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not beta'd

storyline - beginning (one more chapter after this)

prompt - "out of sight, out of mind"

Bella woke up smiling.

Maybe she'd been dreaming about sweet things, or maybe it was that Edward was the first thing she'd thought about upon waking. Either way, she felt light and airy and just a little giddy about the night before.

The thought of it actually made Bella snuggle down in to her sheets, not wanting to deal with reality just yet… although, reality was looking pretty amazing at the moment.

She'd stayed late at Edward's the night before, watching TV, polishing off chocolate and, yeah – kissing. Lots of kissing.

She'd had no intention of crossing the line when she'd gone over there, and maybe Edward hadn't either. But there was something different about the mood, something more intimate. And not physically intimate either – emotionally.

Bella had never felt as close to Edward as she did now. Coupled with the physical attraction she'd always, always felt for him, she supposed that things had come to a head, almost like a point of no return. She could tell he felt it too, in the way he either looked at her too long or couldn't look her in the eye at all, like things were needy and innocent and awkward and carnal, all at the same time.

But he'd still asked, and she'd still accepted.

And accepted, and accepted.

Her phone vibrated from somewhere within the sheets.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

Bella's heart skipped a beat. "Hey… I was just thinking about you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I doubt that." He chuckled. "Out of sight, out of mind…"

"If that were true, you wouldn't be calling me right now," Bella reminded him.

"Okay, you got me."

"I did."

"You did."

Bella beamed at the absurdness of their banter. It had never been quite like this. There had been a time when he'd teased her, but it was usually leading somewhere, like another hook up. This was different, nice.

"So, what are you up to, today?" she asked.

"Gotta go down to the office for a couple of hours, nothing major. What about you?"

"I don't have anything to do," Bella yawned. "And it's awesome. I can't remember the last time I could lay in bed all day."

"Lucky you. Hopefully that'll be me once we get these proposals through."

"Hopefully. You deserve it." And he did. Few people their age worked as hard as Edward did.

"Anyway, I gotta head out soon. I just wanted to…check in with you. See how you were."

"I'm glad you did," she admitted. "Can I see you later?"

"Definitely. I'll give you a call on my way back."

"Sounds good. Bye…"

"Bye."

Edward tossed his phone on to the passenger seat. He'd slept well the night before, better than he had in weeks. It was a couple of things, really: certain projects at work reaching fruition, having the opportunity to speak with his father, and, of course, Bella. Even if nothing else was going well, she'd be reason enough to feel okay.

He was still a little surprised they'd finally gotten physical again, but he supposed it had only been a matter of time. He wanted her to trust him the way he trusted her, and it seemed like that was now the case.

After spending time at the office, Edward locked up and made a beeline for Bella's. He's hardly been able to concentrate, knowing he was going to be seeing her soon.

She answered the door, smiling shyly. "That was quick."

He shrugged. "I'd rather be here."

Bella led him to the kitchen. "Beer?"

"It's five o'clock somewhere; why not?"

She rolled her eyes, laughing a little. "Yeah, yeah."

Before she could hand him the bottle he'd pulled her in to his arms.

"I really, really hope you don't mind this, because now that I know what it's like to kiss you I want to keep doing it." He kissed her, pushing her lips apart with his.

Bella slipped her arms around him. He was less tentative than he'd been the night before; she liked it.

"You knew what it was like to kiss me," she said, going in for another.

"Yeah, but…" He kissed her twice more. "It's different now. I feel it now."