Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.
A stranger's light comes on slowly
A stranger's heart without a home
You put your hands into your head
And then it's smiles cover your heart
- Fade Into You, Mazzy Star
BPOV
The doorbell rang for the second time, piercing the air with its melodious chimes.
"Bella!" came Charlie's gruff voice from downstairs. "Edward's here!"
My stomach flipped as I stood in front of the mirror in my childhood bedroom.
Edward's here.
We're going away for the weekend.
I'm going away for the weekend. With Edward.
Turning to the side, I checked out my slender profile in the mirror's reflection. Edward told me to dress comfortably for the car ride to Seattle so I chose my favorite pair of stretchy jeans that still fit me perfectly, and a plain v-neck t-shirt from the GAP or somewhere else uninteresting.
I wasn't showing a belly yet that couldn't be shrugged off as PMS bloating and I took a sigh of relief at that. I still hadn't figured out how to tell Edward that I was pregnant. I knew I couldn't wait much longer, it wasn't fair - but I decided that this weekend was not the time to break the news. I didn't know how he'd take it and I was having fun with my new friend. What was the harm in enjoying a carefree weekend before dropping the bomb that could ruin the first real relationship in ages that's made me feel alive? Luckily Alice had managed to keep her mouth shut for a record amount of time and Dr. Cullen was maintaining our doctor/patient confidence with easy grace.
I swept my hair back into a ponytail and fastened a bobby pin above my ear to hold back the dark wisps of my bangs.
"Bella!" Charlie yelled louder from the bottom of the stairs. "Are you coming down or what?"
"Yes I'm coming!" I yelled back, grabbing the long strap of my purse off the doorknob and slinging it over my shoulder before attempting to locate my overnight bag.
Packing was not something I enjoyed doing or spent very much time thinking about. In fact I usually procrastinated like a champ and left it to the absolute last minute, which inevitably resulted in me leaving behind something vital, like my contact lenses, and packing way too many of something I'd never need, like thongs.
Edward hadn't made this packing effort any easier, keeping me on the phone last night until 2am.
Ok so he didn't keep me ...it wasn't like I tried to get him off the phone. How could I when what we were talking about was so vitally important that it couldn't possibly be interrupted or postponed til a later date?
...
"What's your favorite live version of your favorite Radiohead song?" he asked in a low, sleepy voice that was getting raspier with each passing second.
"That's an impossible question," I groaned, pulling the sheet over my head. I had collapsed into bed an hour earlier after changing into pajamas and brushing my teeth with Edward on the other end of the phone.
"Maybe," he said. "But you know the answer."
"Ummm, ok," I pondered, scrunching into the fetal position and giving this very serious question some very serious thought. I could hear Edward breathing.
"Oh! Ok I got it! 'Let Down' from the '97 Hammerstein show in New York."
"Oooooh good one," he conceded and I knew he was already thinking of his next question.
"Yours?" I asked.
"Hmmm, I'd have to say 'Idioteque' from the 2001 show in Oxford. Radiohead on their home turf. ...God I wish I could have been at that show," he sighed dreamily...or sleepily, one of the two.
"Damn you," I pouted, rolling over on my side and loving the friction that the movement mixed with the sound of Edward's breathing caused between my legs. "I should have thought of that one."
We'd been talking like this for hours. Favorite album. Favorite lyrics. Favorite cover art. Favorite song for a rainy day. Favorite song for a sunny one. Edward wanted to know everything I knew and thought about the band we were going to see in less than twenty-four hours. His excitement was palpable even though he was clearly exhausted. Neither of us could bring ourselves to end the conversation, to stop the sound, to shut off the electricity that hummed even then, over the phone line.
He sang me his favorite B-side and made me guess which song it was. He put the phone on speaker and sat it atop the piano in his living room. He played it for me and his voice stung each word. His fingers brushing the keys made each note hurt and when he was done I was whimpering into my pillow for him to stop.
"Could you guess what it is?" he asked excitedly when he got back on the phone. "Bella? Are you there? Did you fall asleep?"
"I'm still here," I mumbled into the pillow to hide the crackling in my voice. Of course I knew what it was.
"It's 'How I Made My Millions'."
