Disclaimer: I own some Twilight pillows, but that's it. This story, however, is mine.

Seventeen

'Wild Love' - Gossling

"Are there sharks?"

Edward shrugs, looking into the water below him. "The sirens usually warn you if there's a big one around."

I whine, repressing the urge to pull my legs up out of the water. I don't want Edward to think I'm a pussy, but the thought of having my leg chomped off by a great white is more than a little scary .

"Come on, Bells!" yells Paul as he paddles closer, his long, tanned body prone on his board, blonde hair slicked back off his head.

"Shut up, Pauly," laughs Edward, bobbing in the water beside me.

I've finally given in and let Edward take me out into the deep water on a board. I'm not stupid enough to try and stand up yet, but Edward's promised that I'll catch my first wave today, so here I am; shark bait in the middle of the sea. The water is cold, but after a string of days over thirty-five degrees, the cool touch of the water is a welcome reprieve.

I squeal a little as Edward lifts himself up and onto the longboard behind me, my cheek flat to the deck as it wobbles.

"You right, princess?" he teases, wobbling the board violently beneath me.

Steeling myself, I sit up, my legs dangling off the board on either side. "You're such a wanker!"

He chuckles, sliding me backwards until my back is pressed flush against his chest.

"See, how nice it is out here?" he says over my shoulder, his hand resting on my thigh casually.

With just Pauly and a couple of other guys bobbing around nearby, I can understand why Edward enjoys it out here so much. Besides the crushing fear of being eaten alive by a sea-dwelling monster, it's incredibly serene and calm with nothing but the sound of the waves and your own breathing.

"It is nice out here," I whisper, not wanting to sully the quiet with my voice.

A wave rolls beneath us, and, fluid and smooth, the longboard glides up and down.

"Is this where you come to think?"

"Yeah, I guess. I've never had a problem that a surf can't fix."

I smile at his words, leaning back into the curve of his body. My wet hair drips over my chest, hanging in a heavy braid over one shoulder as Edward rests his chin on the other.

"You could just sit here all day and let the world go by. Except that your skin would get all wrinkly." I bring my hands up to my face, staring at my wrinkled fingertips. "But it's so quiet, you could just get lost in your thoughts. Hey, maybe you should get a boat or something, then you could be out on the ocean all the time, and you wouldn't get eaten. Have you seen a shark out here before? Has anyone been eaten at Clearwater?"

"You're cute when you ramble."

Turning my head a little, I find Edward watching me with a smile on his face.

"I'm not rambling, I'm…musing."

"Right," he says, planting a kiss on my damp cheek. "Well, if you're finished musing, you wanna head in? We're starting to drift a little here."

Pulling my legs up onto the board, I shift myself forward towards the nose; my knees bent up underneath me like Edward showed me.

"Just hold on, okay?" he whispers, his mouth close to my ear.

I nod as my knuckles whiten, my fingers wrapped so tightly around the side of the board, I feel like I might leave fingertip-sized indents in it.

Paddling hard, Edward propels us forward, a wave catching us from behind until suddenly we're in its clutches. The water pushes the board ahead, and with an effortless movement Edward is on his feet, the length of the board allowing him room to stand behind me as we glide through the wave. Perched on the nose of the board as it skims across the water, it feels like I'm weightless, and my heart is beating so hard I can feel it in my fingertips. The adrenaline pumps through my bloodstream even as I relax a little, lifting myself up onto my knees.

"Put your arms out," calls Edward behind me, and with shaky hands, I extend my arms at my side until I really am flying, the salt spray air whipping around me as the wave crashes around the board. Edward laughs as I squeal with delight, doing his best to keep us steady. After a moment, the wave has run its course, and I can't keep myself on the board any longer as it jerks and jumps beneath me. Finally, the wave rolls up beside us, curling over itself and smashing into my side, sending me tumbling off the board and into the water.

A rush of water whooshes past my ears, and then it's quiet except for the rumble of the waves crashing overhead. I take a moment to gain my bearings, and then kick my legs hard until I break the surface. Flipping my wet hair out of my eyes and wiping the water out of my nose, I immediately look for Edward.

I can hear him laughing already, somewhere at my right. I wipe the saltwater from my eyes again and look around, smiling as I see him and his board floating towards me.

"Oh my god!" I squeal, my heart still thundering in my chest. "That was fucking awesome!"

