A/N: It's good to be home ... Am I finished yet?

Chapter 42

Déjà vu

Bella's POV

"I'm going out, Jake. You need a lift anywhere?" I called out to my cousin, grabbing my hoodie from the coat stand at the front door.

He came bounding down the stairs three seconds later, causing the timber beneath him to creak painfully. "Can you drop me at Ness'?"

"Sure, come on."

"I'm sorry to be an ass about Cull-Edward, Bells," Jake stammered, but with evident sincerity, after we'd pulled out of the driveway.

Glancing at him, I smiled warmly, only nodding in reply.

"I saw how much he cares about you ... that night," he mumbled, lowering his voice awkwardly.

I nodded again, taking a long breath. "Yeah..."

"Plus, the way he took on Emmett and everything... I reckon he could give me a run for my money."

My head snapped in his direction so suddenly I almost veered off the road. "What do you mean 'took on Emmett'?"

"Erm ... I'm not sure what it was about, really. Emmett thought Edward had done something to you and it ruined his party, and Cul-Edward sucker punched him. Man, Emmett was having a hard time trying to hold him down, too."

I turned by eyes back to the road, running a hand through my hair, feeling suddenly on edge. I barely remembered much from that night, other than overwhelming grief, and I hated the fact that I had caused so much trouble.

Jake nudged me playfully. "So, Bells, can I stay pissed at Edward for a bit longer? I kinda want to see how much he could give me." His eyes gleamed deviously.

I scoffed knowingly, thankful that he'd eased the tension that was threatening to plague me. "Get out!" I turned to him teasingly a moment later after I pulled to the side of the road, in front of Nessie's house.

"See-ya, Bells." His grin turned titanic, his eyes crinkling deeply at the edges, before he jumped out.

I smiled back at him affectionately, realising just how much I'd missed him. "Bye, Jake."

I indicated to turn back onto the road when a tap at my window interrupted me. I turned my head and instantly felt myself stiffen in irritation; it was Mike Newton. He motioned for me to wind down my window. I thought for a moment about ignoring him and driving off, but begrudgingly did as he asked.

"What do you want?" I asked him sharply.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he drawled over confidently, overlooking my less than warm greeting.

"Bella!" I corrected him, my tone hard.

He shrugged cockily. "I heard you and Cullen went to Australia together."

"How is that any of your business?" I retorted impatiently.

He shrugged again, before a smug smile tugged on his lips. "It's not. I'm just a little surprised that you picked him in the end."

I snorted. "You're surprised?"

His arrogant grin faded for a moment before it quickly snapped back. "Give it time, you'll soon see him for what he is and wish you were with me."

I just stared at him incredulous for a second or two, before I almost laughed. "Okay, then… Well do me a favour, Mike?"

"Anything, sweet cheeks."

"Hold your breath!" I lurched away from the curb so fast I almost knocked him on his arse.

Shaking my head to myself, I let the cringes roll off my spine. "Deluded wanker," I mumbled, pulling off the main Forks road in the direction of Edward and Alice's house.

Before I raised my hand to knock on the Cullens' front door, it swung open and Edward stood before me with a wide grin on his face.

"Hey," he said, his voice dipping huskily, before he reached out, grabbed my hand and pulled me against his chest; bending down to press his lips softly with mine.

He broke away, his grin pulling wider, when I merged my lips with his again, kissing him more deeply. I stood on my tippy-toes, because he was so bloody tall, and wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the warmth of him beneath his shirt and realising just how much I'd missed him these last couple of days.

Just when I felt Edward's arms slip around my waist, pulling me flush against him and stretching me up to properly kiss me, a low, buzzing sound and the feel of air washing over my cheek broke us apart. In fact, Edward's groan first vibrated gently against my lips before we both turned to see Emmett holding one of those small, handheld fans at us.

"Bella down under!" he exclaimed, before pulling me from Edward to engulf me in his arms; a reflexive sound bursting from me as my constricted lungs protested.

