Eighteen

*Bella*

*Chapter Song - Lollipop*

"Where in the hell did you get this lacy blue thing from?"

I closed my eyes tightly, letting the unnecessarily hot water from the shower head run down my back as I crossed my arms on the top of my head.

I didn't care how much time she thought we were wasting; I was entirely too exhausted on so many different levels to forego taking a shower before going out for the night.

With Edward. Without a hat.

And while I was thrilled that he didn't want to hide anymore and was more than willing to go out into public with me by his side, I couldn't help but think of all of the things that could go wrong.

That was my nature; I worried entirely too much about absolutely everything.

I couldn't stop the small thrill that ran through me, though. He wanted people to see me with him; he wanted everyone to know that we were together.

And that almost canceled out the worry.

"Alice," I mumbled, rubbing my hands over my face and grabbing the extra shampoo bottle I'd left over here for instances such as this one.

Most of my toiletries and such were over at Edward's, but since I'd agreed to let Rosalie do what she wished with me just to get her to shut up and stop torturing my boyfriend, I was stuck with the shampoo that made my hair lie flat and lifeless on my shoulders.

Not that it would be noticeable by the time I walked out of the house again, but I'm sure Rosalie would curse at me throughout the course of my mini make-over for leaving my good shampoo at Edward's.

"She gave you designer underwear?" Rosalie screeched, hitting the shower curtain.

I jumped and poured the shampoo into my palm, slapping the bottle back onto the side of the shower before scrubbing it into my hair.

"She slipped it into my bag before she left. I didn't ask for it."

"Do you know how much this shit must cost, Bella? How much did she give you?"

"Entirely too much."

I washed the shampoo out of my hair, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in a sad attempt to wash the day's events out of my mind completely.

Between Jessica nonchalantly slapping the magazine article she'd clipped just for me onto the counter as she strolled into work that morning and then having an almost breakdown in Edward's kitchen, I needed a drink.

Maybe more than one.

Ten would probably work just fine.

"Have you shaved lately?"

I shook my head, sighing heavily. It was a good thing that she was my best friend otherwise I might've killed her long before now.

And maybe instead of just ten drinks, I'd up that to twenty. Who really needed to go into work without a hangover tomorrow morning?

"Yes."

"Everything?"

I rolled my eyes, running my hands through my wet hair and groaning.

"Why in the hell does it matter?"

"Have you slept with him yet?"

I pursed my lips and grabbed the equally unhelpful conditioner.

"No," I grumbled.

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it's too soon for that!" I huffed, squeezing the white conditioner into my hand before slapping that bottle down as well.

"Are you sure you're in the same room with him all the time? The two of you are sexually charged or some stupid shit like that," she mumbled. "I thought you would've sealed the deal long ago."

"Rose," I sighed heavily, shaking my head as I scrubbed the conditioner into my hair. "We're just… I don't…"

"Spit it out, Bella."

I glared at the shower curtain, rinsing my hair out and standing underneath the spray for a few more minutes.

I don't even know why she was in the bathroom while I was taking a shower. She'd always been very good at keeping herself occupied and entertained before so I wasn't quite sure why she'd felt the need to follow me this time.

Unless she'd planned on asking me about my sex life in a place where I wouldn't be able to run away from her as easily as I normally did.

She was nothing if not sneaky.

"I'm kind of scared about it," I mumbled, rolling my head back and closing my eyes tightly.

Every time we'd gotten close to it, all that had been running through my brain was that it wouldn’t be enough. It was too soon for us and it wouldn't be enough to keep him interested if I just gave in to it.

I'd wanted to. God, I'd wanted to. But then something would kick in and make me believe that I wouldn't be enough for him. That I'd disappoint him somehow and I wouldn't be able to take that look in his eyes when he told me that he'd only been joking.

About everything. Proving Jessica right. About everything.

I jumped, screaming and trying unsuccessfully to cover myself when the shower curtain was suddenly wrenched back, Rosalie's face appearing in the corner and glaring at me.

