***STEPHENIE STILL OWNS IT ALL, SHE OWNS ALL THINGS TWILIGHT THAT IS***
A/N: So, what do you say in this chapter we move our lovebirds a little closer to being back together for good? By the end of this it will be just about that time….so bear with me while we do a little time jump!
EPOV
People in Chicago, at Christmas time, are fucking nuts. I had come to that conclusion as I attempted to buy Bella's Christmas present. At the mall. Mistake number one. So, I'm a guy. I wasn't aware that shopping for a present for your girlfriend was something you did months in advance. I would not be making this mistake again. I could see the store I needed to get to. Actually getting to it though, was proving to be a nightmare. I had never seen more people in one place at one time in my life.
Two motherfucking hours later, I was finally at the gym. Since I started my journey back in January, my life had completely changed. Gone was 305 pound Edward Cullen, gone was Cocky Cullen, and gone was Insecure about Everything Edward Cullen. If I had my way, that guy was never coming back. Today was December 15th and I had officially lost 110 pounds. I currently weighed 195 pounds and was almost to my goal of 180 pounds. Emmett and I had first thought anywhere between 170 and 175 would be a good weight for me, but I wanted a little more muscle on my frame so we agreed to see what I looked like once I got to 180. My weight loss had really slowed down this last month and Emmett warned me it would. Truthfully I was very happy with the way I looked now, but I did want to reach my goal. He said we were entering the maintenance phase of my journey. Basically I was finished losing weight by his plan. The scale still showed fifteen to go, but Emmett wanted to switch to building on the work I had already done. I was proud of myself. I had worked my ass off for this new body. Countless hours at the gym every day and eating a healthy diet had paid off. I had a six pack! I had pecs! The best thing of all though, was that I was so much healthier than I had been nearly a year ago. I found that I craved working out. It was a part of me now. Emmett and Rosalie had done the impossible and turned me into the man I wanted to be.
"Hey Cullen! What's up asshole?" I was pulled out of my own head by Riley Biers. He and I had met here at the gym and struck up a friendship immediately. He introduced me to his friends Austin and Marcus and we had all hung out a few times after our workouts.
"Hey Riley." He walked over and we did that manly one arm hug shoulder bump thing. Riley was hilarious. Any time I was down on myself or frustrated with something all I needed to do was hang out with him for a bit and I was laughing my ass off. He was a good friend who I intended to stay in contact with after I went home to Seattle.
"So, did you get Bella's bracelet?" He smirked. Asshole. He knew how the fucking mall was because his girlfriend, Bree worked at one of the stores there. He always went to have lunch with her.
"Fuck yes, finally. I hope she likes it." I was nervous. This was the first piece of jewelry that I had bought for Bella. It was a charm bracelet. I had also brought four charms to go on it.
"Relax man, she'll love it. Girls eat that shit up." Riley began to do some squats while I worked on my abs a bit more.
After a couple hours of working out I made it home to find the apartment empty. Apparently Em and Rose had gone out to dinner so that meant I was on my own. I looked in the refrigerator and saw Rose had left a steak marinating for me. That Rosalie, she had become a wonderful friend. She always kept me on the straight and narrow.
I fired up the grill and threw on my steak. While it cooked, I threw together a spinach salad. I liked my steak cooked to medium so it wasn't going to take too long. Making myself a very large glass of iced tea I picked up my phone to call the love of my life. Apparently she was busy because her voicemail picked up. I left her a sweet message that said I missed her and loved her and would email her in a bit. Just hearing her voice made me feel better.
After eating and taking a hot shower, I sat down at my laptop to email Bella. Her last email had gotten me hot and bothered and I owed her one. Our sexual banter had become off the charts. She had been pressuring me to Skype with her since around Halloween. She tried everything. She tempted me with visions of a very sexy Halloween costume meant for my eyes only, lingerie in all styles, and promises of letting me watch her pleasure herself. That last one nearly had me throwing all my plans to surprise her out the fucking window and flying home to Seattle that very night. I had gone so far as to look up flights and hovered over the button to book one.
I started to feel bad for not letting her see me or telling her what I was doing. I knew she would say that I didn't have to change for her. That wasn't why I did what I did. My main reason was because I was tired of all the ridicule and I owed it to myself to get healthy. Yes, Bella played a big part in my decision as well. I wanted to be in shape and healthy so I could be with her for a very long time. I hoped that when she saw me she would like what she saw and wouldn't be upset that I hadn't allowed her to see me in over a year. Luckily for me, our schedules never really meshed enough for us to schedule Skype time. I stayed super busy between school, my internship, and working out.
From: Edward Cullen
Sent: Sunday December 15, 2013 10:45pm
To: Isabella Swan
Subject: Have I told you lately that I love you?
My Bella:
Hi Sweetheart. I miss you terribly. This time of year should be spent with the ones you hold dear and I'd give anything to be with you right now, snuggled up in bed. Once college is over and I am back home in Seattle, I plan to keep you in bed for several days. We'll have to make sure we have plenty of food, water, sustenance of every kind, and most of all, plenty of hot water. Naked, wet Bella has invaded my senses and I can't get her to leave. I find that I don't want her to leave. She is making my carpal tunnel syndrome worse though. I fear my right arm will be much bigger and definitely more muscular than my left one.
