Alice appeared in the bedroom, wearing a rose colored nightgown. The silk didn't leave much to the imagination as it fit snugly over her flawless curves.

My mouth watered involuntarily.

There was a twinkle in her blue eyes when they met mine.

She strode over very slowly and curled up next to me in bed. I gulped nervously. I drew my hands away, worried that the calluses would damage the fragile silk.

Alice sighed. "Don't worry, Bella." She said.

"I'm not worried." I said back to her, but my voice was shaking. She had turned to face me, and in doing so the lace on the front shifted, showing me more of her cleavage. If she moved just a bit more, her breast might slip out. This seemed to preoccupy my mind.

Alice's soft laugh broke through my fixation. "You claim you are too scared to go all the way, yet you keep looking at me like that."

Heat crept into my cheeks. It was difficult to form coherent thoughts with Alice in this nightgown.

When I didn't speak fast enough, Alice continued.

"Nevermind that you've crossed the threshold before…" Alice moved then, throwing her leg over my lap, and then leaning close. A flash of heat moved down my spine. "And you weren't at all afraid then." Alice sighed, "At least not until after."

I forced myself to push through the dizzying heat that engulfed me. Alice was sitting on my lap, and it was almost impossible to think of anything else. "That isn't fair. I thought I was in a dream."

Alice frowned and leaned away from me. "So it's okay to touch dream-Alice? But not the real one?"

This made me chuckle. "Are you jealous of dream-Alice?"

Alice's cheeks turned pink at the mention of jealousy. "Well." She thought for a second. "She seems to get more affection from you, so I would say yes–yes I am."

I laughed and grabbed her hand with my good hand. "There's no need to be jealous!" I kissed her hand softly. She shivered when my lips touched her. "It's just…" I paused, thinking of how to verbalize my fears. "I don't want to go too fast. I want to enjoy… us."

"Wouldn't sex be 'enjoying us'?" She used air quotations.

"Shh!" I put a finger to her lips after she said the 'S' word. Hearing her say it out loud was almost too much. It made it sound too real. Like physical intimacy was a real thing between her and I, and I simply could not process that idea.

"Honestly, Bella," Alice took my finger away from her mouth and held it in her hand, "I think this has more to do with your mother."

This took me by surprise, and the heat between us slowly turned to ice. "What?"

"Oh," Alice dropped her gaze and placed her hand on my chest, "I can already see you're not going to take this well."

"What do you mean by that? My mother has nothing to do with this."

Alice sighed and didn't say anything else.

"Well?" I promoted, after a moment of silence.

"Let's get some rest." She suggested, "We have a long day tomorrow, I can see you will need all your energy." She gave me a seductive wink and smile, but the smile didn't reach her blue eyes. Her eyes were guarded.

I pondered the subject change for a moment, and eventually decided that it would be best to let it slide. I did not understand what she meant by that, and I was curious. But talking about my wayward mother was a sensitive subject, and not one I wanted to dive into.

"Alright, then." I said in a composed voice. "Let's get some rest."

All remaining awkwardness of the prior subject were forgotten when I blew the lantern, and it was just Alice and I in the dark. The silence seemed louder than ever. The dark space felt electric. And then, Alice closed the gap between us, curling up next to me. Her scent filled my head, sweet and irresistible. She rested her hand on my lower abdomen, which started a fire. It burned madly, spreading through my core, and settling between my legs. At this moment, it was so difficult to resist her, I had nearly forgotten why I was waiting on going all the way.

I forced myself into a thoughtless headspace, willing the burning to stop.

"Goodnight." Alice said sweetly.

"Goodnight."

I woke up in heaven. Every morning she was by my side was a piece of heaven. I laid next to her, trying to etch the scene into my memory, in case I ever woke up from this wonderful fantasy. It had to be a dream. How else would this goddess ever exist? I observed her silky black hair and fair skin, the rise of her breasts underneath the smooth silk. My mouth watered. When a stirring inside me threatened to burst out, I knew it was time to snap out of it.

I slowly extracted myself from the bed, pulled on my overalls, and tiptoed downstairs. Luckily, she seemed to be a sound sleeper.

