Edward's lips lingered on mine for a moment longer. Then slowly, tantalizingly, he pulled away.

Breathe, I reminded myself for the umpteenth time. Then I looked up at his smiling face and forgot what I had been thinking.

"Breathe Bella," Edward reminded me with a gentle nudge of his nose, a teasing smile on his lips.

"I thought you couldn't read my mind," I said, a little exasperated that he could still make me forget everything while maintaining such control over his own emotions.

"It is becoming a little easier, though you still manage to surprise me every now and then," he said scooting back to the safety of the driver's seat.

I sighed, leaning back on the passenger's side as Edward started the car. I closed my eyes because I knew if I looked up I would see the trees speeding by far too fast for comfort. I tried to relax, and think of something else.

Edward looked at me, his eyes dark smoldering pools. "Tell me what you're thinking about, Bella," he urged softly.

"John," I said honestly, and unthinkingly.

All of a sudden the car came to a screeching halt in the middle of the road.

"What the hell are you trying to do Edward, give me a heart attack?"

"Who exactly is John, Bella?" Edward demanded through clenched teeth, anger shooting in his dark eyes.

"You try to kill us in the middle of the road, and you're worried about John!"

"Don't play games with me Bella. You tell me you are thinking about some other guy, and what? I'm just supposed to take it easy?"

I've never seen Edward with that particular look in his eyes. He's jealous, I realized. I couldn't believe it. But I knew that whenever he thought another boy was interested in me in the past, he had always been able to read their minds to find out my response to them, which was something he couldn't do with John. I smiled soothingly at him, reaching out to stroke his hand.

"John was my next door neighbor in Phoenix, Edward. Remember? I told you about him when you were playing 'Million and one questions for Bella'. He lived next door to my mother and me from the time I was about three until I was eight. Then he and his parents moved away, and I never heard from him again."

Edward's hands relaxed a bit on the wheel, and the anger in his eyes cooled. Slowly, he started the car again. He still looked a little miffed, as if unsure of what to say next. I couldn't believe that beautiful, perfect Edward could be at a loss for words.

"So you were thinking about your childhood friend?" Edward asked cautiously, clearly wanting to know more.

I smiled and sat back in my seat, closing my eyes once more.

"Bella?" Edward asked softly.

"Just give me a moment, I promise to tell you. I just need to adjust to your driving again, that's all."

After my stomach had settled a bit, I said, "It's the weirdest thing. I have been having these dreams about when I was a child, playing with John. He was two years older than me, but he didn't have any brothers or sisters and neither did I, so I guess he got stuck playing with me most of the time. Thinking back, I realize now that he would always make sure I didn't get hurt without me knowing it. So it wasn't until his family actually moved that I really began to realize what little hand-eye coordination I have."

Edward snickered, "That couldn't have been easy for the kid. I can only imagine what he must have gone through."

"Very funny," I said. "You know, it always made me very sad that he never kept in touch. I could never figure out why. His family moved all of a sudden, and I never really even got the chance to say good-bye. I mean, I always sort of thought of him as my big brother, but I guess he was just happy not having to look after me anymore."

"So why have you started thinking about him again?"

"I suppose seeing how close you are with your family reminds me of another thing I don't have," I said wistfully.

"You know my family loves you, Bella," Edward chided. "You belong with us now."

"It's not the same. I know they love me, and I love them, but I'm still the outsider. I guess I've always felt that way. Not really fitting in anywhere, even in my own family. The only time I feel as if I truly belong is when I am with you. Even then, I can't be with you fully because I'm human. Unless you've come to your senses about changing me?"

"Bella…" Edward said warningly.

"I know, I know," I sighed. Edward still stubbornly refused to see my side of things. It was so hard sometimes to be so close to him, always wanting more, and knowing that I couldn't have it. I clenched my fists in frustration. I was going to win this battle eventually, no matter what Edward said. But bringing up the subject again would only lead to a fight, so I decided to change the subject.

"So has Alice been able to see what is happening in La Push?"

There had been a string of disappearances from the reservation lately. All young men, between the ages of 19 and 21. Charlie had been working overtime, trying to figure out what was going on. But the tribal elders were strangely silent on the subject, and refused to cooperate with him. Charlie, out of frustration, had another huge row with Billy, and determinedly spent even more time at work trying to figure out what was happening.

