This story is based on a big inside joke between me, antiaol and hunterhunting, inspired by a mixed CD made by windycitywonder and a trip we took to a drag show. If drag shows and/or gender-bending weirdness squick you out, you may want to stop here.

Also, you can read this one-shot without listening to "Fucking Boyfriend" by The Bird and the Bee. But I really haven't the faintest idea why you would deny yourself. Go. Listen. Revel.

http:/www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=frw83nj31N4

Thanks to bmango and yogagal for prereading / beta-ing.

And while Stephanie Meyer would probably be horrified by this, she still (sadly) owns it.

The club was all flashing lights and vibrations by the time Bella arrived, deep thrums of bass moving through her legs with every step. She was wearing heels tonight – the sort she very rarely dared to try. With steps that were less steady than she liked, Bella made her way through the gathering crowd, fussing with the ruffles on her dress in distraction, her eyes searching.

Finally, a hand rose up over the sea of heads and Bella smiled, relieved, as she made her way over toward the bar.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Bella's best friend, Alice, greeted her smoothly, hopping down off a bar stool and wrapping her in her arms.

"Wouldn't miss it," Bella said wryly.

Alice looked around Bella, a disappointed expression on her face. "Did Edward not come with you?"

"No," she replied. Try as she might, she was unable to suppress her slight grimace, her hands fidgeting as she explained her boyfriend's absence. "He came straight from work. We'll, um, see him later."

Would they ever.

Ignoring her friend's knowing snicker, Bella stepped around Alice and motioned for the bartender to order a Malibu and pineapple. A double.

She was sure that she would need it.

When she turned back to her friends, Alice was speaking animatedly and trying to catch her eye. "I mean seriously, I can't believe we're finally going to get to see him – "

Bella held her hand up to interrupt, downing half her drink as she did. "Nope, Alice. Not talking about it right now. Just enjoying a nice night out with friends."

Alice's boyfriend Jasper snorted. "And tall, ugly women." Jasper winced when Alice slapped his arm. "What? Can you deny it?"

For the first time, Bella really allowed herself to look around the club, and she cringed. Jasper wasn't lying. There were a lot of tall, ugly women here.

All over again, Bella began to let her nerves get the best of her, pulling at non-existent threads at the hem of her dress and running her finger over the edge of her glass. Sucking the cherry from the drink into her mouth, she focused on that sweetness and not on the taste of anxiety and bile.

Letting the conversation around her fade into the background, Bella's eyes unconsciously drifted toward a particularly tall, ugly woman to her side, darting up to make sure it wasn't anyone she knew before inspecting her more carefully.

She knew all the signs that a person was supposed to look for. This particular woman seemed more demure than most, and Bella found herself squinting at the woman's crotch, imagining in spite of all her misgivings what it would really look like to see 'the tuck.' To touch it. To tape it herself.

The sound of a throat clearing distracted her, just at the woman she was looking at folded two large hands over her lap and crossed her legs. Her voice, when she spoke, was admittedly deep, but not ridiculous.

"My eyes are up here, sweetie."

Bella blushed a deep, hot shade of red and turned away quickly, only to find Alice holding her midsection, she was laughing so hard.

"Oh, Bella," she croaked between deep snorts. With an appraising eye, Bella noticed how Alice was leaning against Jasper, deciding quickly that her friend was already drunk.

And that it would probably behoove her to catch up.

Bella drained her cocktail and set it down before catching the bartender with a motion toward the empty glass. When its replacement arrived, Bella began sipping at it immediately, closing her eyes and sucking gently at the straw.

But behind her eyes, all she could see was skin.

Edward's skin. The sinuous body she loved to touch and suck and fuck.

Edward's skin and lace.

Bella's eyes flew open with a croaking gasp, and it was all she could do not to choke. Nobody around her noticed her distress, though. As if synchronized to her own erratic breath, the house lights chose just that moment to dim, the music growing louder, and Bella felt as if the floor was falling out from under her.

Alice's hand squeezed her shoulder briefly, and then everyone was turning toward the runway that had been erected in the center of the room. Or more specifically, to the very tall, very made-up woman sashaying down it.

In a pink sequined dress and heels.

Everything around Bella dissolved into applause and music, a thundering bass pounding out a pop song she'd heard before, but never like this.

