Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything in the Twiverse. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay in posting! I usually update once per week, but between Whitney Houston's shocking death and my fifth wedding anniversary, my emotions have been all over the place this week.

In an attempt to shorten my chapters, I am splitting this one into two parts. But no worries because it's almost 4,000 words. And... I will post Part Two some time tomorrow! Consider it a President's Day gift of gratitude for your support of my story :)

Chapter 16: Present, Past, Preparations

Bella's POV

In the weeks following the dinner with the Cullens, my life began to flow in a seamless, easy stream. Edward and I spent nearly all of our time together, save his bi-weekly hunting trips and my twice weekly shifts at Newton's. Charlie had kept his word regarding Edward, making his daily visits much more pleasant. He made it a point to chat with Edward whenever possible, and I once caught them watching a documentary on handguns, Edward nodding with interest while Charlie expressed his ardent belief in our right to bear arms. Then there was the night I came home from Newton's to find Edward and Charlie sitting in the living room focused on a brand-new chess set on the coffee table between them.

That picture had truly been worth a thousand words.

And in time, I came to see that my apprehension about Charlie meeting the Cullens had been ridiculous. They had been pretending to be human for decades, so fooling my father presented no great challenge. Keeping me calm while they did so, however, required strategic planning and much subterfuge.

The irony was not lost on me.

But Edward and I had survived that night with our love intact, just as we'd survived every other skirmish since my birthday. Neither of us had mentioned "the m-word" since our discussion, and I hoped that ship would remain lost at sea for a very long time. While Edward's desire to marry me had been nothing short of breathtaking, the idea of being married was still reprehensible to me. Nothing in my past or present made me want to be a wife, not even witnessing the happy relations in Edward's strange family. I was having enough trouble deciding on my immortality, and that was far more significant than a certificate and ceremony. As far as I could tell, my relationship with Edward needed no more parameters defining it. We were together and happy, and that would have to be enough in that department.

For in another arena, we both seemed to agree that enough was never enough.

Hot monkeys notwithstanding.

Edward and I were having a serious problem keeping our hands to ourselves. His apprehension about our physical intimacy must have disappeared somewhere in the folds of my sofa, and I suddenly found myself dating the most amorous vampire in the continental U.S. Every time we were alone and sometimes when we weren't quite alone, Edward and I were all over each other. Technically we were somewhere between second and third base—which, according to Jessica, should be punishable by flogging—but every time we circled those bases seemed better than the last. Charlie had almost caught me topless in the living room twice, Edward's attention being entirely elsewhere, and Jasper flat out refused to be alone with us anymore. Having that sex talk had freed Edward somehow, and he wanted to revel in his emancipation as often as he could.

And I would never object.

As for taking that final physical step, we never discussed when, where, and how we would know we were ready. I would never have the guts to decide, and the idea of making an appointment like we were going to the dentist was unappealing to both of us. Without declaring it officially, Edward and I were taking a wait-and-see approach. We would wait until we thought the moment was right and see what happened when we took things further. Other than that, we were content to play within our ever-widening boundaries, knowing that whatever happened, we would face it together.

Including the next item on our agenda, the Forks Community Hospital Harvest Ball.

Every year, Forks Community Hospital held a charity event to raise money and help its citizens kick off the fall-winter holiday season. This year's Harvest Ball was the first dance in three years, and the whole town was abuzz about it.

If Edward was surprised that I had agreed to be his date, he was positively gobsmacked by my willingness to accompany his mother and sisters on a dress-seeking mission.

I had climbed into the backseat of Rosalie's BMW with his surprised expression in my rearview. Alice laughed at his apprehension, and Esme patted his head as only a mother could. But when he tried to reiterate his concerns, Rosalie gunned the engine and threatened to run him over if he didn't move away from her car. He'd backed up with the most nervous and adorable look on his face, and I'd jumped out to reassure him.

"Nobody's pressuring me to do this," I said. "I'm going with them because I want to. And if I need rescuing, I know who to call." His expression relaxed, and I kissed him again. "Now go write me a song or something."

He smiled then walked me back to the car. "Have a good time."

"You two are sickening," Rosalie muttered as she sped out of the garage.

The Cullens had rented out a small boutique for the afternoon. Jeanette, the stylish proprietor, had practically salivated when Esme called to request her assistance. She recognized the last name and knew that whatever Esme wore would be photographed at the ball. The pictures might only make the hospital newsletter and the Forks Forum, but any press was good press in her eyes.

So she greeted us at the door with a smile and a promise to meet our every need. For starters, she gave us one personal shopper each, twenty-five percent off our entire purchase, and free two-day alterations. She had even laid out a tasteful spread of vegan appetizers and champagne. Rosalie rolled her eyes at the food, while Alice popped an apricot canapé in her mouth.