Bloody hell, he was a hyper version of Jake.

"Hi, E-Emmett," I replied a little frazzled after he released me and I could breathe again.

He only winked, before Edward grabbed my hand and led me further inside, sighing to himself.

"Want a drink?" he asked me, before releasing my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders before nuzzling my temple with his lips.

I slipped my arm around his waist, snuggling against him and shrugged lightly. "If you're having one."

We walked from the entrance directly into the kitchen, where Edward released me completely to open the fridge and take out two cans of coke.

"Do you want to watch some T.V … or we can hang in my room?" he asked, handing me a drink and raising his eyebrows with a smile on his face that suddenly appeared uncertain. Then as if to validate it, he ran his hand through his hair to the back of his neck.

I smiled at him warmly and opened my mouth to answer, when Jazz and Alice strolled into the kitchen via the rear door.

"Hey, Bells!" Alice exclaimed brightly, before hugging me impulsively. "When did you get here?"

"Two minutes ago," I replied.

"Jazz and I are going to watch a movie. Are you guys in?" she put it to me first before turning to Edward.

He was again running his hand over the back of his head, not looking too thrilled by the idea.

As my eyes met his and I gauged his reaction, a small smile appeared on his lips. He sighed in resignation and turned back to Alice, shrugging half-heartedly. "Yeah, okay. For a while."

"Cool," Alice said cheerfully, grabbing Jazz's hand and pulling him towards the living room.

"Still not in full ownership of your balls, dude, I see." Jazz smirked at Edward, before leaving the room with Alice.

Edward's eyes covertly met mine, a small, secretive smile forming on his lips, and all at once, the memory returned to me of Edward and me sitting on the bathroom floor at Nummi's, and while trying to cheer me up, he told me about Jazz's preoccupation with a certain word.

I broke into a soft, short laugh, nodding in understanding, while the complete memory of it made me want to both cringe and melt. Edward had been my absolute saviour that night, but how he'd seen me...

He draped his arm playfully around my neck. "I told you," he murmured against my ear, snorting the air through his nose, before he kissed the side of my forehead quickly.

"You did," I agreed, grabbing his hand that hung from my shoulder as we followed Alice and Jazz.

Alice put on American Pie; I hadn't seen it. As she inserted it into the DVD player, I snugged on the sofa with Edward, curling into his side. He leaned over to place his can of coke on the lamp table, then sat back and snaked his arm around my waist, inching his fingers under my shirt and cupping his warm hand around my hip.

"We don't have to watch it for long," he murmured against my ear.

I smiled to myself lightly. Judging by the degree his temperature was rising, something told me that he wasn't going to be very comfortable with me sitting so close to him with Alice and jazz on the sofa across from us. I grabbed his hand, slipping my fingers through his and brought it to my lips.

"We'll put in a courteous amount of time," I replied teasingly.

He drew me closer to the toasty warmth of him, and I rested our hands in his lap. When I turned my eyes to the movie, I noticed Jazz was watching Edward with a smirk on his face. He then turned his gaze on me and his grin turned sly.

"So, Bella? D'you know that Edward had a serious hard on for you from the first day you arrived?"

I felt my lips curve slightly as Edward groaned and released my hand to push the heel of his palm into his forehead. "Shut the fuck up, Jazz."

"He didn't like me on the first day I arrived," I corrected him, biting on my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"Oh, you reckon—," Jazz continued, his overconfidence pulling his grin deviously, but Alice elbowed him.

"Jazzy, leave him alone," she interjected, rolling her eyes.

Edward sighed to himself, his hand dragging back through his hair. I couldn't tell whether he was genuinely annoyed, but I suddenly felt protective of him. I took his hand again and squeezed it gently. "I kind of already knew, Jazz. The pens were a bit of a giveaway."

Jazz looked like he wanted to push it, but Alice, having incredible power of persuasion over him, effectively distracted him. It was an awkward moment for Edward and me, and grew more so when we realized that it wasn't winding down anytime soon. I tried to concentrate on the movie, but it was difficult when the sound of Alice and Jazz slopping over each other drowned it out.

