, staring helplessly at Edward's perfect butt.

He turned his head as he continued walking up. "You're not gonna try to talk about this in the shower, are you?"

"No." Maybe.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." No.

We made our way into our bedroom and he turned around as soon as he got into the doorway of our bathroom. He leaned against the doorjamb and extended his arm, blocking the doorway. "No entry without a kiss."

He smirked that delicious smirk and my insides turned to goo as I leaned up to kiss him.

"And promise me you'll let me shower in peace. No mentioning what was brought up downstairs."

"I promise." Just get in the shower with me! I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bathroom, tested the shower's water, and got in.

For the majority of the shower, Edward leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around me as I leaned with my back against his chest. We stood in comfortable silence, the only sound the pitter-patter of the water hitting the floor.

We washed ourselves, got dressed, and went downstairs to the kitchen.

I sat the table with my head resting against my hand, following the pattern of the tablecloth with my eyes.

"You want a PB & J sandwich?"

I looked up at Edward before looking back down at the tablecloth. "Yeah, sure."

He made me one sandwich, and himself two. He put our plates on the table and I picked at the crust of my bread as he set down two glasses of apple juice.

I looked up at him. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I did. Last year. I told you I might have been in love with you before I even realized it."

"Might have been and I've loved you since I was nine are completely different things. Why didn't you tell me sooner? Like, I don't know, when we were ten?"

"I don't think I even knew what was going on back then. Even now, it feels weird to think about it. I mean, how could I be in love at the age of nine? I was too young to even know what love was. All I knew was that whenever I saw you or thought about you, I would get a weird feeling. I didn't know what the feeling was, but I liked it, and no one else ever gave me the same feeling. And then…I don't know. The older we got, the stronger the feeling got, and I tried to tell myself that it was just because I loved you – as my best friend, I mean – but obviously it was more than that."

He was talking to his plate, so I reached over and pulled his chin up. "Is the feeling deep in the pit of your stomach?"

He gave a small nod as he held my gaze. "Even now, I feel it. Sometimes it becomes so strong that I can hardly stand it."

"When we're making love."

"Yeah."

I sat back and smiled, because I felt it, too. I always felt it, even if I so much as thought about Edward. I felt it when we were younger as well, but I didn't think of it as being in love with him until this moment. I mean, who falls in love when they're nine?

The two of us, I guess.

"I love you."

He smiled at me. "I love you, too. Always." He cleared the table and placed a kiss to the top of my head before washing the dishes. I watched Edward as I thought about all the crap we'd been through throughout the years.

Please, God, watch over Edward. He believes in you, I know he does. He just needs someone to push him to believe at times. Please bless him with all that you can, and most importantly, don't lead him into temptation.

I hated thinking about him being pulled into drugs again, but I always had to keep praying. If I stopped praying, he might be tempted. I don't think I could go through all that again.

We didn't speak about that, though. I never brought up his past addiction, and neither did Edward. It had been a little over a year since he'd gone to rehab, and he'd talked about it enough after he got released.

He turned his head back to look at me. "Your phone is ringing."

I ran upstairs and grabbed my phone off my nightstand. 212-555-8370. "Hello?"

"Bells?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Jacob?"

"Yeah, it's me. What's up? How are you?"

I heard the smile in his voice, and tried not to grimace. "Good."

"I heard you moved into a place of your own."

"Yeah." Four months ago.

"That's good."

"Yeah."

"Are you busy?"

Uh-oh. "No."

"Do you wanna hang out?"

What the hell? I haven't seen this kid in God knows how long and he wants to hang out? "Yeah, sure." Smooth, Bella.

"I can pick you up in an hour. Is that okay? We can go get coffee."

"Yeah."

"Just text me your address."

"Okay."

"Great. See you in a little bit."

"Bye."

"Bye, Bells."

I hung up and stared at the phone. Crap. Shit. Fuck. Fuck!

I sent him the address, put some more lotion on my shoulder and face, changed into denim shorts and a tank top, grabbed my phone and some money, and made my way downstairs.

Edward was sitting on the couch playing Xbox, and Connor was lying down by his feet. Edward looked up before going back to his game. "Going somewhere?"

"In a little bit, yeah." I was frozen in place. I was scared shitless.

"Yeah? With Jacob?"

Shit! He'd heard. Maybe I could make him believe that I was going out with Alice.

Yeah, right. He'd see right through the lie. And even if he did believe me, I'd live the rest of my life in guilt.

I couldn't answer Edward. I just wanted to call Jacob back and tell him I couldn't hang out.

But I wanted to see him. I felt guilty for even thinking about seeing him, but I wanted to.

Edward put the game on pause and crooked a finger at me, silently telling me to go over to him. I walked slowly, because honestly, I wasn't in a hurry to get into an argument right now.

