Author Note: Thanks for the great response to this story! Many of you are worried that Edward and Bella are taking too many chances by continuing to go out, even if it's in the next county over.

Congratulations to k8ln713, who was the only one to guess this chapter's title from Bon Jovi!

Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.

Chapter 21 – Livin' on a Prayer

"Eight point five inches," I proudly report my official measurement of Edward's erect penis. "That's way over the 95% percentile. So don't try to tell me again you're just a little bit above the five to six-inch average."

"Yes, Ma'am," he smirks. "How do you know what the average penis length is?"

"Google is my friend," I smile, setting the tape measure on the nightstand.

"Come here," he crooks his finger and I crawl closer, until Edward pulls me down on top of him. I eagerly return his kisses, just so glad that we're here together. James may be trying to hurt us, but he's not going to. We're too strong for that.

As we kiss, Edward tugs up on my shirt until he's able to pull it over my head. My bra is the next to go, and I moan as his lips and tongue find my breasts.

"I want you naked," he whispers, and I hurriedly roll off of him so that I can tug my skinny jeans off. That shit isn't easy.

"You want to try something new?" he asks, a gleam in his eye. I should be wary, but instead I'm intrigued. "Face the bottom of the bed," he directs.

I sit up, then Edward motions for me to straddle his torso. He tugs my legs back toward his head, then pushes down on my back.

"Ohhhhh…" I moan when his tongue touches between my legs. I'm left staring at the very lonely looking BDE when I finally realize he's aiming for a 69. I'm a bit slow tonight.

Leaning forward, I suck him into my mouth. I haven't tried deep throating in a couple of weeks, and given the new angle, I wonder if this might work better.

I still fail, but I think I've passed the halfway point, at least. It's also very difficult to concentrate on my task while his tongue is busy making me feel so good.

After a couple minutes of pleasuring each other, Edward pulls his mouth off me. "I need to be inside you," he begs.

"Like this?" I ask, getting back up onto my knees.

"You can turn around if you want."

I want. I definitely want to see his face while I ride him.

Spinning around, I position the BDE at my entrance, then slowly slide down. It's much easier than the first time I tried to be on top. I must be getting used to his way-above-average size.

Edward holds his hands out, and I place my hands in his, bracing myself as I experiment with my rhythm.

"You ride me so good, Bella," he purrs. "It's like you were made for me."

"Mmmm…" I moan, speeding up my movements. I think he was made for me, too.

"I think this might be my favorite view," he pants, "watching you so unashamed as you take such pleasure from my body. I love it when you're a vixen."

Bending his knees for leverage, he begins thrusting up to meet my downward movements, pushing that 8.5-inch cock impossibly deeper. I am going to feel this later, but it's so, so worth it.

I'm startled when he sits up, kissing me deeply as we both near our peaks.

"Let me feel you," he begs.

He stares into my eyes and unless I'm completely nuts, I see pure love there. It's enough to push me over the edge, and I scream out my orgasm. One, two, three pumps later and I feel Edward coming inside me.

I collapse into his arms, my forehead resting on his shoulder while his arms hug me tightly to his body. It's right on the tip of my tongue to tell him I love him, but… would it be too soon? Would he say it back? Should I wait for him to say it first?

While I'm pondering that, Edward starts to pull away from me, smiling gently as he brushes my hair off my face. He kisses me sweetly and I melt all over again.

"If this is wrong, I don't ever want to be right," he says. "But I think we need to get up before we make a mess on the bed."

"Yeah," I chuckle, carefully lifting myself off his lap.

Even though I've packed an overnight bag, I still prefer sleeping in Edward's big t-shirts. Once I've slipped one on, I crawl into his bed, waiting for him to join me.

"You gonna leave me alone tonight?" Edward asks with a yawn as he gets into the bed next to me.

"It depends on whether or not your monster cock needs me," I grin, laying my head on his chest.

"Always."

Edward drops me off at my apartment far too early for my taste on Saturday morning. Mom wants us to have breakfast together though, and I was a bit of a procrastinator about packing my bag for Thanksgiving week.

"Oh!" I exclaim when I step in the door to the sight of Jasper in a towel. I didn't know they'd take advantage of Jake's and my absence to use our apartment!

"Never mind me, I'm just gonna go pack!" I shield my eyes as I walk quickly to my bedroom.

Ten minutes later, my packing is complete. I have my toiletries in the bag from last night, so I add that to the suitcase, then crack open my door. "Is it safe?" I yell.

"Yes!" Alice calls. "We're having breakfast."