And Edward was not very impressed with it.

I snuggled into him further, running my fingers over his hand, but he continued to sit tense, groaning under his breath, and becoming more and more impatient. Unlike Alice, I wasn't able to distract him, but then their slurpy kissing sounds didn't make for a very romantic atmosphere to divert his attention.

"Jesus fucking..." Edward muttered to himself, allowing it to trail off before he picked up his empty cola can and threw it at Jazz; hitting him in the back of the head. "Hey, asshole, if you want to feel up my sister at least have the fucking courtesy to do it when I'm not sitting six feet away!" His voice was low and sarcastic.

"Edward!" Alice protested as Jazz looked over at us, the confusion on his face comical.

I smothered my amusement against Edward's shoulder.

"What?" Jazz asked blankly, clearly incoherent from his make-out session with Alice.

Edward huffed, then rolled his eyes before looking down at me. "Either we go now, or I rip Jazzy pants' head off," his tone was gentler as he gazed at me, but it was still obvious that he was annoyed.

I nodded in agreement, trying to hide the fact that I found his anger funny.

"BLUDGE, DID YOU DRINK ALL THE ROOT BEER?" Emmett suddenly bellowed, to which Jazz began immediately laughing.

Edward closed his eyes, groaning beneath his breath, before he stood up from the sofa in one motion, pulling me with him.

We passed Emmett as we made our way to the stairs.

"And keep the rooting down to a dignified level, if you don't mind," he said lowly, feigning a serious tone while trying not to smirk.

I felt my face burst into flames, just as Edward's grip on my hand tightened.

"Jesus, Emmett!" he burst in aggravation.

"What? You're watching the Mariners game, aren't you?" Emmett replied, exaggerating his confusion. "Jeez you're an uptight bastard." He glanced at me and winked again. I scoffed out my wonder at him good-naturedly, and his face almost broke into an all-out grin, before he disappeared into the living room.

Edward shook his head to himself, rubbing his brow with his fingers, but didn't say anything as he led me again to the stairs. We were half way up, when he suddenly paused. His expression faltered for a moment, his eyebrows knotting together as an odd look reflected on his face.

"What is it?" I asked tilting my head to gaze at him, my curiosity piqued.

He shook his head lightly to himself. "Déjà vu," he mumbled, a small smile lighting up across his face.

. . .

I hadn't been in Edward's room since the night of the prom, and as I gazed around I was immediately flooded with memories of that horrible moment when I got the phone call from Nummi.

"You okay, baby?" he asked me gently, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. I looked up and met his gaze and I knew by the intensity of his eyes that he understood what was going through my mind.

"Yeah," I replied softly, nodding.

He pulled me against his chest, resting his chin on the top of my head and took a heavy breath. "You slept on my bed that night. It drove me mad, because my mother wouldn't let me anywhere near you."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed. I vaguely remembered Dr Masen sedating me and having Alice beside me most of the night. But a lot of what had actually happened became confused by nightmares. I remember thinking it was Edward who had died; of seeing his accident so clearly in my mind; and of him lying unconscious and bloody on the side of the road.

Something I was suddenly recalling now.

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my face into his chest.

He replaced his chin with his lips, tightening his arms around me, and it wasn't long before the sensation of being pressed against his overtly warm body completely shifted the tenor within me. Shamefully, all thoughts of Kel faded from my mind as my skin began tingling with the ambience of it.

"Edward?" I asked, my voice a murmur against his chest.

He took a breath, humming in reply.

"Did you really have a hard on for me the first day?" My tone turned teasing.

He broke into soft laughter, exhaling it against my hair as it rocked from his chest. "Erm ... hard on might be a slight ... understatement."

His hands slid from around my back to my hips, where he slipped his fingers beneath my jeans, and immediately a fire was ignited within me.

I grabbed his shirt in both my fists, leaning my head back to meet him as he bent down to kiss me.

