Hello all, sorry this is being posted a bit late tonight…I haven’t been feeling all too hot today, so I took some medicine that knocked me out for a bit longer than planned. ;-) Anyway, I think this chapter should make up for that. Please don’t be too disappointed that we had to skip over the bachelorette party as it wasn’t really important to the plot. It had to be sacrificed so I could include everything else into one chapter!

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That night was a blur of alcohol-induced laughter and fun. Angela kept me pinned to her side the whole night as a sort of defense from Alice’s schemes and I was glad to let her hide her eyes in my shoulder as a very attractive male undressed in front of us.

In turns out that Alice had had the whole night planned to a tee and we had fun until well into the morning. Unfortunately something Alice also seemed prepared for was the massive hangover we all had in the morning. I was the first to wake up besides her and she had a cup of coffee ready and waiting for me when I stumbled out of the bedroom of the hotel room the five of us had all stayed in last night.

I groaned upon taking my first sip of the steaming beverage and Alice smiled cheerfully. My head pulsed achingly and as the warm liquid settled in my stomach I felt only marginally better. Without speaking, I nodded my thanks to Alice and collapsed on the couch nearby that was cleared of the mess we had made last night. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light streaming into the room, I noticed vaguely that everything had already been cleaned leaving me to wonder if Alice ever slept. My head still hurt too badly to find the words to ask her though.

Alice, for her part, was content to sit quietly with me waiting for the other three to stir from the bedroom. They slowly emerged one by one, each looking just as hung over as I felt. Angela threw herself on the couch next to me and laid her head in my lap with a groan.

“Alright, all four of you need showers,” Alice announced officiously and pointed to the large bathroom. Angela stirred and sat up to peer through one squinted eye at the bathroom as if she was trying to remember exactly what a shower was. I pushed her gently toward the door and she stumbled inside. We heard the water start a few minutes later, confirming that she had indeed remembered what a shower was. “After you’re done with that, we all have hair appointments to get to.”

The next few hours were full of unwanted hairspray and make-up, but I tolerated them mostly for Angela. She was riddled with nerves and constantly needed to be talked down. By the time we got to the church, she was all but shaking as Alice directed us to the room we would be using to get dressed in.

“Angela, calm down,” I murmured, hugging her from behind. She smiled and latched onto my arms before sighing.

“I’m scared,” she confessed in a small voice and my heart tore a little at the words. I was scared for her too. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Ben, I did and I thought he was exactly what Angela needed, but it was still scary to see one of your best friends take that big trip down the aisle.

“I know,” I said softly, not wanting Lauren and Jessica to overhear us. Although they were high school friends of both Angela and me, they were both a little too prone for cooing and whining to be of any help right now. They were too busy scoping out the territory for the groomsmen to really notice our hushed conversation anyway and Alice had long gone in the opposite direction in order to make sure things were being handled correctly. I was just glad it was her and not me overlooking all these things. Maid of Honor or not, I would never be up to those things and Alice was tailor made to do them.

“What if I’m making a mistake?” Angela asked morosely, abruptly jerking me back into the present. I gave her a sharp look before squeezing her to me again.

“Do you love him?” I asked, matter-of-factly.

“Very much so,” she answered immediately.

“Then it’s not a mistake and never will be,” I assured her firmly and she smiled up at me through watery eyes.

“Oh, Bella,” she sniffed and for the first time cast her eyes around our dressing room. “It’s insane to think that this time tomorrow I’m going to be a married woman.”

I smiled at my friend and took her hand in mine.

“You and Ben were meant to be together, Ange, don’t doubt that,” I said softly and she visibly relaxed as she nodded. “Now, let’s get you into that dress.”

Angela happily complied and I enlisted Jessica to help me out with the folds of the wedding dress. She chattered happily with us until it was time to get into our own dresses. Around that time Alice slipped back into the room to join us.

From that moment on, things flew into high gear and outside we heard guests arriving and milling about the room. About ten minutes prior to the wedding, we started to line up in the breezeway outside and I eagerly craned my neck to look in windows to see if Edward had arrived yet. I couldn’t see him, but the window gave me a pretty limited view of the chapel inside.

“Ready?” the pastor asked to the wedding party there was a general murmur of consent. He nodded thankfully and a minute later was walking down the aisle with Ben in tow. As I peered into the window, I almost laughed to see Ben fidgeting at the altar, looking nervous as all get out. Before I could comment on this to anyone, the wedding march struck up and the wedding party started to proceed down the aisle.