"Who cooked?" I ask, coming into the kitchen to give her a hug.

"Jasper made omelets," she says proudly. "They're not the prettiest but they taste good. Do you want one?"

I shake my head. "I'm meeting Mom and Phil at First Watch."

"We're still on for Tuesday, right? You, me and Jake?"

"Can Edward come with us? He's not leaving for Springfield until Wednesday, and Jake has been dying to meet him properly."

"And the only way you can sneak away from the parental units to see him is with us?" she grins.

"Bingo!"

"He can come," Alice agrees.

"He seemed like a nice guy," Jasper says. "I was a bit leery of a professor dating a student, but he didn't seem like a creep."

"He's not a creep. We just happened to meet on campus," I shrug. "Anyway, see you Tuesday, Al. Jasper, I guess I'll see you next week. Have fun with your family!"

This is when I hate living in a second-floor apartment with no elevator. I have to drag my heavy suitcase down a flight of stairs. Ugh, I should've asked Jasper to help.

Once I've got it in my trunk, I send a quick text to Mom to let her know I'm on my way, giving her my estimated arrival time from the Maps app on my phone.

"Hi, baby," she says, standing from her seat when I arrive. I give her a quick hug and smile at Phil before sitting down.

"It feels like ages since I've seen you," she frets.

"We had dinner last month," I remind her.

"I know, it's just… you're going to college in the same city and I hardly see you!"

"Well, for one thing, I'm over a half hour away with no traffic, and I'm busy with my schoolwork and my friends."

"Just your friends?" she asks, and I can feel my face heating up despite my best efforts. "So you have a boyfriend."

"I… am seeing someone," I confirm.

"I hope you're being safe."

"Mom!" I exclaim in mortification.

I'm saved from further humiliation when our waitress stops by to take our orders. After checking out the special seasonal menu, I order the cinnamon roll waffle, which sounds amazing.

"Do you have schoolwork to do this week?" Phil asks.

"Yes," I groan. "I have a paper due a week from Friday in my Literature class." Only Edward would assign that on the last day before a break. He still retains a few of his dickish tendencies as a professor. I would've teased him about it last night, but we made an agreement that our personal and school lives are to be totally separate.

"What kind of teacher assigns something right before the break?" Mom asks, echoing my thoughts.

"So tell us about this boyfriend," Phil says. I mean, I like him, but he's sounding like a bit like he's encroaching on Dad's territory. "I assume you met him at school."

I've already decided that I'm not going to hide Edward from my parents — or hide what he does. Just that I'm in his class.

"I did," I confirm. "His name is Edward."

"What is he majoring in?" Mom asks.

"Um, he-he's not. He's a professor who teaches junior-level writing."

"You're dating a professor?" she gasps. "Isn't that against the rules?"

"Consensual relationships are only prohibited when one person has direct evaluative or supervisory authority over the other," I reply, quoting from the handbook.

"But still…"

"How did you meet him?" Phil asks.

"In the cafeteria. I didn't realize he wasn't a student at first," I lie.

"He must be relatively young then to be a professor?"

"He just completed his PhD last February; he's 28."

"That's way too old for you!" Mom exclaims.

"I'm 19, Mom, not a baby."

"But you aren't even old enough to drink," she protests.

"Well, he doesn't really drink except in social situations where it's kind of expected. He doesn't care if he can't take me to bars." Obviously she doesn't know about my fake ID.

"But he's still so much older and more experienced than you are. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I think… getting hurt pretty much comes with growing older. If it happens, I'll live. We've only been dating for around six weeks, so don't go getting us married off already, all right?"

"When can we meet him?" Phil asks.

"Um, well, maybe over Winter Break. He's going home to see his parents this week, near Springfield, Illinois."

"What do they do?" he asks.

"His dad is an orthopedic surgeon. His mom died several years ago in a car accident, but his stepmom is an interior designer… Are we done with 20 questions now?"

"As long as we get to meet him soon," Mom says, just as our waitress delivers our meals.

Early evening on Tuesday, I head out to pick up Alice and Jake. Like nearly every time I go somewhere with my two friends, I'm the one to drive, thanks to having an SUV. Alice drives a canary yellow Porsche, while Jake has an old Volkswagen Rabbit; her car has no backseat, while his has a poor excuse for one.

"So where are we meeting Edward?" Alice asks after I've picked her up. Jake is my next stop.

"In a parking garage off Brentwood," I answer. "It seems like a good central location for both of us. He lives in Maryland Heights."

