A/N: For those of you that have patiently waited for this story to begin again – thank you from the bottom of my heart. I anticipate updates to be at least weekly; they may be more frequent, but I am committing to "weekly" for now.

Thank you to TwilightMundi, who tolerates my insane quirks and need for affirmation. Thank you to philadelphic and kimpy0464, who did me the huge honor of giving this a quick read thru and offering their invaluable thoughts.

All copyright and trademarked items mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. The remaining content is all mine. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization.

"I never stop thinking about you."

BPOV

After we got to campus, Edward and I walked quietly, hand-in-hand before we went our separate ways. Watching him walk away, as I'd grown accustomed to doing, I felt excited. It was late October, Halloween was coming up the next week, and then November would bring Thanksgiving. December would be an important month – I'd be retesting and if all signs were still clear, Edward and I could finally drop the last barrier between us, literally.

Thus, my first class of the day was spent in a haze of thoughts about how we might celebrate. Over the couch. On the counter. In the shower. I almost started a second list in my Discovery notebook just for all the positions I wanted to experiment with, but thought better of it.

Jasper brought two coffees to class, and we smiled and spoke quietly as we sipped and soaked in our professor's words. Things were still going well with him and Alice, and I realized our dorm suite was probably sitting empty most of the time.

The highlight of my day, however, was lunch with Edward. I'd come to think of the cafe as our place, and every time I passed it, even the times I didn't stop in, I smiled wide and proud. Tyler was working and I grinned at him behind the counter once I was inside. Edward had beaten me there, and was sitting at a table, book open on his lap.

As quietly as I could, I walked up behind him and put my hands on his shoulders. Unintentionally startling him, his knees dropped and the book fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing us both to laugh.

"Hey," I said quietly when he stood to embrace me.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I had no idea what you'd want to eat," he said. "Let's grab something."

Waiting in line, we snuggled and I told him about my classes. He was quieter than usual, and I couldn't tell if he was simply being respectful and listening to me or if something else was going on. Once we sat down to eat, it seemed like he relaxed a bit, but he still wasn't the playful, open, flirty Edward I'd gotten to know over the last few weeks.

"You okay?" I asked, my hand on his knee.

"I'm tired today," he confessed. "I didn't sleep well last night, and my classes are already so brutal."

"I'm sorry, sweets. Early bedtime tonight?"

As I took a bite of my sandwich, I watched his face crinkle a little with emotion.

"Yeah," he said, yawning. "It's probably good you're going to spend some time with the girls tonight. I can get my homework done and go to bed ridiculously early."

Allowing that thought to process through my head, I furrowed my brow a little.

"You know, we can get to sleep earlier. I mean, we don't always have to stay up so late, you know..."

Edward laughed lightly, turning to face me.

"I happen to like staying up late, doing you know with you," he said, lips lightly grazing mine. "I hope you do, too, because I plan to you know with you as often as I can, and even though I'll be getting to sleep early tonight, that just means I'll be well rested for tomorrow."

"Yeah," I breathed against his mouth. "I always want to."

Before we went any further, Edward pulled back and gave me one last peck. "Come on, we need to finish lunch, then I have to run to class, unfortunately."

Once he put his book away, we spent the rest of our lunch focused on each other. I was grateful; if I had to be away from him that night, I wanted to get as much of him during the day as I could. We walked to his class together, then I made my way back to my suite to get my homework finished before Rose and Alice got back.

When my schoolwork was finished and there was no sign of Rose or Alice, I texted them each to prod them along. I knew their classes were over for the day. They each replied and let me know they'd be back soon. Apparently Alice was going to get movies and Rose was picking up snacks and drinks.

Nothing left to do, I paced the room and glanced at my cork board. I realized I hadn't put Alice and Rose's note from my suitcase over the weekend up yet, so I did. Before pinning the folded paper to the board, I opened and re-read it and giggled, suddenly realizing how much I missed Edward.