"What exactly are you scared of? I sure as hell hope it's not his…"

"No!" I shouted, placing my hand on her forehead and pushing her out of the tub. "I've got no damn problem with that."

"Then what do you have a problem with?"

"What if I'm not good enough? It's not like I'm half as experienced as he is. I've been with one damn person my entire life."

And while we'd never talked about our sexual history with each other, I was pretty damn positive that he'd been with a whole hell of a lot more people than I had.

With the way he looked and how amazing he was, I didn't even want to really think about trying to come up with a ballpark number.

It was just so much better if I didn't know.

I turned the water off and reached out with one hand to snatch my towel off of the rod and wrap it around me.

"From what I could tell of him, honey, he wouldn’t give a damn if you were still a virgin."

I rolled my eyes and pushed the shower curtain back, tightening the knot around my chest and tilting my head at her.

She was still admiring the underwear that Alice had slipped into my duffel bag and I rolled my eyes again, bending over and wringing out my hair.

Discovering all of that when Edward and I were doing laundry the other night hadn't really been all that pleasant. And then trying to hide it from him – he really didn't need to see all of that just yet – was a completely different, difficult task on its own. Getting him to leave my side for more than a second that night had been like pulling my teeth out of my head.

I'd loved that he wanted me near him at all times; I just needed to hide the very expensive underwear that belonged in some kind of high priced store as opposed to my worn out duffel bag.

And when I'd actually let him make us dinner, I'd been quick to throw all of them into the washer and stand by it, watching it like a hawk and waiting for the timer to go off so that I could throw it in the dryer just as quickly.

And when they were dry, I'd distracted him by asking him to clean up our plates so that I could stuff them in my bag and then run up the stairs to hide them all in my dresser.

Where they had been safely hiding until Rosalie had barged her way into the house behind me, declaring that she was going to make Edward's mouth water.

"I just don't want it to be a deal breaker."

Rosalie looked over at me, one eyebrow raised before she lowered my underwear and placed it back on the counter, fisting her hands on her hips.

"Do you honestly not see the way that man looks at you? God damn woman, it's like he's always trying to find ways to drag you into a bedroom or any secluded area all the damn time."

I stepped out of the tub, shrugging uneasily and holding onto the knot of my towel tightly.

"I don't want to be a disappointment."

She huffed, throwing her hands at her sides and glaring at me.

"For God's sake, Bella, have a little more confidence in yourself than that! You're beautiful, you're successful and you could quite possibly be the perfect woman for the highly jumpy man across the street! Have a little faith, would you?"

I blinked at her, biting my bottom lip and crossing my arms over my chest.

I didn't dare bring up the fact that he was only jumpy when she was around.

"I just don't want to ruin it," I said softly, rubbing my shoulders in an attempt to comfort myself.

It felt like I was being scolded by my parents or a teacher from high school for not doing a homework assignment that I'd been well aware of for a week.

"What makes you think that you will?"

"He's just… he's… I don't know… maybe I'm not…" I stuttered, shifting uncomfortably on my feet and looking down at the light pink bath mat I was standing on.

"He's in love with you," she said bluntly.

I looked back up at her, my bottom lip back in between my teeth as I nodded slowly.

"Anyone can see that. If you just laid there like a dead fish, I'm sure he wouldn't really care either way because he'll be getting the most intimate part of you. Well," she tilted her head, twisting her lips to the side and looking up at the ceiling, "maybe not like a dead fish…"

"Rose!" I whined, shaking my head and sighing heavily. "Would you stop, please?"

"I'm just trying to tell you that I don't understand what you're waiting for. He's leaving soon, Bella."

"I'm aware of that," I snapped, narrowing my eyes and glaring at her.

I'd had more than enough time to think about that today and I didn't want to do it anymore. This was what I was getting ready for; to go out and forget about absolutely everything that had happened while I'd been at work.

