What is this? A second chapter to Inked Inc.?

Yep, finally sat down and cranked one out… After nearly a year!

Hope you enjoy this… I won't lie. It's fluff. Pure fluff and humor. I hope it's sufficient for those of you who reviewed and PM'd me wanting a bit more than the first chapter had to offer.

I don't own Twilight, or its characters, but I'm sure having fun with 'em.

"What about this one?" I ask quietly as I lightly trace the outline of a swan on her shoulder blade. There's a date under it. July 28, 2004.

"It's my way of remembering my parents." She tells me softly and opens her eyes and granting me access to her beautiful deep chocolate pools. "Emmett has a matching one."

"What happened?"

She takes a deep inhalation of breath. "Hit by a drunk driver." Her eyes become glassy and I can tell she wants to change the subject.

I comply. "And this one?" I ask as I run my fingers down to her lower back. A pink heart nestled in between two black swirly designs on either side.

She snorts and snuggles closer to me, closing her eyes. "What?" I ask, curious by her reaction.

"It's called a tramp stamp." She laughs. This time when she opens her eyes, they're shining in mirth. I raise an eyebrow, begging for an explanation. "It's just a slang term. Allie, Rose, and I got one when we opened our shop."

Huh. Learn something new every day. "It's a very sexy tramp stamp." I tease and roll her on top of me. Her tits are pressed against my chest in the most delicious of ways, and I have to stop myself from tasting. She rolls her head to the side and I catch a peek of ink near her left ear. "Aha. This one's hiding." She giggles as I tuck her hair behind her ear revealing black script. Love Life. "Hidden meaning?" I nibble the spot on her skin, making her squirm.

I think I found Bella's spot.

"Nah, its pretty self explanatory." She leans her head against mine and I place a chaste kiss on her lips. She nuzzles her head into my neck and I can't stop the smile overtaking my face. I drag my fingers lightly up and down her back and she shivers under my touch.

"Are you cold?" I ask, concerned and make to pull up the blankets higher over us.

"No." I smile and return my ministrations on her skin.

Her even breathing in my ear and steady heartbeat on my chest lulls me; I feel myself starting to drift off.

Growl. My eyes snap open and I feel a blush heat my cheeks.

My face cheeks, not my ass. Perv.

"I think you're hungry." Bella tells me bluntly in response to the ferocious noises emitting from my stomach and giggles in my ear.

I groan in frustration as she sits up, straddling my torso. She traces her fingers slowly down my bare chest and looks at me with lust-filled eyes. I feel myself getting hard, and by her smirk I can tell she feels it poking into her leg. She leans down and captures my lips in a slow passionate kiss. My hands slide up her body and latch themselves onto her bare tits. I squeeze them and she moans into my mouth.

Growl.

God dammit.

Bella smirks and releases my mouth, returning to her sitting position on my stomach. "You just cock-blocked yourself." She teases and slides off of me. My hands fall limply at my sides and I sigh.

I sit up and rub my hands through my hair roughly. Bella's back is to me as she sits up and stretches her hands over her head. Her silky hair is in perfect disarray and I can't help but think about how much I love waking up to her. Just after one night.

I crawl over to her and wrap my arms around her mid-section and rest my head on her shoulder. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

She smirks and turns her head toward mine. "Better than my car?"

I pretend to ponder for a moment and she smacks my arms away from her playfully. "Yeah, I think so." I tease. She sticks her tongue out and laughs. She's so sexy.

"Turn around." She orders. I cock my eyebrow in confusion. She points to her dress lying on the floor a few feet away. "Would you rather I walk in the nude?"

"Yes," I answer without hesitation. She rolls her eyes. I smile cockily and cover my eyes. Satisfied, she gets up and trips over to her dress.

How do I know she tripped? Because, like the creeper that I am, I left a crack in my fingers that I can peer out of.

She bends over, and I feel myself get hard again as I try to suppress the moan at the image of her bare ass as she bends over. That is a nice ass.

She's picking up her dress when an idea hits me, "Wait!" I tell her and jump over to my closet.

"Hey, I told you not to look!" she scowls and crosses her arms over her chest which just pushes her boobies together and makes them look even more delicious.

After a minute of creepin' on her chest, I return my attention to my cramped closet and start pulling out random shirts. Aha! I pull my high-school football shirt off the hanger and hold it up. Perfect.

I face Bella and realize she's sitting naked on my bed staring at me. Why am I not over there? As if to remind me I haven't eaten for over ten hours, my stomach grumbles again.

Oh, that's why.

I make my way over to her and hand her the shirt. She purses her lips and inspects it. "It'll do." She tries to be nonchalant, but I can see the happiness in her eyes. I can't help but wonder if she's still waiting for me to kick her out, especially after what she said last night. I wonder what kind of assholes she's dated.

My stomach rumbles and she giggles. "I'm a go make breakfast." I tell her.

