BELLA & EDWARD DOWN UNDER
Chapter 2
I sat smiling, dipping my toes in the cool water and bathing in the sun that was warming my exposed skin. It was so beautiful here; I wasn't sure that I'd ever be able to leave. Maybe Edward would have to convince the rest of the family to move down to Australia, and we could hunt kangaroos and koalas! I giggled at the sudden vision of Emmet boxing a kangaroo that appeared in my head.
My happiness was almost complete. I was in the most beautiful place in the world, a private beach in a small town a few hours up the coast from Sydney. Edward had driven us here a few days ago and fulfilled my end of our deal that night.
Again I smiled at the memory, of how perfect it was; how perfect we were together.
But it had been a while, and Edward needed to hunt, so I encouraged him to go, saying that I wanted to do some things on my own anyway. These things had included looking through my large suitcase and seeing just what exactly Alice had put in there, as well as a few other small chores, but now that I was here by the water, I really didn't feel like doing anything but lay here for a while longer.
The only small anxiety that I had was for Edward's safety and well-being. It really did hurt me to be without him now we hadn't been apart for days. He would be back later in the afternoon, I kept telling myself, and I didn't need to convince myself too much. My trust in Edward was complete, and I knew that he would always be there for me.
So I closed my eyes and pulled my feet out of the water, lying flat on the rock like a lizard in the sun, unaware in my bliss that I was dozing off…
*
I awoke to feel of lips against my head. The only reason this woke me from my peaceful slumber was the fact that those lips felt especially cold; and that was saying something. Feeling the top of my head with my hand, I realised why. My hair was burning hot from the sun and my skin was probably going to be pink because I had forgotten about sunscreen.
Oh well.
"You're so warm that I think I could become as warm as a human if I held you for long enough."
My response was to wrap my arms around him, burrowing my face into his chest.
He chuckled, and I looked up into his now light golden brown eyes. It was funny; I got that feeling of when we were separated and reunited in Italy again, except Edward had only been gone a few hours. Maybe our new physical connection had made our bond even stronger.
I hadn't thought it possible.
I felt I was ready to converse with my love, so I asked him, "How was your trip?"
He laughed again, probably at my use of the word trip, when he would have used something more monstrous. But we had been over this so many times; he wasn't a monster…
"Good, thank you, but I'm glad to be back here."
"It is so beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes. But Bella, do you want to see more of the country? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to of course, but was prepared for an outback expedition, to see the great dessert of Australia…"
Of course! The beautiful dessert I had spied from the plane window. The longing I had felt then came back full force in an instant, and I cried, "Let's go!"
Edward resisted the temptation to laugh, he sure was in a good mood, and carried me back to our caravan so we could start our journey. He preferred to drive at night, so that I didn't have to, but I was fine with spending the day on the road…
"Bella, have you eaten? You should probably have some dinner before we go."
I was so eager to get going that I made myself the quickest thing possible, a grilled cheese sandwich. Only just melting the cheese, and gulping it down, I was ready to go in a few minutes, and Edward and I both had our last look at the beautiful beach.
"We'll be back here someday, Love, don't worry."
"It was amazing, Edward. Thank you for taking me here, I really enjoyed myself."
And I had. Besides it being the first part of our honeymoon, I had felt a special connection to this place, and had even gotten a slight tan from my days spent in its waters with Edward. Maybe we'd live somewhere like this one day, in a little shack by the water, just Edward and I, with rooms for visiting family…
My visions ended there as we drove away from the beach and onto the road and eventually the highway. I could only hope the next part of our journey would be as magical as this part had been.