"Huh? I can hardly hear you." There was rustling on his end like he was getting back into his bed, the sounds of fabric moving against sheets and I imagined the picture in my mind of what he looked like at that exact moment, what he was wearing – more like what he wasn't wearing, the sight of his bare chest and muscled back from the day of the rainstorm forever burned into my memory.
"Bella? Did you know that it's his wife moving around in the background while he's playing?" Edward asked. "Amazing, right? There he is in the other room playing that fucking gorgeous song and she's in the kitchen putting groceries away like it's no big deal. She probably hears shit like that all the time. It's just Thom fucking around on the piano to her," he sighed and I heard his head knock against what must be his headboard. "It blows my mind, all that talent."
"You sounded just like him," I whispered.
...
I hurried down the stairs thumping my overnight bag a step behind me. At the tenth step, about half-way down, I stopped in my tracks.
Edward stood at the bottom of the stairs with his back to me, his hands in his jacket pockets. He was staring out the open front door that lead to the porch and the driveway. At the sound of my arrival he turned to face me and I held the railing for balance. A gorgeous smile spread across his face, not wide enough to show his teeth but sweet enough to dimple his cheeks. I felt his eyes on me where the V of my shirt met the modest swell of my breasts and my neck broke out in a heatflash. It was a clear day and the sun shone behind him sending rays of light through his disheveled copper hair. My eyes had a mind of their own as well and were all over his body in an instant, soaking in every inch of his impossibly lithe frame, long torso, longer legs in fitted jeans, the collar of his jacket upturned just so and the realization that, my god...Edward Cullen is a fucking beautiful man.
He put his hand out and for a moment I thought it was to reach for me. I lifted mine from the banister before recalling our conversation from the other night, the night I rejected his advance. It was then that I knew he was merely reaching for me to give him my bag.
I held it out and he took it by the strap.
"I thought you were going to stand me up," he said with a crooked grin and my stomach leapt at the familiar sound of his voice. His long lashes fluttered over my chest and my face heated. He noticed and grinned and a pinkness flushed to his cheeks knowing that I'd caught him checking me out. I concentrated carefully on making it down the last few steps without pulling a face-plant.
"Standing you up means standing Thom up, and I would never let that happen," I teased when I reached his air space.
There's that pull again. We're inches apart and it's tugging painfully at my chest.
"Of course, how silly of me," he smirked, running his hand through his hair. "So. Are we ready to go? We have a long drive ahead of us." His jade eyes sparkled and I said a quick goodbye to Charlie, who seemed devastated by my departure – meaning that it was the last out of the Mariner's game and he tossed me a backhanded wave from behind the couch.
Edward's car was the same as I remembered from that first night we met. Lush black interior, space shuttle dashboard and a new car smell even though Edward insisted it was last years model.
Once we were on the road with Forks disappearing behind us, I settled into the comfy leather seat and listened to the purr of the engine under the skill of Edward's precision handling. You could barely hear the gears shift as he maneuvered with ease and managed to play with his iPod at the same time. The trees whizzed past us as we sped down the curvy road and yet somehow it felt like we were barely moving. Something to do with what Jake used to call "traction" or "alignment".
We weren't talking, but there was no awkwardness between us and I could tell that Edward was completely at ease by the slack in his shoulders.
And then I opened my big, fat, stupid mouth.
"So," I began, nervously wringing my hands in my lap. "How did you and Tanya meet?"
He didn't answer and I couldn't bring myself to look at his face. The car continued to fly down the highway and I began to wonder if I should repeat the question.
"Why do you want to know that?" he asked finally, turning the volume down on the stereo.
"Why not? ...We're friends, aren't we? Friends talk about who they're dating." I tried to say it with confidence, repeating Alice's words from days ago, but the truth was I was panicking at how he'd answer. I turned to look at his face and was stunned by his immaculate side profile, the sharp curve of his jawline, the slight pout of his full lips. His brow was creased, his shoulders no longer slack, now tense.
"Um," he fidgeted in his seat, downshifting, and stopping at a red light. "She's in the medical program at Harvard. We met at a house party last semester." He shrugged. "That's about it." The light turned green. He stomped on the clutch, shifted, punched the gas and left the cars behind us in the dust. He didn't say anything more.
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," I said regretfully, wishing I hadn't spoiled the mood.
He sighed and I could feel his gaze as he took his eyes off the road and looked at me.
"I'm not uncomfortable, Bella. I just... I don't want to talk about other women when I'm with you."