She looks surprised, "You can cook?"

I think for a minute. The last time I cooked was two thanksgivings ago and I managed to catch my mother's kitchen on fire. "Sure." I smile and turn to leave.

"Nice ass, by the way." I look down and realize that I am, in fact, in the nude. I blush and grab my boxers, which must have been thrown pretty hard to land all the way by the door. I slip them on and close the door lightly behind me to give her some privacy.

I pad down the hallway and into the kitchen, managing to only trip once on a library book that probably should have been returned about a year ago. Shit, I need to do that.

My kitchen is fairly large and unfortunately, fairly empty. I go through cabinet after empty cabinet until I find my junk food stash. Huh, don't think Bella would be too pleased munching on cheese balls for breakfast. I close the door in frustration and make my way over to the refrigerator. Cross your fingers.

"Dammit." Judging by the green fuzzy shit growing on my cheddar cheese, I'd say two months in the fridge is too long. I reach over into the drawer under the seat and feel around for the tongs. When I finally feel the cool metal handles, I yank them out and struggle to undo the safety clasp. Stupid safety thing. What's someone going to do, poke their eye out? I snicker to myself at the image of some dipshit stabbing their eye with salad tongs and pull on the safety ring.

"Oh, fuck!" I scream and throw the tongs across the room, my hands flying to my eye. Fucking thing stabbed me in the eye!

I quickly rush over to the sink and run the cool water. I cup my hand and splash some on my face. Shit that hurts. I don't even bother looking in a mirror when I'm satisfied that the burning sensation is manageable.

I'm sure I look sexy with my puffy red eye that's swelling to the size of a small island.

I set my jaw in determination and stomp over to where the tongs landed, kicking them against the wall. They immediately snap open on impact and bounce off the wall, hitting me in the shins. "Fuck!" I grab my left leg, holding it close to my body, and bouncing around on my right.

I have a few choice words for whoever invented those damn things. You can shove your invention up your ass Mr. Salad Tong.

I take a deep breath and focus on bending down and grabbing the tongs, careful to avoid any further injury. I hold them as far away from my body as possible and take them back over to the fridge. I stick my arm in and grab the moldy bag of cheese between the tongs carefully.

I bite my tongue in concentration and slowly pull the cheese out. I gently turn, keeping my eyes on the cheese, and dispose of it in the trash can. I debate for a moment and drop the tongs in too.

That's what they get for crippling the man of the house.

I nod once in satisfaction and resume my search for something edible. I spin around and let out a small squeak in surprise.

That was manly.

Bella's leaning against the wall, wearing my old jersey might I add, with quirked eyebrows and a smirk on her face. God she looks so fuckable in my clothes. The shirt doesn't even reach her mid-thigh, showing off her mile long legs, and her hair is pulled up into a messy pony-tail.

"You just got your ass kicked by a pair of tongs." She snorts and makes her way over to me.

I scratch the back of my head and watch her approach through my good eye. "You uh, you saw that huh?" I chuckle embarrassedly.

"Kinda hard not to. I must say, you're better than Comedy Central." She teases, "I totally did not see that shin hit coming, I thought the tongs would show mercy on you after giving you a shiner."

"I'm glad I can amuse you," I snap angrily and grab an ice pack from the freezer.

I hear her sign and moments later, she's pressed up against my back with her arms wrapped around my waist. I try to stay mad, but I can feel my anger immediately dissipate at her touch.

"I'm sorry," she places a light kiss on my back. "Are you okay?" I can tell she's trying to be sincere, but a giggle bubbles out and she buries her head against my skin to keep it in. I feel her shaking in silent laughter, and I can't help but join in.

I mean really, what are the odds? I could be a fucking millionaire if I had that on tape.

"It kinda feels like someone's shoving an ice pick in my eye." I tell her truthfully.

I feel the loss of Bella as she slides over in front of me. She grabs my arm and pulls it away from my eye. "Edward," she chastises when I struggle. My arm falls limp at my side, and the bright light makes me shut my eye in pain. Well, try to shut it. It only goes half-way. With my good eye, I see her face grow pale, and she reaches her hand up to poke it.

"Edward?"

"Huh."

"I think you should go to the doctor." She tells me and pulls her hand away. I panic at the serious look on her face and race over to the mirror in the entry room.

I groan at my reflection. My eye is red and watery and swelled up to the size of a baseball. I have a fucking baseball on my face!

"Come on Edward," Bella calls from behind me. "I'm taking you to the doctor." I huff in embarrassment and follow her back to my room. I go over to my closet and pull out some random shit, throwing it on. I run my hands through my hair and turn around, just in time to watch Bella put her dress back on. Her bare back faces me, and I can't resist.

