A/N: Thank you so much to my very win betasauce, TwilightMundi. I hope someone says that to you someday, too. And to carenl/nerac, for her pre-reading beautifulness and thoughtful comments. Oh, and the squees. Everyone needs more squeeing, I think.

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I was eager to get my weekend started – we had plans to have dinner, all six of us, the next night, but I knew I had almost twenty-four uninterrupted hours with Edward, and I intended to make the most of each one.

Squealing as I walked around, taking in each room and the possibilities of them, I let out a sigh of relief. We'd gone back to school and things had been great living with Edward, but this was a well-timed vacation for us to talk about a lot of things, including the summer.

As he wheeled our bag into the bedroom, I flopped onto the bed, kicking my feet up in the air.

"This is so perfect, Edward."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Exactly what I needed. We needed."

Once he had our bag on one of those fold-out-thingies, he unzipped it and hung up his suit for the next night. Inclining his head and raising his eyebrow, he silently nodded me over to help him unpack my own clothes, so they wouldn't get too wrinkled, and I teased him about being so metro.

The sun had only just begun to set, so we ordered room service and began to relax, once the bottle of champagne was open and flowing. I changed into a long, silk robe and Edward put on his scrub bottoms, which he knew drove me insane. I could never pinpoint what it was about them, they were just sexy as hell.

Just as I'd begun to thoroughly eye fuck him, there was a knock at the door and the nice room service man set up the table with our food. Instead of taking the chair next to Edward, I sat in his lap, straddling him so that we were facing each other.

Turning and picking a grape from the plate to my side, I thought about how much I'd grown and changed from when I first began dating Edward. I was much bolder, much more confident, and so much more in love with him. Time simply seemed to deepen our bond and connection. As he devoured the small fruit from between my fingers, I laughed and threw my head back a little.

Being with Edward outside of school was fun, and reminded me that the grueling times during school were worth it. As he'd predicted, things had gotten more hectic since we'd gotten back, but it still wasn't too bad. I dreaded the upcoming school year, though, and especially nailing down my classes as well.

All of that flew out of my head, though, when I felt his warm lips on my stretched neck. My eyes closed and I smiled as he kissed and licked along the skin. The hum that always existed between us seemed to amplify.

We fed each other bites of food, continuing to tease and kiss, until we were just barely full. Neither of us wanted to be stuffed, of that I was certain. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he had just as many plans for me as I had for him.

"Bath?" I suggested.

He just nodded, a salacious grin growing across his lips.

Climbing carefully off his lap, we walked to the bathroom. As the water ran, we talked, watching the bubbles fill the space above the clear water. It was easy conversation, mostly about classes and how things were going for each of us. Being able to just sit and relax with him was delightful, and we slid into the tub together, Edward behind me.

Something about it felt so grown up, too. We were living together, making life decisions together, vacationing together... our lives were so enmeshed, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

As I rested my head back against his shoulder, I relaxed into his movements. His hands were slowly teasing me, touching everywhere. Each seductive movement was magnified by the slippery warmth of the water, and before I even realized what he was doing, he'd pushed his fingers into me. His other hand was at my breast, tugging gently at my nipple.

The water rippled around our movements, the room quiet but for our breathing. Lying back against him, I tried to just let go and enjoy what he was doing. His mouth was still against the skin at my neck, and his fingers teased my body just as he knew I liked, until I was spiraling into my orgasm. Catching my breath, I felt my whole body relax again, melting into Edward's.

"There's nothing better than that," he said, his fingers still slowly moving against me. "Nothing sexier, nothing that gets me hotter or harder than watching, hearing, and helping you come."

Knowing how I affected Edward was always erotic in so many ways. His words, his touches, his looks – even when we were doing something completely non-sexual – always held his love and lust for me.

"I feel like a jellyfish floating in here with you."

Edward laughed. "This could lead to a lot of horrible puns about my stinger, but I'd rather just get out and love you more."

Turning my body, I angled myself closer in his arms and we kissed for a bit, before eventually getting out. When he was done drying me off, he led me to the bed and we laid together for a brief moment.

"I'll be right back."

Seriously? I couldn't imagine where he was going; we'd stopped using condoms months ago, and I'd been certain things were headed down a particular path when we got in bed.

Surprising me, Edward returned with what looked like a razor, a can of shaving gel, a washcloth, and a bowl of water. I quirked a brow at him.

"You said I could," he protested, pouting just a bit. "It's even on your list."

"I'm not saying you can't, just … right now? I just shaved my legs this morning."

The volume and depth of his laugh startled me.

"You're adorable. I'm not shaving your legs, baby." As he rounded the bed and stood at the end, he looked down at my body.

After I got over the initial confusion and shock, I was curious. I'd gotten bikini waxes and a partial Brazilian before, but I'd never been completely bare. And Edward being the one to shave me? I knew he would be slow, thorough, and careful.

