Happy reading!

17

"To spring break!" Rose toasts. We're at our favorite pizza place a few weeks later, celebrating the start of the break. We're not doing anything crazy this year. We'd decided to stay home and relax as opposed to taking a trip out of town like we did last year. We'd done the usual trip to Florida because it had felt like a rite of passage, but we'd sworn never to do it again. It had been way too crowded and loud, and quite frankly, I didn't see the appeal.

"To spring break!" Alice and I clink glasses with her, taking a gulp of our beers.

"Hey, ladies!" Emmett's booming voice announces the guy's arrival before we see them.

He and Jasper are walking up to our table with matching smiles on their faces, taking seats next to their girlfriends.

"Hey, get your own!" Rose protests when Emmett steals her beer, drinking half of it in one big gulp. She's trying to act pissed off, which is hard when she's laughing.

"I'll get you another one, baby. I promise." He kisses her, making her melt. "Pitcher for the table coming right up."

He starts in the direction of the bar. "Hey, man! You're fucking late!"

I turn to see him give Edward one of those stupid bro fist pump hug combos that I've never understood. I knew he was coming, but seeing him in person makes my heart beat wildly in my chest and my stomach flip.

I haven't seen him since the morning I left his apartment two weeks ago. After Rose texted him that I needed space, he'd given it to me, waiting for me to reopen the lines of communication, which I'd finally done yesterday to invite him tonight.

It's not like he looks any different, he's still the same Edward, but it feels like I'm seeing him through new eyes. His bronze hair is mussed, like always. Alice always said that it looked like sex hair, but his usual style was nothing like what it looked like after my hands had been buried in the silky locks. The crooked smile on his face as he gives Emmett shit back for saying he was late, makes butterflies invade my stomach. There's a twinkle in his green eyes as he laughs that makes me want to kiss him.

When his eyes land on me, the smile on his face fades, like he doesn't know how to approach me, and I hate it.

I don't want it to be awkward, so I go over and hug him, like I would any other time. When his arms come around me, it takes away some of the anxiety that seeing him had created.

"I missed you." I whispered into his neck, feeling the truth of my words reach deep into my soul. The last few weeks without him, while needed, were torture. I was so used to talking to him all the time, that when I wasn't, it felt like a part of me was missing.

He hugs me tighter. "I missed you, too."

I can feel the eyes of our friends burning a hole in my back as we pull apart, but I ignore them for now.

"What kind of pizza does everyone want?" I asked, taking Edward's hand and dragging him to the table.

"No onions." Rose tells Emmett, stabbing him in the chest.

"What you don't want me to kiss you with my onion breath?" he asks her, trying to give her a sloppy kiss, which she dodges.

She pushes his chest. "I definitely don't want you to kiss me with onion breath!"

Things are as normal as they can be as we put away three pepperoni pizzas and countless pitchers of beer.

Close to the end of the night, I turn to Edward. "Can we talk?"

"Sure."

We made our way to the back room of the restaurant where there are some pool tables, but is currently empty. We took a seat on the couch in the back corner, and I'm thankful I brought my beer because I'm more nervous for this conversation than I want to admit.

"I don't know where to start." I never thought I would ever not know what to say to Edward of all people, but here we are.

He places his hand on top of mine on the couch. "Take your time."
I thread my fingers with his, taking a moment to get my thoughts together.

"I wasn't trying to freeze you out the last few weeks. These… feelings came out of nowhere and completely blindsided me." If I was being completely honest with myself, these weren't the only time that feelings like this had made themselves known to me. Back before I'd met Jake, it felt like our friendship was starting to morph into more. But then I'd met Jake, who had swept me off my feet so quickly, I hadn't had time to blink. "I needed time to process everything that happened on my own first."

He squeezes my hand. "I understand, Bella. I didn't feel like you were freezing me out."

I take a breath, asking a question that's been on my mind the last few days. "How long have you felt this way?"

He doesn't answer right away, and the silence says a lot. "Since freshmen year."

His answer takes my breath away. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to, but then you'd met Jake and seemed so happy, that I didn't want to do anything that would ruin that."

"You still should've told me." I protest. I didn't regret my relationship with Jake. I learned so much about myself while with him and what I wanted out of a relationship. I just couldn't help thinking about what could have been if Edward had just had the balls to tell me how he felt back then.

"You were so happy with him, Bella. Would it have really changed anything?"

"Yes." I tell him, feeling hurt and a little angry that he'd this from me. "It would've changed everything."

He looks at me in astonishment at my admission. "Where do we go from here, then?"

I shrug. "I don't know." I bit my lip, feeling so many emotions at once. "I feel so much for you, Edward. The feelings I told you I was feeling that morning haven't faded. I think… we just see where things go naturally."

"Okay." He squeezes my hand again. "We see where things go."

See you tomorrow!