A/N: Thanks for the reviews last chapter . I re-wrote this chapter several times, and I'm still not overly happy with it, but it is what it is. I also noticed that I tend to use the word "that" a lot. Like way too much. So, I tried to get rid of the uncessary ones, but there might be a few still lingering about.

EPOV

I woke up bright and early on Sunday morning, eager for what the day was to bring. I was taking Bella on a picnic today, and I was hoping she'd say yes when I asked her to be my girl again. We'd been taking things slow and it had been torture, but it was for the best. It gave us the chance to start over which was good. We'd talked and been even more open than we had been before. I felt that we were in a good place to start dating again, and I just hoped she felt the same.

After my shower, I bounded down the stairs, the smell of pancakes luring me toward the kitchen. I walked into it, then walked right back out. I really didn't need to see Carlisle's hands all over Esme first thing in the morning.

"Sorry, Ed!" Carlisle hollered from the kitchen, but I could tell he was smirking. Rolling my eyes, I slowly made my way back into the kitchen, keeping my eyes down just in case it really wasn't safe.

"Good morning, Edward!" Esme said, putting a plate of pancakes in front of me after I sat down.

Finally looking up, I gave her a smile and thanked her. She had a slight blush going on, and I knew she was slightly embarrassed by what I had witnessed. I was too, but I guess that was the price I paid when living with newlyweds, if they could still be considered that after five months.

"What are you plans for the day?" Esme asked me over breakfast.

"I'm taking Bella for picnic later. I figured we'd go down to First Beach since it's supposed to be nice out today," I told her.

"How are things with the two of you?" she asked. She and Carlisle had been very supportive of me, but I knew Esme wanted Bella and I back together.

"Good," I told her after taking a sip of my orange juice. "I'm going to ask her if she wants to go out on a date later in the week."

Esme beamed and told me to have a good day. She informed me that she and Carlisle were going antique shopping in Seattle. Carlisle looked less than thrilled, but he was going because Esme wanted to.

I killed some time by doing homework before deciding I needed to get ready for the picnic. As I stood in front of the fridge, I realized I hadn't planned things well at all. There wasn't much in the fridge for a picnic. Shutting the fridge door, I grabbed the cooler from the garage and got into my car to head to the grocery store. Once there, I grabbed some chicken strips, potato salad, cookies, and bottled water, and some ice.

Back at my car, I put everything in the cooler then sent Bella a text asking if she was ready. I got a response back immediately saying she was ready whenever I was. As I drove over to her house, I found myself feeling a bit nervous, and rolled my eyes at myself. I felt the way I did when I took her out on our first date, but this wasn't a date. Not really. After I pulled into the Swan's driveway, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Getting out of the car, I headed up the walk and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Ed!" Emmett boomed as he opened the front door and let me in. "Bells will be ready in a sec."

I sat down on the couch next to him, watching as he and Jasper battled it out on some video game. A few minutes later, Bella walked into the living room and sat on the arm of the couch. She looked beautiful, not that she didn't always. Her long hair was in a braid that went down her back, and she was wearing some pretty blue long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans that clung to her.

"You ready?" I asked her.

"Yep," she said with a smile. Standing up, I said goodbye to Jasper and Emmett and we headed out to my car.

"I thought we'd go to First Beach for our da—picnic," I told her, quick to correct myself. "Is that okay?"

"Of course," she told me, giving me a shy smile.

We made small talk on the ride over to First Beach, and at moments it felt forced and awkward, and I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't as if we didn't hang out and talk all the time.

"Why is this so awkward?" I asked her.

She shook her head before letting out a small laugh. "I have no idea, but I was just thinking the same thing. I guess … maybe because it feels like a date, but we're not dating?"

"Would you … uh, would you want this to be a date?" I asked, almost afraid to hear her answer.

She looked out the passenger window before she quietly mumbled a yes. I let out a sigh of relief. "So, you would be okay with me asking you out?"

This time, she turned to face me. "Of course, I would. Despite the fact that I'm an idiot with self-esteem issues, I'm in love with you, Edward. I have been and always will be."

Checking to make sure no one was behind me, I pulled off on the side of the road and put the car in park, then I turned to face Bella.

