*Edward*
I jumped back from the stove as the pancake batter popped at me and growled at the pan, shaking my spatula angrily at it.
This was the third batch of pancakes that I'd attempted to make this morning.
If I got something splattered on my chest one more time, I was going to give in to Bella and let her cook; something that I told her I was more than capable of no matter what she'd previously been witness to.
Besides, it had taken me almost an hour to convince her that I could cook something without setting the house on fire. I'd made her grilled cheese sandwiches for Christ's sake – I was more than capable of making something for breakfast.
This was her day. She'd had one all about me and now I was going to have one all about her. And that meant cooking breakfast for her.
I stared down at the bubbling batter and twisted my lips to the side, tilting my head and swinging the spatula back and forth.
Maybe it was time to pull out those frozen Jimmy Dean sandwiches I'd bought when we went shopping. They'd probably be more appetizing than what I was currently staring at.
Really, how hard is it to make pancakes? Mix, pour and then put it in a pan for it to bake. It was not rocket science.
So why did it look like some foreign substance I was trying to pass off as food?
Sighing heavily, I flipped the knob and set the pan on one of the back burners, slapping the spatula in the middle of the stove before walking over to the freezer.
"I could starve up there, you know."
I jumped and turned to look at her as she stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb with her arms crossed over her chest and a wry smile on her face.
"In bed!" I exclaimed, pointing over her head toward the stairs. "You weren't supposed to move."
"You've been down here for an hour."
"They're not as easy as they look, you know," I grumbled, pouting slightly as I slumped against the refrigerator.
"Poor baby," she mocked, pushing off of the doorjamb and walking over to me. "I think maybe I need to give you some serious cooking lessons. How are you gonna survive without me?"
I reached out and grabbed her, smiling sadly as she squeaked and fell against me when I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. Her arms wrapped around my waist and she rested her head on my chest once she stood up straight and I closed my eyes tightly.
How was I going to survive without her? Well, rationally, I knew that I'd be able to. I'd go on with my life once I wasn't here anymore, and I'd go on with my job and make movies and attend premieres and talk to all the people in my life that I'd be forced to deal with the same as I'd been doing before Bella.
But I knew that it wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't feel the same, I wouldn't be able to concentrate the same way that I once had and absolutely everything would be different.
I was different. And it all had to do with the woman in my arms.
While her question was more than likely rhetorical or meant to make me laugh, it only managed to hit home. This was our last week together. A handful of days that would pass by too quickly and then I'd be on a plane bound for Washington.
"Come with me," I whispered, leaning down to bury my face in her hair. "Please, Bella, just come back with me."
Her arms tightened around my waist and she stepped into me even further.
"You know that I can't," she whispered back.
"Why? You can open up your own bookstore in California and I know you'll be successful! None of this season downtime because you'll always be busy! You'll be so good out there and…" I trailed off, swallowing hard and tightening my arms around her shoulders. "And we'll be together."
"You have no idea how much I'd love that," she said softly, shifting slightly and I felt her lips on my chest. "But there's just… Charlie's here and Angela and Rose and the bookstore has been in my family for a long time, Edward. I can't just leave it."
"Isn't there anyone else that could take over for you? Someone you trust?"
"All the people I trust already have full time jobs of their own. It's only me."
"Any other relatives willing to look after it?"
"My parents were only children. I don't have any cousins or aunts and uncles. The bookstore is mine, Edward, and I can't leave it. I'm sorry."
I squeezed my eyes together a little more tightly, burying my nose into her hair and shaking my head.
"Don't be sorry," I whispered into her ear, sucking in a ragged breath. "I know that you can't leave it, I just…"
"I know," she said quietly, pressing a lingering kiss against my chest.
We were both quiet, standing against the cold refrigerator and hanging on for what felt like hours before she finally pulled back and moved her arms from my waist to place her hands on my cheeks.
I slowly opened my eyes to look down into hers and sighed heavily before making an effort to smile at her.
"Hey," she said softly, tilting her head at me and slowly dragging her hands back to tangle in my hair. "We're gonna be fine."
"I'm just gonna miss you, Bella," I whispered, reaching up to push a piece of her unruly hair out of her eyes. "I've gotten used to you."
I attempted to laugh but when it came out forced and sounding more like a dying dog, I frowned and closed my eyes again. I felt her shift in my arms before her lips were softly against mine and her fingernails were gently scraping against the back of my scalp.