I rest my hands on her waist and kiss the back of her neck softly. "Do you have any idea how tempting you are?" I whisper. She shudders and relaxes into my embrace. I continue my trail of kisses until I reach her ear. I nibble on the end, causing her to moan softly.

"Edward," she groans, "We can't."

"Why not?" I whisper in her ear.

"Because, you need to see a doctor about your eye. It looks like it could get infected."

I stiffen at her words, "What?" I whimper.

"Edward, I poke people for a living, I know when infections are possible," she tells me and adjusts her dress. "Can you zip me up?"

My fingers fumble with the delicate zipper resting on her lower back and gently pull it up, pushing her hair to the side. I hear a sniffle and turn Bella around to face me.

"What's wrong?" I put my hand under her chin and force her to look at me.

"Nothing." She kisses my palm and smiles. She rubs her eyes, no doubt trying to hide the wetness pooling in the corners form me. I saw it. Did I do something wrong?

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She grabs her purse and I follow her out of the room. "Ready?"

I smirk and grab her hand. "I was born ready, baby."

A half hour and two BigMac's and shakes later, Bella and I make it to the hospital.

"Hey Lauren," I say to the receptionist in the lobby as we approach the desk.

"Oh, Edward!" she smiles a bit too largely to be sincere, "To what do I owe... the pleasure?" she leans across the counter and crosses her arms, causing her cleavage to spill over her scrubs. Two days ago, that would have turned me on. Bella snorts at Lauren's blatant flirting and I grab her hand. Lauren eyes Bella up and down and sneers. "I haven't heard from you in sooo long, Eddie. I'm feeling neglected." She says in an innocent voice, jutting out her bottom lip.

I'm sorry to admit that I actually slept with this plastic slut at last year's charity gala for the hospital. We were both drunk, and I didn't have a date. Lauren did, but I guess that didn't matter at the time.

"I'm here to see my father. Does he have time?"

"Your father works here?" Bella nudges me sharply.

My eyes meet hers, "Yeah, he's a doctor," I tell her, confused as to her reaction.

"You should have told me." She crosses her arms and glares at me.

"Um, why?" I ask, not quite sure what she's getting at.

"Hello! I look like shit! I would have dresses nicer, and… you know." She motions to her back.

What's she talking about? "What?"

"Covered up the tats," she tells me, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Bella-"

"God, you're dad's going to think I'm some kind of whore!"

"Bel-"

"Unless, you were never planning for me to meet your parents!" she inhales in surprise, "You never plan on seeing me again do you?" she pulls her hand from mine. "Oh my god, do I never learn?"

"Bella!"

"Well I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen," she sneers and starts to back away. "I don't do one night stands. I've learned my lesson."

"Bella!" I grab her hand and force her to stay with me. "First off, I'd like to tell you how beautiful you are. You could be meeting the Queen and still look classy." She rolls her eyes, "Second off, my dad is not going to think you're a whore. Anyone who says you are can say hello to my fist of fury," she snorts and stops struggling against me. "Third off, I don't do one night stands… uh, anymore," I trail off awkwardly. "And, I plan on seeing you everyday if you'll have me."

Just one day and this beautiful, insecure woman has managed to grasp my heart n a chokehold.

She looks at me for a moment, stunned. "Really?" she raises an eyebrow. I nod and a smile stretches across her face. She throws her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek.

Forever if you'll have me.

A throat clears behind me, causing Bella to stiffen and let go of me. "Do I get to meet the woman who finally stole my sons' heart?" my dad's cheery voice calls out. I spin around and hear him gasp. "What happened to your face?" he asks in horror.

Gee, thanks dad.

Bella giggles and I grab her hand, giving it a small squeeze. "Dad, this is Bella." He smiles and comes over to us.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Cullen." Bella tells him and holds out her hand. He ignores it and pulls her in to a hug.

"None of that Dr. Cullen crap, you make me sound like a dinosaur." Bella giggles. "It's a pleasure to meet you Bella."

"Hey, paws off old man." I joke and smack my dad on the back. Bella blushes and my dad releases her from his bear hug.

"It's good to see you son," he pats my back. "Are you happy to see me too?" I cock my head at his odd question and Bella laughs.

"What?"

"Are you happy to see me? Get it? See me. You can't see!" he joined Bella in her laughter as I stare up at the ceiling. Why me? "You're still planning on coming to your mothers' party on Sunday?" he asks after they calm down a bit.

"Yep."

"Good. I know she misses you." He tells me. "Alright, I'm not too busy this morning so I guess I can see you." He giggles childishly and I roll my eyes at his stupid joke and motions for us to follow him to his office.

"I like your dad," Bella whispers to me as we follow him down the hall. I smile and hug her to my side. "I can see why you weren't worried about me meeting him." She laughs at the word see.

"Nice. Poke fun at the blind guy."