Mind you, Bella wasn't completely new to the world of drag shows. Back in college, she had attended one for a girlfriend's birthday, and she distinctly remembered having had a wonderful time. She'd danced and sung along and ogled the scantily clad gay boys making out in the corners of the bar.

In general, Bella liked to think of herself as an open-minded person, willing to accept all sorts of kinks and proclivities.

Only she wasn't feeling very open-minded tonight. Instead, she was feeling sullen and resentful and mortified. With a sigh, she sucked down a little more of her drink and watched the woman on stage as she danced and sang and flirted, taking dollar bills from the people crowding around the lip of the runway. Like she had the last time, Bella tried to shake off her reservations and just have fun. But she couldn't.

Because Bella had never been personally invested in a drag show before.

As the number came to a close, Bella allowed her eyes to wander again, and for a second she thought she caught a glimpse of something green flashing behind the edge of the curtain. She sat up a bit straighter, peering through the dim, but by that time, whatever she had thought she'd seen had already disappeared. Resolving to pay slightly more attention to what was going on around her – and to stop getting lost in her own nervous moodiness – Bella focused on the woman in pink, who was currently introducing herself in a rough, breathy falsetto.

"Welcome, welcome! You are too kind," the woman gushed, gesturing dramatically toward the audience. Instinctively, Bella's eyes swept over the lines of her costume, and especially over the lines that weren't visible, even though the dress was clingy in all sorts of potentially problematic places. Frowning, Bella squinted and looked harder. But still. Nothing.

"As many of you know, my name is Amanda – Amanda Playwith – and this is Ladies' Night here at Le Faux. I'll be your Mistress of Ceremonies, and let me tell you, we have got some beautiful, talented girls here to entertain you tonight, so without further ado … "

Bella's attention began to wander again as the next performer was introduced, rolling her eyes slightly at the cackle of laughter she heard erupting from Jasper at the double entendre of the name. She watched on in detached skepticism as an odd, extravagantly dressed woman took the stage, all garish colors and overdone make-up and sparkly hair.

After her, there was another. And then another. And then another.

Another long sweep of shiny fabric. Another set of breasts that didn't quite sit right. Another pair of too-glossy lips.

And in all of them, Bella found that she was looking for something. Some tiny piece of the man she loved and whom she desperately hoped she would still love when this was all over.

Only part of her just didn't know how.

As the performers and pineapple cocktails began to run together, Bella lost the will to keep her memory from darting back to unhappy places. To the day when she had discovered him.

When everything had threatened to completely fall apart.

It had been a perfectly normal day, really. For reasons she couldn't even remember, Bella had gotten out of work early, and she had been excited about the prospect of getting home before Edward did for once. The two of them had only been living together for a few weeks, and the entire way home, her head had been dancing with vague notions of waiting for him, spread out on their bed, clad only in a new set of lingerie she'd picked out especially for him.

Only she hadn't beaten him home.

And she hadn't been the only one thinking about lovely, lacy things.

She'd only caught the tiniest of glimpses of him, really. Of his long, lean body and the thin wisps of hair she loved to run her hands through as they trailed down toward his cock.

His satin and lace-covered cock.

To her credit, Bella hadn't run out of the apartment screaming when she'd seen the purple satin panties her lover had been wearing. Nor the matching bra.

It was less to her credit, she knew, that she had slammed their bedroom door shut before retreating to the kitchen to fix herself a pineapple and Malibu. A double.

She'd needed it.

Sucking on the liquor-coated ice cubes rattling around at the bottom of her glass, Bella could still remember the terrified, embarrassed look Edward had worn when he'd finally emerged from their bedroom – dressed in men's clothing, thank goodness. She could remember his relief, too, at finding her still there.

As a blush bloomed across her own face, she could feel his shame and the terrible guilt she had felt for judging him. She hadn't been able to help it though. Edward had always been such a man. He loved football and math and tits. Her tits especially.

Or maybe he had just liked her bra.

Bella crushed the ice cube between her teeth in agitation as she let her mind slip back to that afternoon again. Once she'd more or less overcome her shock, they'd spent the entire evening – and most of the next few evenings, as well – talking. She'd learned about the enthusiasm Edward had always had for women's lingerie. For the way it felt on his skin. For the way he looked in it.

For the how it felt to have so many eyes on him, staring at him as he took to the stage while wearing it.