I sighed against her mouth, tracing my tongue along her top lip before she backed away from me.
"We have some time to figure everything out, okay?" she asked softly, her fingernails still making small trails up and down the back of my head. "Until then… make me breakfast."
I opened my eyes and looked down at her, not able to keep the frown on my face when I saw her bright smile.
God damn it, how was I supposed to live without that?
"As long as you go back upstairs," I bargained, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "This is your day, Bella."
"You got any good movies?" she asked suddenly.
"Uhm," I blinked, shaking my head and trying to remember all of the movies that I had here. "No."
"I'll make a deal with you," she started conversationally, her hands moving from my hair to link behind my neck.
"What deal?"
"I'll leave you alone to make breakfast as long as when we're finished, we go down to the movie store and pick out a few movies to watch for the rest of the day."
I shrugged, nodding.
I could deal with that. Spending the whole day inside with Bella, watching movies; very normal, very relaxing and probably a day the both of us could really use.
"Yeah, all right."
"Okay then."
She smiled at me again, standing up on her toes to kiss me once more before she walked out of my arms and out of the kitchen.
I stayed leaning against the refrigerator, running my hands over my face and taking deep breaths in an effort to keep my thoughts from turning back into the direction they'd just barely gotten out of.
I still had time. It was passing by quickly, but at least I still had some time left with her. And I would do everything in my power to make these last days as memorable as fucking possible.
She couldn't come with me; I'd known that before I'd even asked but it was worth a shot. She had a life here the same way that I had a life in California and neither of us could just leave them no matter how much we may have wanted to.
But God damn it if I wasn't thinking about giving up my entire career just to stay with this woman.
She was everything I hadn't known that I was looking for. She kept me grounded and she loved me in a way that I'd never even known existed.
She had quite easily become the most important thing in my life and if it came down to it, I would gladly walk away from everything out in California just to be with her for the rest of my damn life.
Because, honestly, I had no life without her.
Taking one more deep breath, I pushed off from the refrigerator and turned to open the freezer, grabbing the red and yellow box out of it before walking over to the counter.
It was physically impossible to fuck up pre-made breakfast sandwiches and while I'm sure she'd bitch about it the entire time she was eating it, at least the house would still be in one piece and I wouldn't be poisoning her with the toxic pancake mix still sitting in the pan on the stove.
~*~
"I'm driving!" she declared, bouncing into the living room with one arm over her head and snatching the keys off of the table near the door.
I huffed at her, pulling my jacket over my shoulders and pursing my lips at her.
She'd complained about the sandwich but once I'd shown her the pan of what should've been pancakes, she'd quickly taken it back and eaten the greasy round thing that I'd plopped onto a plate without another word.
And then she'd suggested that we get take out for dinner that night, since I wasn't letting her do much of anything for the rest of the day. I wasn't opposed to it – the less time I spent trying not to burn the house down, the better off we both were.
We finished breakfast and then she got into the shower while I did the dishes and let the almost-pancakes soak before surprising her in the shower and nearly giving her a concussion.
Another note to self: scaring the shit out of her in the shower was not a good idea. Especially since she'd just washed the shampoo out of her hair and the bottom of the tub was worse than an ice rink.
It was a very good thing that at least one of us had decent reflexes when needed.
"We really need to dig out the Volvo."
"Nah," she shook her head, grinning as she bounced on her heels. "It's perfectly fine where it is."
I rolled my eyes and laughed before walking over to her and hooking an arm around her waist.
"Pretty sure I'm gonna need to get gas before Monday."
She shook her head again, wrapping her arms around my neck and smiling.
"If we don't dig it out, you can't leave."
I swallowed the pain that shot up my throat and leaned down to kiss her softly, pulling her tight against me and wrapping both of my arms around her.
"You know that I…"
"I know," she said quickly, putting a hand over my mouth as she stepped down from me. "Later."
"We really need to talk about it."
"Later," she said again, stepping out of my arms and grabbing the doorknob in her hand. "I'm not ready for it yet."
"I'm not either, Bella, but we really need to…"
We both jumped when a knock sounded through the door and Bella immediately snatched her hand back, slowly sidestepping to stand next to me again.
"Rose and Angela are at work?" I asked quietly.
She nodded, looking up at me quickly before looking back to the door.
