A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does. What I do own is a black t-shirt that my wifey sent me. It's from her & her hubby's company and I wear it probably once a week. :D No one in Arizona knows what it's for, but I don't care. I like it. :)

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For the rest of the afternoon I sat at the merry-go-round control panel, watching Edward work. Staring at him. Ogling him. Eyeing him like a fat kid eyes a cup cake. He was on until seven in the evening, so I knew it would be a long day but I didn't care. I could watch him all day. Seeing him smile at little kids, watching him carefully check each rider's waist belt, appreciating his arms and chest and ass and lips and eyes while he was... well, doing everything, really. I may have pinched myself a few times, just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. And each time he came back to sit by me, he kissed me. It made me smile.

And don't think I wasn't aware that the gossip queens of Forks were already on the case. I knew they were. A few of them had seen me, and again, I didn't care. My mother texted me several times demanding to know what was going on and who the "fuck-hot tattooed guy" was. I ignored her texts, then shut my phone off when she asked if I thought he'd be interested in any Mary Kay concealer to cover up his tats. I wasn't covering those things up! She was crazy if she thought I'd let Edward hide them.

They were pretty tattoos, too. I traced the one on his arm with my fingers, smiling as I took in the curves and pictures that were inked into his skin. He told me what it meant, all the individual little pictures. They all tied together to represent him, all the things he loved and the life he'd lived. He said his dad had one like it, and he'd always wanted one. Then when he was 19 and after he'd just finished his second summer with the carnival, he was heading back to school and needed something to shake him up a bit. He and Emmett passed a tattoo parlor and a few days later they went inside. Shockingly enough, Emmett got a tattoo of a rose over his heart. I was pretty sure Rose would totally forget any anger she felt toward him when she saw that.

My favorite part of the tattoo was one section with dark swirls that looked like strands of hair. They grew out from under a coat of arms and curled at the ends. Written just underneath them were two words – Piccola Bella. Edward said that was for me.

"It doesn't translate exactly to Little Beauty, but it does mean Little Beautiful. And aside from your eyes and your voice, the thing I remember most from the night we met was you hair. It was so dark and long and the way it curled at the ends, and then how it spread out under you when we were on that field... you know." He blushed. He fucking blushed just thinking about our time together. It may have melted me even more, as if I weren't liquidy and squirming enough over him. "I don't think I'll ever forget that," he said.

"Me, either. I didn't forget your eyes or your smile or your hair. I could never forget them," I told him, and then let him kiss me until I was breathless and he had to stop the carousel again.

After his shift was done we rode a few of the rides, ate cotton candy and corn dogs, and got our pictures taken in one of those silly little photo booths. Finally I had something tangible of him and me together, and I made him buy six photo strips by the time we were done. We were kissing in about 75 percent of the pictures, but I couldn't help it. Feeling his lips on mine again after so long was addicting. And I was addicted. I always had been.

"So, we tear down the rides on Monday and then we roll out of town on Tuesday," he said as we sat on a bench watching the lights of the carnival light up the night.

"Okay. You want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, if you want to. Um, we have buses and RV's that most of the crew ride on, but Emmett and I are gonna be picking up a car in Seattle. Our uncle lives there and he wants us to drive a car back to Chicago for him. So, if you come with me, it'll just be the trip to Seattle on the bus, and after that we'll be in a car. And the circuit only goes another two weeks and then we head to Illinois."

I nodded. "Okay."

I didn't know much about Edward, and I knew nothing of his life, but I wanted to.

He fiddled nervously with my hand that rested in his lap. His fingers played with mine as he licked his lips and sucked in a long, deep breath. He was amazing. "So, I'm gonna be going back to school to get my Masters. But I'm also working for the university in one of their research programs, and any of my direct family members can go to school for cheap. Like, really cheap," he said as his eyes bounced around to look at everything except mine. "I don't know if you're going to school here or not, but if you want to go to school there, you can. Or not, whatever. And I have an apartment lined up, so we can live there for a while, if you want."