"Hey. We've discussed this," I told her, cupping her face in my hands. "You are not an idiot, and we all have self-esteem issues. And, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that you still love me because I love you, too."

"Yeah?" she asked, tears in her eyes.

I nodded. "Yeah. I was planning on asking you to be my girl again sometime during our picnic, but now works too. So, will you?"

I wasn't prepared for her to throw herself at me, but I laughed as I caught her, burying my face in her hair. Eventually, she let go of me, and I couldn't resist leaning down and giving her a light peck on the lips. I had really missed kissing her, holding her, being hers.

"I take it that's a yes?" I asked, a smirk on my lips.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Yes, it's a yes."

Grinning, I put the car back in drive and continued our drive to First Beach. Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the public parking lot and as I got out of the car, I felt much more content than I had in a long while.

Opening the trunk, I handed Bella the blanket while I grabbed the picnic basket. Holding hands, we made our way onto the beach and after a few minutes, Bella found what she deemed the "perfect spot." She spread the blanket out on the sand before securing the edges with some rocks. I hadn't taken it to account how windy it was going to be on the shore.

Once she was settled on the blanket, I took a seat next to her and begin to unload the basket. I just hoped sand didn't get in our food. Nothing like eating sandy potato salad. I handed Bella a couple of paper plates and plastic silverware while I dug out the containers of food.

"I hope this okay. I know how much you love chicken strips and potato salad," I told her.

"This is perfect," she said, leaning over and kissing my cheek. I was sure I had a goofy grin on my face, but I didn't care.

We ate, laughed, and talked for hours. The weather had warmed up a bit and after putting the food away, we kicked off our shoes and waded into the water. I hadn't been prepared for how freaking cold it was, and I let out a un-manly squeal as I stepped into it which caused Bella to howl with laughter.

"It's freaking cold!" I tried to explain, but she just shook her head before splashing me. My eyes narrowed, and I splashed her back, taking after her when she turned and ran. I chased after her, catching her around her waist, and swinging her around. She let out a squeal before wrapping her arms around me, and I couldn't resist leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. We got lost in each other, completing forgetting our surroundings. A throat clearing had us breaking apart, and we both turned and saw Bella's cousin, Seth, grinning at us.

"This is a public beach, you know," he said, teasingly.

We both blushed and mumbled apologies which Seth waved off. "No worries."

We chatted with Seth for a bit more until some of his friends arrived and they took off down the beach, and we headed back to our blanket. Not too much later, Leah showed up with a group of guys. There were at least five of them, each one bigger and taller than Emmett. I had to admit the group made me nervous. I think Bella must have felt it as well because she scooted closer to me and clasped my hand tightly. Thankfully, Leah and her gang of friends walked by, although Leah did manage to shoot us a dirty look. I really didn't know what that girl's problem was.

We stayed on the beach until the sun began to set, and the temperature began to drop. We gathered up our stuff and headed back to my car with our hands clasped together. I wasn't ready for our date to end, so I asked her if she wanted to go get some ice cream. She nodded, and we headed toward the small ice cream shop in town.

Soon, we were eating our ice cream at a small table outside the ice cream shop when we heard a nasally voice, causing both of us to cringe. A quick glance over my shoulder showed Lauren, Jessica, and Mike headed our way.

"Want to take our ice cream to go?" I asked, not wanting to deal with them.

Bella shook her head. "Nope. I'm on a date with my newly re-instated boyfriend, so I'm going to sit here and eat my ice cream."

We sat there teasing each other and stealing bites of ice cream until Lauren and her friends stopped next to our table.

"Well, isn't this cozy," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"We think so," Bella replied, barely acknowledging her and turning back to me.

Unfortunately, Lauren, Mike, and Jessica didn't take the hint and decided to sit down at our table without an invite. I knew Jessica had apologized to Bella, but I didn't understand why Jessica still hung out with Lauren. Bella made a disgruntled sound and gave Lauren a glare.

"You know the polite thing to do is ask if you can sit with us, not just plop your ass down. Then again, you don't have manners."

"Whatever," was Lauren's witty comeback as she tossed her stringy hair behind her shoulder.