"Go into the dining room."
"Edward…"
"Please," I begged, looking down at her. "If someone's found out where I am, I don't want you to be interrogated, too."
"You can call the police, Edward. You don't have to deal with it. This is your property."
"And I will if I have to. Please, the dining room."
She huffed and nodded, stalking into the dining room. I could already tell that she was just standing in the doorway, in plain sight to whoever would be at the front door.
She was absolutely frustrating.
And I love her more than anything in the world.
Sighing heavily, I pressed myself against the door, squinting through the peephole to see a man with a package and that damn mechanical signing machine in his hand, dressed in the standard UPS brown uniform.
I breathed out a sigh of relief as I stepped back onto the heels of my feet and pulled the door open, watching as the guy's eyes widened.
"Mason Edwards?" he stuttered, slowly holding out the package and machine to me.
I blinked, absently nodding as I slowly took the machine and scrawled the name on the digital line once I realized that Jeannie was an absolute genius.
Using my mother's maiden name and my first name as my last name was quite possibly the most brilliant thing she'd ever done.
"Do you know that you look exactly like Edward Cullen?" he finally asked, seeming to recover from the initial shock he had momentarily been in.
"Uh, yeah, I get that a lot," I grumbled, taking the package from him. "Thank you."
He nodded, shaking his head and chuckling to himself as he walked down the porch steps and over to his truck.
"How did we not hear that?" I asked as I closed the door to find that she was standing exactly where I'd predicted.
She shrugged, laughing nervously before walking over to me and looking down at the package.
"Who's it from?"
"Jeannie."
She cringed and I snorted.
"What's in it?" she asked, playfully narrowing her eyes at me.
"A script she wants me to look over and Jessica's ticket for the premiere."
She nodded, her bottom lip curled in between her teeth as she swung her keys around her pointer finger.
"Everything okay?" I asked slowly, setting the package on the rocking chair.
"You're not… you're not going with her, right? She's not gonna be your date or anything, is she?"
I stared at her before reaching out and pulling her into my arms, burying my nose into her neck and waiting for her arms to come up around my waist.
"She's gonna be behind the barricades for the red carpet and I'm pretty sure she'll be up in the balcony for the actual movie. I won't be anywhere near her, Bella."
She nodded, nuzzling her cheek against my chest and sighing out a deep breath.
"I can't stand her for two seconds when I see her to begin with; do you really think I'd be able to tolerate her for an entire night?"
"Try working with her," she grumbled.
I laughed and kissed the top of her head, squeezing her one more time before backing away slightly.
"What do you say to those movies?"
"Don't you need to read the script?"
I shook my head, reaching up and pushing hair behind her ear.
"I've already got plans with someone ten times more interesting than any stupid script."
She grinned up at me, stepping up on her toes and kissing me softly.
"I'm still driving."
And with that, she took off out of the house and was running down the stairs of the porch before I even had the chance to think clearly. Laughing, I shook my head, locked the door and walked out in enough time to see her climbing into the truck.
Once I'd gotten into the truck with her, still laughing and shaking my head as she bounced up and down in the seat like a little child excited for her birthday, we made our way down to the local Blockbuster and walked in, hand-in-hand.
"Anything specific you want to see?" I asked, letting the glass door slam shut behind me.
Thankfully, there weren't that many people wandering around the rather small store and I felt the tension I hadn't realized I'd been feeling drain out of my shoulders.
Probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was only one in the afternoon on a Tuesday, too.
"Something funny," she stated, pulling me with her as she headed toward the comedy aisle.
"Funny ha-ha or this is so bad that it's funny?" I asked, looking over the movie titles when she came to a stop.
"Maybe both."
I nodded, looking over my shoulder when I heard something fall to the ground behind us. I cringed, seeing the salesgirl coming out of a door with what had been a box of videos at her feet, cases spilling out on the floor in front of her.
"Shit," I whispered, nervously running a hand through my hair and smiling awkwardly at the girl that was gawking back at me.
She continued to stand there, her mouth moving up and down and her eyes shifting back and forth between the front door and the back of the store for some odd reason that I couldn't even begin to try deciphering.
I nearly jumped ten feet in the air when I felt Bella's hand slip into mine, her fingers twining with mine as she squeezed lightly.
"You're okay," she whispered, pressing a soft kiss against my arm.