It was gentle at first, full of emotion, just the tenderness of his lips, locked between mine, but as it deepened, as our mouths parted and I became engulfed by him, I became vaguely aware that I was tugging at his shirt; while his hands ran up my sides, dragging my t-shirt with them.

Suddenly, all that made sense was the need and desire for his body against mine.

Pressing my lips further against his, I slid my hands directly over the smooth, heated skin of his back, up to his neck, pulling his shirt up to his armpits in the process. He pulled me tighter against him, his bared stomach brushing with mine, before he severed our lips to drag his t-shirt over his head.

His eyes were burning, but when they locked with mine again, they softened. As he encircled me in his arms, I curved my hand around the back of his neck, drawing him back to me, while my other hand cupped around his cheek; my fingers running over the coarse stubble aligning his jaw as our mouths reconnected.

The initial urgency of our movements had calmed; the tempo of our kiss softening and slowing. It was just his lips in motion with mine, parting and deepening. His hands were no longer seeking my skin, but were wrapped tightly around me, holding me flush against him; immersing me in the warmth of his body. His heart was beating rapidly, and as I held his face to mine, I could feel his skin burning hotter.

He slid his nose to the other side of mine, taking my lips between his briefly, before he pressed them to my brow. "Baby, if I take your shirt off, I won't be able to stop at just that."

I ran my hand down his cheek, tucking his hair behind his ear, and pulling his earlobe gently. I kissed him once briefly and then again. "Take my shirt off," I whispered against his lips before I again planted them against his.

Immediately responding, he pressed his lips to mine with more urgency, more need. His mouth opened, and I was engulfed by the warmth of his breath, before he suddenly pulled back.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly. His voice was gravelly and my body reacted to the sound of it almost as a reflex.

I nodded with abandon before I kissed him, uttering out a strangled, breathless sound in response.

I was craving the physical and emotional connection from him. It was a desire that was completely controlling me; to feel his lips and his skin against mine, and to allow myself to respond to him. But was I planning to have sex with him again? I knew it would eventually build until we reached that point; something I doubted I would pull out of. At the same time, the condoms Alice had given to me way back at Nummi's house in Australia were in my top drawer in my bedroom at Uncle Billy's. I didn't have them on me; I didn't come to see Edward with the sole purpose of having sex with him.

But as his lips merged deeper with mine, parted and burning, rational thought slowly faded from my mind.

Suddenly he lifted me up to his eye level, and in the next moment he dropped me back against his bed. With my hands still clasped to the back of his neck, I ended up pulling him down on top of me. His bare chest thudded against my ribs, as a low, sharp-sounding groan burst against my cheek; as if it had caused him pain. I drew in my breath and moved to speak, but before I could utter a word, my mouth was immediately met, and covered by the firmness of his. "I'm fine," he reassured me, the pitch of his voice husky, before he dipped his head to kiss my neck.

I thought about being worried for a moment but was soon too distracted by the sensation of his blazing lips moving over my throat, humming and tasting tenderly—always so tenderly.

Bloody hell…

I took a shaky breath, struggling as it caught at the back of my throat.

His mouth trailed slowly back to mine, his hands finding their way to my stomach, but unable to manoeuvre them with him pressing against me, they slid down my thigh; where he wrapped my leg over him.

The heat was saturating him, and concentrating in the pounding, rock-hard bulge that was suddenly pressing directly—

Oh god…

What was I doing? I was still physically recovering!

I felt myself tense and then retract as his lips enclosed mine, but as he took me into him with so much intensity, he again awakened the yearning within me, and immediately I was yielding, completely surrendering.

"Edward," I breathed his name, my voice catching behind the pressure that was burning in my throat. But I swallowed past it and opened myself further to him, wrapping my arms more tightly around his neck; knowing that his touch was enough to extinguish it.

My hands found their way into his hair; his thick and silky hair. I entwined my fingers around it as he again pulled back from my mouth to press his lips to the base of my throat.

