A/N: Hi friends! Sorry about the wait! My mojo... she went missing for bit.

Dedication: To Cris. Much love to you. I hope you liked this little fic as much as I had fun writing it!

"You really want to do this?" Bella asked.

Edward glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, his lips quirked up in a devilish smile. He took a step back, and as his eyes raked over her, Bella blushed, her lips quirking up automatically.

"Well..." Edward drew his hand down her side, tracing the design of her dress. "God, you look amazing." His hand snaked around to the small of her back, and he pulled her toward him. He kissed her slow and serious until the tension in her shoulders melted away and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into him with a sigh.

Cupping her face, he kissed her nose before he pulled away slightly. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. It's your graduation party-"

"It's everyone's graduation party."

"I'm proud of you. I want to celebrate with you."

Bella let her hands travel down to his ass and she squeezed, hoping her smirk was as mischievous as his. "I can think of much better ways to celebrate."

His eyes darkened, and he growled as he brought her face to his, kissing her voraciously now. Bella grinned against his mouth, thinking she'd won.

"You promised your father," he reminded her between kisses.

Bella's lips turned down at the corners.

With two fingers beneath her chin, Edward tilted her face up. "Come on, beautiful girl. It won't be so bad." He leaned in, pressing tiny kisses in a trail from her chin to her ear. "Tonight, though, we will celebrate."

The wicked glint in his eyes sent a shiver - white and hot - right down her spine.

~0~

"I guess I just don't understand." Angela looked so terribly confused, Bella almost felt sorry for her. "Why would you want to go to a community college?"

Bella couldn't help the quirk of her lips. The other girl said the words like they were filthy. "Community college for the first two years has always been my plan." She'd already had this discussion with Charlie. It went about as well. "It's my father's money, not mine."

"But he'd pay for you to go wherever you wanted, right?"

"Sure." Bella shrugged. "But since I don't know what I want to do yet, there's no reason to pay so much for my gen-ed classes."

Lauren snickered. "You mean you don't want to stray too far from your boyfriend. I guess I couldn't blame you. I wouldn't let my man take his clothes off for other women."

In all her nastiness, Lauren had neglected to notice Edward approaching behind her. Somehow, Bella controlled her smirk until he'd leaned down to whisper in Lauren's ear, "Oh, but he's so very good at it."

Lauren jumped and whirled, glaring when Edward only smiled innocently. She smiled again, her expression sly. "Will you and Bella be entertaining us with another dance?" she asked snidely.

"Of course," Edward said in all seriousness. "That's why I wore this tear away suit after all."

Bella laughed at the look on the other girl's face and let Edward take her hand, guiding her away. He pulled her close to him, and she tilted her head to kiss the underside of his chin. "Can we go yet?"

"Almost," he promised, smiling down at her. "There's just one thing I want to do."

He grinned as he caught the attention of one of the waiters. "Won't you go get Jay Jenks for me? I have something I'd like him to attend to personally."

Bella was not normally a vindictive person but she had to admit, after how his former boss had treated Edward, Jasper, and Emmett, she was only too pleased to give him just a little bit of a hard time. Straight-faced, she and Edward sent him to track down a Mountain Dew - a drink Edward knew very well the kitchen didn't stock.

"Anything the guests want, right, Jay?" Edward asked sweetly.

As soon as the man had gone back into the kitchen, Edward grinned at Bella. "Now we can go."

~0~

Once again, Bella's parents were under the impression she was at Jessica's house. Really, she was with Edward, tangled up in his arms.

"Do you want me to dance for you, pretty girl?" Edward growled, nibbling at her earlobe.

Bella whimpered with want.

But no. She had other plans tonight.

Pulling away from him reluctantly, she gave him a shove, sending him back onto the couch. "Stay," she commanded sternly.

His eyes were hooded but curious as he watched her cross the room.

Taking out her MP3 player, she scrolled through the songs, wishing she didn't feel quite as nervous as she was. Finding the song she wanted, she breathed in deep, counted to ten, and put the player in the dock.

To the opening beat of "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails, she crossed the room to stand in front of him. Her nerves began to fade when she saw the look on his face as he realized what she was doing.

She knew it was a paradox. Closer was such a filthy, dark song, and there she was in her graduation party dress. She turned around, swinging her ass in time with the beat as she pulled the zipper down her back.

When her dress fell away, his gasp was audible.

Rosalie had helped her pick out the lingerie. Provocative didn't even begin to cover it. It had taken Bella practice just to figure out how to wear it, garter belt and all.

Turning back around, she straddled him, grinding her ass against him hard, matching the way Trent Reznor spat, "I want to fuck you like an animal."

Grinning as she gained confidence, she smacked his hands away. She reached back, undoing the clasp of her bra.

The hungry look on his face when his eyes found hers again almost stopped her in her tracks. But in the next second, it didn't matter. His hands were at her waist. In a movement almost too fast for her to comprehend, he had her on her back on the couch, his body pinning her beneath him.

"I want you," he rumbled between hard, deep kisses. In case she didn't understand what he was talking about, he thrust his hips against her so she could feel how hard he was for her.

"Take me," she entreated.

He didn't have to be told twice.

There was a scramble between them as he reached for the condoms and she undid the button of his pants, pulling them down his legs. There was no more foreplay - both of them were worked up enough from her dance. He pushed inside her, claiming her with his lips and his tongue and his cock.

And when they were spent he gathered her up into his arms, carrying her to his bedroom with their lips still attached. He laid her down and slowly tasted most every inch of her body before he made love to her again.

They lay together afterward, wonderfully lethargic. They hadn't stopped kissing, though their movements were more an exchange of breath now with absolutely no finesse.

She was done with high school, free from childhood now, Bella thought to herself. She and Edward had a plan. They had their whole lives ahead of them - away from this town and the narrow minded people who lived there.

And as long as they were together, no matter what happened, it would be a good life.

~The End~

A/N: Many thanks to Cris, jessypt, and barburella for their help in all of this. And thanks to all of you for your response. I hope you had fun!