I don't know why the hell I was getting nervous about one person seeing me. I'd been living in this town for a year – on and off – and while I could usually walk around without any problems, there was always that one person that had to make a bit of a scene.
So why in the hell was I so damn jumpy about it?
"This one looks good."
I shook my head slightly, offering the gawking employee a small smile before turning to see what had caught Bella's interest.
"Yeah, okay," I said, my voice unusually high before I cleared my throat.
She laughed and squeezed my hand again, looking up at me and smirking.
"We're fine," she whispered, gently knocking my arm with her shoulder before turning her attention back to the movie case.
I grunted and looked over the movie rack we were standing behind to see that the girl had finally come out of it and was bending down to pick up the movies that had scattered once the box had hit the floor.
She wasn't screaming. She wasn't screaming and she wasn't jumping up and down and she didn't have her cell phone out to snap pictures of us. She was back to doing her job and I blew out a deep breath.
Normal fans did exist after all.
"I'm gonna help her," I whispered, looking back to Bella once I saw the girl drop about fifteen cases of DVD's back on the floor.
She smiled up at me and nodded, squeezing my hand once more before stepping up on her toes and planting a small kiss against my lips.
"Okay."
I looked around the store, making sure that no one else was in the vicinity – or cared about my presence if they were – before letting go of Bella's hand and slowly walking over to the girl hunched on the floor.
"Need some help?"
Her head shot up, her long brown hair getting caught in her face at the motion and she laughed nervously, dropping another armful of DVD's to the floor as she quickly reached up to push her hair away.
"Uhm, no, I think I can… I mean… you… I… you don't have to."
I smirked down at her before bending down and grabbing a handful of the cases in my arms, standing back up and waiting for her to tell me where they needed to go.
"I didn't mean to, uhm…"
"It's okay," I said quietly, laughing as I watched her quickly grab up the remaining cases and awkwardly stand up again.
"I heard you were around here but I never thought… I mean, I've never seen you here so I…"
She cleared her throat, shaking her head as she walked to the front counter and dropped all of the cases she had onto it. I followed her, doing my best to keep them as stacked as possible before finally giving up and letting them spill from my arms.
"It's okay," I said again, walking back to the box and grabbing that as well. "No harm, no foul."
"Thank," she cleared her throat, taking the box from me only to drop it on the floor behind the counter, "thank you. For… uhm, for helping me pick them up."
"You're welcome, Kristie," I said quietly, noticing her nametag. "Thank you for not screaming."
She laughed nervously and brought her hands up, fidgeting with her fingertips as she cast a sideways glance at me.
"Could I… uhm, I mean, if you don't want to that's okay, but could I get a picture with you?"
I looked over at Bella, who was still picking up DVD cases and reading the backs of them before I looked back to the nervous girl in front of me and nodded.
"Yeah, of course."
A smile brightened her face before her hands came up to flutter around her head.
"I have my camera! I'll be right back!"
I nodded, watching as she ran back towards the door she'd come tripping out of a few minutes before and wondering why in the hell anyone would bring a camera to work.
I shook my head and looked over at Bella, leaning against the counter and smiling. She looked perfectly content, looking at two cases and seeming to compare them very carefully. Her lips were pursed, her eyebrows were furrowed together and her right foot was tapping along to the outdated music playing quietly on the radio.
The door slammed behind the nervous employee named Kristie and Bella looked up at me, an eyebrow raised and that smirk still on her face. I brought my hands up to my face, mimicking a camera and she nodded, pressing her lips together before setting one case back onto the shelf and walking over to me.
"Can't take you anywhere, huh?" she asked, smiling as she leaned against the counter with me.
"Guess not," I smirked. "Find something interesting?"
She grinned and quickly shoved the case behind her before nodding. I raised an eyebrow at her, standing up straight again and moving around her to see what she had.
"No!" she exclaimed, laughing and reaching out to push on my chest. "It's a surprise. And when you're done with all of this," she waved her hand between me and the door before placing it back on my chest, "you need to pick one out, too."
"Why is it a surprise?"
"It just is."
"Nice logic."
"I thought so."
"Is it porn?"
"What?"
"Is it?" I asked, smirking. "I'm sure I could think of a few new positions…"
"Shut up!" she laughed, digging her fingernails slightly into my chest. "It's not porn."