She had also learned – and he had been very clear on this point – that while he was, admittedly, a cross-dresser, he was also still a heterosexual man. A very virile heterosexual man. Who still wanted to have sex with her. A lot.

They hadn't, though. In the three weeks since she'd discovered his most carefully guarded secret, Bella had only been intimate with him once, and it had been awkward at best. In spite of her best efforts, mental images of her strong, masculine lover dressed in lace and feathers and sparkly things had distracted her so completely that eventually she had had to apologize and get dressed. With tears in her eyes, she had promised him that she still loved him and still wanted him.

But that she just hadn't known how to reconcile that desire with what she now knew of him.

To be honest, she still didn't know how to put the two images of her lover together in her mind.

Not without laughing. Or crying.

A warm hand on her shoulder brought Bella back to the spectacle going on around her, and she smiled gratefully when she realized it was Alice, lending silent and much-needed support. As she looked over at her friend, Bella happened to catch a glimpse of a clock hanging on the wall behind the bar. She checked her own watch immediately after, confirming that there could only be a few more numbers left before the end of the show. Inwardly, something gave out as she began to wonder if something had happened. If perhaps Edward has changed his mind. And she couldn't quite decide if the idea of Edward chickening out made her feel relieved or disappointed.

She didn't have long to ponder the question, in the end. Around the edges of the stage, another flash of something green caught her eye, and Bella leaned forward expectantly as Amanda Playwith took the microphone, practically sashaying her way back down the runway. Around her, the spotlights shifted, growing softer in intensity and cooler in color.

And Bella knew what would happen next.

"And now, ladies and gentleladies, do I have a treat for you! Back by popular demand, returning to the stage after more than a year away from us, I present to you the very beautiful, very talented … Miss Emerald!"

Alice was tapping Bella's shoulder excitedly and Jasper was clearing his throat, but Bella couldn't have noticed for all the world. After spending the whole evening in her own head, she was now singularly focused on the stage before her. As she watched, the curtains parted, revealing a woman's profile in silhouette, all curves and poise and the high, sharply defined features she knew better than any others in the world.

A low electronic tone filled the air and the lights shifted, spots filling in and revealing a long, shimmering but understated dress in a host of undulating shades of green and veridian. Pale skin. And a long fall of soft red hair.

The figure on the stage turned, finally stepping fully into the light and allowing Bella to really appreciate the way a bit of dramatic make-up complimented a clear complexion. How a swipe of glossy rose lent a feminine beauty to lips she knew best when they were pulled into a smirk, but which were still soft and full in a sultry pout. The way a piercing green gaze had been transformed into smoldering bedroom eyes. And the way a rough, manly jaw had been softened when set against long, coppery curls.

And then the woman started to sing.

Well there's something wrong
And there's something right
When you can take me by the hands
And I will close my eyes

Drawing in a deep breath, Bella found herself just as captivated by that voice as she had been the first time she'd heard it. When her lover had used it to sing her a song he'd written himself, stilling his strong hands over the keys of his piano only to lean forward. To kiss her deeply.

And to tell her that he loved her.

Lights around her flashed, and on stage, hips undulated; a figure in green danced, seducing a crowd with the same charm he had always used.

And with his beauty.

He was still so damn beautiful.

Are you working up to something?
But you give me almost nothing.
Keep me hopeless
Up to something
On my knees

Bella scarcely knew what she was doing as she pushed herself away from the bar, fumbling in her purse. She ignored Alice and Jasper and their questioning stares as she found what she had been looking for, scrawling a quick message in purple ink, and then setting out on tipsy feet toward the front of the room.

The green eyes set in that perfectly made-up face on the stage were clearly searching the room. As Bella moved, she thought she saw those eyes settle on a spot just behind her. And she was sure she saw them cloud with disappointment before strong shoulders shifted back in a gesture of defiance.

Long hands moved toward the clambering arms, accepting bills and touching skin, as soft, red lips pursed to blow kisses to admirers. So many admirers.

And all Bella could think was that this man – woman – person was hers.

I would be so winning
So absolutely winning

Bella watched those eyes scan the crowd one last time as she jockeyed for position, and then she was right there at the lip of the stage, her hand extended, a hundred dollar bill clasped between her fingers.