Rosalie didn't need to throw it into my face the first chance she got.

"So don't you think that it's about time you showed him how much you really love him?"

"It's not always about sex, you know. I show him that I love him every day."

"So you coming home today and having a little drama-filled breakdown is your way of showing him that you love him?"

"How do you even know that's what I did?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes at her. "Maybe he doesn't even know!"

"Because I know you. And he seemed entirely too eager to help me murder Jessica, which only leads me to believe that you told him." She grabbed the underwear set and threw it at me before turning on her heel and pacing the length of the bathroom. "And you're right; it's not always about sex. But it helps."

"Edward and I don't need to have sex to know that we love each other," I sighed, stepping into the midnight blue lace panties I'd barely managed to catch.

"Oh, fuck that, Bella!" She turned back on her heel, pointing at me as she faced me again. "Do you remember sex? Do you remember that it can actually be fun and fulfilling?"

I rolled my eyes, turning my back on her and dropping the towel to slip my arms through the bra straps and secure it in place on my chest.

Looking down, I tilted my head to the side and pursed my lips.

Well, with this bra, I was no longer a meager B cup. It was safe to say that I'd jumped to at least a D.

"Of course I remember sex," I grumbled, turning back to face her and crossing my arms over my stomach. "It's just never been fun or fulfilling to me."

Jake hadn't been the most attentive lover.

"Well, then you were doing it wrong."

"No shit." I sighed. "I'm just… scared."

She stared silently at me for a few moments before her shoulders hunched downward and she sighed, walking back over to me and placing her hands on my shoulders.

"There is nothing for you to be scared of," she said quietly, looking directly into my eyes. "I've never seen someone look at someone else the way that Edward looks at you. He loves you and really, what more do you need to know?"

I chewed on my bottom lip again, taking a deep breath through my nose.

"I want to be able to… be good for him."

"You will be. Bella, when real emotions are involved; when you really feel something for the other person, it'll be good no matter what. Stop worrying and let it happen, all right?" She smiled softly at me. "Just don't get pregnant. I'm too pretty to be an honorary aunt just yet."

I laughed and slapped at her arms, waving her away from me and walking out of the bathroom.

"Got it covered already!" I called out over my shoulder as I walked into my bedroom.

I took a deep breath as I saw the outfit that Rose had lain out for me, wincing at the black knee high boots my mother thought would be a good idea to give me for my birthday a few years ago sitting at the end of the air mattress.

"Hurry up in there, woman! I've still gotta do your hair and your make-up and once again, we're wasting time!"

I pursed my lips, hesitantly picking up the black, extremely low cut v-neck t-shirt that I hadn't been aware I even owned. Looking down at the jeans that she'd chosen, my stomach flipped over when I saw the damn skin-tight skinny jeans Rose had talked me into buying a few months ago.

She's really damn persuasive when she needs to be.

"Do me a favor and get me a beer!" I yelled, taking one more deep breath as I pulled the shirt over my head.

I turned to the full length mirror that was leaning against my open closet doors and swallowed hard, smoothing the front of the shirt down.

Oh, yes. I most definitely needed to start drinking now.

~*~

Twenty minutes later, Angela and Edward walked through the front door just as Rosalie was putting the finishing touches on the foolish curls she insisted I needed to have in my hair.

And then she'd threatened Edward with a dull steak knife if he came up the stairs before I was finished.

Like I was one of her precious cars that she needed to look over and make sure was good enough to sell before I was placed on the lot.

Sighing, I watched in the mirror as she twirled the last chunk of hair around the curling iron, humming to herself and smiling satisfactorily at her handiwork.

"She's almost done, Bella," Angela said quietly, patting my shoulder.

"Is Edward… normal?" I asked dryly, sparing a glance at Rose in the mirror as I lifted the beer bottle to my lips again.

I was almost finished with my second one and I was already craving a third. Between Rose pulling hair out of my head and then attacking me with mascara wands and other make up brushes, I'd needed as much alcohol as possible.