Lauren was the first bridesmaid down the aisle, then Alice, then Jessica then me, each of us on the arm of one of Ben’s friends. Alice gave me a liberal wink before she floated down the aisle and I rolled my eyes to see her squeeze Mike Newton’s arm. She was lucky Jasper couldn’t see that little display. He might not understand she was only doing it to torture me.

It was my turn to walk down the aisle far too soon and before I walked through the doors, I turned and gave Angela a thumbs up. She smiled from her place beside her father and nodded, returning the hand gesture. She seemed to be over her nerves at least. Mine, however, were just now surfacing.

The heels Alice had forced me into were not exactly the best thing for me to walk far distances in and I calculated if I could make it down the aisle without tripping. I gripped Tyler’s arm for support and he led me down the aisle without mishap thankfully. I took my place beside Jessica with a barely concealed sigh of relief just in time to see Angela emerge through the doors.

I had always felt like it was silly to cry at weddings, as I had been raised to abhor even the thought of marriage, but as Angela walked down the aisle I felt a lump rise in my throat. I didn’t cry, but what before had always been an unexplainable phenomenon suddenly made sense to me. Weddings were a very fancy way of saying goodbye to end a chapter of your life and begin what could be an entirely new book.

After she had kissed her father goodbye and he went to sit next to her mother, my eyes began to wander across the small congregation. The faces blurred together mostly until I met his green eyes from across the room. He welcomed my gaze with a small smile and I returned it, feeling my stomach flutter in anticipation of being with him after the ceremony.

I turned my attention back to Angela and Ben as the pastor began the ceremony but all throughout the ceremony I felt the familiar sensation of his eyes on me and the small smile he had inspired never left my lips as I tried my best to concentrate on the words being said and not him.

The words still blurred together and what usually was a long and boring ceremony to me flew by before I could even get a handle on it. Ben and Angela exchanged rings and kissed and before I knew it, it was time to proceed back down the aisle behind them. As I passed by the row with Edward, I gave him a small wave. I was thankful to see he was sitting beside Jasper, who I hadn’t noticed before. I’m sure Alice had arranged that somehow so neither of them would be alone while we had to participate in the ceremony. Her foresight was amazing sometimes, I hadn’t even thought of that.

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After pictures were taken and the photographer was satisfied, the wedding party dispersed among the still lingering crowd that was waiting for us all to lead the way to the hotel where the reception was being held.

I found Edward among the crowd and gratefully flew into his ready embrace. I drank in his already familiar scent before pulling back a little to properly greet him.

“Hello,” I said a little out of breath.

“Hello,” he echoed amusedly. My arms slid from the embrace so I could grasp both of his hands in mine.

“Would it sound silly to say that I missed you?” I asked quietly, a blush rising to my cheeks. His fingers intertwined with mine and he smiled gently.

“No, because I missed you, too. More than you know,” he replied and my heart swelled at the words. He had missed me. He led me without another word to his car and I got in to ride to the hotel with him.

When we arrived we walked into the lobby in the same contented silence with him gently guiding me inside with a hand on the small of my back. Every nerve in my body was attuned to that small touch and I reveled in the sustained contact.

Suddenly, the contact was broken and I looked at Edward in confusion to find him all but gaping in another direction. I followed his gaze to see a huge, familiar man standing in the middle of the lobby.

“Emmett!” I cried in surprise upon seeing Alice’s oldest brother standing there. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged with a large grin before casually answering, “I heard there was a party going on tonight. Thought I would check it out.”

“Emmett, you can’t just crash other people’s wedding receptions,” Edward admonished in a half-amused, half-stern tone beside me.

“Sure, I can,” he shot back, his wide grin still in place. “I had Alice ask if I could.”

I didn’t even have to glance at Edward to know that he was rolling his eyes at his brother. I just shook my head in defeat and looked away, pressing my lips together to keep from smiling in amusement at Emmett.

“Bella, Edward,” a soft, feminine voice greeted us and my eyes snapped back to Emmett to see that Rosalie had somehow slid forward to join him in the short period I had averted my eyes. I did my best to smile at the tall blonde beauty, even though my amusement had vanished.

“Rosalie,” I greeted her cordially. “How are you tonight?”