And there, across the face of it, were written just four purple words

Be my fucking boyfriend?

Emerald eyes connected with her brown ones, pouting lips jerking up into a picture of stunned if hopeful surprise, a high tenor voice slipping for just one instant.

Bella's heart bloomed as Edward took the bill. As her Edward read the message. And smiled.

And then an entire room full of people watched as the infamous Miss Emerald got down on her knees at the edge of the stage and kissed a small, brown-haired woman passionately on the mouth.

#~~#~~#

Bella was sitting at the bar with Alice and Jasper, still trying to dab off the smudges of lipstick around her mouth left over from her boyfriend's kiss when Edward found her. The show had just ended and he was still in full costume.

And he was beautiful.

Deciding she was two drinks past caring about the lipstick stains, Bella stood to greet him, her eyes lighting up and her hands moving automatically to the soft coppery curls of the wig to pull Edward's mouth toward her own. She kissed him with abandon, moving her lips and tongue against his more freely that she had in three long weeks, and as he responded, pulling her firmly against his chest, she felt her own body's desires rise and spark. Even the feeling of breasts against her own didn't dissuade her, and if anything, the lack of a hard erection pressing into her hip only served to intrigue her.

With the sort of confidence that can only come with profound tipsiness, Bella drew her hand down Edward's smooth-shaven jaw and neck, humming slightly against his mouth as she touched the place where his chest hair usually started. When she grazed his breast through the soft fabric of the dress, she couldn't help but giggle slightly. She wanted to be embarrassed about her reaction, but Edward was laughing, too, drawing her into his arms.

His breath was warm against her ear, his voice exactly the one that always turned her insides to cinders as he rasped, "Does this mean you're OK with the cross-dressing after all?"

Her hand continued its downward path, over his side and then to his hip, her gasping breaths her only reply. Bella was only just self-possessed enough to dart her eyes around the room before she dared to let her fingers drift between their bodies, brushing the mysterious smoothness of his crotch. His hand closed around hers just as she began to probe more wantonly, his face pulling back slightly so he could stare directly into her eyes.

She thought he was going to remove her hand completely, but instead he simply pushed it further down, his legs parting so that he could trace their intertwined fingers down the inside of his thigh.

And it was still there, beneath the fabric of the dress. Of course it was. All thick and hard and wanting.

Always wanting.

Bella was wanting, too.

"Does it hurt?" she murmured, her lips brushing his as she traced a finger up and down the length of him.

"A little," he replied, his voice husky as he returned his hand to her hip. "But kind of in a good way."

"I'd hate to hurt you." She was being coy, teasing, as she drifted her hand back up his leg to his hip. He wouldn't have any of that, though. Not after three weeks without her touch on his body. Not with the way that, beneath the tape, he was aching.

Bella's breath hitched as Edward pulled her more tightly against him, pushing her back against the bar.

"There's only one way you can hurt me, love," he whispered.

Bella shook her head, moving to press her palm to his heart. "I won't."

"Thank God." With that, they were done talking, kissing each other roughly against the bar, her hands trying to find the edges of his wig so she could run her fingers through his hair. His real hair.

"Um, guys?" Jasper's voice finally interrupted them.

Bella pulled herself away from Edward's mouth with reluctance, gripping his neck and ass to keep him close as she turned her neck. She glared at Jasper, but the look on his face was so uncomfortable, his laughter so barely restrained that she couldn't be angry. Jasper gestured around the bar to show precisely how much attention Bella and Edward's demonstration of affection had garnered. Smirking, he suggested, "Maybe you guys should, um, go help 'Miss Emerald' get changed?"

Edward pushed away from Bella but took her hand, and she was amused to see that he was blushing an even deeper crimson than the rouge that covered his cheeks. With a shy little half wave that was completely at odds with the confidence he had displayed on stage, Edward acknowledged their friends. "Um, hi Jasper. Alice."

Alice looked right past his embarrassment and stepped right up to him, wrapping him in a hug and pushing up onto tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You were fabulous up there. Completely tasteful."

Even Jasper managed to extend his arm, ignoring the red polish on Edward's nails as they shook hands the same way they would have on any ordinary day.

Only it wasn't an ordinary day. Not at all.

Releasing the handshake and putting his arm around Bella's waist, Edward motioned back toward the stage. "Well then, I guess we're going to go, um … "

"Yeah," Jasper responded, tipping his beer at them and winking.