Deciding to ignore them, I brought my gaze back to Bella and we resumed our argument over what the best 80s movie was. She argued it was Legend. I argued it was Labyrinth. Lauren would constantly try and interrupt us, but we just kept ignoring her. Eventually, it became to much for Lauren.

"So are you two together or what?" she asked, interrupting us.

"Yes," we replied at the same time, grinning at each other when she let out a huff.

"You ready to go?" I asked Bella, getting up and throwing away our trash when she nodded. Without saying goodbye to the annoying three trio, we got in my car, and I drove her home. I pulled into her driveway and put the car in park before turning to face Bella.

"Thanks for a great first date," Bella told me with a smile, and I smiled back telling her I'd had a great time as well. Leaning across the console, I placed a gentle kiss on her lips which she returned. We quickly lost ourselves in the kiss and were scared crapless when someone knocked on the window. Breaking apart, we saw Emmett grinning at us, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I take it you kids made up?" he asked after we got out of the car. Bella smacked him on the arm and told him it was none of his business, but yes, we were together. I walked her up to her door with Emmett tagging behind, and I told her I'd see her at school in the morning before giving her a chaste kiss.

….

"Whoohoo! Freedom, baby!" Emmett shouted as he ran out the front doors of the school. We couldn't help but laugh as he attempted to do a cartwheel across the sidewalk, failing miserably.

It was hard to believe an entire school year had gone by since I'd moved to Forks. So much had happened in the past nine months. Some of it good and some of it bad, but all in in all, a pretty amazing nine months.

"Any plans for the summer, Ed?" Jasper asked me as we climbed into my Volvo.

I shrugged as I pulled out of the school lot. "No clue. I'll probably see if I can't find a summer job, but other than that, nothing."

"You aren't going to Florida?" Bella asked me, knowing that my mother had been emailing me recently about spending the summer with her.

"I might go visit for a week, but no longer. What about you guys?" I asked.

Jasper informed me he needed to find a job as well. Alice would pick up a few more hours at the little boutique she worked at, and Bella would continue to work at the diner. I was also informed that the Swans camped a lot in the summer, and I was welcome to come with if I wanted. I was on board with that. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with Bella.

"Are you coming in?" Bella asked me as I pulled into their driveway. I shook my head as I explained that Carlisle had asked me to come home after I dropped them off.

"I'll try and stop by later, if that's okay?"

"Of course," she said, leaning in and giving me a kiss.

After Bella, Jasper, and Alice got out of my car, I headed home. I parked my car in the drive and walked into the house where I found Carlisle and Esme sitting on the couch.

"How was your last day of school?" Carlisle asked as I plopped down on the recliner.

"It was good. I'm ready for summer though."

"Well then, how would you feel about taking a two week vacation later this month?" he asked. I was all about taking a vacation, and I told them so.

Esme beamed. "Excellent. My family owns an island off the coast of Brazil, and I was thinking that we could go for a couple of weeks later this month."

I stared at her like she'd told me her family owned an island. That couldn't possibly be true. Who the hell owned an island?

"Seriously?" my voice squeaked.

Esme let out a laugh. "Yes. My grandfather bought it for my grandmother and since their death, it's been shared amongst the family."

I was floored. I knew that Esme came from money, but it must have been a hell of a lot of money in order to own an island. I sat there for a few minutes trying to process it all. I was going to be vacationing on an island in Brazil! I could barely contain my excitement until it hit me that going on this vacation meant I wouldn't get to see Bella for two weeks. Immediately, I sobered up.

As if she could read my mind, Esme gave me a smile and said, "Bella's invited."

I was thrilled to hear that, but I knew the Swans probably couldn't afford a plane ticket to Brazil. Especially, since they would have two kids in college soon.

"I think she'd love to go, but I don't think they can afford it," I told Esme quietly. She patted my arm and informed she'd already spoken to Charlie and Renee and everything would work out. Apparently, Charlie and Renee were telling Bella later today.