To my surprise, Esme had been the first one to burden her assistant with an armload of frocks. She selected nearly every color and shape imaginable, and Rosalie had nodded her approval on several of them. For her part, Rosalie preferred to sit on one of the velvet tuffets in the dressing area, send her girl running through the store in search of one particular feature—plunging neckline, yellow satin—then watch with barely concealed amusement as she returned with her fashion finds.

Alice was running around like an Alice on a caffeine high, changing her clothes and mind every few minutes. By the time her girl brought her the outfits she had requested, she had decided wholly against them and was off on another tangent. The poor shop girl was trying to have a good attitude, but Alice was driving her crazy.

Esme had just stepped out of the dressing room in a peaches and cream gown that made her look like an ancient goddess when her cell phone rang. I retrieved it from her purse, and she answered it with a smile. My Girl Friday was still waiting for me to make a decision—any decision—so I sent her in search of something pink and short with a huge bow in the center.

That errand ought to keep her busy for a while.

Esme ended her call just as Alice stepped out of her dressing room.

"Who was on the phone?" Rosalie asked.

"Kate," Alice replied as she frowned at her stunning reflection. "Tanya left the compound without saying goodbye, and she's looking for her."

"Kate and Tanya are Irina's other sisters, succubae who don't kill their partners," Esme whispered to me. "Every now and then, they go off on solo adventures. That's probably what this is."

"Then why would Kate think Tanya would come here?" I asked after a long beat.

"I know!" Rosalie sang. "Irina probably called Tanya from Argentina—even though she only sent us a tacky postcard—bragging about her relationship with Laurent, then innocently let it slip that Edward has mated with a human. Tanya probably set off to throw her tattered hat into the ring one last time."

I gaped at Rosalie as Alice hissed at her.

"What?" Rosalie scoffed. "It's not like Edward and Tanya ever really did anything."

Edward and Tanya?

"Bella," Esme said gently. "Rose is carelessly implying that there was something between Edward and Tanya, which is a boldface untruth."

Again with the "Edward and Tanya."

Esme joined me on the bench. "You see, Tanya always had a thing for Edward…"

"A thing?" Rosalie exclaimed. "She has a few things for Edward: her hands, her lips, her tongue…"

"Rosalie!" Esme's voice sent a chill through the room that landed in the center of my heart.

Sufficiently chagrined, Rosalie slinked into her dressing room to try on another dress. She mumbled an apology as she passed me while Esme looked at me with loving eyes. "How honest do you want me to be?" she asked.

My soul was in crisis, but I needed the truth. "Tell me everything."

"Some people collect cars or porcelain dolls," Esme began. "Tanya collects men, and she wanted Edward to be her showpiece."

I realized that I was holding my breath, but I couldn't seem to let it out.

"She made her intentions clear in every possible way." I cringed at the thought. "But with a decorum and gentility that most young men do not possess, Edward refused her overtures. But the more he rebuffed her, the harder she pushed him. She was quite relentless."

Don't faint… don't faint…

"But it was all for naught," Esme smiled. "Edward rejected her without as much as a kiss on the hand. He paid her no attention because he has never desired or loved anyone but you."

"He even rejected Rosalie," Alice quipped.

Excuse me while I hit the floor. "What?"

"Not helpful, Alice," Esme remarked as her spritely daughter sent her shopper on another pointless adventure. "Carlisle had a misguided plan to mate Edward with Rosalie," Esme explained. "That's one of the reasons he turned her in the first place."

"Another one of Carlisle's brilliant ideas," Rosalie groused as she stepped out of the dressing room in a tight black dress that literally made my jaw drop. "Not only would I never age or be able to have children, but the first male vampire who laid eyes on me didn't think I was worth a second look?" She snorted. "As far as I could tell, eternity was going to suck."

In spite of myself, I laughed. "That must have been a blow to your ego."

She peered at me over her shoulder. "You have no idea."

"But none of that matters now," Esme resumed. "Because everything worked out just as it should have. Rose has Emmett, you have Edward, and Tanya has the rest of her life to find someone to love."

"Someone else to love," Alice amended. "I'm pretty sure Edward made his feelings clear to her when he visited Denali last spring."

Last spring?

"Yes," Esme answered the question on my face. "After he was unable to transfer out of your biology class last year, Edward ran directly to the hospital, picked up Carlisle's car, and fled to Denali."

"He ran to another woman?"

"Not this again," Rosalie fumed as she sat on my other side. "Edward left the state because he was trying to save your life. Even then, when his thirst was at its zenith, he wanted to protect the woman he had started to love. It wasn't about Tanya, Irina, or anyone else he might have seen. He ran away to save you because that's what Edward does."

As Rosalie's eyes pierced me, I remembered our conversation in my kitchen. And although I resented her for getting me worked up in the first place, I marveled at her uncanny ability to calm me down.