Tucked up against his side, Bella let Edward guide her toward the door that led toward the dressing rooms. The hot flash of desire that had nearly claimed her as she had begun to explore Edward body against the bar was still there, even if it had been subdued by the intrusion of her friends. She wanted nothing more than to go find out for herself exactly what was under that dress, but this evening was Edward's, and she didn't want to cut it short.

She tugged on his arm lightly. "You're sure you don't want to … mingle?" Most of the other performers were wandering through the room in all their glittery glory, nursing cocktails and speaking animatedly.

Edward bent down to speak roughly in her ear, his hand possessive at her side. "There is only one thing I want to do right now."

Normally, such a bald-faced implication that he wanted to fuck her would have made her equal parts annoyed and aroused, but at the moment, her emotions were entirely clear.

She knew what she wanted to do, too.

It was hard to tell who was leading who as they pushed through the exit and down the darkened corridor. The moment the dressing room door was closed and locked behind them, Edward's lips were attached to her neck, the rough tug of his teeth against her skin reigniting her body as she melted against the wall, her hands tearing at the wig. He grunted loudly and bit down slightly harder on her skin, his hands coming up to join hers in pulling clips and pins from his hair, until with a jerk he managed to remove the wig and the cap he'd been wearing underneath it.

His hair was damp and soft between her fingers as she scratched at his scalp, his mouth and hands urgent on her skin once more. Bella could feel Edward's touch everywhere, smooth fingertips dragging themselves along the outside of her thighs as he pushed up the hem of her dress, his mouth working its way down toward her breast.

"You feel so good, Bella," he murmured gruffly. Her shuddering breath was her only reply, but behind her she began fumbling, fanning her hands along the wall, searching for the light.

"Wait a minute," she gasped.

"Why?"

Her thumb finally connected with a switch. Flooding the room with light, she found herself staring into smoky green eyes, lined in emerald and kohl. "So I can see you."

Bella could just barely make out the flash of crimson polish as Edward ghosted a finger down her face and neck, over her dress and between her breasts. Had she not known him so well, she might not have been able to detect the hint of insecurity laced with the lust in his voice. "And do you like what you see?"

She shook her head and watched his eyes and mouth fall, but she refused to let him pull away. Holding his face in her hands, she shifted his gaze upward, still shaking her head slightly as she murmured, "I love it. And you."

A small smile cracked open on his face. "I love you, too."

The ensuing kiss was softer than the previous ones, but it was no less intense. Pausing for breath, Edward murmured, "Thank you. For coming. For not running out on me."

Bella took his lip slightly between her teeth as she grinned. "Of course not."

Edward groaned as he pulled his lip back, pushing forward with an aggressive kiss, his tongue warm and wanting as it swept through the inside of her mouth. His hands moved roughly over her skin again, and Bella gave herself over to it.

Her two images of her lover were one.

Because both of them were of the same beautiful man.

"Come here," she breathed between kisses, her hands no longer tentative as they traced along his body. She palmed his ass and pulled him in against her, growling slightly as she ground herself against his leg. His needy sigh echoed through her ears as he began to hitch up his own skirt, digging under it and cursing softly against her mouth.

Without completely knowing what she was doing, she placed her hand around his wrist, stopping him. "No," she whispered. "I want to see."

His look was doubtful at best, but after swallowing thickly, he nodded. Even though he was clearly nervous, Edward let Bella drop to her knees, gathering up glittering green fabric as her palms traced smooth but muscular legs.

"You shaved," she murmured as she placed a soft kiss to a scar just below his knee. He nodded breathlessly, watching in rapt attention as she continued to slide her lips farther and farther up the warm expanse of skin, until finally she met the inside of his upper thigh, breathing hot over needy, swollen flesh.

And surgical tape.

She stared it for a long moment, her hand rising to trace the line of his cock where it was throbbing and taped against his thigh. The moment she touched the hot length of him, Edward's whole body twitched, his dick leaking slightly, and it had been so fucking long.