Lying on my bed, I replayed the weekend in my head, wishing for many more just like it. Well, right up until Sunday night. I'd agreed to spend the weekend with Edward at his apartment, cooking for us on Saturday, and I couldn't wait. I wasn't sure what I'd cook yet, but I knew whatever it was, whatever we did, as long as we were together it would be fun and flirty. Hopefully, Edward wouldn't have too much coursework over the weekend and would be able to relax a bit.

As I began to think about potential menus, my phone chirped in my bag. I hadn't yet set up a custom ringtone for Edward; there were just too many songs to choose from.

"Hello," I said, smiling.

Edward hummed before speaking, and the sound made me ache for him. "Hey, baby."

Giggling, I soaked in his relaxed-sounding voice before replying.

"You sound drunk, Edward," I chastised. "Are you drunk?"

"No, I'm just very slightly buzzed," he said quietly. "And missing you like crazy."

"I miss you, too," I said with a sigh. "Homework done?"

"Yeah, mostly." His voice turned breathy, then. "What are you doing?"

"Just waiting for Rose and Alice to come home. You getting ready for bed?"

Edward sighed again and I could hear his clothes rustle, the mouthpiece of his phone rubbing against his shirt, much like I wished I could be.

"Yeah," he said, that morose tone inflecting his speech again. "Why didn't I want you to come over?" He was sort of half-whining, and it made me laugh (on the inside).

"Because you're smart. We can't just stay in bed all the time, you have a stressful few years ahead of you. If we don't figure out how to balance all of this now, what will we do when you have to go through your residency?"

There I was again thinking about our future together, I realized, only that time I'd shot us several years ahead.

"I don't know, Bella. Maybe this isn't for me. It's like only a few weeks into the year, and I already feel overwhelmed and entirely too stressed," he said, speaking quietly. "Maybe I'm not meant to be a doctor."

When he was done speaking, I could hear the long pull he took from his beer bottle, then another loud sigh. I was in completely new territory; I'd never questioned or doubted what I'd do in life. I always knew. Always.

"Edward, baby, I wish I was there to hold you and stroke your hair. To help you decide. I think you're probably just tired from the weekend and everything. I'm sure I didn't help," I mumbled. "It'll be okay, Edward. If you really think it might not be the right thing, we can talk about it and I can try to help."

His voice was thick and heavy as he hummed again. "Thank you. I wish you were here, I think I'm just frustrated."

"Edward, it's been like twenty-four full hours," I said, teasing him with a laugh.

"I meant it when I said I never stop thinking about you," he said. "What are you wearing?"

I really wanted to resist him, but his voice was so fucking sexy right then. It had the same tone and inflection as it did when we'd been in bed, and I was a puddle of mush.

"Same thing I wore to school, my horny boy."

"You haven't undressed at all? Come on, baby," he practically whispered, "take something off for me."

"Edward, I don't know when the girls will be back," I said, attempting to be practical. "What are you wearing?"

"Just a second, and I'll be down to my boxers." As he spoke, I could hear the rustling of fabric again, and I had to admit, it was getting me a little hot. Readjusting my body, I got comfortable on my bed and waited for him.

"Okay," he said, a large gust of air coming across the line, "I just fell into bed. Mmm, I can smell you here still, all edible and delicious. Makes me so fucking hard."

I confess – I had no clue what to say or do. It just felt awkward. Everything I considered saying felt so silly in my head.

Settling on a hum, I closed my eyes and pictured him. That felt better, and my brain was able to calm down and relax a little.

"Edward, what are you doing?"

The speed and depth of his breathing increased and he let out a small moan before he answered me. "I'm touching myself. Are you?"

As he spoke, my hands wandered, and it felt slightly less awkward since it seemed like he wasn't going to pressure me to say anything.

"Yeah," I breathed.

Another long groan came across the phone line, and then I could feel my body responding to him. I could imagine him laying there, his hand wrapped around his dick, slowly stroking himself. Just as my hand slipped beneath the waistband of my jeans, I heard two loud, shouty girls come into the dorm.

"Where are you, baby?" I heard Alice shout.

"Fuck, Edward, the girls are home," I said quietly, then covered the mouthpiece of the phone to shout back at them. "I'm in my room. Be out in a minute."