Edward said he'd park in the garage behind Maggiano's — yum, we totally need to go there one day. We discussed leaving his car at the nearby Galleria, but the mall will likely be closed by the time we get back, while some of the nearby shops and restaurants are open longer.

I pull into the garage and immediately see Edward jogging up to my car. Rolling down my window, I point to the seat behind me. "Jake needs the front for his legs."

Edward opens the back door and slides in. "Hopefully that seat has more room than behind Jake," I laugh.

"I'll live," he assures me.

Jacob turns around, holding his hand out to Edward. "Jacob Black," he says formally. He'd better be nice to Edward; I threatened to stop cooking dinner if he's not.

"Edward Cullen."

I smile as I watch the two men shake hands in the rearview mirror.

"Have you heard anything from the Dean?" Alice asks.

"No," Edward says, letting out a long breath. "I'm really not expecting anything this week." Neither am I. With the dorms closed for the week, James is in all likelihood back home in whatever small town he's from.

"Yeah," she agrees, "unless James went straight to the Dean after talking to Bella."

"I wonder if they'll investigate first or just take James's word for it," Jake muses. "I don't think he has the best reputation."

"You guys know what to say if you're contacted, right?" I verify.

"We're good, Bella, don't worry," Jake smiles.

"Thank you both for your help," Edward says. "So whose idea was that little steal-the-phone caper?"

Both Alice and I point to Jake. "I'm a bit worried about your criminal mind," I laugh.

"Hey!" he protests. "One TV in the house and if my dad was home, it was tuned to CSI or Law and Order."

Following the directions on my phone, I pull up to the restaurant inside the city of St. Louis after just a few minutes, though it's tough to find street parking.

"I thought you said we were going to The Hill?" Edward questions as we get out of the car. "This area looks flat to me."

Jake laughs. "This area of St. Louis is called The Hill, but I have no idea why. There aren't any hills, just a number of Italian restaurants."

Inside one of those cozy, dimly lit Italian restaurants, we're led to a booth. Edward leans over to kiss me as soon as we're seated.

"Ugh, I'm surrounded by happy couples," Jake complains playfully.

"Has no one at school caught your eye?" I ask.

"No one who'd be interested," he winks, letting Alice and me know he means only straight guys.

After ordering drinks, we check out the extensive menu.

"What are they known for here?" Edward asks.

"A glass shaped like a fishbowl, full of beer," Alice laughs.

"I think I'll pass then," he smiles.

"What are you getting, Jake?" I ask.

"All-you-can-eat spaghetti and meatballs… mmm-mmm," he grins widely, rubbing his stomach. I finally settle on the Portobello mushroom ravioli; ravioli tends to be one of the more reasonable-sized portions at Italian restaurants.

"Jake, what are you studying at UMSL?" Edward asks once we've placed our orders.

"Accounting," he answers. "Unlike these two Liberal Arts majors, I wanted to major in something that leads directly to a specific career. Did you major in English or Education?"

"My undergrad was English with a later Master's in Education."

"Did you always want to teach at the college level?" Alice asks. "I know you said you prefer it now."

"Yeah, pretty much," Edward nods. "I love literature and how with the written word, you can enter an entire new world. I also enjoy discussing what I've read and hearing other points of view. Teaching that kind of critical thinking seems to be limited to college-level classes these days."

"You taught Bella's AP English class, right?"

He nods. "And some sophomore and junior casses. Also, I think with my father being a surgeon, I got this drive early on to be the best a whatever I chose to be. No offense intended at all toward elementary or middle school teachers, because they have very important jobs, but for me, to be a college professor meant to be at the top of my game."

"Not to put a damper on things," Jake begins, "but what happens if James goes to the Dean and we didn't delete every single copy of the photos? Can you be fired?"

Edward sighs, taking a drink of his soda. "The possible consequences go all the way up to termination of employment." He pauses, looking over at me. "We just have to hope that you guys were successful, and that if James does squeal anyway, as I expect him to, the Dean takes our word over his."

A/N: So the official length of the BDE was revealed: 8.5 inches! k8ln713 was also the only one to guess the exact number.

Bella finally told Renee and Phil about Edward, leaving out the most damaging information. And Jake and Edward finally met! Yes, they're out on a date in St. Louis, though any students who aren't local should be out of town for the week. No one on the faculty who could recognize either of them would know that she is his student.

The title comes from Edward's final statement… they're hoping that they can weather whatever storm James throws their way.

Next update on Thursday.

For a teaser: While the song I chose was #1 hit in its own right, this artist is probably better known for a track from a Tom Cruise movie.