She doubles over in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, "You said 'poke,'" she snorts, "Like the tongs poked you,"

"Alright, have a seat." Carlisle holds his office door open for us and I sit on the crunchy paper covering the leather chair. Bella leans against the wall and smiles when she sees me watching her.

Carlisle grabs his glasses and stethoscope off his desk and comes over to me. "So, how did this happen?" he motions toward my eye.

"I fell," I lie.

"He stabbed himself in the eye this morning with salad tongs." Bella rats me out and I glare at her.

"Very manly son, I'm proud of you." Carlisle laughs and listens to my heartbeat with his stethoscope. "So, what are you worried about?"

"She made me come." I point to Bella.

She rolls her eyes, "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to get infected. I've seen shit like that at work and it ain't pretty."

"No, that's for sure." Carlisle pulls my eye open and shines a light in it. "So what do you do Bella?"

Out of my good eye I see Bella stiffen. "Oh," she hesitates. "I'm… an artist." My dad gets a magnified light tool and inspects my eye closely.

"That's great. What kind of art?"

"Um, ink."

He looks over at her curiously, "Ink?"

"She's a tattoo artist, dad."

My dad's movement stops. "Oh really?" Bella looks down, embarrassed, and nods. Why is she embarrassed about what she does? "That's wonderful! I was actually thinking about getting a tattoo. My wife's birthday is in two days, and I wanted to dedicate a chunk of my skin to her. You know how ladies love that romantic stuff."

"Psh, you just want to get into her pants." I joke, ignoring for a moment that we are- in fact- talking about my mother.

"Oh believe me; I don't need help in that department." He wiggles his eyebrows and my hands fly to my ears and I close my eye.

"That's my mom!" I complain, disgusted at the turn of the conversation.

"So, what do you think?" My dad turns his attention back to a stunned Bella.

"Um, sure." She nods and makes her way over to us. "What design were you thinking?"

"I don't know. Something small, I guess." He shrugs. "I'm thinking on my upper arm or back."

"And you want it done in two days?" she quirks her eyebrows. He nods. "I can ink it in an hour or two depending on how large it is, but it can take weeks to heal completely."

"Hmm," Carlisle's eyebrows scrunch up in thought. Did he forget the growth on my face?

I clear my throat, but he ignores it. "I'll think about it." He smiles and returns his attention to me. "So, I'm going to give you a prescription for an eye cream that you should rub on it three times a day. It'll help with the pain and swelling. Thankfully you didn't damage your eye, but I still want you to wear this. It'll help it heal faster." He pulls out a black patch from his desk and hands it to me.

"Fuck, no!" I tell him and shake my head.

"Language Edward." He chastises. "Now put the fucking thing on."

"Language, Dad." I mock and grab the eye patch, mumbling under my breath. "Stupid thing." I slid it over my lump and pull the string around my head.

"Here." Bella comes over and ties it at the back and scratched my head. "You look amazing, Edward. I really think you'll start a new trend." She jokes. I laugh and jump up off the chair and grab her around the waist. She squeals and laughs as I pull her back to sit in my lap.

"Bully," she tells me.

"Tease." I shoot back. She smiles sweetly and places a gentle kiss on my lips.

Carlisle clears his throat and Bella's head snaps over to where he is resting on his desk. I feel her blush at the small smile on his face. "Bella, would you mind running to the prescription desk and grabbing Edward medication for me?"

"Of course!" she answers too quickly and jumps off my lap. I bite back a laugh as she stumbles over and grabs the prescription from Carlisle. She blushes and practically sprints out the door to get away. I laugh and shake my head at her antics and turn to my father. He's giving me a strange look and I immediately feel self-conscious about my Black-Beard Pirate patch.

"You look happy."

I raise my eyebrows. "I'm always happy." I tell him. Except for when I get my ass kicked by a pair of tongs.

"No, I mean really happy." He shakes his head and sets down his clipboard. He comes over to me and grabs my shoulder. "I like her, son."

I smile, "Me too dad."

"Your mother's going to love her." We're both silent as we think about my mother actually approving of someone I bring home. After the Victoria incident last year, my mother thinks me incapable of finding a half-way decent woman. I snort as I remember Mom telling her to 'get her skanky ass out of the house.'

"Don't screw it up." Dad's serious tone brings me out of my memories and back to the present. I nod once in agreement.

"So uh," I clear my throat, "When do I get this thing off?" I make a grand sweeping gesture to the eye-patch currently making my eye sweat. Do eyes sweat?

"I don't know son, you may want to make it a part of your everyday fashion." He snorts and shakes his head. "Salad tongs Edward? I thought I raised you to be manlier than that."

I shoot him the stink-eye and look out the window, giving him the silent treatment.

"Will you bring her to your mother's party?"

I send him one last glare for his teasing before letting out a sigh. "I was planning on it."

He nods once. "I think that would be her greatest gift, you know. Seeing you with a decent girl for once."

