One Night Only

Thirty

I was high on cloud nine. Edward was kissing me and I was kissing him back. Every ounce of love filled this kiss, our tongues mingled as we feasted on one another. Taking and giving, back and forth. It was complete and utter bliss. When we finally broke apart, all I could see was him. My heart beat wildly in my chest and I placed my hand on his chest where his heart was and felt that it was beating the same. I smiled up and him, loving how he looked at me with so much love in his eyes.

Although I was wrapped up in the moment, there were some things that needed to be addressed. "Edward, there's so much that we need to talk about, especially concerning our future together. There's a few things that have to be settled so we can move forward. I don't want anything to stand in our way."

Edward nodded in agreement. "Name your terms and conditions, Bella. I refuse to lose you again."

"My main concern is Tanya. How can we truly be together if your posing as her fiancé and the father to her unborn child?"

"Actually, that's one of the reasons Tanya is here in Los Angeles. She decided that she wants to come clean to her family about who the real father is. The initial plan was to say that I wasn't the father and she never intended to say who he was but she didn't want to cower away from the actual truth. She still hasn't given me a name but she promised that when we head to Chicago in two days, she'll reveal everything, consequences be damned."

"Wow, that's very brave of her. I know disclosing everything to her family won't be an easy task."

"Tell me about it. It's gonna be a complete clusterfuck but I'll be there to support her like I promised from the beginning."

"Yeah, I can only imagine how difficult breaking things down to her parents will be. It's undoubtedly going to be a complicated discussion."

"I want you to be there."

I paused, momentarily caught off guard before I processed exactly what he was asking of me. "I don't think that will be wise, Edward. I mean...things could totally turn left, very quickly."

"She's right, Edward." Edward and I turned to find Tanya standing in the doorway.

"I thought you left," Edward said.

"I did before I realized I left my phone on your desk," Tanya replied. She walked over to his desk and picked up the device before once again giving us her undivided attention. "Like I was saying, bringing Bella with us to Chicago probably isn't the best idea. I know my parents and adding Bella to the mix won't fare well with them."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, an obvious sign of his frustration. "At this point, I don't even care. We've dragged this whole thing out for months and with or without Bella being there, nothing will soften the blow of our lies." He spoke with such conviction and regardless of how crazy the idea of me tagging along, I wanted to be there with him. I spent months without him by my side and I didn't want to waste anymore time apart.

"I want to go." Edward and Tanya looked at me, clearly surprised I decided to be on board with this.

"Bella, you don't understand what you're agreeing to," Tanya said. "My parents aren't the easiest people to deal with. They're the epitome of high class snobs. In other words, my parents are Grade A assholes."

"I don't care about any of that. I've dealt with much worse, trust me. Dealing with your parents will be a walk in the park. I'm going wherever Edward goes and I'm not changing my mind."

Tanya only smirked, an impressed gleam twinkling in her eyes. "I see why you fell for her, Edward. She has a fire to her and she's tenacious as hell. I like it."

Edward reached for me, pulling me into his arms. He smiled down at me and said, "I like it, too. More than you even know."