"Tanya tried to make a move on him then," Alice continued, "but it was too late. His mind was filled with you, and his heart had already decided. Tanya never had a chance."

Unspeakable relief washed over me and allowed me to breathe for the first time in six minutes. I hadn't been naïve enough to think that I was the first person who had ever wanted Edward. But I had prided myself on being the only woman that he'd ever wanted. My gratification about this now-confirmed fact proved that I was vainer than I'd thought.

"Although Edward will hear all of this later," Esme said as my heartbeat normalized, "I'll make sure he knows that it was all Rosalie's fault."

"I appreciate that."

"Now," Esme smiled. "We need to find you a dress."

Alice appeared out of nowhere as I sighed, ideas flying out of her mouth at two million miles an hour. "Well, blue is your best color, so we should start with that. Nothing too long because we don't want to worry about you tripping over your feet. Taffeta might work, but maybe a thin silk would be appropriate…"

"Hold it." Rosalie's voice silenced her little sister. She sauntered over to me, and Alice backed up. "What are you trying to do?" Rosalie asked as she leaned down.

"Find a dress?"

She shook her head. "What is your purpose here? What message are you trying to send?"

I frowned in confusion, and Rosalie pinched the bridge of her nose.

Must be a vampire thing.

"Bella, any time I dress my body, I do so with a purpose. Sometimes I want to show off my curves. Sometimes I want to blend in."

As if.

"But sometimes," her eyes hardened, "I want to bring Emmett to his knees so he never forgets how lucky he is to have me. So I'll ask you again: what are you trying to do? Impress Edward? Entice him? Delight him?"

I glanced up at her after a moment, determination coloring my voice. "I want to annihilate him."

Rosalie's eyes danced wickedly, and I could have sworn that she bared her fangs. "That's my girl."

—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—o—

The weekend of the ball, I stayed with the Cullens on Rosalie's insistence. I didn't understand why getting ready would take more than two hours—including shower, hair, and makeup—but I knew better than to argue with her.

But I was surprised when Alice knocked on Edward's door at ten o'clock that Saturday morning. We had kissed and whispered until nearly three a.m., so her timing was awful. When we didn't respond to the first six knocks, she huffed and then retreated. I was surprised she'd given up so soon but wasn't going to complain.

And when my phone rang a few moments later, and Esme politely asked me to come out, I looked at Edward and he rolled his eyes.

"Well-played," he conceded.

I grumbled as I tumbled out of bed, but remembering my dress brought a devious smile to my face. As Edward couldn't hear my thoughts, my expression was doubly torturous for him.

"I take it you won't tell me what you're smiling about," he remarked.

"That's for me to know," I leaned down to kiss him slowly, "and for you to find out."

"Will I see you at all today?" he muttered against my lips.

"I'll see what I can do."

He fell back on the bed with a groan. "Wicked woman."

I whipped my head around with a sly grin. "You have no idea."

As I made my way to Rosalie's bedroom, Alice jumped out from the hall bathroom.

"Don't frighten the human!" I shouted, hoping that my heart wouldn't leap out of my chest.

"Sorry," Alice grinned. "I'm just so excited!"

"Take it down a notch, Alice," Rosalie said as she stepped out of the bathroom. "All my hard work will be for nothing if you scare her to death before she can get dressed."

"I could also die of starvation," I pointed out. "Can I go eat and then meet you here in fifteen minutes?"

As if on cue, Esme appeared with banana walnut pancakes, five strips of bacon, and orange juice on a five-star breakfast tray complete with cloth napkins and two zinnias in a bud vase. "Bon appetit!"

I selected a piece of bacon before marching toward Rosalie's room. Esme's kind gesture hadn't obscured the fact that they would not let me out of their sight today, and I sighed with resignation. I had hoped to sneak away to get a few minutes of cuddle time with Edward somehow.

But when Rosalie finally stood me in front of her full-length, five-way mirror, the sacrifice became more than worth it.

Rosalie had helped me select an ankle-length strapless dress with a ruched waistline and a racy thigh-high slit over my left leg. The golden champagne gown was sprinkled with sequins from the bustline to the hip, giving the dress a subtle shimmer in all the right places. I never would have chosen this dress on my own, but when Rosalie had asked which color made me feel sexiest, Edward's eyes had provided my easy answer.

Alice had painted my nails the color of black lacquer, which was oddly appealing with the dress. The dress was its own jewelry, so I'd only borrowed some modest studs from Esme for my ears. Because Edward loved my natural scent, Esme had chosen an eau de toilette that enhanced its most floral notes. And Rosalie had given me a smoky eye, lush lashes, and glossy lips.