We were interrupted when I heard the door slam, indicating that Kristie was back with her camera. Sighing quietly, I reached up and grabbed Bella's wrist, squeezing it gently before turning around to find Kristie standing there, her face bright red with a pink camera clutched in her hands.
"You really don't have to… I mean, it's really not…"
"I'll take it!" Bella declared from behind me, stuffing the movie into her jacket and effectively cutting off any hopes I had of being able to see it as she walked up to Kristie.
"You're… Bella Swan."
Bella nodded, smiling at the poor girl when her mouth dropped open and her eyes flicked in between the two of us, holding out her hand and patiently waiting for the camera.
"So it's true?" Kristie asked in something close to wonder as she slowly handed the camera over to Bella.
I smiled tightly, swallowing the panic in the back of my throat as I made my feet move to stand next to her.
"Very much so," I said quietly, holding out my arm and waiting for Kristie to lean into me like everyone else did.
Once again, I quickly looked around the store to find that two out of the three people that had been in here before had left without making a purchase, leaving one young boy wandering around the video game aisles with iPod headphones stuffed into his ears.
Thank God for small favors.
Bella stepped back from us once Kristie gave her detailed instructions on how to operate the camera and smiled brightly at me.
"Is… is this okay?"
I looked down in surprise to see that Kristie was looking at Bella and asking for Bella's permission. I looked up at Bella and grinned, quickly grabbing Kristie around the shoulders with one arm and hugging her against me tightly.
Kristie shrieked, Bella laughed and I grinned, waiting for everyone to calm down so that the picture could be taken.
Why couldn't all fans be like this one?
"Smile; he won't hurt you, I promise," Bella laughed, raising the camera and holding it out in front of her.
She took the picture and I squeezed Kristie one more time before pulling away and waiting as Bella approached us.
"You make me sick," she stated, pointing at me once she handed the camera back.
"Why's that?"
"You look good in every damn picture," she sighed, shaking her head and sticking her hand back in her jacket.
My eyes zeroed in on her hand and I raised an eyebrow. She laughed, pushing against my chest with her other hand before turning to Kristie.
"Thank you," she blurted out quickly, her eyes glued to the screen on the back of the camera. "You have quite possibly made my life."
I laughed and nodded at her.
"You're welcome, Kristie."
She looked up, grinning at me and I saw her beginning to bounce on the balls of her feet.
"I'll… uhm… let you get back to looking. Thanks again!"
She took off, running back through the door and I looked over at Bella, pursing my lips.
"I think it's time to go," I said quietly, having a sneaking suspicion that while she might've been normal, she was probably on the phone with eight hundred of her closest friends right this minute.
And I finally realized why the one fan in the movie store had given me a slight panic attack. Bella was with me and if my suspicions were correct, we'd both be in the middle of a very large group of squealing girls in minutes. I didn't want her to deal with that; not yet, not here.
"Find a movie first!"
"Bella," I groaned, letting her drag me back to the racks of movies.
"Pick one!" she insisted, gently tugging on the arm of my jacket.
I sighed and nodded, reluctantly walking away from her and doing my best to look over the movie titles as quickly as possible. Bella took off toward the door we'd both seen Kristie disappear into and I groaned quietly, shaking my head.
I didn't even want to know what she was doing.
I heard the door slam again a few seconds later and looked up to find Bella giggling with Kristie as they rushed to the front counter.
I raised an eyebrow at them and Bella wiggled her fingers at me as she took the movie case out of her jacket and slapped it on the counter. Kristie had quickly rounded the counter and was picking out the small clear movie case that had the actual DVD into it, ringing it into the computer and still laughing as she handed it to Bella.
I grabbed a random case and quickly walked over to them in just enough time to see Bella slipping that case into her jacket as well and handing Kristie the money to pay for it.
"What'd you do?" I asked, coming up behind her and setting the case for Click on the counter.
"Nothing!" she said brightly, shaking her head and stepping up on her toes to kiss my cheek.
"I don't believe you."
"Doesn't matter."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, looking at Kristie as she very obviously held in her laughter.
"You're both very amusing," she said quietly, her face reddening as she quickly grabbed Click's case and turning around to retrieve the DVD.
"We are pretty amusing," Bella mused, looking up at me and grinning.
"I'm not agreeing to that until you tell me what's going on."
"You'll find out soon enough," she sang, tilting her head from side to side as she watched Kristie locate the DVD and walk back to us.
