A/N: BellaxEdward oneshot. Sometimes, when better options are presented to us, we don't always want to hear it. I tried to stuff as much fluff into it (pun intended) as I could. I probably could have added more, so sue me if you don't like it. I'm joking! Don't sue me. Just please Read/Review, and remember, Happy Reading:) Hope you like this!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. ho hum. :(
The silver car reversed out of the driveway, and I smiled back at Edward, trying to hide a longing that definitely lingered in the air. He looked up at me and pulled on his uneven smile that sent butterflies to my stomach and nearly tampered with my focus. With my hand on the front door handle, he changed the gear shift, and speeded away from the neighborhood. I smiled to myself, he was perfect in every way, and I tried to straighten my face to a casual expression with faulty results.
I turned around to open the door and stepped in to face a living room, with Charlie lounging comfortably on his favorite armchair, with a cup of water in his hand. He looked up from the T.V. and to my face as I pushed the door closed.
"Hey, Bells," Charlie greeted me with a small smile on his face.
"Hi, Dad. I'm going to make dinner, sorry I'm a little late," I started, hoping to keep the conversation short.
"That's alright. Where you with Edward?" Charlie questioned as innocently as he could muster.
"Yeah, we went to look for some CDs, and then went to get some coffee," I lied. That didn't sound like a bad idea, actually. Who knows what conclusions Charlie could draw from my facial expression to if he knew that I was at Edward's house, in his room for most of the day. "Alice came with us," I fed him, and his expression lightened slightly.
"That's good. I'm going fishing tomorrow; Billy said that the fish are out right now. I could use a good fried cod, anyway," Charlie smiled to himself.
"Okay, I'm going to stay home. I have laundry and I have some homework. I might call Alice or Edward to come over to study, but other than that, I want to stay home," I smiled, encouragingly.
"Alright, then," Charlie smiled warmly and took a sip from his cup to commence watching his baseball game.
I walked into the kitchen and brought out a small bowl of washed mushrooms and a Ziploc bag of cubed chicken that I used earlier this week. I pulled out the container of farfalle, fettucine, and pipe regate pasta containers in the cabinet and filled the metal pot with water and extra virgin olive oil.
As I cooked the pasta, I thought about Edward's smile and how devastated I knew I would be if someone took me away from him or if someone took him away from me. I left the pot on the stove and brought the mushrooms to the chopping board. With the mushroom cut into bite-sized piece and every ingredient good and ready, I brought out the wine, which I could later add to the cream sauce.
I finished adding the final ingredient and stirred the creamy pasta and chicken pieces inhaling the aroma that came from the dish. I smiled pleased and heard Charlie call from the living room.
"It smells good, Bells," he said loudly until he was walking into the kitchen. "Thanks again. Like I said, it sure is easy to live with you." He smiled and refilled his cup of water.
"It's ready, if you want some," I said. Placing a pot holder beneath the sauce pan in the middle of the table, Charlie helped to bring out the plates and forks and I grabbed the extra cup for myself. I filled it with water and Charlie and I both sat down at the table. I served a scoop of the pasta onto Charlie's plate and gave some to myself delightfully, realizing, only now, how hungry I was. We ate silently, and Charlie glanced at me, once or twice, and smiled when I looked up.
Charlie scraped the last few remains on his face and chased it down with the last gulp of water in his cup. He set it down as I wiped my mouth with the napkin and drank the last of the water in my glass. I stood up and Charlie followed with his plate and cup in hand.
"Thanks, that was great, really," Charlie offered and I went to the sink to rinse off both of our plates. He filled his cup with only enough for a gulp of water and my eyes were on him from beneath my hair. He sipped his cup and leaned against the counter next to the sink. I continued to scrub the plates and ran them under the hot water flowing from the faucet. Charlie ran his free hand through his hair and set his cup down on the counter. "So Bella," Here it comes. "...do you have plans for tonight?"
That's what he was acting like this for? He was suspicious about plans? He probably thought I was planning to leave with some imaginary guy in the middle of the night. He had the clue about a guy, but I'd only have to stay in my room for that liberty.
"Um, no, Dad, actually I'm tired from today, and I wanted to start on my Trig, then go to sleep, probably," I said. "Why?"
"Oh nothing, I was just wondering, like Dads should, y'know." I obviously gave him something other than expected; hopefully he'd leave it at that. I commenced scrubbing the dishes and rinsed them with the hot water. Charlie walked out of the kitchen and I dried my hands on the dishcloth, before I walked up the stairs to my room.
