Chapter 12

Bella P.O.V

My heart is pounding. I am waiting on Edward to say something else, to do something, to move, breathe, blink. But he's a marble statue. The tension in the room so high, you can almost hear it in the silence. My brain in full confusion mode. I'm in between hiding under the covers, or just jumping on his lap and making sure my dream is brought to reality. I'm pending more towards the second option, it's what my body is asking for, and based on the way Edward is looking at me right now, he wouldn't oppose to it. It's my chance.

I move my blankets out of the way, and sit closer to the edge of my bed, trying to figure out the best approach to this. I could get up and go for him, or I could try to entice him to come meet me in my bed. I don't have that much experience with seducing guys, but still more than he has. If I'm not the one to make the first move, we will continue pretending to be marble statues in this room, and that's not what I want happening right now. So I'll go and do it for us.

I'm made full aware of his power over my body, and the power of my dreams too, when I move around a bit, and I can feel my underwear is probably ruined. I might have made a sound due to it, because Edward's eyes close for a bit, and he shifts uncomfortably before opening them again. I can see he is taking really deep breaths, and his eyes are focusing harder and harder on me and my body, with each breath he takes.

I can't be the first one to make a move though. He's the one with hard limits, and as much as I want to say fuck it, and fuck me, I can't step over his lines. And it's when I was having this thought, that his facial expression moves from lust and confusion, to a smirk and a little hint of annoyance. His eyes slowly shifting back to a caramel color. My heart shifting slowly back into a healthier pace, trying to figure out why his sudden mood change when I was so close to making a move that would change our relationship forever. I am waiting on his move now, but when Edward opened his mouth, he wasn't talking to me.

"You guys are aware I'm taking Bella to the house in not even a couple hours, right?" He says to someone I can't see, and I look around, trying to find who it is. "It's my parents, they want to know if we want to join them for some breakfast." Edward asks me, and for a second, I'm very confused, are they planning on taking me on a morning hunt? Right now? When I was about to take their son's virginity on my college dorm bed? Can I even join them on a hunt in any other moment and circumstance? "A human breakfast, they want to take you out, chat, make some human memories. It is okay if you aren't up for it, they stopped by on the way back home from a hunt, and Carlisle has a shift later, so he likes being seen out and about sometimes, and thought it would be nice for you, but only if you are up for it. It is 6am, after all, you can sleep for a few more hours." Oh! An actual breakfast. For me. God, I love them.

"Actually, that sounds perfect." I say, leaving my bed, hoping a breakfast with three immortal beings, that don't actually eat, would make a better start for the day, than having to apologize to Edward for having a sex dream with him, while he's watching me sleep and moan, and then actually considering jumping on his bones and crossing his only line. "I'll just need a few human moments, to shower and get ready."

"We will be back in an hour; how does that sound?" He asked, getting out of my chair to give me a kiss to the forehead. I wait until he is done with it, and grab the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. It's a short and sweet one, I'm acutely aware his parents are at hearing distance and I do not need them being able to smell anything extra in my blood or just around me.

"That works, thank you." And he is out. I take a moment to let everything sink in, before starting to prepare for my day.

I have more than enough time in my hands, so I decided to wash my hair, scared that any of my last night's bath water can still be scented on it. I also dry and style it, as it looks really cold outside, and I don't plan on getting a cold any time soon. I take my time with all human things, and I still have 15min left before the Cullens are back, so I decide to pack for the weekend, and find something nice to wear this morning.

Breakfast with my boyfriend and his parents. That's a first for me. Let alone breakfast with a family that doesn't eat. What does one wear for that? I guess you can't go wrong with a nice pair of black pants, a green cashmere long sleeve shirt, boots, and a long coat. It isn't my best, but looking at the mirror I know it's something that Alice wouldn't hate me for wearing it. That's good enough.

I'm all packed and ready when I hear a knock on my door, right on time. I expect to see Edward, but when I open the door, it is Esme that is standing on the hallway.

"Good morning, sweetie." She smiles at me, with her perfect heart shaped face and golden eyes. For anyone around, anyone seeing us talking right now in the corridors, she doesn't look a day older than 30. Could pass for a student, maybe 24, 25, no problem. But for me, as someone that knows her, and the way she acts, she couldn't look more like an immortal mom of 5. Her superhuman posture and the inevitable aura of love and respect that emanates from her, are perfectly accompanied by the sweetest smile on her face. "I brought you an apology drink, for barging in on you guys without a warning, and not letting you go back to bed before taking you out this morning." She says, as I'm still taking in her presence in my hall. I see she's offering me a Starbucks cup, and I grab it, thanking her for the kindness.