"He looks great, Bella. Don't worry."

"We're still going to get trampled," Rosalie quipped, finally setting the curling iron down on the counter and unplugging it. "But he does look pretty damn hot, I must say."

"Thank you," Angela smiled, curtsying slightly before snatching my beer and taking a sip. "Are you done, Rose? I'm hungry."

Rosalie reached out and moved a piece of my hair back, snatching up the hair spray behind her and barely warning me to close my eyes before she started spraying.

"Okay, finished!" she chirped, snapping the can on the counter.

"You look really great, Bella," Angela smiled before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the bathroom.

I laughed, following her into the hallway and down the stairs. I immediately smiled a little more when I saw Edward sitting at the table, absently tapping his fingertips against it and staring at the wall in front of him.

I swallowed hard, pressing my lips together and doing my best to calm the butterflies suddenly in my stomach as I wordlessly handed the beer bottle back to Angela.

Whatever she'd done to his hair worked really well. It was messy, as it always was, but she'd somehow managed to tame it and make it look natural for him. The button up shirt he'd been wearing earlier had been replaced with a black, form fitting t-shirt and I had to bite my lip when I saw the black leather jacket thrown over the back of the chair he was sitting in.

Good God, he'd managed to look even better than he normally did and the warm rush that spread through my stomach immediately shot down in between my thighs.

His head snapped over to us when he heard our heels on the floor and he stood up, his eyes locking with mine. My heart fluttered as I watched his mouth curl up into a crooked smirk and I had to suck in a deep breath, completely ignoring Angela and Rosalie behind me as I walked over to him.

"Hey," he breathed, grinning as he wound his arms around my waist and pulled me against him.

"Hey yourself," I laughed, my arms snaking around his neck.

He leaned down, brushing his lips against mine. My eyes fluttered closed and my hands curled into fists around his neck.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"You're not so bad yourself," I croaked, clearing my throat and forcing my eyes open again.

He was smirking at me again, his eyes completely locked with mine and his fingertips digging into my back slightly.

And I suddenly didn't want to leave the house anymore. I wanted to stay right where I was, completely wrapped up in everything about Edward and not have to worry about anything for the rest of the night.

Just the two of us. Together. Preferably without so many clothes in between us.

"Enough of that, lovebirds!" Rosalie exclaimed, clapping her hands as she finished walking down the stairs. "Places to go, people to see; you know what's going on."

I wanted to hit her. Hard. Many, many times.

Angela laughed behind me and I sighed, leaning up to kiss him softly before backing down and stepping away from him to grab the dress jacket I usually wore when going out.

Edward grabbed it from my hands, leaning down to brush a kiss against my cheek as he helped me into it and I bit my bottom lip, smiling like an ass as I pulled it over my shoulders.

"You two are absolutely sickening," Rosalie grumbled, rolling her eyes as she grabbed her own black pea coat and slid into it.

"And damn proud of it," Edward stated brightly, shrugging his own coat on and grabbing my hand as we started toward the front door.

"I brought my camera," Angela stated, shrugging her shoulders and smiling timidly as she pulled her hair out of the back of her coat. "I hope that's okay."

I looked up at Edward who merely grinned at her and nodded.

"It's fine with me."

I squeezed his hand and waited for Rosalie and Angela to walk out before I followed them, locking and closing the front door behind me.

"You're sure that you're okay with this?" I asked him quietly as we walked down the stairs and over to Angela's waiting car. "We really don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Stop worrying," he whispered, leaning down and kissing the bottom of my ear as he opened the car door for me. "I want to go."

I pursed my lips and nodded, surrendering and climbing into the back of the car, immediately assaulted with one of Rosalie's night out mixes as the car roared to life.

I shook my head at Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me that was sounding throughout the quiet neighborhood and sighed heavily.