He laughs; reaching for me as the water rises and falls, pushing us closer to the beach. Unsuccessfully, he tries to pull me onto the board, but the ocean has other ideas and he slides off and into the water beside me.

Using the board to keep myself afloat, I giggle manically, unable to keep it inside.

"Shoulda seen your face," laughs Edward, his arms resting on the board beside mine. "Classic."

I slap his arm gently. "Shut up!" My heart begins to calm as the adrenaline dissipates. "Is that what it's like every time?"

Smiling, Edward nods. "Most of the time. Especially when it's big waves; when it's surf or smash face-first into the water."

"I get it now," I admit. "I can see how it can be addictive."

"You wanna go again?" he asks, his hand brushing my hip under the water.

My body flushes with excitement, both at the idea of going again, and at the sight of this beautiful man in front of me; my very own sun god.

I pull myself up on the board, the action easier and easier every time, and Edward jumps on behind me, ready to paddle us back out. We catch wave after wave, until we're both absolutely exhausted. My arms are like jelly, and I think there's more saltwater in my hair and up my nose than there is in the ocean. But now I can finally say I've been out into the deep water, I've surfed - kind of - and I would totally and completely do it all again.

Out past the breakers where the water is calmer, Edward and I sit floating on the longboard, my legs draped over his, our feet in the water.

"You wanna come over tonight?" he asks, a smirk lifting the side of his mouth.

My hands slide up his thighs, resting on his narrow hips. "To your place?"

He nods, his eyes gleaming.

"Never been to your place."

He kisses me once, quickly, tasting of salt. "Nope."

"You live with your parents, yeah?"

He paddles the board slightly, keeping us from drifting too far. "Is that a problem?"

"Nope. You forget I lived with my parents until not long ago."

"So you'll come over then?"

I smile deviously. "What will I get if I do?"

He raises his eyebrows at me, looking at me as if to say 'you know what you'll get'.

My cheeks colour and I nod. "Sounds like a fair deal."

He laughs quietly. "You're a fiend, you know that?"

His reference to my inability to control myself around him makes me smile. And he's completely right, even after spending the entire day with him, I'm looking forward to spending the night too. I'm insatiable, and I don't quite know what to think since I've never been like this before. Sex with Jake was always nice, a little repetitive towards the end, but familiar and just...nice. Sex with Edward is not nice; it's fucking perfect. It's fantastic and hot and sweet and about a dozen other adjectives that no matter how great they are will not describe it adequately. Since our first night together, I've made a conscious effort to stop over-thinking things, and just go with the flow. So far, the flow is turning out to be pretty damn good.

Bobbing on the board in the middle of the sea, our kisses taste like saltwater and familiarity. He knows exactly how to kiss me to make me crazy; the pressure of his lips, slow and lazy against mine. The board wobbles beneath us as our kisses become heated, my skin flushed and warm from more than just the sun above us.

"Get a room!" yells a voice across the water, and we turn to see Riley paddling in. He splashes us as he passes, and my first instinct is to pull away from Edward, and he knows it. Holding me close with one hand, he flips Riley his middle finger with the other.

"Fuck off, dickhead!" he yells, as Riley laughs loudly, there one moment and gone the next, swallowed up by the waves.

Edward turns back to me, kissing me once more before his hands slip from around my waist. "Ready to go back in then?"

Tired, and a little achy from all the swimming, I arrive home late afternoon to find a redhead slipping out the front door of the flat. With a kiss on the cheek, and a tap on the ass, Jasper sends the googly-eyed girl on her way.

I frown, watching her almost trip over a shrub as she looks back at Jasper over her shoulder.

"I hope you wake up one morning with a hideous case of genital warts."

"What?"

"She was hideous, Jasper. Beer goggles or not, you're standards are slipping."

He shrugs. "Someone in this house has to be getting some."

"Who says you're the only one?"

Jasper's expression is a mixture of revulsion and begrudging happiness as he holds out his hand for a high five. "You and Edward finally sealed the deal, huh?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes."

"Nice work, Edward!" he laughs. "Never thought I'd see the day he got a girl."

"I'm not his girl. I'm just...we're just..." My hands flail in front of me. "It's just a thing, okay?"

Jasper shrugs. "Whatever. As long as I don't come home to find you bent over the kitchen bench, you two can do whatever the fuck you like."