So, you wanted to know about Christmas in your last email. Dammit Bell, I feel like all I do is disappoint you. I won't be able to come home for Christmas. My internship has afforded me so many opportunities and I feel like I owe it to my professor to take on an extra project he offered me. He asked me to write a feature for the school publication Bella. It would be my first published piece and he says if it's good enough he would submit it to some people he knows in Seattle. This could be a great thing for me Bell. How amazing would it be to have a job with the Seattle Times or something similar? I would need to work on it throughout Christmas Break though and I'd need to stay here so I could be in touch with him while I work thru it. I hope you understand Sweetheart. God knows it's been nearly a year since we've physically seen each other and I can tell you are frustrated. I just hope you know it's not because I don't WANT to see you. That's so far from the truth it's unreal. Please know that baby. Please.
So baby, I had this dream last night and I have been wanting to tell you about it. You and I were in my room at Mom and Dad's house. I had just gotten out of the shower and was standing at the sink shaving when I looked up at the mirror and saw you standing there, wearing the Chicago Cubs sweatshirt I gave you. You looked so fucking sexy. Naturally my dick got hard immediately. I hurriedly finished shaving, amazed that I didn't slit my throat in the process. When I turned around and looked at you, you crooked your finger at me and naturally, I followed. You threw the sweatshirt off and laid down on the bed totally naked and open for me. Without a second thought I buried my face between your thighs and started kissing and licking that gorgeous pussy. God Bell, I swear I could actually taste how sweet you were on my tongue. I continued to lick and suck you all the way to a glorious, gushing orgasm. Fuck I'm hard just telling you about it.
After I made you come again with my fingers this time, I crawled up your beautiful body and slowly, so fucking slowly, I moved to fill you completely. I fucking FELT you Bella, I literally felt myself sliding inside your tight, wet, amazing pussy. Well, naturally I woke up with messy boxers and sheets but dammit it was worth it. Fuck I can't wait to make love to you Bella. Please Sweetheart, tell me we can make that dream come true? I would sell my soul to some fucking wacked out vampire coven in Italy for that opportunity.
Well, it appears I need a shower now. I have apparently awakened the beast and need to beat him into submission. I will do just that, thinking of you and those amazing eyes. The next time you run your fingers through your wet folds, think of me and know that I would taste you all night long if I could.
I love you with all my heart and soul Isabella Marie Swan!
Your utterly smitten and devoted sex slave,
Edward
Christmas came and went, quickly followed by New Year's Day. Bella loved all the gifts I had sent her and sent me several of my own. We rang in 2014 together via phone twice because of the time difference. Now it was the day before Valentine's Day and I was feeling the separation from Bella immensely. This was the second V-Day that we had been apart and it was harder than the first one because we were so much closer now. I wanted to be with her so badly.
My day had started out horribly. I overslept and was late to my first class. I had to skip breakfast because I only had time to grab a protein bar on my way out the door, but when I reached into the box it was empty. Naturally I had forgotten I needed to buy some more. When I finally made it to my class, the professor glared at me and in my haste, I managed to knock over two chairs and disrupt the entire class. Around lunch time I tried to make my way to the Student Union to grab a quick salad but got a phone call from my boss asking me if I could come in immediately to fill in for him because he had a family emergency. By five o'clock that afternoon I was absolutely exhausted and starving. Just as I was about to head home, my cell phone rang. It was Riley.
"Hey Riley."
"Cullen, where are you right now?"
"At the publishing house, about to head home, why?"
"Marcus and I are over here at Willy J's Sports Bar. Why don't you come hang out for a while, have a beer and relax?" I had to admit, as tired as I was, a beer and a little relaxation sounded amazing. They had food there, so I'd just grab something small to snack on.
"Ok man that sounds great actually. I'm on the way." He was glad to hear it and said they'd order me a beer.
Fifteen minutes later I walked into Willy J's. The smell of hot wings assaulted me first and I nearly had an orgasm. I fucking loved hot wings and I hadn't had any in forever. I spotted Riley and Marcus at a table near the bar. Walking over I slid into the chair slapping Riley on the back of the head.
"Hey dickhead!"
"Cullen! You made it. We were just about to order." He handed me a small menu and I mulled over what I should get. I was fucking starving after having not had a thing to eat all day. I had also been working out like a maniac since forever so I figured what the hell. One bad meal wasn't going to hurt me. The waitress came over and smiled at me.
"What can I get for you Gorgeous Green Eyes?" Really? She had to go there? Sorry Flo, I'm taken.
"Umm let's see, I'll have a Bacon Cheeseburger, a six piece order of Atomic Wings, some Chili cheese fries, and a Stella Artois." Fuck that sounds good. I couldn't wait. She wrote it all down and took the other two orders before she headed back to place them.