"Ok," I murmured breathlessly, the sincere expression on his face knocking the wind right out of me.
The rest of the drive passed uneventfully. We took a bathroom break and stopped for a late lunch at a diner and when we eventually drove into the city center towards our hotel, I was flooded with disappointment that this part of our journey was over. It didn't last long though. The excitement of the city swelled around us and before I knew it Edward had valeted the car and our bags were being carried away and we were walking side by side through the glass doors into the lobby of the...W Hotel?
"We're staying here?" I asked under my breath as we crossed the shining marble floor and approached the welcome desk.
"Is it alright? Do you not like it?" he answered, his voice full of concern. Was he serious? I'd never even been inside a hotel this luxurious and elegant and, my god, my eyes didn't know where to look first; the spectacular art hanging on the walls, the modern shapes and sizes of the furniture in the living room below, the fireplace, the leather stools lining the front of the fully-stocked bar. It was a magical oasis.
"Not like it? Of course I like it. It's stunning. But-"
"Good then," he grinned, cutting me off and handing his credit card to the concierge.
"Ah, Mr. Cullen," said the dapper man behind the desk with a tiny bow of acknowledgment. "Good evening." He turned to me and nodded. "And Mrs. Cu-"
"Uh, Miss Swan," I interrupted with a polite smile. I felt Edward's gaze on me but I didn't turn to see it. He must have noticed that I didn't use my married name. How would it look for Mr. Cullen to be staying at the W Hotel in the same room with a Mrs. Black? I didn't give it another thought.
The concierge typed away at his computer, printing out the documents for Edward to sign and assigning us our key cards.
"The same room, huh?" I teased, nudging Edward in the ribs with my elbow. "You think you're gonna get lucky or something?"
"It's all they had, I swear," he insisted, his eyes widening with panic. "Do you want me to see if they have another room available? It's last minute and it was hard to find a hotel that had vacancies but I can try-"
"Edward stoppit," I giggled. "I'm only kidding."
"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Especially after what I said the other day."
"I'm kidding, Edward. It's fine. I wouldn't want to be in a separate room anyway. There's no need and it would be boring."
He let out a sigh of relief and handed me my key card. "We have separate beds though-"
"Alright, sir, you are all set," the concierge interrupted. "Your suite is located on the 25 and 26th floors of this building. I'm sure you will find it to your liking."
Twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth floors? My head was spinning trying to sort out what that meant, but I didn't want to ask Edward yet another daft question so I kept my mouth shut. I didn't open it in the elevator or as we walked down the hall to our room. Edward opened the door, and then I figured it out.
"Damn. No wonder it's called the Wow Suite," Edward said, walking inside the spacious designer living room lined with floor to ceiling windows. The Seattle skyline laid out in front of us on all sides. The view was breathtaking - and even moreso with Edward standing in the center of it all.
The suite was set up loft-style with the bedroom on a high-rise platform attached to a 150 square foot bathroom where you could overlook Seattle from the Jacuzzi tub. Everything was dark woods and earth tones, recalling the natural outdoorsiness of the Pacific Northwest.
"Edward, this is-" I didn't have the words to complete my thought as I strolled slowly around the room. That's when I noticed - the Wow Suite comes with one king bed.
He walked up the steps and stood beside me looking down at the bed draped in a deep maroon comforter.
"Oh." I heard him suck in his breath and that's when I cut him off before he could say anything more.
"Please don't start apologizing. Don't call downstairs and complain. Just leave it."
"Ok."
We stood still.
"Well," he sighed a resigned sigh and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It's a really big bed. And I'll stay on my side. I promise."
...
I stood on the balcony and watched the sunset throw its pinks and yellows and oranges across the picturesque skyline.
"Edward this is too much," I murmured into the twilight.
"What's too much?" he asked and the ripple of electricity that charged through the air told me he was standing right behind me. A light wind blew his scent into my nostrils and my skin prickled from his nearness when I turned.
"This hotel. This room. You didn't have to go through all this trouble." My voice was barely audible but I knew he heard me from the twinkle in his eye.
"No trouble," he smiled modestly. "Phone call. Credit card. Easy."
"You know what I mean. We could have stayed at a Best Western or Comfort Inn...someplace less..." I motioned at everything all around me; the lush potted plants and large wooden deck furniture and into the suite with its over the top opulence.