"Does that mean I don't have to get her a gift?" I laugh as he smacks me over the head with a file folder.

Twenty minutes later, Bella and I leave my dad's office; her with a new customer and me with an eye patch.

Carlisle practically begged her to squeeze him n for an appointment tomorrow morning, and she agreed. I think she's still relieved that he didn't judge her for her profession.

Which reminds me; "Why didn't you want to tell him what you did?"

"What I did?" Her smile drops and our swinging hands stop… well, swinging.

"Your job, Bella."

We walk over to her car slowly as she ponders her response. "I didn't want him to know because… When people find out, they usually think less of me." She rushes out and hits the 'unlock' on her car, jumping into the driver's seat before I can respond.

I huff and struggle to get in without hitting my head or something. It's hard to see with this damn thing over my eye. "Why would he judge you? That isn't him."

She shrugs and pulls out of the parking space. "I didn't know that; and a lot of people do judge, or think less of me."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, a lot of the relationships I've been in have been… let's just say I haven't met many of the parental units in my time."

"What?"

"It's a known fact, Edward. So many people look down on us for what we do." She shrugs and tries to be cool about it, but I can see the hurt shining in her eyes, "Guys don't want to introduce me to their parents."

I slump back in my chair, for once legitly upset with the human race. So she gives people tattoos that they want to have. So what? "You know I'm not like that, right? I would never…" I trail off as she smiles brightly back at me.

"I'm beginning to see that."

We decide to head back to my place; correction- I beg Bella to spend the rest of the day with me at my place. She agrees on one condition; we stop at the grocery store. Apparently she's disgusted with the contents- or lack thereof- in my refrigerator.

According to her, man cannot live off moldy cheese and potato chips.

I beg to differ.

"For fucks sake, how many brands of orange juice are there?" I exclaim suddenly, making Bella jump beside me. "It's orange juice. You only need one kind."

She snatches the Minute Maid from my hands and puts it back with a drawn out sigh. "You shop by pulp, first. Do you like pulp?"

They make it without pulp? "Um, yes."

She scrunches her nose up, "Really?"

"What?"

She shakes her head, "Nothing. Just a bit nasty, that's all."

"Nasty?" I cock an eyebrow, crossing my arms. "Nasty how?"

She shrugs, a wry smile forming on her perfect pink lips. "I just don't like chunky juice, that's all." She pulls open the glass refrigerator door. "So now, you shop by price. Whatever brand is the cheapest is the one you get."

"But, what if it doesn't taste as good?"

She gives me the stink eye. "Then don't buy it." She turns back to the yogurt section of the aisle, leaving me to my own devices.

Huh. Who knew shopping was so… difficult.

And women wonder why we never volunteer to pick up the groceries. Our luck, we'd buy the wrong kind of something and be in the dog-house all night.

"Um, excuse me." Bella's quiet voice breaks me out of my thoughts. She's tapped a worker-guy stocking shelves on his shoulder to inquire about some kind of Greek yogurt. He's all too happy to help, not even bothering to look for what she needs; choosing instead to watch her cleavage rise and fall in time with her steady breathing.

"It should be right up there." He points to the top shelf behind her "I know we carry it."

Bella huffs and throws open the glass door, muttering about 'assholes' under her breath. She stretches up- being a bit too short to see the shelf- which causes her dress to ride up on her thighs, exposing way more skin than worker-boy's eyes are allowed to see.

"Hey buddy," his tears his eyes away from Bella's legs long enough to send me a wink. Oh, hell no. "Why don't you get your fuckin' eyes off my girlfriend's ass and get back to stocking your shelves." My words may not seem to menacing to an outsider; but it's really all in the eyes. Well, in my case; eye. I give him the universal 'stay the fuck away from her' glare and watch, with satisfaction, as his smile drops and he hurries back down the aisle.

Bella clears her throat and raises a brow when our eyes meet. "My hero." She teases.

"He shouldn't have been looking at you like… that." I defend lamely, feeling oddly embarrassed. Maybe it's because I called her my girlfriend.

Please tell me she didn't hear that.

"So," she saunters toward me, resting her harms around my neck. "I'm your girlfriend, huh?" Yep, she heard it.

Please, please say yes. "Well, you know… I just figured."

She waits for me to finish. I don't. "Figured?" she prompts.

"Figured that…" Ah, fuck it. "Figured that I want to be your boyfriend, and hoped you felt the same?" I swear my voice just squeaked. Fucking squeaked.

I haven't squeaked since puberty.

"Bella and Edward. Boyfriend and girlfriend." She pretends to ponder it for a moment. She thinks I can't tell she's smiling, but I can. "I think it sounds pretty fucking good."

I lean down and kiss her soundly. I knew she'd say yes, but it's still nice to hear.

"Edward and Bella." I whisper against her lips. "Edella?" I ask, thinking I'm pretty fucking smart for thinking of it. "It could be like our celeb name."