Bella took no mercy on his agitated state. Ignoring the way he gritted his teeth and rested his hand on the back of her hair, she merely kissed the head and then shifted, her hands tracing farther up his legs until they met with soft black lace. Part of her wanted to take the time to appreciate the contrast of the intricate material against the masculine lines of his hips, but she decided there would be time for that later. Slowly, she began to pull the panties down his hips, letting them fall around his ankles before moving to inspect the place where the skin of his balls had also been taped, everything tucked up and away. Grazing the smooth, hairless skin with just her fingertips, she craned her neck up to look him in the face, only to find his eyes glazed, his smudged, red lip now held tightly between his teeth.

"Can I?"

"Please," he grunted.

With a wicked smile, Bella used the very edges of her fingernails to begin to peel back the tape that held his erection against his thigh. "Fast or slow?"

Edward winced. "Fast."

"Always," Bella agreed with a smirk and a wink, finally taking the peeled-back edge of the tape between her teeth. And then, as gently and quickly as she could, she tore it away.

Edward's howl was muffled immediately with the insertion of his hand into his mouth, but Bella could still hear it. Working fast, she pulled the other two strips of tape away before he could recover.

The grunt of pain still issuing forth from Edward's mouth quickly morphed into a long, hard groan as Bella finally showed some compassion, taking each descending ball into her mouth in turn, exploring the smooth shape of them with her tongue. When she plunged her mouth down over his cock, surrounding the head in wet heat and breath, he nearly lost his mind, the hand at the back of her hair grasping more firmly, his hips jerking forward.

She took him in deeply, sucking and twisting, one hand holding and sliding over the parts of him that her lips could not reach, while the other held the hem of his dress. As his moans began to grow louder and less restrained, his cock gliding smoothly through the tight circle of her lips, he shuddered, then pulled her up by her hair, slamming her back up against the wall. Pressing his mouth to hers in a series of deep, needy kisses, he kicked off his heels and pulled the dress up and over his head, flinging it into a corner to stand there before her, his erection long and thick and leaning toward her.

But Bella still couldn't help but giggle at him, standing there naked except for a black lace bra.

Her laughter cut off when she felt him, hot and hard against her hip, his mouth urgent on hers as he pulled her dress up, breaking the kiss only for long enough to slide it over her head. "Something funny?" he rasped, slipping a finger beneath the edge of her underwear to tease at wet flesh.

"No," she managed, her eyes rolling back when he found her clit. "Nothing at all." His touch withdrew as he pulled down her panties, leaving them in equal states of undress. "Only," she said, pulling the straps of the bra down his shoulders and beginning to fumble with the clasp, "do you mind if I take this off?"

He smirked against her lips and palmed her breast. "Only if I can take this off."

"Deal."

They wrestled with clasps and straps for a moment, and Bella was amused to find out that it was, in fact, more challenging to remove a bra when it was being worn by someone else.

Finally, they were both naked, and as Bella stared up into his face, she was surprised to find that the makeup wasn't a turn-off. If anything, it just softened and accentuated the features she had always found so striking; smudged as it all was, it also lent a freshly fucked look to his face.

A look she very much wanted to accentuate.

As if he could read her mind, Edward captured her mouth and her body in the same self-assured motion, lifting her until she could wrap her legs around his waist, the underside of his cock pressing just so against the wet heat between her thighs.

"You want me?" he asked one last time. And even though he was sliding his firm flesh against her, she knew that he was talking about more than just sex.

"More than ever," she whispered truthfully, her fingers soft on his cheek as her arm wrapped around his neck. With a gasp, she felt him tighten his grasp on her ass and pull his hips back, their eyes connecting, and then firmly, confidently, he lined himself up and pushed inside.

"Holy fuck." Edward's eyes snapped closed, his forehead hitting the wall beside her head as their hips met, his cock buried. "Never make me wait that long again to be inside you."

"Never," she agreed, panting and so full. "Never again."

With one more long groan, Edward pulled his hips back and began a hard, steady rhythm, filling and stretching her, and Bella cursed, gripping hard at his back and neck as she gave herself over to the pleasure she'd be craving. Shifting her hips in time with his thrusts, she worked a hand down toward her clit as the other one twisted roughly in his hair.

And any doubts she could have had about the nature of the person sliding thickly between her legs evaporated as her body moved quickly toward its peak.

Because there was nothing to doubt.

Only a man could fuck her like this.

Her man.

"God, Edward." Her head fell back against the wall, her mouth parted and her breathing heavy. "Please."