"...decadent."
"They were all booked," he winked, tugging playfully at my ponytail. He walked us back inside with his hand gently resting on the small of my back.
"Besides," he continued, closing the glass doors behind us. "This is where you belong."
Belong? Here with him? "How do you mean?" I choked. The hook in my chest pulled painfully up and out in a slicing motion. It must have been evident in my face because he quickly backpedaled.
"Y'know, it, um, it has all the amenities that a girl needs; a big tub, fluffy towels and lots of room to do you hair and I dunno, your makeup or whatever, and I won't be in the way."
"Right, cuz I'm sure I spend a lot of time getting my hair to look this fabulous," I snorted, flipping my messy ponytail over my shoulder. "And I didn't even bring any makeup with me so this is as good as it's gonna get," I pointed to my face.
"I'm just saying, I wanted you to be comfortable. I wanted this to be a memorable experience for you."
"And for you?" I asked simply.
He paused and again I was stunned by the sight of him standing in front of me.
"It's already memorable for me, Bella. It was from the moment you agreed to come here."
Goosebumps flooded my arms. I crossed them at my chest and took a steadying breath, once again at a loss for words. Edward crossed the room and stood up straight, with the couch separating us.
"Are you cold?"
I shook my head.
"You look pale. Do you need to lie down?" He put his hand out as a gesture of kindness but I wasn't close enough for his touch to reach me.
He took a step forward. "Bella," he whispered. "Are you alright?" The energy in the air was changing. He was changing. In my eyes he was becoming even more to me than he had been just a second ago. He took another step forward, this time without a word, and I stood still. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.
"Bella," he mouthed within a breath. It was a question and a statement at the same time. He took another step, his fingers trembling as the distance between he and I grew shorter.
"I..." He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and when he let it out it was glistening wet where he'd licked it. He was three steps away from entering my personal space and my heart was racing with the want of it.
"Edward," I murmured on butterfly wings. It was a question and a statement at the same time. He stopped in his tracks but his eyes never left mine. I tongued the back of my bottom teeth and held my breath.
Don't stop.
He took another step. My arms still crossed at my chest. He had one step left and our toes would touch. There was fight behind his eyes; a war of indecision.
"Do you feel that?" he whispered. He pushed his fingers into the center of his chest.
I swallowed thickly and nodded, pulling my arms tighter around myself. "Yes," I breathed out. He still hadn't taken the final step.
"It keeps getting stronger the closer I get to you. I felt it that first day we met, but now," he pushed harder into his breastbone.
"It hurts," I finished for him.
"Yes," he agreed. "What should I do?" He looked down at his feet.
"I don't know," I answered honestly.
He looked up at me sharply, a flash of fear crossed his eyes. "I want to take the step."
I said nothing.
"But I promised I'd be your friend," he continued. "I meant it when I said it, and I mean it now. I'll learn to control these feelings I have for you, Bella. I'll never use them against you or to manipulate you. I promise you that. You believe me, don't you?"
I smiled weakly and nodded, praying for dear life that the tears would stay behind my eyes and not fall for him to see. He sighed and took a step back. He put his mask back on and the moment was gone.
...
Edward appeared out of the bathroom in dark jeans and a black button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked delectable, his thick hair spiked and framing his face in angles.
"Fuck," I said to myself yet loud enough for him to hear me.
"What?" he asked, instantly insecure and running his hands down the front of his shirt. "No good?"
"No you look nice," I admitted with a cringe, wishing he didn't. It'd be so much easier if he was gross or even a fraction less handsome.
"Thanks." he flashed a smile and then frowned. "You're not dressed."
"Yeah, I don't know what to wear. And you..." I fluttered my hand in his direction. My pathetic wardrobe was strewn across the king-sized bed. "I don't have anything that will make me look good next to you-"
"Bella," he interrupted, taking my hand in his and putting it at my side. "You're beautiful. And you'll continue to look beautiful in anything you put on." He smiled again and I melted. "Ok? ...Now please, get dressed or we're going to be late."
The cab took us to Key Arena and let us out at a back entrance marked, Suite Entry, far from the crowds that circled the front entrance. Edward lead me through a corridor to an elevator and pushed the button marked 'reserved'. I gaped at him but he looked straight ahead as the elevator rose through the floors. Once it reached its destination it dinged and Edward waited inside while I exited.