Snorting, I take my achy ass to the bathroom to wash off a day's worth of salt and sand. The warm water is heaven on my muscles, although the tops of my shoulders are a little tender from the sun, a closer inspection revealing a brand new dusting of freckles along with the faint tint of sunburn.

Smelling like Shea butter body wash, I dry myself and slather on some aloe, making sure to add extra to my sun-freckled shoulders. Fresh, dressed, smelling like a million bucks, I wander out into the kitchen to find something to eat. With Rosie at work, the house is quiet; the only sound, the hum of the TV in Jasper's bedroom.

He's on his bed as I walk by, sprawled out on the sheets, a bowl of cereal in his hand.

"Can I come in?"

He nods, patting the bed beside him.

His room smells like typical boy, but I'm just glad it doesn't smell like skanky redhead sex. He watches TV as I look around his room, looking at all his trophies from SLC days. There are two huge posters adorning his walls, both of surfers, huge blue waves and clear-blue skies. One of them is signed, a black signature scrawled across the bottom in marker, the name unreadable. He's dark-haired and buff, broad shouldered and well-muscled, dimples adorning his angelic looking cheeks.

Moving to the second poster, my breath catches in my throat, and I almost choke on my sandwich.

"Oh my God," I say loudly. "That's Edward."

He's crouched low on his board, his fingers reaching out to skim the inside of a massive barrel as he charges through it. I have to blink a few times to make sure i'm not imagining it.

Jas looks up from his Weetbix momentarily. "Yep."

"But..." I stare open-mouthed at the huge glossy poster. "It says Rio De Janeiro. When was Edward in Brazil?"

"A few years ago with the Pro."

"The what?"

Milk drips from the corner of Jasper's mouth as he looks at me like I've just grown an extra tit. Wiping it his mouth, he sets his bowl down on the bedside table and crosses the bedroom.

"The Pro Tour. Has Edward not told you anything?"

"About what?"

Rubbing his hand over his freshly shaved sides and down his face, Jasper sighs. "Fuck me."

"Ugh, no thanks."

"Bella. Edward's ranked in the top forty surfers in the world. Or he was anyway."

"That's good, right?"

Jasper barks out a laugh. "That's fucking awesome."

"Oh."

"His brother, Emmett, is in the top five."

"Also good?"

"Hell yeah."

I look back and forth between Jasper and the poster. "I'm thinking you need to tell me more about this pro thing."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Jasper leans against the wall beside the poster. "Ed was ranked number six at the ASP World Tour a few years back."

"The what?"

He grunts, frustrated. "Like a professional surfing world tour."

"Oh, like Kelly Slater does?"

"Exactly! So, until about two years ago, both Edward and Emmett were on the ASP World Championship Tour. They did well too. Emmett came close to winning, and Edward wasn't far behind."

"So...Edward isn't just a good surfer - he's kind of the best?"

Jasper snorts. "Well, when Emmett's not around, yeah."

"So how come he doesn't tour anymore?"

Jasper's expression changes almost imperceptibly, his mouth set in a more serious line.

"His brother, Embry, got sick, so he decided to come home."

"Oh." I think back to the night at the bar, to the healthy looking eighteen-year-old. "But he's better now though, right?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Nothing a little treatment couldn't fix."

As my brain absorbs all these bits of information, I look back at the poster, drawn to the look on Edward's face; the determination, the way his mouth, even as it hangs open a little, lifts at one side, as if he's about to smile one of his signature retina-burning smiles.

"So, now that Embry's better, will Edward go back on tour?"

Jasper is silent, scratching the side of his head as he thinks. "Uh, I think maybe I've already said enough. That's probably something you should ask him."

Weetbix: A breakfast cereal made of wholegrain wheat, fashioned into a little brick sort of thing. You pour milk on top, or sometimes they're good dry with jam or honey on top.

ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals): The governing body in professional surfing. To give you an idea; at the moment Australia's Joel Parkinson is #1 and Kelly Slater is #2 - #6 is REALLY good.

WTC (World Championship Tour): Includes events like The RipCurl Pro at Bells Beach, the Hurley Pro at Trestles in CA, and the Billabong Pro in Rio. I'll give more information on that when it comes up.

ooooooh, excited? I am.

Tiff and Thimbles and Ink are the honey to my peanut butter.

Thanks to everyone still reading and reviewing, I appreciate it a lot.

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