This time, his groan wasn't sexy at all, just frustrated.

"Sorry," I said. "I was kind of getting into that. We'll have to revisit this another time."

"I miss you," he said quietly.

"I know you do. I miss you, too. I'll be thinking about that, and you, what I know you're about to do, all night, I hope you know. Guh."

Just then, there was pounding on my door, and I gasped, startled.

"Christ, those girls are impatient. Sorry, Edward. We'll talk in the morning?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just do me one last favor?"

"What's that?" I asked.

"Say 'fuck' one more time? Please?"

If it had been anyone else, in any other circumstance, I might have laughed. But the way Edward nearly begged? I was incapable of saying no.

Mustering my inner vixen, I closed my eyes again and remembered back to the B&B, how Edward had made me feel in bed... how the corset I wore made me feel like the sexiest woman around... how his hands, and mouth, and lips all over me brought me to new heights. After all of that replayed through my brain, it was easy to give him the breathy, sexy-sounding dirty word he longed for.

"Thank you," he said, voice slightly strained. "Good night, Bella. Sweet dreams."

"You too, Edward."

Once I hung up, I took a few deep breaths and made my way to the main room. Alice and Rose had popcorn, Reese's Pieces, Red Vines and Twizzlers, Coke, a contraband bottle of rum, and what looked like a mountain of beauty products.

"Hey girls," I greeted, giving them each a hug. "Sorry, I was just saying goodnight to Edward."

"How is our dear cousin?" Rose asked.

"Eh, he sounds a little depressed and stressed out tonight, actually," I confessed.

"He's probably just tired," Alice said. "He gets grouchy when he's tired, and this is going to be a long year for him. Well, a long several years."

Alice's words got me thinking; dating Edward was more than dating just another guy. His time was going to be in short supply, not just during med school and then residency, but for a long, long time. I had no idea what he even wanted to specialize in, though, maybe he wanted to be a researcher? Maybe he wanted to be a podiatrist?

"Bella?" Rose said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Welcome back."

"Sorry," I laughed.

The three of us watched movies, put mud masques on our faces, painted each other's nails, ate far too much, and generally had a fabulous time chatting. Sometime after our second obligatory red SOLO cup of rum and Coke, Alice came up with a genius idea for my thanking Edward for all of his support lately.

We all went to bed much later than usual, knowing we'd pay for it the next day, but I could hardly find it in myself to care or regret it. It was the most fun I'd had with the girls in a while.

Thursday, I woke up late, ran out the door, and barely made my class with Tanya. Rushing into the room, I picked a seat close to the door and gathered the things I needed. Thankfully, class went by fairly quickly and I was happily on my way to get caffeine from the cafe afterward.

When I finally had my cup in hand and found a seat at a table, I checked my phone. I had several texts from Edward. If they were any indication of his mood, the tension and stress from the previous day was gone, and I was glad. I did, however, intend to ask him about it and hopefully get him to talk to me more. I didn't want him to just push aside his feelings and keep pressing forward if he wasn't sure.

Once I'd scrolled through the texts asking me how my morning was, the text asking me to meet after classes, and the text asking if I was going to coffee, I began to compose my reply. Letting Edward know I was indeed getting coffee (and lunch), and that I'd had a great morning, but wasn't sure about after classes, I pressed send and tucked in to my turkey sandwich.

Determined to get my classwork done before the day was over so I could have a relaxing night, I opened my book and sighed.

"Someone so beautiful should never look so sad," came the voice I'd longed to hear all morning.

Nearly knocking my chair over, I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck. He'd become a daily fixture in my life somehow, and I was happy for that.

"How's your day?" I asked as we sat down together.

"Brutal," he said. "Better now, though."

As he grabbed my sandwich and took a bite, I laughed, only too eager to share whatever he wanted.

"Gonna make me sleep alone again tonight?" he asked, giving me the most adorable set of puppy dog eyes ever.

"Yeah, I think so," I said with a sigh. "Sorry. I need to get this done and I have a paper coming up. If you want me to spend the weekend, I should focus. How are you doing? Did you get a lot done last night?"