It really was no wonder that none of my other neighbors tried talking to me. With Rosalie's loud mouth screaming at me from the driveway every other week and then the loud music that sounded out of the car's stereo each time she showed up, it was amazing that no one had called the cops to complain.

I watched through the front window as Edward rounded the front of the car, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets and a small smile on his face. I tilted my head, leaning back against the seat and breathing out a sigh.

He got in the other side and immediately slid over to me after closing the door, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and pulling me against him. I grinned to myself, burying my face in his jacket and resting one of my hands on his knee.

"Hey," Rosalie said, leaning forward in her seat as Angela pulled out of the driveway. She popped back up a few seconds later with Angela's small silver camera in her hands before turning in her seat to look back at us. "Smile, you two."

"And so it begins," I mumbled, smiling quickly for her as she took the picture.

~*~

I took a deep breath as the Tavern came into view an hour and a half later, my hand firmly latching onto Edward's as we walked up the steep hill from where we'd parked.

We'd made it through dinner without any occurrences. Our waiter was a man who seemed not to give two shits about who was sitting with us and the entire place was fairly cleared out by the time we arrived. We'd eaten and had a few more drinks before paying the bill and finally making our way to the Tavern.

The streets were busy, as they usually were on Friday nights, and even though I was fully aware that at any minute someone could come rushing up to us and start screaming at him, I was completely at ease.

It felt normal. We were all talking and laughing as we approached the bar and began to dig out our licenses to show the bouncer sitting on the stool with a heavy down coat wrapped around his shoulders.

It might've felt a lot more normal because of all the alcohol I'd already consumed, but at least I was enjoying myself.

We were a very normal group of friends out on a Friday, enjoying ourselves and completely forgetting all about what had gone on earlier in the night. I was with my boyfriend who seemed to be soaking in all the sights at once as he handed his license over to the bouncer, his other hand still firmly gripping mine as he looked over the bouncer's head and into the crowded bar behind him.

The music from the live band on the first floor was almost enough to drown out any other noise as we waited, shivering a little as the wind chose that moment to blow through. Edward was quick to wrap me in his arms, rubbing his hands up and down my upper arms in an attempt to keep me warm. I smiled up at him, leaning up on my toes to kiss the bottom of his chin.

The bouncer snorted, a bushy eyebrow raised as he looked up at Edward. And then I watched as his eyes widened, quickly looking back down at the card in his hand before looking up again and I snorted when he merely held out Edward's license to him and actually got up to hold the door open for us.

Edward sighed heavily, letting me go as he took his license and placed his free hand on the small of my back, nodding his silent thanks to the bouncer and leading me into the bar, following behind Angela and Rosalie as they walked in before us.

We followed Rosalie up the stairs, bypassing drunken girls attempting to walk down them in six inch heels without falling and laughing as they latched onto the railing, slurring that they needed to find the cell phone they already had in a death grip in their other hand.

We reached the second flight of stairs that were slightly quieter than the first flight and I smiled, shaking my head.

"Feeling all right back there?" I asked, looking back at Edward.

He laughed, nodding as he took the steps behind me two at a time, grinning cheekily as his eyes flicked to my ass. I rolled my eyes and laughed, reaching out to gently smack his shoulder.

"If the only attention I get tonight is from the bouncer, I'm okay with that."

"I wouldn't count on it!" Rosalie sang as she rounded the corner to the third flight.

I rolled my eyes and I saw Angela shaking her head.

"How many damn levels is this fucking bar?" Edward asked.

"Four," Angela laughed, grabbing her camera from her pocket and stopping us before we stepped onto the third floor landing. "Rose, get over there."

She huffed, throwing her hands in the air before stomping over to us and standing next to me.

"I need beer!" she declared, glaring up at Angela.

"You'll get your beer." She waved her off and hopped up two steps, the camera flickering to life as she pointed it at us. "But for a photographer, I never take any pictures when we go out. Tonight, I'm changing that. Smile!" she demanded.