I grabbed a shirt with a small hole on the waist and some underwear with sweat pants using the light from the sunset. I closed my bedroom door and walked on to the bathroom closing the bathroom door behind me loudly so that Charlie would hear it. I stripped my clothes off and stepped into the hot shower, glad that, even though Edward was probably somewhere in the vicinity, he couldn't hear her thoughts.
Bella imagined his hand intertwined in her own, his sculpted body next to hers, his lips pushing against her own in front of her in this shower. She rinsed through her hair and pulled some of the tangles away with her fingers, turning off the shower flow. She grasped a bunch of her hair and pulled through it to release some of the water that drenched her hair. She opened the door and stepped out onto a towel, grabbing her own from the hook next to her. She wiped the wet from her skin and breathed in, imagining Edward holding her. The thought of him excited her and she dried off quickly, pulled on her clothes and fervently brushed her teeth. She exited the bathroom, opening her bedroom door to find Edward sitting on the chair next to her desk, spinning a bottle cap between his fingers, reminding her of their first lunch together. He turned to face her and she threw her towel to the side trying to hold in her thrill seeing him there as a smile stretched across her face.
He smiled up at me but looked at me with a slightly confused expression. "What?" he laughed his musical laugh, as he got up to walk to me, and stared deep into my eyes.
I faltered under his gaze and smile but said the first sensible thing that came to mind, as all my thoughts seemed jumbled.
"I missed you," I said quite frankly and I looked up to his burning ocher eyes. Something flashed in them and he brought his hands to my waist and his lips to mine in one motion. I indulged in the kiss, sweet and unbelievably warm, a nice touch to a short shower and cold wet hair.
I ended the kiss unconsciously and smiled at him. He pulled away waiting for an explanation.
"Did I do something wrong?" he pondered and looked to my eyes for an answer.
"No - just the opposite, that was perfect. Again, please..." I muttered and let an involuntary moan slip as he brought his face closer to mine. He smiled, but left no remark and brought his hands to my back as I curled my arms around his neck to play with the hair at the base of his neck. I was ready to go further than this peck-kiss teasing game that left me disappointed every time. I twisted my fingers in his hair and held the back of his head to keep his lips on mine as his tongue brushed against my bottom lip. I gasped a little and pulled away for just a second.
He guided us both back to the bed and I brushed my own tongue against his bottom lip letting him know I approved. I opened my lips against his silent question, and he entered his tongue into my mouth. Our tongues had a small battle and he won of course, his tongue pushing against mine and itching to explore the rest of my mouth. I tugged at his bottom lip playfully, pulled away to breathe and looked into his eyes, the excitement within me impatient even though reason washed over my face; I could feel it.
"Are you sure?" I questioned, and he nodded quietly. He inhaled and exhaled and looked into my eyes.
"I love you, Bella," Edward said and I looked away knowing his eyes were on me and that I couldn't say what I really wanted to and needed to if he was there to make me dazed. He looked longingly wondering the reason for my unexpected gesture.
"Edward, this is great, but I've thought about this, and I think...I think we should just stick to the kissing thing. I'm not ready for sex, just yet. I thought I wanted it, but I just wanted you, and to know you would...always just be...there, y'know? Maybe after you change me, I'll be up to it, but for right now, I want it to be you and passionate kisses. I don't want too much temptation; I don't know how much more I can handle, no matter how much I love you," I said when a silence followed quickly after. I followed that up with a question. "Edward, does that make sense to you?"
His face seemed to flush over as if he was thinking hard. "Yes," he whispered, after 10 seconds resembling an eternity. He brought his lips to my lips and whispered, 'Sorry', not allowing me to interject. His tongue brushed against my lips one last time, and his lips pressed against mine signaling his release, not one second later. He lies down and set my head in his hand, grasping my hand yet again, and resting my head against his chest. He pulled the covers over me with his free hand - what a gentleman - and I was warm, cuddled against his body. He put his arm around my shoulder and rubbed small circles on my forearm.
Every so often, he reached down to kiss my hair and told me that he loved me, his voice lingering on the still night air. I nearly drifted into unconsciousness as he quietly hummed my lullaby tickling my ear ever so slightly as I squeezed his hand tightly and brought it to my lips. My kiss stung his hand, the warmth lasting longer than it ever had before, and his touch and scent mesmerized me. I almost drifted off to sleep soundly against his body when I felt him say, "I love you, Bella."
"I love you, too, Edward Cullen," I whispered into his chest, and into the night.