He nodded, taking another giant bite of my sandwich.

"How are you feeling about what we talked about last night? Med school, all that?" I chanced.

"I'm fine, mostly. Sometimes I forget all the reasons why I wanted to be a doctor, but you'd be surprised what a good night of sleep and some deep thought can do."

"Oh, heavy thinking? Is that what you were doing when you called?" I asked, face buried in my book again to hide my smile.

Edward's laugh was light and free, back to the Edward I knew and already loved.

By the time I got back to the suite and checked my email, I realized I'd forgotten to look for my song that morning. Eagerly clicking on the email from Edward, I saw the file first – 3 – and began to load it into my playlist. The body of the email was simple and to the point:

Bella,

Because sometimes you need a little meaningless pickup, and I have the feeling we'll both need a musical boost to our days.

Love, Edward

As I clicked play and heard the song begin, I recognized it as Energy by Apples in Stereo. Hearing it made me long for a good run, but the weather outside was awful. I decided to pack my running gear in my bag for the weekend and hope Edward had a gym at the fancy apartment complex of his.

The rest of the night was indeed relaxing; I read, had a cup of tea, ordered Edward's surprise, and went to bed early.

Friday morning was sunny, but cold, and I was in a great mood. Edward and I had agreed to meet after his last class, at my room. My homework was done, and I was packed and ready to go by the time he arrived.

Once we were at his place, it was dark and he still had homework left to do, so I watched a movie while he worked at his desk in his room. Even though we were apart, we were together, and it felt comfortable and easy. Edward spent so long on his homework that I fell asleep; he woke me sometime during the night and we walked to bed, then curled up into a warm ball together.

On Saturday, I woke up with Edward groping me, which is probably the best way to wake up ever. He was in front of me, facing me, and wide awake. Reaching out, I took him in my hand and slowly moved my mouth to his. Our hands frantically worked each other's bodies, and our mouths were soft and tender as they moved together.

Edward panicked when he must've realized he was close to release, and turned to grab a tissue from the box just in time. His hands continued to pleasure me and my grip on his body increased as my orgasm induced every muscle in my body to clench. It was delightful, and the perfect way to start our weekend.

After a quick run in his apartment's gym, and a not-so-quick shower, we went grocery shopping to restock Edward's apartment. It was amusing browsing the aisles with him and watching as he picked out food for himself. I grabbed what I needed to make our dinner as well, and we paid then went back to his place. He still had more homework, so as I cooked, he worked.

He finally took a break to eat, sitting at the table and bantering with me, playful and sweet, but was right back at it after he helped me clean up. I felt a little abandoned – it was Saturday night, after all. Sucking it up, I tried my best not to be a pouty brat about it, and sprawled on his couch again. In a repeat of the night before, he woke me at some point and we curled together.

Sunday morning, I woke up to Edward pressed against me from behind. He hadn't shaved in two days, and his scruff raked its way against my neck, side to side, as his hand ran down my arm.

"Well, there you are, Scone Boy. I almost thought I'd lost ya," I said with a smile.

Edward hummed and bit down, teasing me. "I'm here. I'm always here, I'm just sometimes busy getting things done so I can focus on you more."

"I can't complain about this plan," I said.

His fingertips brushed across my nipple and I arched back into him. We were slow and reverent with our teasing, finally able to take our time and be together. Once he had a condom on, I moved to turn onto my back, but he stopped me.

Instead, he pulled my top leg up and over his, then slipped inside me carefully. From this angle, everything felt so different, and I remembered how shallow my spectrum of sexual experiences was. Edward's hand moved lower and he was soon coaxing my body to orgasm. His other arm wound around me from beneath and pulled me tighter to him as he continued to push into me, his breath warm against my ear. Several moments later, his grip tightened and he let out a slow groan before relaxing against me.

Even as we laid together after, his hands continued to roam and touch, loving me quietly and reassuring me. Turning, I faced him and we kissed softly for several minutes, until we both needed to get up. We took a lazy shower together, washing each other and touching, laughing and kissing. Everyone was waiting when we got to the pre-agreed restaurant.

