Hello, people!
Happy Saturday, everyone!

Usual housekeeping:
- I still don't own any of it.
- Team Momo wouldn't exist without Midnight Cougar and Alice's White Rabbit with their red pens, or without AGoodWitch, Maplestyle, Mel, and Eternally Addicted who pre-read and tell me if I'm off my rocker or not.
- thank you for all the reviews and alerts! Between actual work (yes, I do have a day job) and trying frantically to write more of RockerWard, I don't have a lot of time left for replies. But I treasure every review and love hearing your thoughts.

Also, reminder that nominations for the Golden Onion Awards are underway and will be open until July 31. All the pertinent info and the link to the nomination and awards website is in their FB group, The Golden Onion Awards (type in the search bar to find it). Don't forget to go and show your favorites some love with the nominations :)

We're back with Bella this week. Also, Charlie's asshattery won't be resolved in one chapter, so ... stay tuned.

Chapter 29 – BPOV

Edward drove us home from Smashers in silence. Another quality I loved about him—he didn't need to fill every moment with chatter. Tonight, he stood by me as my hopes of a pleasant dinner with my parents disintegrated before my eyes, all because of Charlie's high-handed assumptions. With unflinching grace, Edward understood what I needed—distance and junk food, in that order.

We had a good talk over our burgers at Smashers, and his admission about his hopes for our future as a couple reinforced what I already believed. Edward was in this relationship for the long haul, preferably of the permanent, forever kind.

I had no special hang-ups about marriage, but zero illusions either. With my past, I'd learned that healthy relationships took a lot of work, communication, and dedication. Love wasn't enough—I was realistic enough to acknowledge that.

But both Edward and I were driven, smart, logical people who loved fiercely and passionately. We weren't bound only by a chemistry that was off the charts, mutual respect and trust fueled our togetherness in a way that both exhilarated and grounded me when I needed it most.

And yet, I sensed Edward would have us running to a chapel tomorrow if only he knew I'd say yes. We weren't ready. Not now.

For the last few years, as I worked myself to the bone through my MBA, I navigated work and life as if in a holding pattern. My graduation would be the big watershed moment. My studies would finally be done, and I could really start my career.

But in a way, that discounted what I'd been doing so far, and it would be unfair to the work I'd done and the progress I'd made in my job. I'd learned a lot in the last six years at CCM. Wiping the slate clean on Monday just because now I had another glitzy diploma to frame on my walls would be an arbitrary, constructed move, and it wasn't guaranteed to gain me anything valuable.

Meanwhile, at some point, I'd have to deal with this clusterfuck with my parents. Right now, I was confident that Mom had put Charlie through the wringer for his ill-advised words. Charlie would sulk and insist he knew better for at least a day, then he'd relent. Mom could be flighty and self-centered, but when it came to his shit, she had Charlie's number. If anyone could get him to change his mind, it was her.

However, I wasn't interested in more words or assumptions from him. I wanted him to respect my plans for the future. My life, my decisions.

"You've been awfully quiet over there. Everything okay?" Edward asked. He'd just turned into his building's underground garage.

I took a deep breath and stretched out my legs. The seats in Edward's Volvo SUV were nice and comfy. Tons of space for a pocket-sized model like me.

"Processing things in my head."

"It's been a day, that's for sure."

He parked in his spot, killed the engine, and turned toward me. "I had all sorts of ideas how this day would end," he confessed.

"But now?"

"I wasn't on the receiving end of Charlie's attacks, and yet I'm emotionally drained," he said, reaching for my hand.

He always did that—he held my hand whenever he could, maintaining a connection between us that wasn't merely physical.

"That's exactly where I am. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing, love?" he asked with that warm, velvety voice of his that could soothe me or drive me to distraction.

"Because my idiotic parent derailed your, scratch that, our plans for tonight? Don't think I didn't catch that bit of innuendo you threw at me over burgers and pints." And there I went, getting irritated all over again.

Edward leaned across the console and silenced me with a kiss. How the man rendered me completely useless only with a touch of his lips, I'd never know. But I'd never question it either. Edward's lips caressed mine tenderly until I lost track of time and place.

When he slowed down and took a breather, he leaned his forehead on mine. "I don't want to continue this conversation in my car. Regardless of how it ends."

After a silent nod from me, he returned to his seat and exited the car, only to walk around and open my door. I'd not managed to get out of a vehicle on my own in his presence yet.

We walked through the garage and into the elevator that took us to his floor, cocooned in a bubble of crackling atmosphere, which barely contained what Edward had elicited with one kiss. And yet, despite the desire simmering below the surface, we leaned on each other in support, Edward's arm looped around my waist and my hand on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart underneath my fingers.

The elevator dinged and opened its doors when it reached its destination, startling both of us, lost as we were in our thoughts. Edward opened the door, and we walked inside, instantly dropping our things on the hall table—bag, keys, outerwear. I kicked off my shoes, and he did the same.

The mundane domesticity of our discarded shoes sitting beside each other on that shelf hit me. This was what Edward wanted, and he'd told me as much. He didn't need to spell it out or give me a flowchart for it. This was where we were headed, despite the unclear timeline, and the fact that this didn't bother me or trigger any doubts in my head, should have told me how ready I was for that future to start.

On autopilot, I dropped onto the sectional in Edward's living room, finally free to release everything the day had wrought. And there, alone—because in the corner of my eye, I'd seen Edward walk into his bedroom—I stretched out my arms and legs and let out a groan that morphed into a frustrated hiss.

A few minutes later, Edward joined me on the couch. He'd ditched the suit and tie attire for sleep pants—and only those.

I cuddled up to him, tracing patterns on his chest with my fingers. In silence, he put his arms around my shoulders and dropped a kiss to the top of my head.

"I want to get out of these clothes. Too bad I don't have anything to change into."

"You're welcome to anything of mine. Or, here's an idea—how about you leave some of your clothes here? There's a lot of space in my closet."

"Sure?"

"One hundred percent."

I looked up at him, and all I saw was pure and complete acceptance. He'd let me into his life, his heart, and his home. And he meant it.

I didn't have words good enough to convey how much that meant to me, so I let my actions do the talking, tangling my fingers in his hair and pulling his face toward me. I moved my lips against his and ended up enveloped in his skin, his taste, and his fragrance while his hands roamed over my body, and I lost myself in him.

I wanted this—I wanted him. But somehow, after the day we'd had, it seemed forced. Almost as if I sought sex as a cure-all. And I didn't want our relationship to be about that. When I slowed down and sat back in his lap, he didn't look fazed or surprised that I'd slammed on the brakes.

He cradled my face with his hand as he often did, taking in my expression. "This isn't what tonight is about, my love. Or is it?"

"No, you're right. I do want you, never think I don't—"

He flashed me an uneven smile and flexed his hips against my center. "You know I want you. I'll always want you, but tonight …"

"It's different. Tonight, I just need you to hold me, Edward. Please, don't let me go."

He moved me so I lay across his lap and held me in his arms with untold tenderness. I'd never experienced a love like what we shared, and I didn't believe I'd find the likes of it elsewhere.

"I'll hold you forever, baby. Your heart is my home."

They're getting over the ruined "Meet the Parents" one thing at a time.

Next week, we'll be back with Edward. There's more to their weekend before they get to Bella's graduation ;-)