Good Morning (If you live on the east coast like me) and thanks for reading.

Location: Missouri Valley, Iowa

Prompt: Cottage

Edward and Bella made better time than expected on the next leg of their trip. After bypassing Omaha to the north, and stopping for dinner, they pulled off of Interstate 29 and made their way into the small town of Missouri Valley. The first place they laid eyes on was a small bed and breakfast and since they were both exhausted, it didn't take long for them to decide to stay. Of course, the moment they stepped inside, they regretted that decision.

"Welcome to Valley Cottages," the woman with salt & pepper hair announced as she stood behind the counter. Edward couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed a Jerry Springer rerun was playing on a small black and white TV beside him. "You lovely couple looking for a room?"

"What do you have available?" Bella questioned, hoping they had two bedrooms so that she could have a bit of privacy, which was something Bella had been lacking greatly since agreeing to travel with Edward. Usually if she hitched a ride from an older couple, they kept to themselves and only talked to Bella on occasion. If she got tired or annoyed with them, Bella simply said she had reached the end of the line and asked them to stop. She didn't have that luxury this time around though. Edward was going where she needed to go and he was really the perfect solution.

"Not much, honestly," she replied as Bella noticed her tag said her name was Madge. "We have a wedding in town tomorrow and most of the wedding guests are holed up here. I've got the honeymoon suite available, but you'll have to be out by 10 so we can get it cleaned up for the newlyweds." Madge pointed out the window at a dilapidated old cottage that sat a few hundred feet from the main building. "Honey and Joe don't need it till tomorrow night."

Lovely, Bella thought as she rolled her eyes. Edward talked to Madge a bit longer, as Bella stepped outside, and Madge admitted there was only one other hotel in the area and it was also full of guests. Rather than be stuck without a room, Edward handed over his credit card and their room was booked.

When he walked outside, he found Bella with her camera clutched in her hand, rapidly taking photos of the older home. Though he had seen her with her camera several times over the past few days, this was one of the first times he had seen her smile so brightly. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders, if only momentarily.

"It smells funny." Bella walked in the front door of the small cottage and quickly surveyed the surroundings as Edward dropped their bags by the sofa. "Like dead roses or something."

"It's potpourri. I guess some people still use it." Edward pointed to the little jars scattered throughout the room.

"Shit, there's only one bed," Bella called out from the back room as Edward plopped himself down on the lumpy and uncomfortable couch. He was about to offer to sleep there, but after sitting on the couch for a few seconds, there was no way he would be doing that. "And it's just a shower stall. There's no bathtub. I was hoping to soak for a bit. If this is the honeymoon suite, I hate to think of how shitty the other rooms are."

"Well, considering our current location, unless we want to drive into Omaha for something closer to luxury, we're shit out of luck." Edward grabbed his bag and took it into the bedroom. He opened it on the bed and quickly began sorting out clothes to wear for bed when Bella let out a huge huff of annoyance. He looked up to find her glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"You're not sleeping in here."

"Well I am not sleeping out there either. That couch is older than fuck and very uncomfortable. I'd rather sleep in my car."

"There ya go, great option. See ya later." Bella waved him off, but Edward stood his ground.

"Uh no… I paid for this 'honeymoon suite'," Edward declared with mock quotations as Bella cracked a slight smile. "So there is no way in hell I am sleeping outside in my car. If anything, you should take the couch."

"You're such a gentleman," Bella answered sarcastically before she stepped out to the living room to grab her oversized bag.

"Listen, I'm gonna go have a quick shower, when I get out, you better have a solution to our sleeping situation, otherwise we can share the bed, got me?" Bella nodded with a scowl on her face as she watched Edward head into the small bathroom.

The moment the door closed, Bella pulled her sleep clothes from her bag. The room was hot and stifling; with virtually no air circulation, but Bella's attempts at finding anything similar to an air conditioner were futile. She cracked open a window, hoping for some air and quickly stripped down to her pajamas. As she eyed up the bed, trying to figure out how to split their sleeping arrangements, Bella came up with what she thought was an ingenious idea.

Needless to say, when Edward came out of the bathroom, he was shocked to see Bella standing in the middle of the bed, hanging a sheet down the center of the bed on a clothesline she had fashioned out of some rope and extra linens.

"What in the fuck?"

"It's the best I could do." Edward gave Bella a look of bewilderment, but she just rolled her eyes again. "Listen, you refuse to sleep in the car or on the couch, so I had to make something work. I'm sure we can handle it for one night. After all, we are two mature adults, right?"

Forty-five minutes later, they were both lying in bed staring at the ceiling in the small dark room, unable to sleep. All the windows in the small cottage were wide open, but there was still no air moving around them to cool them off. Through the yellowed sheet, Edward heard Bella rustling about, kicking his shin in the process.

"Keep it down over there. It's like sleeping beside a damn toddler."

"I'm sorry the fact that I am melting is messing with your sleep patterns."

"Thanks for the apology," Edward replied with his tongue firmly in cheek as he heard a loud mumble and then the curtain between them was pushed to the side. Bella was lying there in just a t-shirt and panties and Edward's mouth may have fallen open as he eyed her up. It didn't help that she was beautiful when she was furious.

"I was being sarcastic and it's hard to get any decent sleep when it's 5 degrees shy of hell in here."

"And what do you expect me to do about that? Yes, this place sucks but this is what we get when we're in the middle of bum fuck nowhere," Edward replied, frustrated. "I could probably get some rest if you weren't tossing and turning so much."

"Fuck it," Bella cursed as she climbed out of bed and stalked over to the bathroom. "I'm gonna go have a shower."

For the next ten minutes, Edward laid in bed, hard as a rock as he pictured Bella naked in the shower. Even though he knew he shouldn't do it, he couldn't help himself. As he looked at the clock, he realized he didn't have nearly enough time to beat off. Regardless of her closed off nature and brash attitude, she was a beautiful girl with whom he had a lot in common.

When Bella finally came out of the bathroom, he pretended to be asleep, because what else could he do? He didn't want to make things awkward between them for the rest of their trip by telling her he was attracted to her, and she desperately needed to get back to Seattle. Edward refused to put her in that awkward position, so instead he simply rolled away from her, kicked the sheet from his body and did his best to fall asleep.

Thankfully for Bella, the air outside began to move and the room was finally beginning to cool down. Unfortunately for her though, she couldn't stop thinking about Edward.