"Um, no."

"Bedella? Bedward? Edwab? Bedellaward?"

She makes a face. "Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"Don't make me hit you."

I grin and kiss her again, my lips lingering on hers for a few seconds longer than one would think acceptable given our current location.

I just asked Bella to be my girlfriend in the refrigerated aisle of a super market. Smooth.

"So, uh." I clear my throat, lacing our fingers together and throwing whatever juice is in my hands in our cart. "Bella, as my girlfriend," I have to stop myself from jumping up and down… Bella's my girlfriend. "Would you like to go out with me tonight?"

Her responding smile is blinding. "Edward, I would love to."

"God you're perfect." I can't help the words from escaping after watching Bella down another cheeseburger. I'm sure my eyes have taken on a dreamy look as I watch her, occasionally snaking a French fry off her plate.

She blushes and sets down her cheeseburger, taking a gulp of her beer. My girl drinks beer; none of that fruity shit for her. "I'm sorry; you must think I'm such a pig."

What? "Are you joking? Seeing a girl actually eat is fucking refreshing."

She giggles and grabs her burger again. "Thank fuck." She moans in appreciation as another bite hits her tongue. "God this is good."

If her moaning is any indication… I'd say her food is orgasmic. Some of the sounds she's made in the past half-hour have made me- Well, let's just say I can't wait to get her home.

I clear my throat and adjust my pants for the thousandth time. "I can see that."

"I must've worked up an… appetite." She winks at me playfully and runs her shoe-less foot higher up my thigh.

Did I forget to mention she likes to play footsie under the table? Not that I'm complaining.

"And would this appetite of yours only be satiated by food?" I inquire, already picturing her panting underneath me. "Because I could help you with that, you know."

She gives me a secretive smile. "How exactly would you satiate my appetite, Mr. Cullen?"

"Stay the night with me." I tell her seriously, all flirting aside. "Please?" No, I'm not above begging.

Or breaking out the Cullen pout.

I think the pout gets her, because she agrees, a content smirk on her face.

I nod once, satisfied. "I promise, I'll make it worth your while." A beautiful blush paints across her cheeks as she chokes back the rest of her beer and calls out for the waitress.

Paying quickly with cash, I grab her hand and pull her out of the restaurant. We practically sprint to her Vanquish, and I don't even try to convince her to let me drive. That's how badly I want us back at my place.

Well, that and I don't think she'd let me drive her baby whilst wearing an eye-patch.

Fuck… we're gonna have sex while I'm wearing an eye-patch?

"Um, Bella?" I clear my throat, watching her carefully out of the corner of my… eye.

We stop at a red light and she turns to me, seeming nervous at my tone. "Edward? Are you okay?"

"Does this- uh." I motion toward my eye. "You know… turn you off? 'Cuz I can take it off when we- do it." My eyes widen at my implications. "If we're gonna do it. I mean, we don't have to, if you don't want to. Just because we're dating, I don't like, expect that of you. I really, really like you, Bella. I don't want to chase you away after the first day. If you think this is moving too fast-"

I manage to babble the whole way back to my apartment. The. Whole. Way.

She finally shuts off the engine in front of my place and cuts off my incessant ramblings with a heated kiss. "I really, really like you too, Edward." Kiss. "I don't think this is moving too fast… what I feel for you-" Kiss, "I can't explain it. I've-"

"Never felt this way?" I finish. She nods and leans in for another scorching kiss. "Me either."

Kiss. "I'm glad I'm not alone." She mumbles against my lips. "Now, I believe you promised to take care of my appetite." We both chuckle and stumble over to the elevator, not taking our hands- or eyes- off each other.

To my satisfaction, the eye patch doesn't seem to be too much of a turn off for her.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" I whisper in the dim light of my apartment once we manage to get ourselves in.

"You may have mentioned it." She teases, pulling off her light jacket.

As much as I love the way her dark-wash jeans and red shirt cling to her curves, I love the way they look even more scattered haphazardly around my living room.

My eyes- er… eye- cracks open, squinting in the light streaming in through the open windows. I can't stop the grin from spreading across my face as memories from last night come flooding back into the forefront of my mind.

Soft, delicate skin pressed up against me. Low moans and quiet screams. Sweaty skin and silky hair.

Bella.

Slightly perturbed that she isn't cuddled up with me, I roll over, my arm darting out and searching the other side of the bed for her warm body.

I find nothing warm. Only cold sheets and the faint smell of her shampoo on the pillows.

Wait, what?

I shoot up in bed, searching around for any sign that she's still in the room.

Nothing.

Nothing except for a folded up piece of paper crushed under the weight of my arm. She wouldn't just… leave, would she?

No, she couldn't. She feels something for me too; said it herself last night. She wouldn't leave.

I tear open the folded note, and my mind is instantly put to ease.