"Scoot down," he said. His hands went around my ankles and he positioned my body how he wanted.

Lying back, I closed my eyes and tried not to focus on how nervous I was to have a sharp blade near my ladybits. The sound of the shaving gel going into his hands, then the cold wetness on me, made me shiver. His clean fingers teased me slightly, then worked to help get the area covered properly. By the time he was swiping the razor against my skin, all of my worries had faded. I'd opened my eyes back up to watch him as he worked.

Each stroke of the razor felt soft, and I watched as he focused entirely on the task at hand. When he needed more room, he lifted my ankle and placed my foot on his shoulder. Again, it seemed so intimate, so fucking sexy. No one had ever looked at me this carefully and closely, I was certain. After he repeated the motion with my other leg, I laid back and relaxed. I wasn't sure he was accomplishing much, until I felt the roughness of the washcloth. "You're dripping, Bella. Enjoying this?" he teased.

As he folded the cloth against me, using it to tease and torture once I was clean, I moaned and pressed back against it. Before I could even think, his mouth was against me, smooth skin against smooth skin, and it was delicious. His lips and tongue worked against my soft skin, twisting and turning as he pressed himself into me more. The moan from him seemed to vibrate my entire body, and after a few minutes of his attentions, I was arching against him, coming loudly.

There wasn't even time for me to come down from my high before he was moving up my body. He didn't take his usual time to stop and kiss his way up, he just seemed to halfway pounce, full of need. Pulling my legs off the bed, he moved closer to the bed and his hand went between us. Lining up our bodies, he pressed forward and into me. His chest flexed as he pushed in and pulled out of me, my hands moving to his body to touch him.

His movements were quick and aggressive.

The desperation I felt from him wasn't shared by me; my need had been sated several times, and it gave me a wonderful, unique opportunity to watch him and really pay attention. We were touching as much as we could in that position, and his hand slid into mine, locking our palms together. Watching carefully, I noticed his face begin to contort, and I smiled. His fingers were squeezing mine with each thrust, and I pulled my stomach muscles into my body as tightly as I could, hoping he'd feel how hard I was squeezing around him.

Pushing as far in as he could, he held his position. It felt so different than just feeling him move, and I watched his face as he smiled. Eyes closed, wide grin, fingertips skimming the back of my hand... he looked completely and entirely lost in his pleasure. The next time he pulled back, he began to move faster, clearly closer to the brink, and I just watched as he continued to wind up to his orgasm, then fall into the abyss of it.

Beautiful wouldn't be the right word, nor powerful. I finally decided there just wasn't a great word to describe him in that moment, except perhaps perfect. He was happy, sexy, a little dirty, a lot lovely, and everything I knew about him seemed to radiate from him in that moment.

When he'd calmed down enough to open his eyes, we repositioned ourselves in the bed and curled up together. Resting my head on his chest, I played with his chest hairs and drew lazy patterns on his skin as he ran a hand up and down my spine.

We fell asleep just like that, and for the first night in months, both got more than the recommended eight hours of sleep. It was heaven, wrapped up in his arms, relaxing.

…

The next morning, I woke up first and took the opportunity to order breakfast for us. I wasn't ready to leave the room yet, still greedy for more of Edward. When I'd finished ordering, I slipped my robe on and sat on the couch, reading as I waited. I'd instructed room service to knock quietly, and I was grateful when, thirty minutes later, they did.

After the employee had brought the food in and set it on the table, I woke Edward gently. He was on his stomach, sleeping with his head turned to the side, so I straddled him. Rubbing up and down his back, I leaned forward, letting the silk tickle against his skin, and whispered in his ear. I'd have thought he was still asleep after I was done, except that his grin was uncontainable. Kissing him quickly, I climbed off and held my hand out to help him out of bed.

We sat side by side, feeding each other bites of pancakes, fruit, bacon, everything and anything we had. There was orange juice, and coffee, and only after my hunger was sated did I realize Edward was still naked. Crossing my legs, I let my robe open just a little more than it naturally would have, and repositioned my shoulders so the front slouched open as well. Then I reached for something on the table. I wasn't even sure what I was reaching for, but my hand was stopped by Edward grabbing my wrist.

"Come here," he said, smiling.

Dragging me onto his lap, he used his fingertips to widen the neckline of the robe, once I was seated. Soft, delicate kisses adorned each side of my collarbones, and then dipped lower to between my breasts. One last kiss on my body seemed to be over my heart, but then his hands were in my hair, his mouth on mine, and all rational thought was gone.

As his full, luscious lips covered mine, his tongue darted out to play. His hands shifted beneath my robe, and we slowly joined together over the course of the next few minutes. It was so different, the position, the pace, the feeling of it all.