"You don't have anything to apologize for. That wasn't a barge in at all. I know those, I am used to those, and what you and Carlisle did, not it." I say with a smile, taking a sip of my coffee, suddenly grateful for no secrets in this family, as she has gotten my perfect order. "Even the hazelnut, how the fuck?" I say out loud, shocked. She smiles at me, and I blush, ashamed I was doing my mental mumbling not so mentally, in front of her, I guess I can blame that on the lack of caffeine. I mean, if it makes you feel better, sure. She makes no comment on it, only smiling back.

"Do you have your things packed for the weekend? If not, I can help." She offers, but I'm already shaking my head and reaching for my suitcase by the door. I must have made a little face, or let out a groan or something, when I tried to pick it up, because in a flash, Edward is by my side, taking it from me.

"THAT, is a barge in." I tell Esme, as soon as I can catch my breath again. Still not fully used to vamp speed. I am smiling, as I don't mind Edward coming to help, but she is not happy. She is looking at him with a stern face, almost as if she's annoyed at him.

"I apologize for his caveman behavior Bella. He used to be great at giving people their privacy and respect, but if you are used to him just invading your personal space like that, when not invited, he must have forgotten some of his manners." She really sounds like a mom right now. "Also, he knows better than to just assume we can't take care of a suitcase by ourselves. You can give me that, Edward. I got it." She speaks. And he doesn't dare saying anything else other than "Yes, sorry", before vanishing again. She smiles back at me, as I'm still trying to process what just happened. "He might be 120, but when the subject is you, he can still be a teenager sometimes. He might need a reminder here and then, about what decade we are in, and the right manners for this time, but I'm sure you know that." She winks at me, and I laugh. "Got everything you need?"

"Yes, I think so." I check for my keys, phone, wallet, documents. "All here."

"Perfect, cause the restaurant we are going has just opened, and my son is worried we are starving you."

Esme takes my heavy suitcase, filled with winter clothes and boots, down the stairs for me, without even acknowledging its weight. Sometimes I forget she's also super strong, fast, immortal, and this is a nice reminder. Edward and Carlisle are both waiting standing by Carlisle's car. Edward's Jeep nowhere in sight. This is a bit weird for me, as I haven't been in the back seat of a Cullen car since the whole James incident, and that's not a memory I'm in the mood to deal with right now. I'm scared I'll get flashbacks and ruin our morning, so I stop walking for a second, trying to recompose myself.

I can see in Edward's face that my elevated heartbeat, and possible shaking, are worrying him, but I put his mind at ease with a smile, approaching the two of them.

"Good morning, Bella. I hope my wife and I aren't messing with your plans this morning. I am very grateful you decided to join us." Said Carlisle, approaching me for a quick hug. Before reaching for his wife and my bags. She gives it to him no questions asked.

"Morning, Carlisle. And definitely not. I'd probably just have some OJ and a banana for breakfast, you're saving me from a deeply depleted one-cupboard pantry, so thank you for the invite." I say, approaching Edward. He offers me his hand, which I grab no hesitation. "Hello again." I say to him, as he kisses me on the forehead.

"Good morning love." He says, pulling me into a weirdly comfortable rock hard and cold hug. "I'm sorry for my lack of respect for your privacy. I am working on it." He says in my ear, and I hug him tighter.

"You are forgiven. I know you are, and I don't mind it that much, most of the time." That is the exact time my stomach decides to make itself known, with a hungry grumble. I hide my face on Edward's coat, and he laughs at me.

"Time for breakfast, everyone, in the car, let's go." Says Esme, and I laugh at how much she sounded like Alice, for a second.

Edward opens the back passenger door for me, and the passenger door for Esme, making sure we are both secured inside the car, before moving to the other side, and join me on the backseat. We have never been in the backseat of a car together. I have never been in the backseat of a car, with my boyfriend, with his parents driving us somewhere. I hold his hand, smiling, and he looks at me with a puzzled look.

"Edward, we have never done this." I tell him, as the full realization is coming to me.

"Done what?"

"Sit in the backseat of a car together, being able to hold hands, or even just hold each other in a car without one of us having to drive. I know it's small and silly, but this is something I've never done before. It makes me feel like a teenager, with my first boyfriend, neither of us old enough to drive, holding hands trying not to get caught by your parents starring at the mirror. I don't know. It's not something I ever thought about before. Not an experience I ever missed having. But now I'm having it, I'm happy it's a first we can share together." I try to explain in a way I won't sound too naïve or childish. I don't make the point of mentioning other firsts we might get to have before and after I become a vampire, but now there are definitely new scenarios passing on my mind, of new things we can experience together.