We played a couple games of darts until our food arrived. When the plates were in front of me I wasted no time and dug right in, sacrificing the wings first. They were like heaven. The rest of the food didn't last long as I quickly devoured it. I was finishing my third beer and had just popped the last bite of my bacon burger into my mouth when a rather large hand slapped me on the back.
"Hey Ed, whatcha doin' there?" I turned around and looked directly into the raised eyebrow covered eyes of none other than Emmett. Fuck. I was so screwed.
"Hey Em. Uh, just you know, hangin' out with the guys a bit. What are you doing here?" I tried to play it off, but the very loud burp that flew out of my mouth gave me away. My stomach gurgled and felt like I had a lead weight sitting inside of it.
"Oh I was just here to meet with an old friend. He texted me to say he wasn't going to make it after all and as I was on my way out I saw you, so I thought I'd come say hi." The shit eating grin on his face told me a completely different story. Before I could respond, I felt my stomach roll a bit and cramp up like a bitch. Emmett gave me a knowing smirk and I decided I needed to get the hell outta there quickly.
"Hey guys, I've had a long day. I think I'm gonna head home. Thanks for inviting me man. I'll see you later." They both looked at me like I was psycho but shook my hand anyway. Emmett clapped me on the back hard.
"Come on man, I'll walk out with you." By this time I knew what was about to happen and there was no way to stop it. I practically ran outside and into the alley beside the place where I promptly threw up everything in my stomach including what felt like my stomach itself. Apparently eating like that after NOT eating like that in over a year was a bad thing. A very bad thing.
I stayed in that alley for the next twenty minutes, hurling my guts up and dry heaving. Finally I managed to stand upright and Emmett walked over to help me. He handed me a bottle of water and a towel.
"So, what brought that on man? You were doing so well. Why did you put all that crap in your body Edward?"
"Fuck I don't know. A weak moment? I hadn't eaten all day and I was starving. Riley called and invited me out. Shit Em, I only intended to have one beer and maybe a couple hot wings but when I started looking at the menu and realized just how hungry I was, I figured one bad meal wouldn't hurt me." I shook my head at my stupidity.
"Edward, I get it. Believe me, I have done the same thing. And you are absolutely allowed to indulge those cravings sometimes. But what you did in there, you over did it man. You have eaten clean for over a year now with very few slip ups. Even when you did slip up, it wasn't all that bad. You can't expect your body to accept that kind of shit anymore. Your body is made up totally different now. As soon as all that grease his your stomach you were fucked. Couple that with the alcohol and well, you see what happened."
He was right. I had slipped up. No, I had fucked up. I worked too hard on my body to do that again. I wasn't going back to 305 pounds. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe by gorging myself on that crap and getting so fucking miserably sick immediately I would never do that shit again.
Em and I both made it home and phase two of my purge began. My stomach was still messed up and now things were coming out of the other end. I wish I was lying. I felt sick for the next three days. Emmett still made me workout, which I hated him for, even though it was the best thing for me. Once that was over, I was done with the slip ups. No more. It just wasn't worth it.
Concordia's Spring Break was at the beginning of March and I spent it doing what else? Working at the publishing house and working out. My sister and Jasper were coming out to Chicago during UDub's Spring Break, which was at the end of March, the 21st thru the 31st. Bella wanted to fly out with them, but her parent's booked a cruise as a part of her graduation present so they scheduled it during her Spring Break. She was none too pleased.
Finally though, I had made my weight goal and was now a lean, svelte 180 pounds. It had been a tough journey with trials and tribulations galore but I had done it. I was so excited to see Alice and had agreed to let her take me shopping for my new wardrobe. Mom and Dad were so pleased with my progress that they were sending Alice with Dad's black Amex. She had already emailed me a list of stores we would be going to. This was the first time I would get to spend some time getting to know Jasper. I had spoken to him over the phone a couple times and I had to admit it, he was growing on me. Just the way he talked about Alice let me know that he truly cared for her.
Today Bella left for her cruise and Alice and Jasper were arriving. I spoke to Bella before she left and told her how much I loved her. I also reminded her that I graduated on May 10th. I needed a couple weeks to settle up things here in Chicago and end my internship on a good note but I had booked my flight home for Saturday, May 24th. That was Memorial Day weekend so Bella would have that Monday off from school as she didn't graduate until later in June. We would have three days to get reacquainted with each other. A little over two months from now, I would be back with her and we would never be apart again. She cried when I told her. She said having an actual date to work toward would make the time go faster. I had to agree with her.
My weight loss journey had ended successfully. I was thankful for that. I had made the lifestyle change and committed to it for the rest of my life. Soon, I would be back home with Bella. I hoped we could be everything we hoped to be. She was my heart and I wouldn't feel truly whole until I was back with her for good.
A/N: Poor Edward! I think he learned that feeding his body all that crap wasn't the thing to do. We've all been there and done that. It doesn't make us weak, it makes us human. The struggle is daily and picking yourself back up and getting back on the proverbial horse is the only way. Our Edward knows this and intends to do just that. So we have made it to the end of March with only a couple more months until our lovebirds are back in each other's arms. It won't be long now ya'll….hang in there!