After we'd all ordered and began to talk about our weekends, the topic of Thanksgiving (a topic I'd been dreading) came up.

"Bella, you should come home with us," Alice implored.

"Yes!" Rose agreed.

Edward's hand squeezed mine beneath the table, his own silent show of support.

"I can't," I said. "I have plans."

Well, I was sure I'd have plans by then, anyway.

"Oh," Rose said, clearly disappointed. "You sure?"

Nodding, I squeezed Edward's hand back. Another little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone, right? I was vehemently opposed to them feeling sorry for me and inviting me to be with their families out of pity or obligation.

"What's everyone doing for Halloween?" Alice asked.

It seemed like each couple was pairing up to dress as something cute or funny – Alice and Jasper as a cowboy and cowgirl (which prompted many cowgirl-style jokes... which prompted me to mentally flag cowgirl for a quick Google check, since I had no idea), and Emmett and Rosalie as a football player and cheerleader.

"What do you guys want to go as?" Rose asked.

Turning to Edward, I ran through a few possible scenarios before I noticed his expression.

"I don't know if I can make it," he said. "My classwork isn't going to get any lighter, and Halloween is on a weekday this year... You could go, though?"

Did I want to do that? Go to the party without him? I wasn't sure. Shrugging, I decided I'd think about it later.

For most of the rest of brunch, I was stuck inside my head, thinking about everything. When it was time to go, Edward dropped me off at my room. He walked me inside and stayed for a bit, lying on my bed and talking about our plans for the upcoming week. Knowing how busy he'd be, we tried to plan ahead, making study dates and setting aside time for each other, but it made me nervous.

After he left, I spent the afternoon doing laundry and getting ready for the week, then took out my Discovery List. I added "take a photography class," then slipped it back into my bag and got ready for bed.

The next few days passed in a blur; Edward was, in fact, too busy to go to the Halloween party, so instead of going by myself, I camped out with him at his apartment and passed out candy to the few kids that were out. I was surprised when Edward came up behind me. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he kissed me lightly.

"Someday, you think we'll have one of those?" he asked quietly.

"One of which?"

I could have guessed at what he meant, but the selfish side of me wanted to hear him say it.

"One of those mini Snickers," he teased, reaching to grab and open one. As he took a bite, he kissed me and the chocolate on his lips melted between us. "A little Han Solo or Princess, I mean."

Setting the bowl of candy down, door closed for the moment, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. As strange as it was, that simple question, simple confirmation that he, too, was thinking about our future, turned me on immensely. Before we got too far, unfortunately, there was another trick-or-treater and we had to dial it back.

With each new kid that came to the door, I wondered what our kids might look like. If Edward thought about having babies with me, did he think about marrying me? What would it feel like to be Mrs. Edward Cullen, I wondered. The knock on the door or chime of the doorbell pulled me from my thoughts each time, but I caught myself smiling widely several times.

At eight o'clock, I turned the porch light off and walked back to Edward, who'd returned to studying. Still worked up from earlier, I was determined to help him unwind a bit. Turning his chair, I straddled his lap and did my best.

A few days later, his embroidered lab coat showed up, and I got great pleasure from wrapping and giving it to him. I attached a note about how much I appreciated his care and concern for me since we'd met, and that I hoped he knew how much I cared for him. He showed me just how much he loved me that night.

October turned to November, and as the weather grew colder, Edward and I continued to heat up. We'd settled into a routine together, spending some nights together at his apartment, some nights apart so we could focus on school. He continued to have exponentially more work than I did, so I enjoyed spoiling him in various ways and spending time cooking for both of us.

The Tuesday of Thanksgiving break came, and I watched everyone pack up, then took them to the airport. Saying goodbye was difficult, knowing they were going away to be with their families. Rose, Alice, and Edward were going to Chicago and Emmett was flying back home to Tennessee. Jasper was going to head home to Texas, but decided to save himself the trip since it was such a short break, once he found out neither of his siblings would be there.

Edward and I had texted through the time they were gone, and on Thanksgiving, I was surprised when I heard a knock at the door.