I smiled a little as how sweet he was. "Okay."

Finally he looked into my eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I want you to be with me. Always. And not just as some girl I know or some girl I'm dating, but as my forever. My one. I'm serious about this – about you – and I want that to be perfectly clear to everyone. I want to give you a life, Bella. I want to make you happy, and to make you proud of me. I want to give you a future that you can look forward to and be excited about. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every night, and wake up next to you every morning. I want to have children with you someday, and grand-children with you when we're old and gray."

I wasn't certain where his little speech was going, but it was making me all teary and my heart started beating faster.

"I know it's probably too soon to talk about getting married, and we should probably date for a while first, but I don't know... This feels right, you know? I don't feel like we should wait. I already know I want you and only you, so why put things off, you know?" he asked.

"I know," I said as I nodded my agreement to him.

"Can I meet your family? I want your parents to like me. And I really don't want your dad coming across the country with a shot gun to shoot me for stealin' his baby daughter."

We laughed at his words and his worry, and it might have sealed the deal for me right then and there.

"We can meet them tonight, if you want. I'm sure they're home."

With that, we spent a few more minutes on the bench kissing and then headed off to find Emmett and Rose. She was my ride to the carnival, and even though it was only a mile or so back into town and we could have walked, I figured I should at least attempt to find her and make sure she was okay. She definitely was, and it seemed she'd found Emmett's rose tattoo. After spotting the two of them in the back of her car, Edward and I waited for them to finish what they were doing and get their clothes back into place so that we could leave. Seeing them all hot and heavy also reminded me of being with Edward that way, and I began to wonder how long it would be before we could get down and dirty again. I didn't want to wait. I just wanted him.

"Where are you staying tonight?" I asked him as we leaned against the back of a car parked a few spaces away from Rose's.

"I was planning to stay on the bus like usual. Why?" Edward replied.

"Well, I just was thinking maybe you could stay with me."

His eyes grew about three sizes bigger and he cleared his throat. "Uh... Well... Um, you mean... like at your parent's house with you?" I nodded. "Where your parents live and will be home?" I nodded again, and smiled brightly. "Don't you think we should see if they even like me before we decide if I should be asleep under the same roof as them?"

"Who says you'll be sleeping?"

Edward quickly jumped away from me. "Oh no, no way. I'm not doing... stuff... with you in your parent's house, Bella. No."

"Wow, that wild guy image you got goin' with the tats and the piercings sure isn't true, is it?" I laughed.

He took several deep breaths before walking back to me and taking my hands in his. "It's about respect. That's all, trust me. Because if you had an apartment of your own, we'd already be there, and you'd already be naked."

"Oh," I whimpered as he stared into my eyes. "I can get one real quick if you want."

"Soon enough. I promise. Though I might be persuaded to kiss you a little bit in your parent's house. If they like me, that is."

"They will. They'll love you. And even if they don't we're leaving soon anyway, right?" I asked him. "But in case they're not too excited about me running off with a traveling carnie, just remember to tell them the three things you love the most, other than me."

"What three things?" he asked with a nervous look on his face.

"Apple pie, Mary Kay cosmetics, and pot. Though the pot one is for my brother, and you probably shouldn't mention that in front of my dad, since he's the sheriff and all."

"Please tell me you're joking," he pled.

"About my dad being the sheriff?" I asked with a smile. Guys were always such wussies when it came to that little tidbit of information. I usually didn't clue them in on the fact that my dad spent more time day-dreaming about apple desserts than he did tracking down criminals.

"No, I'm fine with him being a cop. And I'm fine with your brother smoking pot. It's the Mary Kay thing. Bella, I don't know how to tell you this, but..."

I held my breath as my stomach began to twist from the unease that was lacing his words and displayed all over his face.

"Bella, my mom... my mom sells Avon."

I sucked in a quick breath. "Nooooooooo."

* O * O * O *

A/N: Noooo! The horror! Let's hope Renee/Mary Ann doesn't find out what Esme does. It might not be pretty...