Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I just enjoy borrowing her characters for a while.

AN: Thank you for reading and especially reviewing. Your support and encouragement has made me remember why I love writing & sharing my stories so much and I couldn't wait to post the next chapter. I still don't have a beta and I know I have missed some mistakes in previous chapters no matter how many times I check them before I post. I appreciate your patience with me.

Good Times

It was a month since our trip to the bank and Bella's control was growing with impressive momentum. Tonight was the culmination of all our preparation and training in integrating with humans.

The bar was packed and even moving through the humans would be a challenge for her. I was used to their proximity and resisting them was a non-issue for me, but for Bella? This was an ultimate test. If we could spend the night here without her hurting any of them, then I was sure there wasn't any situation she couldn't deal with.

We'd chosen this particular place because it was popular but non-descript. Not pretentious but not a dive either. We'd been looking for somewhere to try this for a week or so. This place had established regulars, but was near several hotels so had enough strangers passing through that we wouldn't be blatantly out of place and we both liked the vibe and the music. I hoped I wouldn't have to burn it down.

I was sure I wouldn't have to. She was ready for this.

Bella was tense but determined. She was leading me through the press of human bodies, her hand in mine and our arms outstretched. The distance between us gave her the independence she needed to know that her control was her own, but I could still pull her to me if I needed to. Right now she was doing the pulling. The heartbeats thundered like an army of drummers, all beating a different rhythm. Many of the women were scantily dressed and their pulsing arteries were on prominent display. I could feel Bella's tension and concentration as she carved a path through them. I knew she was being careful not use too much strength, so as not to hurt them or alert them that she was different. She was heading the bar area where the humans were congregated most tightly then she stopped, turned to me and drew me close to her.

"I'm going to get a drink," she told me, her mouth curved into a smile at her choice of words. She tilted her face up to mine and pressed a kiss to my lips. I let her go without reservation. She wouldn't have left my side if she was not absolutely sure she would cope. Buying drinks when you first entered a bar was standard human behaviour and it might be noticed if we didn't. Bella didn't take long at the bar. Naturally, she was served almost instantly by the barman, leaving a few of the other females vying for his attention frustrated and disgruntled. She handed me my drink triumphantly and she deserved to be proud of herself. I was proud of her and I let it show in my smile.

We passed the time making up new stories for the humans in the bar. It wasn't that we didn't have anything better to talk about but it was safer to stay away from any subjects that could betray what we were. It was unlikely that anyone could her us over the noise from the music or that anyone was even listening but we would never be careless.

"Do you want to dance?" I eventually asked Bella, when I had drunk as much of my drink as I could stomach. It would be a good excuse to leave them behind especially as Bella had barely touched hers. She looked horrified at the suggestion and I clamped down my disappointment. I'd suddenly loved the idea watching her move to the music. We'd done many things over the past seven months, but we'd never danced together before.

"I suppose I could try…" I realised I hadn't hidden my disappointment as well as I thought.

"You don't need to do anything you don't want to for me, Bella," I told her honestly but it was too late for that. She had that stubborn, resolved set to her jaw. She had set herself the challenge to do something and she wouldn't back away from it.

She was hesitant at first but it wasn't long before she really seemed to be enjoying herself. We kept to the periphery of the dance floor and she followed my lead in acting breathless during the faster dances and melting into my arms for some of the slower ones. Reluctantly, because we were drawing a little too much attention at this point, I eventually led her away.

"I never imagined how much fun that could be," Bella laughed. "Before, when I was…," she trailed off in discretion but of course I knew what she didn't say. "I was so uncoordinated. I would embarrass myself walking across a room. I was ridiculous." I couldn't believe she had ever been ridiculous. It was difficult to envision her being clumsy as a human. She was so graceful now, even by the standards of our kind. I was grateful for another insight into her human life though. She mentioned her past more frequently now. Just a snippet of information here and there but I was collecting each piece and felt like I was starting the edges of a jigsaw puzzle. One day she would tell me what fit in the middle. Almost as if she heard my thoughts, she grabbed my hand and said, "I'm going to tell you soon, Garrett, but not tonight. I'm too happy tonight and I don't want anything to spoil it."