Smirking, I wrapped an arm around her waist and dug into my back pocket to get my wallet with the other.
Kristie rung us out, going slower than I thought possible and I started to get nervous when I could see more cars start to fill up the parking lot from the plate glass window behind the counter.
"Have a nice day," she finally smiled, handing the movie over to me once I'd given her the money. "And thank you so much, Edward. I really appreciate it."
"No problem," I smiled, tightening my arm around Bella's waist before pulling her along with me as I damn near ran out of the store.
"You really need to relax," Bella laughed, reaching around and patting the hand I had on her hip.
I pushed through the door and cringed as I saw teenage girls just getting out of their cars – all of them holding cameras.
"Fuck… Bella, I'm sorry," I mumbled, keeping my head down as I pulled her towards the truck.
"Would you do me a favor?" she asked, stopping completely and pulling me to a halt.
I looked at her, my eyes wide as I tried pulling her with me again. She moved about an inch before planting her feet firmly on the ground and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Will it get you to move?" I asked, looking around the parking lot when I saw flashes from cameras starting to go off.
They were a relatively safe distance away from us and probably couldn't really hear a word that we were saying, but it didn't matter. They were still there, watching us with their cameras up to their eyes.
I was thankful that they hadn't approached us yet, but knew that it probably wouldn't take much longer. I just wanted her to move so that we could go home and hibernate for the rest of the week.
She didn't deserve this. She wasn't meant for this.
"Yes."
"Then I'll do anything right now, Bella, but please… I don't want you in the middle of this."
"You asked me if I was ready for all of this and I said yes. I don't like it, no, but that's the price I have to pay for being with you. Stop trying to protect me from something that's going to happen no matter where we go."
"Bella, I just want your life to continue being as normal as possible."
She blinked at me and shook her head, rolling her eyes.
"The minute I said yes to you, my life was no longer normal. And I don't care. I'm with you, I'm in love with you and I don't care if I never know what normal feels like ever again. I'm happy, Edward, and if people want to follow me around and ask me stupid questions about my life, then so be it."
I just stared at her, slowly shaking my head before I dropped the movie case to the ground, stepped in front of her and grabbed her face in my hands.
"You really are perfect, aren't you?" I whispered before placing my lips on hers.
"No," she whispered back, stepping down from me and smiling, "I just love you."
I laughed and briefly closed my eyes, kissing her forehead before stepping back from her and bending down to get the movie case. Standing up straight, I reached for her hand and linked our fingers, looking over to smile at the group of five girls crowded around a white Chevy Lumina.
They all began manically waving and I squeezed Bella's hand tightly, quickly walking over to the truck and opening her door as I waved back. I watched her pull the movie out of her jacket, placing it on the seat and before I could get a good glimpse at the disc inside, she was sitting on it.
"You're gonna get it for this, you know," I stated, pointing at her as she got situated in the driver's seat.
She grinned at me, reaching over her shoulder to pull the seatbelt across her lap.
"Bring it, boy."
"Oh, I will," I promised, slamming her door shut and quickly jogging around the front of the truck.
The group of girls was still standing there and all of them looked highly disappointed that I was leaving. Taking a deep breath, I shook my head, waved at them one more time and then quickly climbed into the passenger side of the truck.
"Next time, we'll bring the hat," Bella stated easily as she started the truck and shifted it into gear.
"That's a good idea," I grumbled, slumping down into the seat and securing the seatbelt across my waist.
Fuck knows why I didn't bring it to begin with.
We arrived back to the house a few minutes later and Bella pulled into her driveway before I slid out of the cab and waited for her at the back of the truck.
"Gonna tell me what movie you got?" I asked, grabbing her hand in mine as we walked across the road.
"Nope, but we are watching it first."
"Should I be scared?"
"Maybe," she hummed out, letting go of my hand to sprint up the porch steps and wait impatiently at the front door.
I laughed and made it up to her, unlocking the door and letting her walk in ahead of me. I watched as she shed her coat, pulling the movie back out and turning the DVD player on.
"Get comfy!" she demanded, pointing to the couch before huddling close to the television and quickly taking the disc out of the case to plop it into the extended tray.
I laughed at her, shaking my head, dropping my coat and the movie case into the rocking chair and kicking my shoes off before making my way over to the couch. I lay down on it, groaning happily and closing my eyes.