Before I can blink, Edward is pulling me closer to him, turning my head gently, so he can kiss me. And what a kiss. His right hand is firmly holding my neck, keeping my mouth glued to his. His left hand has reached down for my right leg, pulling me from under my knee, so my body is towards him, with one of my legs right on top of his. His lips move against mine with so much purpose, lust, and need, I almost forget they are cold and stiff, as they seem to mold around mine, perfectly. He is making out with me, hard-core, in the backseat of his parent's car, with Carlisle and Esme witnessing it all, no fucks given.

It's not like I am in the mental state to be questioning him and his action in front of his parents, but I'm still me, and I am not big on PDA. As much as I'm enjoying this, I decide to push him away, just enough so he knows what I want. He does it reluctantly, and I am not too happy about the small distance between us either.

"What was that for?" I asked, still catching my breath.

"Making new memories, of course. We needed at least one 'making out in front of the parents' story'. I didn't think it would be a good idea to do that in front of your dad. He will try to kill me without it, let us not add to the Chief's rage." He said smiling. "Also, Carlisle and Esme are used to pretending nothing is happening around them. We end up having to learn how to ignore the PDA around the house, cause walls don't do much for our hearing." I blush, knowing exactly what he means.

"I guess that's fair enough. I am still not too big on it though. Sorry Esme, sorry Carlisle." I say, still a bit embarrassed, but not actually mad, I would never get mad for Edward kissing me. Let alone when he kisses me like that. Esme looks back from her front seat and smiles at me, and I can see Carlisle is also smiling while driving, so I know they really didn't mind. "I like these new experiences thing." I say under my breath, and I hear him laughing a bit. I reach for his hand, and hold on to it, just enjoying his company.

The drive to the coffee shop isn't the longest. I don't live too far from the hospital, thankfully, and the restaurant is only a couple blocks from it. It is a fancy place though, the inside way fancier I would have guessed by the minimalistic outside and door. One of those coffee shops you know an expresso will cost four times the normal price, and a piece of pie will be your weekly university meal plan budget. I probably should have guessed it was one of those places, but I guess my mind tends to ignore how rich the Cullens are.

"How rich are you guys?" I ask, before I can hold back my tong. I put both my hands on my mouth, trying to physically hold back my loud thoughts, but Esme chuckles, letting me know I did really just say that out loud. "Oh God, that is so rude, I'm sorry! My filter has been really lacking for the past few years, therapy did do a number on me, and sometimes I just cannot hold back the random thoughts. I did not mean to ask that." I know I'm blushing; my hands move to closer to my temples, and I lower my head into them, way too ashamed to look up. Way to go, Bella, not like this wouldn't already be the most awkward breakfast already. Shush.

Edward reaches for one of my hands, pulling it back from my face, and kissing it lightly, before placing a loving, sweet kiss on my temple, where my hand previously rested. I feel his smile against me, and deep in my thoughts I just appreciate how happy he seems just being around me, how much he enjoys my human mumblings. My heart flutters a bit, and it is impossible to feel anything bad when he does that. I look up to smile at him, before following everyone inside the building. Carlisle is holding the door open, and he is the one answering me as I walk past him.

"Honestly? More than any of us would ever need. Rosalie does the accounting though, if you want a definite number, you will have to ask her."

"I'm scared of asking, to be honest." No filter again, nice. At this point, do we even know what is a filter? Not really. And now, all three of them are laughing.

"Well, if you are ever curious, she won't mind you asking. None of us will." He says, as he passes us to reach for the hostess.

I am way too focused on how stupidly large Edward's bank account probably is, to actually pay attention to Esme talking to the hostess, and I only come back to my senses when Edward is holding back a chair for me, in a nice semi-private booth, by a corner. I thank him, before sitting down and getting comfortable. I do not remember the last time I have been in such a nice restaurant before, probably Port Angeles, for my graduation dinner with dad, Sue, Jake, Leah and Seth. That feels like ages ago. Another life.

Breakfast with the Cullen's was way more fun than expected. Rosalie and Emmett joined us as soon as her work was done for the day, and for anyone that looked from the outside, we just looked like a happy, normal, and weirdly functional family. With way too much food on the table, to feed a single human. I ate more food than I ever thought possible for me to have in one meal, and I caught everyone sneaking some things into containers in both Esme's and Rosalie's purses, but even then, we had leftovers that would last me days.