I got started on some of the chores for the morning. If we were to go to the market, the animals needed to be fed first.

When I returned, Alice was waiting for me, red faced and irritated.

"You did it again!" Alice accused.

I smiled. "You were sleeping so peacefully…"

"I don't care," Alice stomped her foot in an attempt to look angry, but it just made her more adorable. "You need to wake me up!"

I frowned. Did she understand how she looked like a peaceful goddess while she slept? It seemed like a crime to bother such a creature.

"Alright." I said to pacify the angry Alice, but I was not sure how well I could keep this agreement.

Charlie came down the stairs, and I immediately stepped away from Alice. We were standing suspiciously close for friends. Alice frowned at me.

Charlie yawned, not noticing the awkward exchange. "Mornin' Bells."

"Good morning, dad." I replied.

As I prepared breakfast, I tried to keep the blushing to a minimum, but it was difficult. Alice had a way of being irresistible without any effort on her part.

For breakfast, we had the leftover biscuits from last night, topped with gravy made from fresh milk from the dairy cows.

After the meal, I let Charlie know of our plans, and how the animals had already been fed, and then we went outside to fetch Firerain.

Firerain stomped his hooves excitedly, and I knew it wasn't my presence he was excited for–but Alice's.

I started one-handedly draping the reins on him while Alice gave him a scratch behind the ear. He completely ignored me, leaning into Alice, making a rumbling noise that sounded almost like a pur.

"Ungrateful git." I mumbled under my breath as he ignored me.

"What was that?" Alice asked, still petting the mule.

"Nothing." I responded.

"Hey!" Alice said suddenly, as I adjusted the wagon straps. "Let me help you with that, I can see you're going to get hurt, stop it." The little woman pushed my hand out of the way, and began to pull the leather straps through one of the wagon's loops. She exhaled loudly with effort, her brow furrowed, but wasn't able to get it through.

"Did you see that in your future vision as well?" I couldn't help but laugh. She was so cute. I appreciated her attempt to help, but she didn't have the years of experience and upper body strength.

I reached over and pulled the strap through with one hand.

She looked at me suspiciously. "Hmp." She huffed. She walked around the back and climbed into the wagon.

As I led Firerain out of the barn, I turned to Alice. "Do you mind if we make a stop on our way to the market?" I asked, thinking of Jacob's mom, and the strange way she looked when I last saw her.

"Of course, where are you stopping?" She frowned.

"Jacob's house. They are right off the same trail to Centre Court." I paused, thinking about her frown, "Does this upset you?"

Alice shook her head. "It's just… I don't see us stopping at all, I wonder why that is."

I exhaled in relief. I didn't know much about her superpower, but she doesn't see everything. It couldn't possibly be a big deal. "Don't fret," I reached out a hand to pat her arm. My touch seemed to distract her. "You can't see everything, not all the time. Just relax. It'll be fine."

She gave me a smile then, it was so beautiful it felt as though my heart shattered into a million pieces. "Alright."

Alice started to protest when I lifted myself into the moving wagon with one hand, but paused when I was able to throw my legs over the edge in one graceful movement. She looked impressed, her blue eyes wide in amazement. I decided not to mention that it was a stroke of luck—I wasn't usually this coordinated.

The shady morning was crisp and green. Alice was nuzzled under my good arm. I couldn't imagine a place I'd rather be than here with Alice.

Far too soon, Firerain automatically made the turn to Jacob's house, turning right on the trail. The old wooden house came into view.

I leaned forward, getting ready to get up but then the barn became visible among the trees, and its state was shocking. There was a gaping hole in the side of the barn, splintered wood everywhere. It leaned precariously onto one side, looking as though a gust of wind might finish the structure completely. This was Jacob's workshop. We've spent our entire childhood in this barn, and now, it was close to collapsing.

What could've happened?

I was instantly weary.

"What's wrong, Bella?"

I deliberated. "If I asked you to stay here, would you listen to me?"

Alice thought on this for a moment. "Probably not."

I sighed. "I figured as much." I swung my legs over the wedge of the wagon and landed on the earth below. Then, I held my good arm out to Alice. "Let's go check on the Blacks'. I don't have a good feeling about this..."