I laughed, leaning back into Edward as he wrapped an arm around my waist and I slung an arm over Rosalie's shoulders. She relaxed enough to lean against me, smiling brightly as she flipped her middle finger up in front of her.

"Nice, Rose," Angela grumbled, shaking her head as she pressed the button.

"Can I have a beer now?" she whined.

The camera lens folded back into itself and she nodded, waving one arm at her side as she stuck the camera back in her pocket and let Rosalie sail by her to finish walking up the steps.

We finally made it to the fourth floor and I reached behind me to grab Edward's hand again, twining our fingers together as we walked through the doorway and into a solid wall of people.

I felt his fingers tense around my hand and quickly squeezed his, following the path Rosalie and Angela were making to the bar in the middle of the large room.

We weaved around bodies dancing and grinding on each other as they held beer bottles and cups full of what I could only imagine was strong liquor over their heads before we finally found a break in the crowd that surrounded the bar.

"I've got this round!" Rosalie shouted over Pink's Sober as she leaned against the bar and pulled a twenty out of her bra. "Edward, what do you want?"

I looked back at him and swallowed hard when I saw the sheer panic on his face as he looked around the crowded room.

No. He wasn't going to panic. This night was not about panic and I wasn't going to let him regret coming out. If he really wanted to go, I'd be the first one out of here, but he deserved a night out too.

He'd been in his house all damn day, waiting for me to get home only to be greeted with nerves and tears. He deserved this night out as much as I did and I wasn't going to let him panic before anything actually happened.

"Heineken, Rose!" I yelled back, reaching up with my free hand to grab the back of his neck and pull his face down to mine.

His wide eyes met mine and I pressed my lips forcefully to his, yanking on his other hand and pulling him even closer to me. He didn't respond to me right away, his body tense against mine as he stiffly wrapped his free arm around my waist.

I started to move against him, swaying my hips back and forth against his in time to the beats pulsing around us. I moved my hand from his neck, draping my arm over his shoulder as I opened my mouth and dragged my tongue slowly across his bottom lip.

He seemed to snap out of it then, his body relaxing minutely against mine as he started moving with me. The arm around my waist relaxed as well, his hand firmly pressed against my back. His mouth opened to mine, his tongue snaking out to tangle with mine as we continued to move our hips in time with the music.

"Hey! Here's your beer!" Rosalie screamed into my ear.

I growled, slowly backing away from him and turning to narrow my eyes at her. She smiled brightly and handed me my Coors Light and Edward his Heineken before tipping her head back and sipping off of her Miller Light.

I watched Edward as I lifted my own beer to my lips, triumphantly noting that he didn't seem nearly as nervous as he had a second ago.

Huh. I'm very effective when I need to be, it seems.

"Come on!" Rosalie screamed, grabbing my arm and pulling us toward the other side of the room.

I was quick to grab Edward's hand, pulling him with me as Rosalie somehow managed to get Angela's hand twisted up with mine. She led us over to a window right next to the ATM machine and the doors to the bathrooms.

A group of four blonde girls wearing close to nothing was walking out at the same time we stopped moving, their gaze immediately landing on Edward as he stood behind me, his hand still firmly locked in mine.

They stopped, each one running into each other but not seeming to care as their mouths simultaneously fell open.

I wanted to be worried, but could only laugh at them as I shook my head and looked back at Edward. He'd seen them and I watched as his jaw tensed, his hand squeezing mine tightly as he looked down at me.

I turned completely, pressing myself against him and smiling up at him as I pulled my beer in between us.

"What are you two doing?" Rosalie screamed into my ear, her body already moving to Don’tcha by the Pussycat Dolls. "Dance, damn it, and keep drinking!"

I ignored her, my eyes locked with Edward's as I stepped up on my toes and put my lips against his ear.

"Did you mean it about wanting everyone to know that I'm with you?"

He nodded stiffly and I rolled my eyes, kissing his ear gently.