"Bella..." his voice, seeped with emotion, reverberated against my skin as he attempted to pull up my shirt.

It wasn't coming off, not with him lying smooth on top of me, and so in the next movement he pulled himself up on his knees, taking me with him. I felt almost dizzy, practically swaying as he righted us. He exhaled into a sort of half groan—half sigh, and as his eyes caught mine, his smile turned drunken.

With my expression beginning to mirror his, I let my face slide against his; my nose caressing the softness of his cheek.

"Déjà vu," I murmured, before I replaced my nose with my lips.

His half-mumbled reply was swallowed as he captured my mouth with his, before slowly he pulled my shirt up over my chest; his hands trailing behind it, where it broke our lips apart as he completely removed it.

I curled myself against him, craving the contact of his bare skin with mine, and taking a long, heavy breath. Opening my eyes, I noticed for the first time Edward's chest hair, golden brown, and scattered lightly across his chest. I ran my hand gently over it, feeling his body heat beneath my fingertips. Pressing my ear to his chest, I closed my eyes and listened to his heart, steady and increasing, before enclosing my arms tightly around his waist.

I was craving him so intensely I was suddenly swelling with emotion. I was becoming engulfed by it and I needed a moment to process everything.

"Hey?" Edward's gravelly voice whispered.

I looked up, meeting his gaze and feeling a sense of calm. He was still the same Edward as he had been in Australia.

Stretching up, I kissed him gently. It was only brief before he broke away to brush his lips against my neck and then to my bare shoulder; moving my hair back as he did.

From behind me, his hands slid to my hips, where he pulled back and looked at me.

"What?" I asked him feeling my brow pucker, while a warm smile curved on my lips.

"You seem … distracted. Are you sure you want to do this?" he put to me, looking uncertain for the first time.

Placing my palm against his cheek, I smiled at him. "Are you going to ask me this every time?"

"Yeah," he admitted, shrugging lightly, his smile turning askew.

I opened my mouth to reply when there was a knock at Edward's door, and before either of us could react to it, it opened. My heart seized in panic as Edward pulled me flush against him, shielding me before whipping his head toward the door.

Alice popped her head into the room. "Ed..." she began, but the words died on her lips and her expression quickly turned to mortification. "Oh god—I'm so sorry!" she blurted hastily.

"Alice—what the fuck?!" Edward burst angrily as she slammed the door.

"I'm sorry, Edward. Mum's home she wants you and Bella to come down for lunch," she called out apologetically through the door.

I groaned softly wanting to openly cringe, before leaning my forehead against Edward's chest. "Bloody hell," I sighed feeling my face prickle hotly.

Edward huffed out brashly in frustration, before taking a resigned breath and resting his lips against my bared shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bella."

"It's not your fault," I replied, my voice muffled as turned to bury my face against his cheek,

"Bloody Alice," he muttered, his tone lightening.

. . .

By the time Edward and I recovered from the embarrassing event of what his sister almost witnessed and went back down stairs, my face was still a beetroot. As we entered the kitchen, Alice immediately glanced up over at us, her expression beseeching. Edward scowled at her, rolling his eyes in irritation, while she mouthed the word "sorry" to me.

Huffing his breath, Edward turned his back on her as Mrs Cullen turned to greet us.

"Hi, honey," she said to Edward before her eyes turned to me. "Hello, Bella." Her voice became warm as she embraced me, kissing my cheek. "Staying for lunch?"

"Hi—y-yeah," I stammered, becoming more flustered.

"Go sit down." Her smiled increased with warmth before she turned back to the counter and picked up a large bowl of salad.

Edward led me over to the dining table and we sat opposite Alice and Jazz. Alice avoided our gaze, while Jazz was smirking broadly in an obvious internal debate with himself on whether he should give Edward anymore crap. Edward was too distracted to notice, by vigorously assaulting his hair and yanking on the collar of his t-shirt. In a way I was glad, I didn't think he was in the right frame of mind to put up with Jazz at that moment.