When we were done, we sat together and kissed. Closed our eyes and nuzzled each other, like some primal scent-marking routine of animals, as we enjoyed the quiet calm of the day. I looked forward to seeing our friends that night, but soaked in and relished my privacy with Edward in that moment.

After a lazy shower together, I blow dried my hair, then curled on the couch to read more of my book. Edward powered up his laptop and did something, the fireplace lit and roaring once again. Several hours slipped by in the comfortable silence between us. When I'd finally realized dinnertime was approaching, I stood and stretched, smiling at Edward as he looked up at me.

"I'm going to go get ready," I said.

Walking past him, I kissed his hair and he let a hand trail against my body as I moved. In the bathroom, I began to put my makeup on, something I didn't do every day, but loved. Getting dressed up like that felt fancy and fun, not a chore for me. Typically, the girls would have made an afternoon of it in the spa, but I knew at that particular moment in time, we all just missed our men, the rigors of school wearing on us.

As I began to pull on my lingerie, Edward appeared in the doorframe.

"You know we don't have time for anything like that, my dirty boy," I said, grinning and shaking my head.

"I know. I'm just enjoying watching you. I never imagined watching you put clothes on could be as sexy as watching you take them off."

"You better start getting ready yourself," I chastised. "We need to be downstairs in twenty minutes."

Nodding, he turned and reached for his suit, taking it into the main room. Once I was finished, I slipped my dress on and walked out to ask him to zip it up. I was stunned; I'd never seen him so dressed up before, and he looked sexy: from his shoes up to his tie, everything was perfect and in place.

"You know we don't have time for anything like that," he said, closing the gap between us, "my dirty girl." The words were spoken quietly, directly into my ear.

"Later," I whispered. "Definitely later. Can you please zip me up?"

He did, and we made our way down to the restaurant where we had made reservations. Alice and Jasper were already there, as were Rose and Emmett. There was a red rose at each of the girls' places, and I picked mine up and smiled, twirling it as I brought it to my nose.

The conversation flowed through the whole evening, and it was so much fun, I wondered if we could all just get a house and move in together. I'd never tire of their company, I decided. Each of them was so fascinating to me, and I simply loved being around them.

When the plates from dinner were cleared, I was certain the waiter would bring a dessert tray, but instead, he showed up with several plates, explaining that dessert had been pre-ordered. He set Rosalie's plate last, removing the silver dome with a flourish. It was then that I noticed Emmett had gotten down on one knee.

From there, he gave an impassioned recounting of their time together. He overshared, naturally, and made all of us swoon with his stories of how he felt about Rose. When he got to the end, he reached for the ring box that sat on her plate, and opened it, revealing a huge, glittering diamond.

"Will you marry me, Rose?" he asked.

Even though I knew she'd say yes, I still held my breath, waiting for her answer. She practically shouted the 'yes' and our entire table erupted into cheers, hugs, and tears.

Each couple shared dessert, and though I was over the moon for Rose, I had a nagging feeling at the back of my head. I wondered if Edward wanted that with me. It was silly; he'd talked about kids and the future, and I thought he wanted it, but a small part of me was sad that it wasn't us getting engaged.

After the bill was paid and another round of hugs and congratulations given, we parted ways and headed to our rooms. I tried to wipe my mind of the doubts and wonders, but it was almost impossible.

The deliciously warm fireplace roared when we got back, and I sat on the floor in front of it. Watching the flames lick and dance in the contained area, I thought about my future and what I wanted. I wasn't even sure what that was anymore, thanks to my almost-year of introspection. The one thing I was certain of, though, was that Edward was a part of my future, or at least, I hoped he would be.

Sitting next to me, he jarred me from my thoughts, resting his hand on mine. "What's got you so deep in thought?" he asked.

"I was just thinking about things," I said, trying to be vague. "You know, the future and stuff."

Wanting to be cool about it, but realizing I was desperate to find out how he felt, and to maybe figure out why he hadn't proposed to me, I tried to stay nonchalant and nonspecific.

Edward sat behind me and put his arms around mine, both pairs now resting on my knees.

"You seem upset."

"I do? I'm not upset, really." Trying to think quickly, I searched for a way to explain myself that wouldn't seem too over the top silly girl. "I just … I'm just wondering, you know, if that will ever be us."

"Really?" he asked. His tone and voice seemed calm, but slightly hurt, if I'd heard him correctly. "All this time, and you're still not sure? I would've thought by now that you knew how I felt."

"I do, I do," I said, frantically trying to explain. "I guess it's just a little awkward, and you know I'm happy for Rose, but maybe a little envious."

"Bella," he sighed, then paused. His forehead rested on my shoulder, then moved. "You didn't really want me to propose to you in front of our friends and an entire restaurant full of strangers, did you?"

He had me there.

"No," I gasped. "No, no, a thousand times no. That would have been mortifying."