“Oh, pretty well,” she replied breezily. “It’s not every day I get dragged to a stranger’s wedding reception but I think I’ll manage.”

She lightly poked Emmett in the side and he glared playfully down at her. I had to laugh at the small interaction between the two. Their happiness together still felt strange to me but natural all at the same time.

I felt Edward squeeze my hand gently and I turned to him, letting him silently lead me in the direction of the dance hall of the hotel where the reception was being held. Rosalie and Emmett followed behind us, teasing each other the whole way. It was a stark contrast to the peaceful silence that was shared between Edward and me but I didn’t envy Rosalie the jokes she had with Emmett. I was happy beyond compare to simply be with Edward and I had long abandoned the first roots of jealousy that had sprung up in me against her.

“I think that’s our table over there,” Edward said softly and I looked to where he gestured to see Alice waving at us frantically from beside Jasper. I smothered a giggle and waved happily back at her before tugging Edward lightly in that direction.

“I don’t know…are you sure?” I teased lightly and I was rewarded with a soft chuckle from his which sent my heart into overdrive. It wasn’t fair that he could cause my entire body to misbehave just by laughing at me.

It made me wonder what he could do to me if we ever crossed the careful boundary of being friendly and holding hands but never really going any further than a few secret brushes of the legs and a smile that seemed especially reserved for me. Even the fleeting thought of Edward and I taking our relationship further than the tentative explorative one we had now sent my stomach plunging and a blush flooding to my cheeks.

“What are you thinking about?” Edward asked, amused. I shrugged and threw him a quick grin, hoping it would dispel the blush that raged across my face.

Luckily, he didn’t get a chance to probe deeper because we had reached our destination. He pulled my chair out for me and I smiled at the action, letting him push the chair back in after I’d sat down. I thanked him quietly before letting Alice steal my attention. She didn’t steal it so thoroughly as for me not to notice when he lightly grabbed my hand under the table and began to play with my fingers in his palm, however.

We got through dinner and the wedding toasts without incident. I managed to articulate myself fairly well even though I was scared to death of talking in front of everyone about Angela. She smiled encouragingly from across our table and Edward murmured reassuringly beside which bolstered me up enough to get through my speech well enough. I was still happy when it was over and I could sit back down, letting Tyler, Ben’s best man, take the microphone and the attention away from me.

“That was great,” Edward whispered in my ear and I nodded thankfully. It was me who grabbed his hand this time, needing something to hold onto until my heart stopped racing from the nerves I had just fought.

Soon enough, the dinner part of the night was over and music began to play signaling it was time to start the part of the night I truly dreaded the most: dancing. To my relief Edward seemed content to sit by my side and watch as his sister and Jasper were among the first to frolic out to the dance floor. Jasper quietly followed behind Alice as she encouraged others to join her and I was happy to see a true smile on his face as he watched Alice weave in and out of the crowd before emerging on the dance floor with her.

We watched from our table as Angela and Ben took the floor for the first official dance and all the people Alice had encouraged formed as an audience around them. I smiled as a soft song began to play for them and watched as they twirled around the floor gracefully. As I watched them, I felt Edward shift closer to me and smiled as his fingers twirled with mine. Another few dances passed and I watched as everyone began to flood the dance floor.

I felt Edward’s eyes on me again but didn’t turn around in my chair to face him. I was to busy concentrating on the feeling of his hand in mine to really have the courage to meet his eyes.

“Bella,” he breathed into my ear, his breath fanning deliciously against my neck. I suppressed the delighted shudder that rippled through me as he said my name and turned to face him at last, realizing he was much closer than I thought he had been.

“Yes?” I asked quietly. His free hand came up to lightly brush the side of my face and my eyes slid closed involuntarily at the action. His face drifted close to mine and I looked at him expectantly through lowered lashes.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked finally with a small grin.

My own smile faltered just a bit as I processed his question. It wasn’t until I saw his grin fade from his face that I realized how long I was taking to answer his request.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” he said quickly, getting the wrong impression from my silence. He tried to remove his fingers from mine but I clung on tightly.

“No, Edward, it’s not that,” I explained quickly, desperate for him to not feel rejected. “It’s just that…well, I can’t dance.”

He raised his face to mine again and my breath caught at the proximity again. As his deep eyes searched mine for the truth, his grin slowly re-appeared and all of a sudden I felt myself being pulled swiftly to my feet.