I stood between his legs, and he let his hands rest on my hips as he looked up at me.

"I don't want you hanging out with him," he said softly.

"I know."

"But you're still going."

"I…know."

"Please don't go, Bells."

I ran a hand through his hair. "I want to."

"But, why? I don't get it. He always messes up. He makes you mad. And you still go back…every single time."

I shrugged. "You mess up and make me mad. I mess up and make you mad. And we still go back to each other." He narrowed his eyes and dropped his hands. I immediately wanted to take back what I'd said. I didn't want to compare him to Jacob in any way. "I didn't mean it that way. What I have with you is nothing compared to what I've ever had with anyone."

He rested his forehead against my torso. "I don't like the way he looks at you."

"How does he look at me?"

"The same way I do." I laid my hands on the nape of his neck, playing with the small hairs there. "You're breaking my heart," he mumbled into my shirt.

"Don't say that."

He looked up at me through his lashes. "Is he picking you up?"

"Yeah."

"Will you be back in time for dinner? I'm gonna make you something yummy."

I let out a small laugh. "Yeah. We're just gonna go get some coffee."

"Can we paint the guest room a mint green color next week?"

I laughed at the sudden change of topics. "Yeah. Why mint green?"

He sat back and shrugged before putting his hands back on my hips. "It's a neutral color for guests."

I raised a brow. I knew what he was getting at. "A neutral color for guests or a neutral color for a baby?"

He pulled me down on top of him and kissed my neck. "Either one. I like the baby idea more." He lifted my shirt a bit and kissed my belly, smiling at blush that spread across my cheeks before standing up and walking over to the kitchen. "Be careful with him today, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm serious, Bella." He took a beer out of the fridge and held it up. "Do you want one?"

"No, thanks." I sat on the couch and waited for him to sit next to me. I watched him play his game until Jacob arrived. Edward was on his feet when the bell rang, and I stood quickly to pull him back. "Let me answer it."

I opened the door slowly and smiled when I saw Jacob. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, black cargo shorts, and black flip-flops.

"Hey, Bells." He smiled, hands in his pockets.

"Hey!" I smiled back, and stiffened when I felt Edward's body against my back.

Edward held my arm and pulled me back into the house as he looked out at Jacob. "Give us a sec."

He shut the door and looked at me, eyes wide. "You like him," he said incredulously.

"Yeah."

"As more than a friend." It wasn't a question. He was sure of it.

I shook my head. "No."

"You let him call you Bells!"

"Shhh! Stop yelling. I told him not to call me that but he didn't listen."

His jaw clenched tight. "I'll make him listen."

I rolled my eyes, but really, I was afraid he might be serious. "So what if he calls me that?" Ashley called him nicknames I wasn't allowed to call him, and the only reason was because she didn't listen to him when he told her not to.

"What do you mean, so what? I'm the only one who calls you that." He dropped his voice. "Does he give you the feeling, too?"

I almost laughed at how ridiculous he was acting. "No. I told you, you're the only one who does."

"I was also the only one who called you Bells."

"Not true. My dad calls me Bells."

"He doesn't count."

"Ashley got to give you stupid nicknames when I wasn't allowed to!"

"Christ, is that what this is about? That was forever ago!"

I glared at him. "No it wasn't."

"He's trying to break us up!"

"People have been trying to break us up since the day we met."

"Whatever. Go have fun."

I opened the door only to have Edward push it closed. I look at him questioningly, my blood boiling. "What?"

He pinned me against the wall and kissed me softly. His tongue touched mine as he ran a hand through my hair, and everything was okay again. I didn't want to go out with Jacob anymore. I wanted to stay pinned against this wall and kiss Edward for the rest of the day. And then maybe we could go upstairs.

He pulled back and looked down at my lips before looking into my eyes. "Please don't kiss him. Please."

I nodded, not able to form words yet.

"I know you like him."

I nodded again, because yeah, maybe I did. That would explain why I wanted to see him.

He trailed a finger down the side of my cheek. "But please don't kiss him."

"I'm not going to, Edward. Maybe I'm attracted to him, but I'm in love with you. I come home to you every night, and I go to sleep next you."

He gave me a final kiss before I opened the door and stepped out. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Jacob smiled and walked behind me as we made our way into the elevator.

We got into his truck and made our way over to Starbucks.

He opened the car door for me when we got there, and held the Starbucks door open as well. Gentleman.

He raised a brow and smiled when he saw my shoulder. "Did you go to the beach? You're so red."

I laughed as we sat down with our drinks. "I went running with Edward this morning and got burned."

"Edward."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't start."

He let out a small laugh. "I didn't say anything. But let me tell you something."

"Tell me."

His features softened as he put his drink down. "I really like you, Bella. Like…a lot. A lot, a lot."

"Is that what you took me out for? To tell me that?"