Emmett walked in the room languidly, went to the fridge and disappeared behind it. "Jesus, woman, you forgot the root beer. You know how much bludge is fond of the stuff!" His voice echoed loudly.

During the third offensive on his hair, Edward's hand paused before he closed his eyes and groaned softly. I placed my hand on his knee under the table as Jazz snorted and choked his laughter behind his hand.

Esme approached the table carrying two large bowls. With my face on fire, I glanced up at her. She was only rolling her eyes knowingly, still oblivious to that one word that Emmett was using every angle of.

"Watch the woman stuff, fella. And since when does Edward drink root beer?"

Emmett snorted loudly. "Like, freaking ten times a day—well not anymore, now that he has Bella..." he purposely let his voice trail off then cleared his throat with such over the top exaggeration that Jazz turned purple.

Edward, with careful, measured movements covered my hand with his, before leaning closer to me. "I'm so sorry, Bella," he whispered so that only I heard him.

I turned to face him, my brow brushing lightly against his. "It's okay," I replied softly, squeezing his hand gently.

I felt his nose and lips press to my temple briefly before he turned back, and just as Esme placed the salad and a bowl of spaghetti on the table in front of us.

The ambience over lunch was calmer than I'd anticipated. With Emmett hoeing into his food, the rest of us chatted casually. Esme asked polite questions about Australia, and I answered, trying to maintain an easy going tone to my voice while Edward's hot, sultry hand began to get adventurous with my thigh.

I nudged him under the table discreetly then looked up and met Emmett's devious gaze. He'd stopped chewing mid bite for a moment before continuing again, while flashing me a full-cheeked grin. I smiled back at him, then turned my attention back to my plate of food as Emmett turned his to Esme.

"So, Mother, where's Dr McDreamy, anyway?"

"He's at the dentist," Esme answered rolling her eyes.

"Finally getting root canal done, is he?" Emmett asked so completely straight-faced that I was actually amazed.

Of course, Jazz immediately began choking, and when I turned to Edward, he was rubbing his forehead heavily, only smiling slightly to himself. As his eyes met mine, his grin pulled wider. "Are you finished, Bella?"

I nodded.

. . .

We hung out in the back gardens for a while, but it soon began raining. Reluctantly, I pulled my back from the warmth of Edward's chest and stared up at the sky begrudgingly. "I should get home, I guess." I sighed, turning my face to him and kissing him quickly on the cheek.

Exhaling deeply, he hummed his reply lazily then helped me to my feet. We walked to my jeep; Edward with his arm draped loosely over my shoulder. And since it was a day of déjà vu's, the memory of the last time Edward had walked me to my car at his house, echoed through my mind. So much had happened since that day and it was only just a few months previous.

The rain decided to turn torrential, so Edward and I said our goodbyes on the front porch.

He pulled me tightly against him and kissed me tenderly, but briefly a few times; just his soft lips between mine, and enough to make my breath leave me in a gush. "I apologise for my brother and sister," he murmured against my cheek, before kissing me hastily again on the lips.

I nodded with a sigh before laughing softly and kissing him back just as briefly. "Tell your mum thanks for lunch again."

"I will." He placed his lips on my neck this time, bathing my skin in his hot breath for a moment and leaving me slightly unsteady. "Later, alligator," he whispered playfully in my ear.

"Love you, crocodile," I replied affectionately.

"Sappy." He flashed me a teasing grin.

"Always mocking me," I murmured, kissing the side of his mouth quickly and stepping down from the porch into the rain.

I ran to my jeep and jumped in, starting the engine. It wasn't until I turned back to Edward to wave a final goodbye that I suddenly realized what I'd forgotten to ask him. I wound down my window and called out over the rain. "Edward, my father invited you to dinner tonight. Can you come?"

He had his head down, his hand running slowly back through his hair, when he paused. He looked up fractionally and his eyes locked with mine.

A/N: Way to cock block, you little rat!