He might've nodded, but with the way he was tensed against me and slowly scanning the bar, I was beginning to think that he didn't.

I wasn't going to let it bother me, though. He was nervous, which was understandable, and it was my job to calm him down.

"If you didn't, I'll back off."

He shook his hand out of mine and both of his arms wound around my waist, securely keeping me close to him. I smiled and nodded, wrapping my arms completely around his neck and quickly stepping down to place my lips against his again.

"Don't you two ever stop?" Rosalie screamed, gently nudging my shoulder.

"Rose, leave them alone!" I heard Angela scream back.

I started moving against him, placing my beer bottle in between his shoulder blades as I dragged my hips across his again, smiling against his mouth when I felt him start to move with me almost immediately.

I pulled away from him, still moving my hips against his and meeting his eyes as they opened.

And when he smirked, his body completely relaxing against mine as he yanked me even closer to him, I felt like jumping around and squealing like a little girl.

"Finally!" Rose yelled, quickly moving in and dancing next to us.

I looked over at Angela who rolled her eyes, shook her head and laughed before grabbing the last drink she'd allow herself for the night and joining in with us.

I turned around in his arms, pressing my back against his chest and looked over at the group of girls that were now shamelessly gawking at us. I smiled innocently at them, raising one arm up behind me and wrapping it back around his neck.

And when he dropped his head to bury it in my neck, it was pretty damn priceless watching the way their jaws dropped.

"You're going to give them heart attacks!" Angela laughed into my ear.

I shrugged, smiling over at her as I lifted the beer bottle back to my lips. At least they'd know that he was off the market; damn it, he was mine and if we were going to do it, I was damn well going to make sure that no one had any doubts about it.

"And there's the Bella that's been hiding for entirely too long!" Rose declared, tapping her beer bottle against mine before throwing her head back and downing the rest of her beer. "Who's got next round?"

I rolled my eyes, laughing as I leaned into Edward and continued to move with him.

Fifteen minutes later when all of our bottles were officially empty, Edward offered to go up and get another round for us. Rosalie had complained that it was about time and I'd smacked her, rolling my eyes again before kissing him and watching as he moved through the crowd and up to the bar.

He'd moved on from panicked and nervous to relaxing completely while we danced and screamed at each other over the music. It was almost like a few hours ago had been a completely different day altogether. We were enjoying ourselves, no one had tried coming up to him if they'd recognized him and it was just… normal.

Again, it could've been the alcohol finally kicking in full throttle, but it was nice to pretend in my head that everything was just completely normal for a little while.

"Night's been going pretty well so far!" Angela screamed over Rihanna's Disturbia.

I smiled and nodded, raising my hands over my head and quickly sliding in between Rosalie and Angela to dance with them. Rosalie stood in front of me, her arms out at my sides as Angela danced behind me, her back to mine.

It wasn't long before Angela stopped us, whipping out her camera to snap a picture of the three of us.

"Uh, Bella?" Rosalie shouted as Angela put the camera back in her pocket, her eyes darting from my face to the bar. "Your man's been spotted."

I quickly stepped out from in between them, my eyes immediately landing on him as he stood leaning against the bar. One of the blondes that had been gawking at us earlier was standing right in front of him, her hand on his chest and an inviting smile on her face as she yammered on about something I had no desire to know about.

She was either too drunk or too stupid to notice that he was slowly backing away from her and moving as close as he possibly could to the guy waiting for a beer behind him.

"Oh, I don't fucking think so!"

I took a deep breath as I headed over, my jaw clenched tightly as I shoved my way through drunken people attempting to dance before finally reaching him.

I glared at the side of the blonde's head before sliding in between them, effectively removing her hand from his chest and wrapping my arms around his neck.

He smiled nervously down at me, placing one of his hands on my waist. I saw him mouth my name as he shook his head and opened mine to respond.

"Is there a problem?"

The squeaky voice I heard in my ear as I was halfway to my toes in an attempt to actually hear him only made my eyes narrow before I turned around to face her, crossing my arms over my chest.