“Bella,” he laughed and unbelievably, tried to start leading me toward the dance floor. “Is that really all? You have nothing to worry about.”

“Edward, no, seriously now. I can’t dance. I will injure someone if you take me out there,” I pleaded desperately but it seemed my protests were in vain as he pulled me onto the dance floor with a flourish.

“Silly Bella, it’s all in the leading,” he assured me confidently and I felt myself being gently guided across the dance floor by his hand at my waist. Much to my surprise, he seemed to be a charm for me and I didn’t trip or step on his feet once during the first song. I was just about to tell him that that was a miracle when we were interrupted by a person I least wanted to speak to that night.

“Excuse me, Edward, but do you mind if I steal your date for this next dance?” Mike asked politely and I grimaced on the inside.

Edward looked at me for my approval and I met his eyes with the knowledge that he was going to be the perfect gentleman and let Mike steal me away. I took comfort in the unspoken promise that he would be watching the whole time. His hands slid from my waist and he gestured for Mike to take me in his arms.

“She’s all yours, Newton,” he agreed softly, his eyes never leaving mine as Mike took me up. I wanted to run after Edward as he made his way back to our table but Mike had a pretty firm grip on me unfortunately.

“Bella, how have you been?” Mike asked congenially and his cheerful tone sent a wave of guilt through me.

“Good,” I answered automatically, biting my lip uncomfortably. I searched my mind frantically for a question to ask so as to divert the attention away from me.

“How do you know Ben?” was the first question that bubbled to my lips.

“He was in the same fraternity I was in and we met back when I was still in school. He quit the fraternity a year or so ago, but we’re still friends,” Mike explained and I nodded. I remembered vaguely when Ben had quit the fraternity he was in, but honestly couldn’t remember the details of why.

“Mike,” I interrupted our vein of conversation suddenly. I knew what I had to do. “I wanted to say sorry for walking out on you like I did.”

“Bella, don’t worry –”

“No, no…really, let me apologize. I wasn’t thinking clearly that night and it was terribly rude of me,” I blurted out before he could stop me.

We stopped dancing in the middle of the floor and he smiled uncomfortably down at me.

“Bella, I have to admit it was definitely a new experience, but it’s okay,” he assured me with a shrug.

“Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” I asked tentatively, still feeling guilty.

“Well, you can put in a good word for me with your friend Jessica,” he joked and I laughed along with him. I bobbed my head in consent, vowing to myself that I would go through with it even if he was only joking. Mike deserved a girl who wouldn’t walk out on him and Jessica really did seem to like him. Maybe I could push her beyond a casual crush. Mike wasn’t done with his requests though. He continued on in a more serious tone, “And you can answer a question.”

“What?” I asked.

“Is Edward the one you’re in love with?” he asked quietly and I sagged a little in his arms. How could he possibly know that I’d been asking myself if I was in love with Edward ever since that night?

I pressed my lips together in thought as I seriously contemplated how to answer the question. One side of me desperately wanted to say ‘yes’, but another side darkly told me that I couldn’t fall in love with someone I hardly knew beyond a few conversations and one date.

“I think so,” I answered at last, settling for the most neutral response my brain could come up with. Mike smiled at my reluctance to affirm my feelings but didn’t push it. The song ended and I realized we had stopped swaying a long time ago and now were just standing there in the middle of the floor. I carefully disentangled myself from his arms and left him with a nod.

“Bella,” he called after me. “You look really pretty tonight.”

I smiled at him and turned back around to head toward the table but I didn’t have very far to walk as Edward was waiting for me at the side of the dance floor. He looked tense as I reached him and only smiled when I took his hands into mine and pulled myself close.

“What’s wrong?” I prodded gently.

“He’s wrong,” Edward said simply, his jaw clenched.

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“You don’t look pretty tonight,” Edward explained and my stomach dropped to my feet. I didn’t? He grabbed my chin firmly and continued, “Calling you pretty tonight is practically an insult. You’re much more than beautiful.”

I smiled shakily at him and followed him without complaint this time as he led me back onto the dance floor where we stayed until it was announced that Angela and Ben were leaving for the night. I sought them out and hugged them both goodbye. It would be almost a month until I saw them again and I knew I would miss Angela. They were going to be spending a week and a half in Fiji and then the rest of the holiday break back home in Forks.