"No. I just wanted to see you."

He just randomly wanted to see me after all this time?

"I'm sorry, and I'm flattered, but I don't like you like that."

"I think you do."

"You're wrong." Maybe not entirely, but I couldn't let him know that I had any feelings other than friendship. I couldn't handle this turning into anything more. Hell, I couldn't even handle a friendship with this kid.

"Bells, please…"

I shook my head. "Don't call me that."

"What?"

"Bells."

"Why not?"

Because I don't like the sound of it. "I already told you why."

"You didn't care earlier."

"I care now."

"Okay. Isabella?"

Definitely not! That was completely reserved for Edward when we were alone. And for my dad when he got mad at me. "No. Bella is fine."

He shrugged. "Okay."

We talked for a while about nothing in particular, and I took my phone out of my pocket when I got a text.

From: Edward

– Hey babe. I'm going out with Jas for a little while. Don't forget about dinner. –

EPOV

From: Bella

– K, I'll be home by 7:00. :) –

I put my phone back in my pocket and stared down at my drink with my hands resting against my cheeks.

Jasper looked over at me from his place at the stool next to mine. "Dude, she's not gonna kiss him."

I looked over at him. "How do you know?"

"Because someone who looks at you the way Bella does wouldn't even think about kissing anyone else."

"Do you think Alice would ever do it?"

"Kiss someone else?"

"Yeah."

"No."

I didn't think so either. She would never think of cheating on Jasper. She loved him too much, but maybe he didn't know that. "How do you know?"

"The same way I know Bella wouldn't cheat on you." He took a sip of his beer. "Also, I'd kill whoever kissed her."

I laughed and took a swig from my bottle. Maybe that's what I should've done to Jacob when I had the chance.

"So did you hide it well?"

I turned my gaze away from the bar's TV to Jasper. "Yeah." Jasper and I had gone to get it together last week.

"When are you gonna do it?"

"Next week, I think."

"What if Bella finds it before next week?"

Then I'd die. "She won't. It's in my closet. She doesn't go in there."

"Wish I could say the same for Alice. She goes through everything."

I laughed, because if there was anyone nosier than Bella, it was Alice. At least Bella let me have some privacy. "Don't tell Alice about it. You're still the only one that knows." Alice and Bella couldn't keep anything from each other if their lives depended on it.

"Trust me, I know. Once I told Alice I wanted to try something new with her, and the next day that annoying girl Jessica knew about it. And Alice doesn't even talk to Jessica."

"Try what?"

"Something new. It was a while ago."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Something in the bedroom. Doggy sex."

"Oh!" I covered my ears. "I don't wanna hear that shit about my sister. You could've stopped at 'something in the bedroom.'"

He shrugged. "You weren't getting it. Anyway, good luck next week."

"Thanks."

BPOV

"Oh, my God!" I cut Jacob off in the middle of his sentence.

"What?"

"What time is it?" I took my phone out. 10:10. "Oh, crap!"

"What's wrong?" He sat up.

"I was supposed to be home at 7:00!"

"Oh." He leaned back in his chair.

"You have to take me home. Right now, right now!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down, we're going."

We got in his car, and he drove off. "Faster!"

"What do you want me to do? You want to get home but you don't like speeding."

"Go!"

He pressed on the accelerator and his car flew off. I looked down, because I couldn't watch the road when he was zipping between cars.

We finally got to my building, and my stomach was in knots for the entire elevator ride. Why hadn't Edward called me to see why I was late?

When we got to my door, Jacob turned to me and put a hand on my arm. "Why the rush?"

"I was supposed to be home for dinner."

"So you missed dinner. Big deal."

"It is a big deal. Edward cooked tonight."

"So?"

And this is why I'm not with you, Jacob. You don't give a shit about the small things. The small things are what matter the most. "So I have to go." I pulled my arm back, but he held on. "Let go."

"Am I gonna see you again?"

"I don't think so. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not? Bella, please." He took a step closer and put his hand on my hip.

I pushed his hand off. "Don't touch me like that."

"I'm not even touching you inappropriately. It's just your hip."

"It's intimate."

"No, it's not." He put both hands on my hips.

"For me, it is." I shoved his hands off. "And I'm serious about not hanging out anymore. You want this friendship to turn into something more, but I don't. I don't think I even want to be your friend anymore."

"What? Why?"

"I just don't!" How many more times did I have to say it? Tonight showed me that I didn't like Jacob at all. Not even as a friend. I don't know what happened, but he's who I thought he was.

He put an arm around my waist and pulled me to him. "Stop!" I tried to push his arm off, to no avail.

The apartment door was yanked open and Jacob jumped away from me as we both turned our heads to see an enraged Edward.

"You." Edward pointed at me and grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me toward him. "Wait inside. We're gonna have a talk later."