Edward,

I didn't have the heart to wake you, you looked so peaceful curled up and drooling all over yourself.
Just kidding. Maybe.
I'll be at the shop all day; I have appointments lined up from dusk 'till dawn- starting with your dad in about an hour.
Just FYI, in case you have an inkling to come and visit me.
XOXO
Yours always,
Bella

I grin like a teenage girl with her first crush and jump in the shower, fully intending to bring Bella some breakfast at the shop. Unfortunately, it's already after ten- Holy shit! I slept until ten… And decide on bringing her lunch instead. That gives me two hours to come up with a plan to blow her socks off. A plan to shoe her that she means more to me than a few nights in bed.

A plan to show her how much I've come to care about her in the past two days.

Flowers? Too overdone.

A stuffed animal, maybe. What is she, four?

A homemade lunch- who am I kidding, I can't cook.

I drive around town aimlessly as I mull over my options. Why the hell is this so hard? Think, Cullen. If you were Bella, what would make you weak in the knees?

I stifle a snort. Oh, I made her weak in the knees alright…

I'm stopped at a stoplight, staring up at the sky when it hits me what a nice day it is. And then it really hits me.

A fucking picnic!

It's brilliant.

My brilliant idea? Not so brilliant after all. Well, not once the little tiny friendly clouds turned into stormers, and the sun decided to take its leave.

And yet, here I stand in front of Inked Inc- brand new wicker basket and checkered blanket in hand.

Along with flowers and a teddy-bear. You know, just so I'm sure to cover all the bases.

"Um, hi." I step up to the front desk awkwardly, vaguely remembering the blonde girl sitting there from two nights ago. Rosa something or other. She glances up, her head tilting to the side, obviously trying to place me. Either that or wondering why the hell there's a one-eyed freak holding a handful of dripping flowers and a sopping wet teddy bear in the lobby of her shop. I clear my throat. "Is Bella here?"

Oh her mouth forms a small 'o' of understanding and she smiles. "You must be Edward?"

"That's me." I nod, peering around the counter to try and spot Bella.

"She's with a customer, but I'll let her know you're here." She sends me a sly wink and heads into the back. I decide to make myself comfortable and find a couch to occupy for the time being.

"Bella's almost done." Blondie tells me, taking the couch across from mine. "I'm Rose, by the way. I think we met briefly the other night." She holds out her hand for a shake. It's then that I notice her sleeve of ink peeking out from under her tight long-sleeve.

We shake and sit in mild-awkwardness for all of two minutes. I know because I was staring at the clock.

Rose clears her throat. "So," she motions towards my basket. "Nice day for a picnic, I see." She smirks.

I chuckle, not quite sure if she's teasing or mocking me. "It's the thought that counts, right?"

She nods, narrowing her eyes. "Be careful, Edward."

"Excuse me?"

"Bella's been known to attract a lot of assholes. I'd hate to have to brand you as one of them."

I feel a sense of respect for Rose, knowing Bella has someone looking after her. "I'm not like that. She mentioned a few of the guys she's dated in the past- how they didn't approve of what she did for a living. I swear I would never-"

She holds up a hand, a small smile in place. "I know. Believe me; I grilled Emmie about you last night."

Emmie? I'll never let him live that down. Not as long as I live.

"If I thought you were shady," she continues. "You'd be missing that other eye as well."

It takes Bella less than ten minutes to finish up with her customer. All ten of those minutes were spent, on my part, receiving warning glances from a one Miss Rosalie Hale. I practically screamed in joy when Bella's lips met my own- happy to have her in my arms again, but also happy for an excuse to be away from Rose.

"You didn't have to go to all this trouble." Bella says, after thanking me for the hundredth time. She squeezes her bear tightly, unconcerned that it's probably leaving a wet spot on her shirt.

"Bella," I tsk, "It's no trouble. Honestly."

"I'm sorry, it's just… No one's ever done anything like this for me before."

She resumes her position, leaning against my stomach as I lean against the wall outside Inked. We sit, huddled up against the cold, snacking on our sandwiches and fruit. Store-bought, of course. "Well, then that's their loss." I tell her honestly; absolutely puzzled that no one's snatched her up yet.

"Thank you," She whispers, kissing my chin. "That was the last time, I swear." She laughs. The rain starts pouring down heavier now, and the wind sweeps in, blowing away any sense of warmth we had. "God it's cold." She shivers against me.

"We should go back inside. We can take a rain-check- no pun intended- on this whole picnic thing." She agrees, and together we pack up out half-eaten food and drinks and head back into the shop.

"Hang on," She stops me before going inside. "Come with me." She links our fingers together and pulls us towards the shop next door to Inked. "I have an idea." We enter a floral smelling shop filled with various gardening tools- shovels, soil, pots, anything you would need to garden.

"Mrs. Cope?" Bella calls out over the ding of the bell hanging on the door. "Mrs. Cope?"