But the reason behind the day-long sequestering was my hair. I had decided to dye my hair a shade-and-a-half darker. According to Rosalie, the effect would be "devastating" against my skin, but to get the highlights just right, they would need to add them strand by strand. Such an undertaking required nothing short of vampiric concentration, so I knew that I was in good hands. In the end, my hair had been blown out to fall in dark waves at my shoulders, but the entire process had taken the better part of five hours. Esme had seen my fatigue and given me a two-hour break during which I napped and they got dressed.

Esme wore a turquoise gown with a sheer black overlay, high collar, and a modest train. Her elegance was unrivaled, and I was sure that Jeanette's visions of a front-page photo would be realized. Alice had chosen the first dress she'd spotted when she walked into the boutique. The emerald green shift was short, backless, and bound to give Jasper a heart attack. And Rosalie's one-shoulder Grecian gown was a shade of pink so pale that it looked like a second-skin.

When it was time to leave for the ball, Alice insisted that I come downstairs last. I expected Rosalie to save me, but she nodded her approval. "Remember your purpose," she said before descending the stairs. I heard Emmett's long and low whistle and knew that Rosalie's mission had been accomplished.

I kept my eyes on her retreating back as I steadied myself with deeper, slower breaths. I approached the top of the landing but could only look down at my feet. The translucent metallic stilettos were the final flourish to my ensemble, and trying to walk in them might have given me hives a year ago.

But after my inability to do anything more than stay upright at prom, I had decided to change that. So I'd secretly purchased a pair of heels in the summer and practiced walking in them at home. I cooked, washed the dishes, and even danced in them when I was alone. I hadn't known an occasion like this would present itself so soon, but with each confident step toward the railing, I was glad that I had practiced.

And for all my preparation, I might have kept my eyes on my feet had I not heard a certain sound as I reached the first stair.

Edward gasped.

Not in mere surprise or amazement.

But in desire. Raw, shameless desire.

The primal sound tunneled through my ear and made its way to my brain where it prompted my eyes to seek his. Their golden color was warm like sunshine, and I found myself slowing down in my gait. I wanted to savor this moment, to enjoy the lust in his eyes and let it fall over me in a heady cascade. I drank in his desire, engorged myself on it, feeling as if I were the most beautiful woman on earth.

I reached the bottom of the stairs where Edward was waiting, and he didn't move or utter another sound. His eyes were locked on mine and refused to blink, while his perfect mouth hung slightly open.

"Holy shit!" Emmett exclaimed. "Bella is a sex kitten who's got me feeling frisky!"

I heard the thwack! of Rosalie's hand against his head, but somehow I knew she was amused. I couldn't look at Jasper or Carlisle or anything else in that room. I barely had the brainpower to appreciate how devastatingly handsome Edward looked in his tailored black tux. The entire world had condensed itself into Edward's shining eyes. He swallowed hard, and then there was an intake of breath before he spoke.

"Todo tu cuerpo tiene
copa o dulzura destinada a mí.
Cuando subo la mano
encuentro en cada sitio una paloma
que me buscaba, como
si te hubieran, amor, hecho de arcilla
para mis propias manos de alfarero."

The room had fallen silent as Edward's soft proclamation hovered in the air. Although I was fairly good at Spanish, the sound of those words in his velvet voice had dissolved my ability to translate. His exotic diction reverberated in my brain, its hidden meaning heating my body by tiny degrees. I was trapped in a world of his spoken creation, blissful and unwilling to find my way out.

Carlisle broke the silence after a few awkward moments by clearing his throat. "Well, we really should get going, so, um… yeah, we're going to get going."

Edward barely acknowledged him with a nod as Esme took her husband's arm. "We'll see you at our table," she said.

"If they ever make it out of the door," Emmett snickered.

The front door closed with a loud click, and the ensuing quiet further enveloped us. The desire to kiss him warred against my growing curiosity about his words—his erotic, passionate words—and in the end, curiosity won.

"What did…" I blinked to escape his gaze. "What did you say?"

He took a step toward me, his eyes blazing.

"Your whole body is a glass of wine…"

His eyes took their time as they roamed me from head to toe.

"Or sweetness destined for me."

My knees weakened as he licked his lips.

"When I raise my hand, I find in every place a dove…"

He caressed my cheek with the back of his hand...

"Seeking for me…"

…as it made its way down my arm…

"As if, my love…"

…then gripped my waist…

"You were made of clay …"

…as he pulled me in with his eyes…

"For my very hands of a potter."

And kissed me so softly, I could barely feel it.

I trembled in his arms and sighed. If we ever leave this house tonight, I will be very surprised.

Serenity's Prayer has reached 200 reviews, and I am sooooo delighted! Please continue to review and comments on my story. Your thoughts make writing fun and exciting for me. Plus I love getting to know who's reading. I know I'm behind in replying to my reviews, but I will make up for that this week. These two chapters were really tough to nail down, and I hope you enjoyed the first one.

By the way, the poem Edward recites is called "El Alfarero" by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

Chapter 17 will be up by tomorow night!