"Exactly." His lips met my neck, and he placed a soft, warm kiss. "I know you, Bella. That would have been horrifying for you. But let me be clear: You're the one I want. Forever. It's not time yet, not right now, but when we're both ready and the time is right, I can only hope you'll do me the honor of agreeing to marry me."

No one had ever said anything so sweet to me, well, aside from most of the things Edward said, and the emotion welled up inside, bursting out before I could contain it. The tears flowed down my cheeks and I stared hard into the fire, relief and happiness washing over me, feeling guilty for being envious of Rose when it wasn't really what I wanted. Now that Edward had said the words out loud and I knew how he felt, my insides were tumbling with joy.

I'd have forever with him, hopefully. Someday.

When the fire had begun to die down, and it was later than I'd planned, having spent hours in Edward's arms, sitting on the floor quietly, we made our way to bed. On the way, we each undressed, giving each other quick glances and shy smiles. Spooned together, we talked about the summer, and planned.

We planned to drive out to Los Angeles, via a southern route, and then back via a more northern path, giving us time in each location. Neither Edward nor I had to worry about money, and we agreed to drive and share the cost of the hotels and food along the way. It wouldn't be fancy or luxurious, but it would be time spent together, and that was all I needed.

The drive back to campus was mostly quiet, surprisingly. I expected Rose to overwhelm the conversation with wedding talk, but she still seemed shocked by the proposal. We gabbed in the back seat, just as on the way to Boston, and made plans for the girls to get together and talk wedding during the next week.

…

So many things seemed to happen in a whirlwind when we got back. Alice, Rose, and I had lunch together several times, almost always talking about the wedding plans. Alice was going to be the maid of honor, and I'd be a bridesmaid. I'd been honored to be asked, since Rose and I hadn't known each other that long in the grand scheme of things, but she reassured me that she wanted me there with her.

Emmett had taken on a much more relaxed demeanor than I expected; I thought he'd be the type that would sort of freak out once he was "tied down" to one woman, but he seemed to almost glow with happiness.

All around me, there seemed to be blissful couples. Even Tanya had found someone new to date, and I just laughed at times when I saw them together walking around campus, or when her girlfriend would pick her up outside of our classroom to walk together. Even Esme was emailing me regularly with updates on life with Carlisle, and I could just see her happiness growing in each one.

As summer approached, finals came closer as well, and Edward just seemed to have less and less time. I scribbled in my notebooks, making way more notes of things to experience over the summer, and began to write in my journal. I never wanted to forget the moments we were having right then – Rose's wedding, Alice and Jasper's courtship, Edward and my life together.

When the year was almost over, I thought long and hard about how I wanted to continue my education. For some reason, being an editor didn't appeal to me as it once had, and I decided to take the summer and think about it. I could still take general classes and be fine, and I was mostly certain I still wanted to do something that required an English degree, so I contented myself with that knowledge and choice.

As the weeks moved by, Edward and I would talk via email or notes around the apartment about things regarding the summer. I had tentative maps drawn out, and we'd agreed not to be too formal about where and how long we'd go, with a few exceptions. I wanted to experience Disney World and EPCOT with him. While in Florida, I wanted him to meet Phil. I wanted to eat lots of fried things on a stick with him, at a State Fair, as specified on my list. I wanted to see the ocean with him. I wanted to take him to my old house and town, to show him where I grew up, and I wanted to visit both of my parents' graves with him.

By the final day of classes, I was exhausted. I hadn't really seen Edward in weeks. We'd certainly not spent any quantifiable time together, including any intimate time, and that was different, and a strain for us. When my classes were over, I vibrated with excitement, ready to get the summer under way. I spent the day packing the last things we'd need for the trip, and went to bed fairly early. Edward climbed in with me at some point, and we curled together, clinging to each other.

Finally, I thought, we were finally back together. Where we belonged. I slept fitfully, and woke to Edward's touch sometime during the night. Quietly, slowly, we joined together. There was a sense of urgency to it, but also a sweetness. Everything felt so raw inside me, and when we were satisfied, Edward curled around me again.

…

The morning was comical, each of us running around and packing the last-minute things we'd forgotten. The sense of ease and happiness was back, though, and I realized we both felt and seemed lighter. The year was over, and the next few months were ours – to play, to learn, to love, to feel together.

Packing the very last thing in my bag, my journal with my list in it, I sat and looked around. Edward was already waiting in the car, and I went to the kitchen to grab a pen from the drawer. Opening the book to slip the pen inside, I saw my list had been modified. Added to.

Laughing at the entries, I almost began to cry with how silly some of them were. And then I saw the final addition, and my breath stopped. I was certain my heart had stopped too, as I read and re-read the words carefully.

At the bottom of the page, written with his beautiful penmanship, was live happily ever after with Edward.

A/N2: No, this isn't the last chapter. :) The next chapter will be posted on Friday, as it is already written and ready to go.