"Please what?" he whispered. "Keep fucking you? Touch you? Make you come?"

"Yes. All of it. Yes."

"Jesus."

His pace and intensity doubled as he pounded up and into her, her hips pinned to the wall now by his hot hands. Something inside her gave with his renewed efforts, and her pleasure barreled forward, unstoppable and unchecked. She only had time to grab his neck, pulling his mouth to hers before she was falling over, her body clenching, uncensored words sliding past her lips – words like 'more' and 'yes' and 'please.'

And his name. Over and over and over, she screamed his name.

"I fucking love it when you come," he groaned. "I can feel it." And he could. All along the length of him, sliding wet and hot and flexing muscles moving over him. Pushing him.

"Fuck," he sputtered, and then he was coming, too, his cock pulsing, throbbing, releasing deeply into her.

With the last unsteady jerking of his hips, Edward's knees gave out on him, and together, the two of them slid down the wall until they were a tumbled heap on the floor, his body still inside hers and her legs thrown roughly over his hips. He rested his forehead against her neck, staring down at her breasts and at the place where their bodies met, peeling her back from the wall to wrap his arms around her waist.

Bella was the first to break the stunned silence. "Wow."

He chuckled and pursed his lips against her skin, raising his head to look her in the eyes. "Yeah. Wow, indeed." Her internal muscles flexed, as if in emphasis of the point, and a shudder ran through Edward's body, making his whole face twitch. Sighing, he pulled back slightly and urged her up, allowing himself to slip from inside her before setting her back down on his lap and kissing her mouth.

Bella's eyes scanned his face, thinking to herself just how much more freshly fucked it looked now that he had, in fact, been freshly fucked. Running a fingertip across the smudged line of lipstick to the side of his lip, she giggled. "You've got a little, er, something …"

Edward was so happy to have her in his arms, so relieved that the sexual tension between them had finally broken, that he couldn't be bothered to take the bait. Instead, he let his face erupt into a placated, post-coital smile and pulled her finger to his lips, kissing it softly before touching her own make-up stained face.

"You do, too."

"Wonder how that happened."

He had already taken her bottom lip between his own before he responded, murmuring happily, "It is quite the mystery."

"Indeed."

By the time their kisses slowed, a more serious mood was descending around them, and Bella soon found herself with her head between her lover's hands, looking into smudged, tired, but still hopeful eyes. It was only then, staring at him like that, that she realized just how devoid of hope those eyes had been these past few weeks. How heavy and weighed down Edward's shoulders had really been.

"Hey," she said quietly, touching his cheek. "You OK?"

He nodded roughly, swallowing. "I am. Now. I think. Are you … you're really alright with all of this?" He gestured vaguely at the pile of his shoes and at the green dress. And then at himself. "With me?"

Bella's heart hurt for him as she let herself really see just how worried and insecure he had been. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Their lips brushed again for just a moment before her breath wavered. "I mean … you don't want to be 'Emerald' every day, do you?"

"No," he laughed. "Way too much work. Not to mention, my balls are going to itch for a week."

She smiled and agreed and touched the smooth skin of his chest. "And I like you with hair. Here."

"I know." He hesitated. "That's not a deal breaker is it?"

"No. Definitely not. Just so long as it's not all the time. I fell in love with a man." She could see the quick flash of pain in his eyes at her choice of words. "And I'm still in love with a man." Placing her hand along his jaw, she emphasized, "This man."

He exhaled and looked up at her, even with his face still pointing down.

"Edward," Bella whispered. "I love all of you."

He couldn't help but let the edges of his mouth twist up.

"And I would be honored," Bella continued, "if you would be my fucking boyfriend."

Edward was beaming now. "Can I keep the hundred bucks?"

She slapped him playfully. "No fucking way."

"Damn," he muttered. He reached behind him, fumbling until he found the bra he had been wearing. Pulling the bill from beneath the lump of silicone lining the cup, he passed it back to her. "Oh well. Easy come, easy go."

At the sight of him holding his own bra, Bella found herself laughing once more, a sudden bolt of inspiration striking her.

"And you know what?" she asked, palming the crinkled bill. "I'll do you one better than that even."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"

"Mhmm." With one curled forefinger, she beckoned him to come closer, putting her mouth against his ear.

"Occasionally, you can be my fucking girlfriend, too."