After goodbyes were said, I sank back into Edward’s arms and he held me against his chest as we, along with everyone else, waved a final farewell to the newlyweds. As the limo with Angela and Ben inside, I nestled a little closer to Edward and sleepily pulled his loose arms tighter around me.

“Ready to go home?” Edward’s silky voice asked me softly and I nodded in consent. He guided me around the room to say goodnight to our friends and his siblings. Alice and Jasper were both almost too wrapped up in each other to register our goodbye but Alice did have enough presence of mind to tell me that she probably wouldn’t be coming home tonight. I didn’t pause to contemplate where she would be going because I was pretty confident I didn’t want to think about what she had planned with Jasper.

Emmett and Rose were part of the group that was still dancing on the now almost empty floor. They had a small group of admirers, both male and female, gathered around them and I had to laugh at how they were lapping up the attention. They really were great party crashers I had to give them that.

We waved goodbye to them and Emmett nodded in response. After that, I sought out Jessica as we left, but found that I didn’t seem to be needed for that good word after all. When I finally located her, she was already lip locked with Mike and looking pretty ecstatic about it. I didn’t interrupt them, instead I just let Edward guide me out to his waiting car and take me home.

He walked me to my door and we paused outside it, me fiddling with my keys and him with his hands buried in his pockets. I wondered when the awkwardness had returned to us.

“Bella, I’m really glad you asked me to come tonight,” he said after a moment of watching me fish my keys out from my purse. My fingers curled around my keys and I lifted them out before answering him.

“I’m glad you came,” I confessed. “I don’t think I would have been able to do that on my own.”

“You could have,” he said immediately and confidently. My heart fluttered in my chest and I scolded it for its misbehavior. Now of all moments I needed my heart to be good.

I turned to my door and shoved the key into the lock, desperate to focus on something besides his hypnotic gaze. He sighed from behind me and as I turned the key, he grabbed my free hand pulling me back to him.

“Bella,” he said softly and his hand came up to stroke my cheek as it had earlier at the party. Despite my concentration, my entire body was electrified by his fingers brushing against my face. He stepped closer to me and I looked up into his eyes as his face drifted down to mine. After what seemed like forever of just standing there, so close my body couldn’t even concentrate on a single point of contact, he murmured, “Would you mind if I kissed you goodnight?”

My insides squeezed together and I managed to breathe a soft laugh. He smiled and I almost felt his lips pull into his grin he so close.

“No, I wouldn’t mind,” I whispered softly.

And with that final seal of approval, he lowered his face to mine and pressed his lips softly to mine in a sweet, chaste kiss before pulling away again just as quickly. However, I didn’t let him withdraw too far before pulling him back down for a new kiss and as his lips met mine this time, I pressed myself into it with an eagerness to replace the tentative feeling of the first one.

He willingly responded with the same hunger I showed and I found myself pushed against the door to my apartment as he threw himself into this kiss. His lips moved against mine skillfully, begging for entrance to my mouth which I readily granted. I moaned as his tongue tangled with mine and he responded by pulling even closer to me. We were all but melded together as we reveled in the sudden explosive emotion that coursed between our lips as we kissed, but all too soon for my liking he was pulling away from me again.

His hands rested on hips as we both caught our breaths from the moment and I hoped they would stay there forever. My hands had ended up curled in his hair which I mussed beyond recognition of the smooth style it had been in earlier. I smiled a bit at my handiwork and let my hands slowly glide down to his chest where they rested until he shifted so he could take them in his while still staying close to me. He kissed each of my fingers gently before letting my hands drop to my side, and then kissed my forehead with even more tenderness.

“Goodnight, Bella,” he said throatily and took a step away from me.

“Goodnight, Edward” I replied, still a little dazed at what had just happened. I opened my door and backed into my apartment, relishing every last moment I got to see him standing outside. Finally I was forced to close the door as he gave me one last wave before walking away and into the dark night and out of my sight.

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Enough Edward for you? I know, I know…I could never give you enough Edward. Review and I’ll send you a sneak peek from the next chapter!

Also, not to ruin the mood or anything, but I could never deny myself a little self-promotion. My friend Kris and I have posted the first chapter of a parody we’re writing together on AH Twilight fics and I want you all to go read it. Right now. Immediately. The link is on my profile. ;-)