"Bella, dear. Is that you?" A portly woman older woman with graying hair and thick glasses hobbles out from one of the aisle and pulls Bella in for a hug. "How are you, sweetheart? I haven't seen you in such a while."

"I'm ell, Mrs. Cope." Bella smiles indulgently. "This is Edward, my boyfriend." She tugs me closer to her.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cope." I nod toward her, still not quite sure why we're here.

"Well, isn't he just a handsome young thing." Mrs. Cope winks at Bella. "Boy, if I were forty years younger…" She trails off, her stare making me slightly uncomfortable.

Bella clears her throat, trying to hold back a laugh. "Mrs. Cope, I was wondering if we could borrow your rooftop for a few minutes."

Mrs. Cope looks down at the basket in my hands and smiles knowingly, "Of course, dear, you know you never have to ask." She squeezes Bella's shoulder and hands her a ring of keys. "You take as much time as you'd like." Another customer comes into the shop seconds later, pulling Mrs. Cope's attention away from us. But not before one last wink in my general direction.

"Was that as awkward for you as it was for me?"

Bella laughs and leads me around back of the shop. "Shelly's harmless. Just a flirt." We trek up a narrow flight of stairs and Bella fiddles with the keys in the locked door at the top.

I kiss the top of her head, not being able to stop myself. "I like you introducing me as your boyfriend." Her hands still as the keys almost fall out of her hands. I doubt she even knew that's what she called me to Shelly.

I hear rather than see the smile on her face, "I like it too." She finally gets the door unlocked and throws it open with a quiet 'ta-da.'

The space before me can be described as nothing less than paradise. It's like a mini-park; two stories above the ground on a rooftop. There's grass- I'm assuming its fake- dotted with a few benches here and there. Potted plants hang from the glass ceiling, and sit on little stepping stones in the grass.

"This is amazing." I manage to tell Bella, still in awe at the space.

"Shelly's husband had it built for her before he died a few years ago. This is her own little chunk of paradise; but she lets the girls and I come up here whenever we want. I thought it would be kind of nice. Like a picnic- but with heating." She smiles.

I set out our blanket and take a seat, offering my hand to help her sit. Together we watch as a bolt of lightning strikes somewhere in the distance, followed by the quiet rumbling of thunder. The rain pounds on the glass dome above us, creating a peaceful and calming sound.

"I love it up here." She confesses. "Rose, Alice, and I talked about building one last summer… we just never got around to it."

"This is great. So peaceful."

"It's even better on sunny days. So beautiful." I can't help but watch her eyes light up as they sweep across the roof.

"Yes, you are."

Her nose scrunches up adorably. "That was cheesy."

"Yes, it was." I agree, joining in on her laughter. "How's your day been, beautiful?" I rest my chin lightly on her head as she leans back against me. "How was my dad?"

"I see where you get your charm." She snorts. "He's great, Edward. You're so lucky to have him." I detect a hint of sadness laced with her cheery façade. "He reminds me so much of Charlie. My dad." She adds.

"He must have been a great guy." I comment, not quite sure how what to say.

"He really was. I miss him sometimes- all the time, actually." She shakes her head. "I just hope he's proud of me; wherever he is."

"Hey," I adjust us so I'm kneeling in front of her. "I never had the chance to meet him; but I know he's looking down at you right now, so proud of you. How could he not be? You are the sweetest, kindest, and most beautiful woman I've ever met. And I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be able to call you mine."

"Edward," her hand rest against my cheek, her eyes glassy. "Thank you." She whispers, almost inaudibly. "Thank you for being you."

"I'll always be here for you, beautiful girl." I kiss her forehead chastely, as if to press my words into her head. "Always."

A bolt of thunder lights up the room, quite frankly scaring the shit out of me. The lights flicker out a moment later followed by the loudest thunder I've ever had the displeasure of hearing.

Bella laughs as I cower into her side.

"Edward." She wraps her arms around me.

"I fucking hate thunder." I grumble.

"Well, I'm here for you." Even in the darkness, I can see her brilliant smile. "I'm always here for you." With those last few words, our sullen and serious mood is morphed into that of teasing and… much to my delight- cuddling.

The electricity has gone completely out, the only source of light coming from the dark and stormy outside. It's pure heaven; cuddled up here with the girl of my dreams, talking and laughing about stupid little things in the dark in a rooftop greenhouse.

Pure heaven, I tell you.

So, I'm marking this story as complete… Whether I'm finished with it or not- well, only time will tell. As some of you may have noticed, it took me about a year to finally get a follow-up chapter written and posted. I really need to focus on my real-life right now, so I can't promise any future chapters. I'll do my best, though, because I really like this Edward and Bella.

Hope this second chappie satisfied those of you wanting more!

Check out my new story Sweet Treats before ya' go :)