I kissed her again and we let it go a bit past inappropriate for surrounded by humans before we made our way out into the relief of the fresh air.

Of course I saw him coming. An intoxicated human male, walking with a slight stagger but enough purpose to tell me we were his intended destination. I tried to navigate around him but I had to keep up a frustratingly slow human pace because there were quite a few other people milling around close by so he managed to 'corner' us. Easily escapable but not worth the risk of exposure as he was no threat to us.

Unsurprisingly he wanted to hit on Bella and tell me what a loser I was and how she would be much better off with him. His sneer was as leering and disrespectful as his words. I knew he probably thought he had a physical advantage over me. I was slightly taller but he was much wider and his muscular physique suggested he often frequented the gym. He seemed unconcerned about my about my risk to him. He didn't take Bella's refusal well and didn't even spare me the glance that should have warned him against persisting. When he went to grab Bella away from me, she pushed him and he landed hard on the floor. He was on his feet again with surprising speed, embarrassed and furious that Bella had knocked him down so easily.

"You fucking bitch," I could see by the pattern his muscles clenched in that he intended to punch her hard in the face. Had she been the small human girl she appeared to be, such a blow from him would have broken her jaw. Maybe knocked her out. Perhaps even killed her. But she wasn't human and she could easily kill him as an instinctive retaliation to his unprovoked attack. As much as I'd love to see that, I wasn't about to let Bella have any regrets, especially about such a disgusting excuse for a man. I had milliseconds to decide and my choice was more driven by fury than it probably should have been. I punched him first. Not hard enough to kill him, but I heard his bones crunch and blood spurted from his nostrils. I pulled Bella tight to me, anticipating her loss of control but it never came. Her eyes were dark with thirst but her features were contorted in disdain, not bloodlust. As we stepped over him to escape temptation, Bella aimed a kick at his torso. It was well delivered. She had managed to hold back enough that her foot didn't tear through him and rip out his spine. It was harder than she realised though and his ribs snapped and he was gasping for breath. As we left, I could hear someone nearby calling 911 so I thought he would probably survive.

As soon as we were clear of human sight we ran. She was elated that she had managed not to bite him. It was a near miracle, but it was not luck. It was her hard work, dedication and training paying off.

We ended up miles from civilisation, washing up in a fast flowing stream, getting rid of the residual stink of alcohol, cigarettes and blood. Suddenly I was on my back in the water, Bella's hands tearing at my clothes, much more aggressive with me than she normally was. My response to her was instant. There was a quiet urgency and desperation to her kisses and I wanted to sooth her but as usual she was having none of it. She teased and roughly demanded until I did what she wanted and flipped her over so she was beneath me, asserting my dominance. She cried out in pleasure and triumph as I pulled her legs over my shoulders and thrust inside her.

After hours of intense pleasure, I couldn't help slowing my pace. I wanted to gently caress her, to re-memorise every inch of her. To love her in the way she deserved but always resisted. But today she didn't resist me, she embraced the transition from furious to intense, opening herself to me in a way she never had before. Staring into each other's eyes as we made love, I felt the connection between us deepen and it was euphoric.

We didn't stop until the first rays of sun set our skin sparkling. She was so, so beautiful in the sun but we should find shelter from it just in case. We found a cave not too far away that was deep enough to easily hide in should we need to. Bella still needed to hunt but it was advisable to wait until it was more overcast. She assured me she would be fine and was basking in the sun outside the cave. Bella loved the sun and there was no one nearby at the moment so it was safe enough. We would only hide if we had to. I sat watching her in silence, sitting with by back against the rock face listening for any sign that we were being approached. Our soaked clothes were laying out to dry nearby. She didn't move or open her eyes when she started to speak quietly, "When I was seventeen, I moved from Arizona to Washington State to live with my Dad..."

AN: Yet again I found myself nervous about posting this and I'd be so grateful if you let me know what you thought.