He shut the door and I looked through the peephole, yelling through the door when Edward punched Jacob, knocking him to the ground. Edward turned to the door, looking straight at me. "Bella, go inside!"

I couldn't. I had to see this. I cupped a hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make another peep, and continued watching. If he didn't hear me, maybe he'd think I went upstairs.

Edward grabbed a handful of Jacob's hair and banged his head against the floor.

"Argh! Stop!"

"How many times does she have to tell you not to fucking touch her?" He grabbed Jacob's hair again, picked his head up off the ground, and punched him twice. I swear I heard a crack, which I think was Jacob's nose breaking. His scream blocked out the sound of the crack and his head fell with a thud when Edward let it go. "I was here before you came into the picture, and I'll be here when you're gone…which will be tonight. She's made it clear that she doesn't want to see you again."

Jacob lay their motionless. The bottom half of his face was completely covered in blood, and I stood there, dumbfounded. I wanted to go outside, but really, who the hell wanted to get yelled at by Edward? Not me.

I moved back as Edward opened the door.

"And you." He pointed at me accusingly. I walked backward into the living room and sat on the couch. "7:00? It's almost 11:00! I should've known better than to believe you. You were with him."

"Forget him! What the hell did you think you were doing out there? You can't just beat someone for no reason! You can't beat someone, period!"

"Yeah, well, I had my reasons." He moved into the kitchen and cleared the table.

My heart sank when I saw all the food and candles on the table. And then my heart shriveled up when I realized what Edward was wearing. I looked at the black slacks and light blue button-down shirt.

"You dressed up?"

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Edward, what if he tells the cops?" What if one of the neighbors calls the cops?

"He won't."

"He might."

"He won't." He dumped the glasses of wine in the sink and washed the glasses. "If he calls the cops, they'll investigate, take him down, and he'll be locked away for a while. A long while." He washed the silverware and I walked over to help him. "Come to think of it, that might not be such a bad idea." He swatted my hand away. "I'll do it. Go upstairs."

"How is that not a bad idea, Edward? They'll take you away if he presses charges! They'll take you away from me! I can't handle losing you again."

He pulled me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin. "Bells, I promise you he won't go to the police. Please, just go upstairs. I don't want to talk about this right now. I'm beyond mad right now, and I don't want to say something I'll regret."

I pulled back and went to the table to clean up the food. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize what time it was."

He turned to look at me. "Leave it. Go upstairs."

"Why?"

"Because."

"I don't want to go upstairs."

"Well, I don't want to fucking see you right now!" He glared at me with hard eyes.

"Fine." I dropped the piece of chicken back onto the plate and stomped up the stairs.

The tears fell as soon as my head hit my pillow, and I listened to the clatter downstairs as Edward put everything away. I didn't want him to be mad at me just because I was irresponsible.

I heard him speaking to someone and listened closer.

"No, I don't think she did…Yeah, I'm still planning on doing it next week…Yeah…Well, she told him not to touch her like five times…" I picked up the phone on the nightstand and listened. Jasper. I turned the phone off and continued listening to Edward. "Yeah…Yeah, that was her…" Oops. "He left…Alright, I'll talk to tomorrow. I can't even think straight right now. Yeah…No…Okay…Bye."

When he shut the kitchen lights off, the only lights in the house were the street lights shining through our bedroom window. I heard Edward walking up the stairs and closed my eyes, feigning sleep and willing myself to stop crying.

He closed the bedroom door and undressed before getting into bed.

I felt something cold on my shoulder and flinched, but kept my eyes closed. People can flinch while they're sleep, right?

Edward was holding an ice pack against my burn, and I almost sighed at the refreshing feel of the cold against my skin. He removed the ice pack and looked over my shoulder before wiping my tears away. He kissed my cheek lightly. "I love you."

He rubbed some lotion on my shoulder and used the remainder on my cheek and nose.

He put the bottle down on the nightstand and lay on his side, away from me. He was whispering something, and it was easy to pick up the prayer he was saying in the silent room.

"Please, God, bless my family and friends."

He turned to his side and put his arm around me before letting out a heavy sigh and turning onto his back again.

"Please, give us the strength to push through minor things like this. When I tell her that I'm not mad at her, please let her know for a fact that I'm not. Thank you so much for bringing her to me and thank you for bringing Jasper to Alice. Please let her know how much he loves her. And please, I'm begging you with everything I have…please, please, bless Bella. And even if we don't meet eye-to-eye on some things, please let us learn to listen, trust, and love each other through everything. Teach us how to meet eye-to-eye."

He turned toward me, wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him.

"Good night, love." He moved my hair to the side and kissed the nape of my neck.

For a while, it took a lot of effort to breathe through the ache in my chest and the lump in my throat, but I finally calmed down enough to drift off to sleep.

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