I wanted nothing to do with any more squeaky voiced, annoying, know-it-all girls tonight. They weren't going to ruin my nights or my relationship anymore; I was tired of it and I wasn't going to just let it happen any longer.

"My boyfriend," I said through my teeth. "Keep your hands off of him."

"He's single," she managed to sneer even as she slurred her words, flipping her hair over her shoulder and nearly falling down because of it.

And it was really hard to be pissed off at someone who was having a hard time standing on her own two feet. Her eyes were only partially open, her hair was a mess now that I was up close and personal with her and she smelled like cigarettes.

It was even harder to be pissed off knowing that Edward hadn't been the least bit interested in her at all. It was hard to be anything but pretty fucking elated and amused at that point.

"No," I laughed, shaking my head. "He's not."

He chose that moment to bend down and wrap his arms around my waist, two beers in each hand as he rested his chin on my shoulder. I looked over at the bar and grabbed Rosalie's Miller Light, smiled innocently at the blonde and led him away from the bar.

"You're fucking amazing," he whispered into my ear, softly kissing my neck as we walked.

A thrill ran up and down my spine and I smiled, gleefully placing my free hand on one of his wrists as we approached the spot I'd left Angela and Rosalie.

"I am really fucking proud of you right now!" Rosalie shouted, laughing loudly as she took the beer from my hands and continued dancing.

"Me too," he whispered into my ear again, letting me take the beer from his hand before starting to move behind me again.

I closed my eyes, smiling like an ass as I moved with him and rested my head back on his shoulder. I saw the flash of Angela's camera behind my eyelids and smiled a little more, opening one eye to wink at her.

"I want those pictures!" Edward shouted, standing up a little straighter and pointing the end of his beer bottle at her.

She laughed and nodded before Rosalie grabbed her arm and demanded her to dance.

The music changed, switching seamlessly into Lollipop by Framing Hanley and my eyes snapped open as I turned in his arms and quickly draped my arms over his shoulders again.

He stood up straight, one eyebrow raised as he lifted the bottle to his lips and placed his free hand on my hip.

I fucking loved this song. And I suddenly loved it a hell of a lot more when I could dance with Edward to it.

I pressed myself against him, grinding my hips against his in time with the music and watched as his eyes widened before he dropped his other hand and held on tightly to his beer bottle.

"Move, Edward," I demanded, running my hand from his shoulder and down his chest.

I watched him swallow hard before he started moving his hips into mine again and I bit my bottom lip as I moved over slightly so that one of his legs was in between mine.

I looked up into his eyes again, another thrill running through me and heat spreading in between my legs when I saw that they were darkened and half-lidded.

I started moving side to side, dragging my hips against his and keeping my eyes locked with his even as I felt him getting aroused against me. I licked my bottom lip before bringing my beer to my mouth, watching him as I tipped my head back.

The hand he had resting on my hip moved down and over slightly, resting on my ass as he moved closer and pulled me completely against him. My breathing sped up as I felt every inch of him and I quickly brought the bottle away from my mouth.

The last thing I needed was to start choking and end up embarrassing myself beyond repair.

He leaned down, our hips still moving together, and placed his lips on my neck. I closed my eyes, my free hand moving up from his chest to cup the back of his neck and tangle in his hair.

"I want you," he whispered into my ear, thrusting his hips against mine once.

I couldn't stop the moan that fell through my lips and fisted my hand in his hair, my eyes slowly opening as I pulled on his hair to get him to back up.

That was all it took. The insecurities I'd had earlier in the evening, the worries I had about not being enough for him; all of it disappeared with those three small words.

He stood up straight, his jaw tense. I looked behind me and handed my bottle of beer to Rosalie – who was openly watching us even as she continued dancing with Angela – before I turned back to Edward and cupped his face in my hands.

"Take me home, Edward," I said, determined. "Now."

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