The Cullens, on the other hand, were afraid that suspicion might be cast their way, and tried to have Alice find out what was going on so that they could protect themselves if necessary. But for some reason, Alice was unable to see anything about the disappearances at all.

Edward let out a low growl of frustration and said, "Not yet. It's like she's hitting a wall, like when I try to read your mind. We've tried everything to help her, but nothing seems to work. Carlisle is thinking of trying to meet with the Quileutes, to prevent any misunderstandings that might force us to leave Forks."

I chanced a glance over at Edward, ignoring the scenery zooming by at ridiculous speed outside the window. I knew with every fiber of my being that I belonged with him, and I couldn't imagine how I would feel if Edward ever left me.

Edward gave me one of his heart stopping smiles. "I could never leave you, Bella." He promised, knowing instinctively what I needed to hear even if he couldn't read my mind.

"You're leaving me tomorrow," I teased.

"You know I have to hunt more often to be able to stay so close to you. Besides, it will be a short trip, three days max."

I sighed. Three days away from Edward still seemed like an eternity. I closed my eyes again and tried to think of something else. "Are you going with Emmett this time?"

"Actually, it will probably be more of a family affair, with everyone but Carlisle and Esme going."

"Partying without the parents?" I asked a little enviously.

"Something like that," Edward agreed with a grin.

Too soon we were at my house, but luckily Charlie was still not home. I felt a wave of guilt – I was using Charlie's distractions to spend even more time than usual with Edward. I got ready for bed, and sighed with pleasure at the sight of Edward stretched out on my bed. He beckoned me nearer, though I needed no prompting. Falling asleep in Edward's arms was one of my favorite parts of the day. He stroked my hair, and sang his sweet, low lullaby. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, I turned to smell Edward's sweet, delicious sent on the pillow next to me. Then I blushed, and a tingling warmth went through my body, as I remembered the dream I had had about Edward. I could only hope that I didn't mumble anything too embarrassing in my sleep. I sighed, not really wanting to get up, knowing that Edward wasn't going to be around today.

Eventually, I headed downstairs. Charlie was already gone, as usual. I was halfway through my cereal, when there was a knock on the door. My heart leapt, and foolishly I hoped it was Edward, even though I knew he would have gone hunting by now. I opened the door to see a tall, dark haired guy about my age standing at the door. When he saw me, he turned around to stare at me curiously.

"Hello, can I help you?" I asked, wondering who he could be. By now, I pretty much knew everyone in town and couldn't place his face, though it did seem somewhat familiar.

"Bella? Is that you?" the young man asked, his brows furrowed in concentration as if he was trying to place me.

"Do I know you?" I asked, instinctively drawing back a little. Unfortunately, I managed to catch my heel on the edge of the rug, and went flying forward out the door.

The young man caught me quickly in his arms, and flashed me an infectious grin. "It's nice to see some things never change."

I had a sudden flash of recognition. "John!"

"You do remember me." He said, standing me up straight and entering the house.

"John, what are you doing here?" I asked incredulously. I thought about the dreams I had been having, and wondered if hanging around Alice so much hadn't somehow rubbed off on me.

"I came to see you Bella. I was worried about you." John said, looking at me sincerely. It was as if I could feel the years melt away, and the older brother I had always wanted was back in my life. But then I felt my resentment for the way he left all those years ago, without saying a word, swelling up in me.

"It's been 10 years, and now you're worried about me?" I asked, reluctantly leading John into my humble abode.

"What better time," asked John, "than now that you are dating a vampire?"

I whipped around to stare at him incredulously, "What in the world are you talking about?" How could he possibly know?

John sighed and sat down in Charlie's favorite chair. "Bella, if you can accept him, do you think you could accept me too?"

I looked at him carefully. His skin glowed with a healthy tan, and although he was definitely handsome, no one could mistake him for one of the Cullens. He had an outdoorsy, athletic presence that suggested he spent a great deal of time in the sun, as I often wished I could. Definitely not vampire material, but how else could he know about Edward?

"Are you trying to tell me you're a vampire?" I asked cautiously, trying to figure out what John was trying to tell me.

John howled with laughter. "Me? A cold one? I don't think so!" he said chuckling.

"So what are you?" I asked, getting annoyed at his laughter.

John looked at me, and the term "puppy dog eyes" immediately jumped into my head.

"Bella, I'm a werewolf."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie and Alice all came crashing through my door.