I was actually surprised the chief was letting Bella go on a two week trip with me, especially since he'd busted us groping each other a few nights back. Talk about embarrassing. We'd been in Bella's room with the door slightly cracked open, and we'd been laying on her bed. What had started out as a sweet kiss had turned into a hot make out session which had led to hands running over clothing. Eventually those hands went under the clothing and of course, that was when Charlie walked in and busted us. I'd thought for sure he was going to shoot me. Thankfully, he didn't, but we were told that we weren't allowed to be in her room alone.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic that she was going to be able to go with me. I threw my arms around Esme and then Carlisle, thanking them profusely before running upstairs to dump my bag on my bed and dig around for my passport. A little while later my phone rang, and I grinned seeing it was Bella.

"Holy crap, Edward! We're going to Brazil!" she squealed into my ear as soon as I answered. I let out a laugh and had to admit I felt like squealing myself, however, I managed to control myself.

"It's going to be amazing!" I told her. "I can hardly wait. Although, I'm still in a bit of shock. Esme's family owns a freaking island!"

We talked for hours, both of us Googling places to see and touristy things to do in Brazil. By the time we hung up later that night, we had a list of sights we wanted to see and activities we wanted to do. Brazil fever had kicked in.

Before I knew it, the four of us were sitting in first class on a plane to Brazil. Okay, on a plane to New York City where we'd have a five hour layover before leaving for Rio de Janerio. Bella and I slept the entire five hour flight to New York, both of us exhausted since we'd had to leave Forks a little after two in the morning to get to the airport on time.

By four that afternoon, the four of us were in a crowded-ass airport, fighting through the crowds to find the exit and then a cab. Even though we had five hours until our flight left, that wasn't a whole lot of time to do much in New York. Not that that stopped Carlisle. He grabbed us a cab and directed the driver to the main branch of the New York City Library. He knew of Bella's love of reading, and she'd mentioned that she'd love to see it.

An hour an a half later thanks to traffic, we pulled up in front of the library. Bella's eyes were huge as we walked toward the lion statues that framed the steps up to the library. Turning to me with a huge smile and wide eyes, she begged to have her picture taken with one of them. Many pictures later, we went inside and wandered around for a bit before Carlisle told us we needed to leave. As we left, we grabbed some hot dogs from a vendor to eat before catching a cab back to the airport.

"We'll hit up New York and do the whole tourist thing," I promised her. I'd find a way to make it happen.

Two hours later, we were boarding the plane for our nine hour flight. Bella and I managed to keep each other occupied for most of it. We played games, we talked, we read, and managed to keep our hands and lips to ourselves for the most part. Carlisle and Esme were sitting behind us, and I didn't want them to get mad at us.

Finally, after a turbulent and bumpy flight, we landed in Rio de Janeiro. From the airport we caught a cab to some docks where there was a boat waiting to take us to the island. Bella and I were both a bit quiet just soaking in the Brazilian sun and the fact that we were in Brazil. It was freaking amazing!

"It's beautiful here," Bella murmured as I helped her aboard the boat. I agreed with her. It truly was, and I could only imagine that the island would be even more beautiful. I was right. An hour and a half later, the boat pulled up to a dock. We unloaded our luggage and from the dock I could see the house and it was huge. I'd thought Carlisle's house was big, but it had nothing on this monstrosity. Esme grinned with delight at the looks of shock and awe on all of our faces as she led the way up to the mansion.

"My grandparents had six children so they made sure to build a house big enough so they could each have their own rooms. Grandad kept adding on to it over the years once the grandchildren started coming along," she explained. "My brother is an architect and he decided to modernize the place, so it's got all the latest gadgets and whatnot."

Esme unlocked the door, and we walked into the most amazing house I'd ever set foot in. There were no words to describe it. Esme led us up the stairs to where some of the bedrooms were and told us to each go pick out a room. I followed Bella down the hall, watching with a grin as she walked into room after room. Eventually, she picked one out that had a door leading to a balcony that overlooked the ocean. Of course, I chose the room next to hers.

After we'd each unpacked, we headed downstairs to find Esme and Carlisle in the largest living room known to mankind. I flopped down on one of the couches bringing Bella with me and let out a sigh, fighting back sleep. While I was beyond excited to be in Brazil, I was also exhausted. It had been a long trip, but I knew that in order to acclimate to the time change, we needed to go to bed on Brazilian time.

"Want to hit up the beach?" Bella asked, enthusiasm in her voice.