After making sure we had everything packed to go, which Esme promised to donate to someone in need, Rosalie and Emmett excused themselves to go shopping, while Edward and I joined Esme on dropping Carlisle off to work. Finally, around 8:30am, we drove the decently distant way to their Alaskan mansion.

Mansion isn't exactly what I should have called it. Edward had warned me they owned a large, closed-off, property, in the middle of the woods, but I was expecting a huge house, with an even bigger yard, and just trees everywhere. And I could not be more wrong.

There was a big metal gate to the entrance of the property, and once we passed it, there were different gravel roads we could take. There were still a lot of trees, but I was just expecting a big house in the middle, not a maze of roads. The main road, the one we took, took us almost 5 minutes by car from the gate, to a decent sized house, that looked like a big fairy tale cottage, but still small for 7 people to live in it.

The Cullen house in Forks was a big and open mansion, with glass everywhere, and a lot of floors. But this house, felt homier. It was only two floors, and the windows were big, but not floor to ceiling glass. It was all made of wood, with vines, well-trimmed and cared for, making it all look like it belonged in the woods. There were flower beds filled with snow, marking the sides to a path for the main double doors. It looked old, it had a lot of personality, and I think I love it already.

"I am sorry not everything is yet in placed and cared for, Bella. We have been taking our time with the renovations, to make sure everything is updated and personalized to our tastes and specific hobbies and activities. Alice and I made sure the main house was ready for visitors though, since it's where we plan on having our social gatherings for the family." Said Esme, opening the main door and inviting me in. I wanted to tell her I didn't care if things weren't perfectly placed, or if there were renovations messes around, but my brain was still processing a different part of the information she gave me.

"Social gatherings? Main house?" I ask, now looking at Edward. "Did you guys buy an extra house just for appearances?" He laughs.

"No. Carlisle and Esme bought this land a couple decades ago. Used to be like a resort/getaway type of thing, back in the 60s, where they had the main office and reception, which is this building, and a few cabins scattered around the land. Far enough for privacy for the guests, but still a comfortable walk in the woods to the main areas." He says as I walk in. My brain finally catches up to what he is saying.

"Wait. Does that mean you have extra houses in the property?" How rich do you have to be for that??

"We have eight, to be exact. Hello Bella, good morning." Said Jasper, entering the main hall we were all standing in right now. "We only fixed four of those though. We have not been here for too long, most cabins have been empty and abandoned for years, and we are all still figuring out how we want to set up our homes, we will work on the rest later." He looks at Edward confused. "I would think you told her about our living situation here."

"Hadn't come up yet, and you know how Alice loves these things, thought I'd give her the pleasure of doing the tours."

I look around me trying to process everything. This house is quite open floor. A hall area, a nice living room to our left, with huge couches, a piano, some art, and a fireplace. To our right I could see a dining area, and what I guessed was an archway to a kitchen. There were stairs to the second floor, which I would guess that is where the rooms were, but from what they are saying that isn't the case.

"So let me see if I am getting this right. You have this absolutely beautiful, fairy tale like house, as a main family gathering situation. With kitchens, living rooms, pianos. And then each of you have your own private home around here?" I ask to all of them, but no one in particular.

"Yes. And no. I mean, Edward has his own place, the rest of us share with our partners, of course." Esme is the one to answer me. "We love doing this so we all have more privacy, but we still around each other as a family. In Forks we did not have the space for that, and as everyone was passing as teens, living together made sense. Here we don't need that. We do have a couple rooms here, and we set up one for you, if you would rather be in the main building, but you are welcome to any of the cabins."

"I am comfortable with whatever. If you have a tent, I can even camp outside." I really hope that is not the case, but being here was enough. I turn to Edward then, because something is still in my mind. "You have a whole house to yourself, and you have been hanging out with me in my tiny dorm room every night?" He smiled at me, but before he could answer, I heard a car approaching the house. I turned back to the door, that was still open, and saw Edward's Jeep parking behind Carlisle's car.

I didn't have the time to ask who was driving his car, although I should have known who it was, when Alice jumped out of it and came in my direction smiling.

"Bella! So sorry I am late, I had some last minutes errands to run, but I got it all done! Are you excited for our weekend?" She asked, jumping to hug me, and making me smile. Her energy was always contagious.

"I am, although I have to admit, I could use some extra hours of sleep before anything you have planned, because I have a feeling I will need it." I say to her, a bit worried about her maybe not being too excited about me excusing myself while it's her weekend with me. I just know she will have me up all night, and I didn't get much sleep at all.