"Have you seen this movie before?" I finally asked, slowly opening my eyes.
"Yep, and it's one of my favorites," she stated brightly, grabbing the remote from the top of the DVD player and flipping on the television.
"But you won't tell me what it is."
"You'll find out soon enough."
She bounced over to me and I turned on my side, making room for her as she lay down in front of me. I wrapped an arm around her waist and briefly buried my nose in the back of her neck before shifting slightly and resting my head on the pillow so that I could see.
She skipped ahead through the previews and the minute the opening credits started rolling, I tensed.
I knew those credits. And that was my name flashing in front of us.
"You… did… not."
"Shh!" she insisted, reaching around and hitting my hip. "This is the best part."
"Bella," I growled, tightening my arm around her waist and pulling her against me.
"Shh!"
"I'm going to…" And then I – in all my full-frontal naked and less defined glory – flashed on the screen, running after the fully dressed supposed love of my life as she left me. Bella started laughing hysterically, snorting and gently slapping at the arm I had around her waist. "Kill you," I squeaked, burying my nose into the back of her neck and digging my fingertips into her ribs.
I had just signed on with Jeannie when I was offered the role in this movie. I'd moved out to Los Angeles a few months prior, was living in a shithole apartment that had a futon and nothing more and was one more movie audition away to calling it quits and heading back to Forks.
When I'd been told that I'd gotten this part, I'd been naive enough to do absolutely anything the director wanted me to.
That included running naked through the set, screaming at the top of my lungs and crying my eyes out after a girl that wasn't featured at all in the rest of the movie.
Jeannie hadn't known me well enough to advise me not to even think twice about it and to this day, at least one reporter always had to bring it up during an interview.
"No!" she screamed, kicking her legs out as I trapped her against me and tickled her mercilessly.
"This isn't fair!"
"But it's so funny," she gasped out, clawing at my hand as she threw her head back against my shoulder and laughed loudly.
"That's funny? I'm naked, Bella!"
"I know!" she squeaked, screaming as I shoved my hand up her shirt and grabbed her side.
"Something about me being naked is funny to you?"
"You're… running…" she gasped, still wiggling against me and clawing at my hand. "Edward, stop!"
"Is that what you really think of me naked?"
"No!"
"Then why are you still laughing?"
"Because you're… pathetic and… Edward, stop it!"
"Oh, I'm pathetic now?"
I dug my fingertips back into her ribs and she jerked back against me, her feet lightly kicking against my shins.
"In the movie! Edward, I can't breathe!"
I let my hand rest on her stomach, keeping her pressed tight against me as she caught her breath. I tucked my chin into the crook of her shoulder and looked down my nose at her.
"How old were you?" she managed, pointing to the screen.
"Nineteen."
"You're…" She swallowed and then turned on her back, looking up at me. Her chest was still heaving and her eyes were still laughing at me. "You're much better now."
"So I was bad then?"
"No," she breathed, shaking her head and reaching up to frame my face with her hands, "but you're mine now. And that makes you better."
I sighed heavily and dropped my forehead gently onto hers. It was really hard to be even slightly annoyed at her when she said things like that.
"You're really good at worming your way out of things, aren't you?"
"It's true!" she insisted, laughing and wrapping one of her legs around mine. "I love both versions of you."
"So you're laughing at that version why?"
"Out of love," she grinned up at me, running her hands down my throat and resting on my chest.
"Mhmm," I mumbled, rolling my eyes and smirking at her. "And this is one of your favorite movies?"
She nodded enthusiastically, running her hands over my chest as she bit her bottom lip.
"I loved your naked ass even then."
I rolled my eyes and sighed again.
"You're not really mad at me, are you?" she asked quietly, her eyes widening innocently.
"No," I laughed, pressing my lips against hers. "I can't be mad at someone that loved my naked ass even then."
She threw her head back into the pillow and laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself back up to press her face into my chest.
I laughed, shaking my head and wrapping my arms around her waist to hold her to me, burying my nose into her hair and breathing in deeply.
She found great pleasure in finding ways to knock my ego down at least six pegs every time she possibly could, but I'd never change that for the world. She loved me despite my flaws and all the embarrassing things that I'd done during my career – and she knew about all the dumbass things I'd done when I was younger, thanks to Alice – and I could never ask for anything more than that.
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