"Sure. Is that okay?" I asked my parents. They nodded, although we were warned not to wander to far off. The island, while somewhat small, had some undeveloped areas that could be dangerous.

Getting off the couch, I grabbed Bella's hand and we headed upstairs. We each went to our own rooms to change and met in the hallway once done. Bella came out of her room wearing a pair of tiny shorts, a tank top, and flip flops. I could see what looked like a blue bikini top underneath it. She was trying to kill me.

As we walked back into the living room, Esme handed us a straw bag that contained towels, water, and sunscreen. I took the bag from Esme and Bella tossed her camera, phone, and Kindle into it. Then Esme practically pushed us out the door. I think she and Carlisle wanted some alone time, and I certainly didn't have a problem being alone with Bella.

Hand in hand, Bella and I headed out the front door and past the dock. We kicked of our shoes and strolled down the white sand beach, enjoying the warmth of it under our feet. There was a pair of lounge chairs under an umbrella along the beach, and we decided to use them. I set the bag down and dug out our towels to spread across the chairs. Once I was done with that, I took a moment to take in the amazing sights around me. Palm trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and the ocean was the most a spectacular blue.

Bella sat down on the lounge chair next to me and pulled off her tank top, leaving me stunned and a bit breathless. She was, indeed, wearing a blue bikini. A little blue bikini. It wasn't really that little, but I'd never seen her wear something so small.

"Will you put some lotion on my back?" Bella asked, interrupting my thoughts. I took the bottle from her and rubbed it on her back, enjoying the feel of her skin beneath my hands. When I was done, I asked her to do the same. I barely held back a moan at the feel of her tiny hands on my skin.

"All done," she said, wiping her hands off on the edge of her towel before putting the lotion back in the bag. Knowing that it would take a few minutes for the lotion to soak in, I stretched out on the lounge chair, enjoying the feel of the heat. I'd really missed warm weather.

As some point I must have dozed off because I woke up to kisses being pressed to my face. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the beautiful brown eyes of my girl.

"Hey, I didn't want you to sleep too long or get too hot. Want to get in the ocean?"

I followed her to the water, trying not to stare at her butt as she walked, but it was a battle that I was loosing. She was gorgeous.

"Come on, slow poke!"

I narrowed my eyes and ran toward her, grinning as her eyes widened. I swept her up in my arms before wading out and dropping her in the water. She came up sputtering before attempting to dunk me. We played in the water for hours until I noticed that Bella's shoulders were starting to turn red.

"Come on, love. Let's get in the shade and reapply the lotion. You're starting to burn," I told her. I could feel my own shoulders starting to burn as well. It was bound to happen when two of the whitest people on the planet spent hours in the sun.

After reapplying the suntan lotion, we lay on our stomachs on our chairs, talking to each other and taking pictures. Renee had made Bella promise to take as many pictures as her camera and phone could hold. A little while later, Esme and Carlisle came down on the beach and hung out with us.

We stayed on the beach until four in the afternoon and by that time, I could hardly keep my eyes open. The sun, the heat, and the traveling had finally caught up with me. We gathered up our stuff and headed back to the house where we ate cold cut sandwiches for dinner. Esme had had the fridge stocked up before we'd arrived, so we wouldn't have to waste time grocery shopping.

After dinner, we discussed our plans for the next day. Esme told us that she'd show us around the island and then we could spend the rest of the day relaxing. It was all suggested that we'd go into Rio later in the week to do some sightseeing. With our plans solidified for the next day, Bella and I wandered upstairs. As much as I wanted to hang out with her, I was fighting to stay awake, so I gave her a goodnight kiss before heading to my room.

Exhausted, I managed to strip out of my bathing suit and toss on a pair of boxers before collapsing in the most wonderful bed I'd ever slept on. It was a king-sized bed with one of those foam mattresses, and I fell asleep almost instantly. At one point during the night, I woke up confused and disoriented before I remembered where I was. Brazil with Bella. I had a feeling this was going to be the best vacation ever.

a/n: As always, let me know what you thought. I'm on vacation starting Friday morning, and I'll be in a cabin in the woods with very limited Internet access, so chances are good I won't update until I get back in a week. There's one regular chapter left plus the epilogue.