"That is a great idea! You and Edward can go get set up at the cabin, relax, you can eat something, and then we will meet here in the afternoon. How does that sound?" She sounds way too excited about letting me leave for hours, after just arriving, not to worry me.

"What are you hiding, Alice Cullen?"

"I'm not hiding anything. I just know you will be cranky and I think you deserve some extra rest. I know you had a restless sleep." She grins, and I want to hide my face on Edward's chest. She knows. Of course, she knows. About the dream, about the plans I was making to jump on Edward's lap as soon as I woke up, about the way we definitely got cockblocked by Carlisle and Esme. I already want to die of embarrassment, and then I notice Jasper looking at me with a puzzling face, as if he is wondering why I am so embarrassed. Oh no, not him too. "Here Edward, your keys, thanks for the loan." She says, giving him his car keys. "Take Bella to your house, rest, and we will meet for cabin tours at 2pm." And with that, we are out before anyone else makes any comments.

Edward directs me to his car, which surprises me for a bit.

"My cabin is the furthest away one, right at the edge of the property. I could run you there, but I thought you would appreciate the chance of driving the Jeep, so Alice brought it for us." He said, while passing on Carlisle's car to grab my suitcase from the truck. I finally understand what he means, and I do some quick jumps, excited to drive his new car. "When did you become such a car's girl?"

"Jake used to fix old cars and bikes in his garage. He's in school to be a mechanic now, which suits him perfectly. I spent way too much time in that garage not to pick up on a thing or two, and start appreciating good cars when I see one." I answer, a bit sad remembering Jake, but still excited to test drive the new car. "And I guess once I upgraded from the truck, I realized how much more fun it was to drive when the car is actually corroborating to your will."

"Well, be my guest then, have fun. We will go back down the main road, and take the third left. And then we just follow it till the end." He said, opening the driver's seat door for me, and helping me up. By the time I'm sat there, and setting up the seat in the correct place for me to drive, he had put my bags on the back seat, and taken the passenger side.

The car comes alive in my hands when I press the start button. It is a really smooth drive, and I can barely feel the gravel road while we are going through it. I take the third left, that he indicates to me as the correct one, and we start going on a way more dense forest path, which I couldn't see the end of it yet.

"Why are you on the furthest way cabin?" I ask, to make conversation. I'm still processing the fact them all have separate places, and Edward owns his own house. Well, I guess he owns multiple houses, but one here with his family, that I can visit right now.

"For the silence. Not only the actual silence, which isn't exactly that easy to get, although Jasper has done an amazing job with the soundproofing of the cabins, but also the mental silence. My mind reading doesn't have an exact distance to when it stops for me, if I am very comfortable and used to the person, I can read their minds from miles away, if it is someone new, they need to be closer. I've known my family members for a long time, I can recognize their minds anywhere, from long distances, so I wanted the furthest away one, so I can try to disassociate from that a little bit easier than not. It's still quite close, and if I really try I can definitely tell what they are thinking, but I am good at ignoring them at this point." He answered, and it was an obvious answer that I should have thought of, but I was still getting back on tracks with their gifts and whatnot. I decide then to focus on the part that interested me the most in his answer.

"Soundproofing?"

"Soundproofing."

"I thought you guys would be used to the lack of privacy by this point."

"We are. Does not mean any of us are big fans of it. We can tune out things we don't want to be paying attention to, sure, but knowing we are a little freer to play an instrument, listen to a song, watch a movie, or make any sounds without bothering others, is quite the good feeling. Every place we live has some sort of soundproofing to the rooms, but there's a limit we can do when we talking about door-to-door rooms. Whenever we can get our own private spaces, we take the opportunity to its fullest." He smiles probably knowing where my brain is going with this information. Before I can say anything, he continues. "Alice has been having fun modifying my cabin to be human friendly too, above the vampire friendly adjustments. I gave her full shopping rights for food, personal hygiene products, and even a bed. Everyone had some extra fun getting that last one, as I never shopped for a bed for myself before."

"Edward, you didn't need to buy a bed just because of me. If its going to be there useless for most of the time, an air mattress would be enough, or I could sleep in the main house as Esme offered." I said, worried I was interfering too much with his personal space. He got quiet for a moment, thinking about something. I decide to check on him once I see his intense stare at me, from my peripheral view. He looked at me with darker eyes than normal, eyes I was starting to wait for and really appreciate, and said.

"There are more uses to a bed, than sleeping." And that was all he needed to say, to make me eager to get to his place. Let's show Edward all the perks of owning a bed.