"This way," he said casually, his hand lightly at my back as he guided me down a white hallway lined with large double doors. I attempted to catch the name plates that were attached above each one but I was too busy trying to keep up with Edward. He knew I wanted to see the opening band and I could hear the screams of the audience as they arrived onstage.
"Don't worry, you won't miss them," he smiled. He stopped at a plain set of doors without a name and pushed on the handles. The lights went on by sensor as soon as we entered and I was standing in a theater-style room lined with white leather couches on one side and a full bar on the other. In the center of the room were two tables draped in flowing red tablecloths and piled high with fruits, chocolates, pastries, finger sandwiches, chips dip – you name it, it was there.
"Edward?" I asked in awe. "Who is all of this for?" There was enough for a small army.
He smiled and walked to the end of the room and to a control panel on the wall. He pressed a button and the curtain opened to reveal a wall of glass with the whole of the Key Arena audience on the other side. He pressed another button and the glass wall slid open to reveal a box of seats two steps below. The screams were louder now as the band broke into their first song.
He held out his hand for me to cross the room and join him at his side.
"It's like our own private concert," he grinned like a schoolboy.
He made sure I was settled safely in the high-backed reclining chair before sitting in the one next to me. There were two rails, one at foot level for me to rest my feet, and one at chest so I could cross my arms on it and lean forward.
"May I bring you a drink, ma'am? Sir?" said a sharply-dressed older man who seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Edward didn't appear surprised to see him.
"Yes, I'll have a Hendrick's and tonic. ...Bella?"
"Oh, um, I'll just have a water for right now."
"I don't think I've ever seen you drink anything but water. I feel like an alcoholic around you," he chuckled, leaning back.
"I don't want anything to cloud the experience for me tonight," I smiled meekly. Big fat fucking liar. I hate you.
My lie seemed to appease him.
"I told you," he said a few minutes later, turning in his seat.
"Told me what?"
"That you'd look beautiful in anything you put on. ...And that dress is not anything. ...You could have warned me," he winked, taking a sip of his drink.
"Wow you're like a pro-charmer, you know that?" I smirked, rolling my eyes to hide the fact that I was blushing my face off. I didn't think there was anything special about the halter-top light pink sundress I was wearing. It was demurely cut showing little cleavage and was nearly an inch below my knees.
"I don't want to be that guy," he replied sadly. "I'm not trying to charm you, Bella. I just want you to have a good time with me."
"I am having a good time with you, Edward. ...A better than good time."
The concert was everything I dreamed it would be and Edward was a first-class gentleman he entire time. We stood and sang at the top of our lungs and screamed and clapped along with the thousands of other fans. When they played our favorite songs we gasped at each other with wide-open mouths and jumped up and down for joy. We were served food by the suite-staff and I didn't have to get up from my seat to do anything except to pee in our private bathroom that was two steps away. We leaned into each others ears when we wanted to talk and I pretended that the feel of Edward's lips against my earlobe was the same as if he was kissing my mouth. After the second encore the concert was over and I was spent.
The next thing I knew we were pulling up to the lobby of our hotel and my head was resting on Edward's shoulder in the back of the cab. His arm was around me, his fingers lightly brushing my elbow, his heartbeat thrumming in my ear. My cheek was warm from the heat of his body and the rise of my blush. I felt him move under me.
"Bella," he whispered against my temple. "Come on, darling. Wake up," he hummed. He shook me gently and I rolled my head off his chest and peered up into his glorious face. "You fell asleep," he smiled down at me.
"MmmRadiohead rocked me into a coma," I yawned, taking the bellhop's hand as he helped me out of the car. Edward tipped him and lead me through the lobby to the elevator bank. Heads turned at the bar when we passed and I saw the corner of Edward's mouth curl in a grin as if he could hear what they were thinking.
"Sorry I'm such a lightweight," I grumbled, leaning against the elevator wall as it headed to our floor. "Hope you didn't have your heart set on exploring the Seattle night-life."
"Nah that's ok. It's late. I'm tired, too." Edward rubbed his eyes and suppressed a yawn. "Wanna order room service?"
...
"This stuff is expensive, Edward. I can't let you-"
"Bella, please stop worrying about how much everything costs." He plucked the menu from my hands and placed it next to me on the bed before sitting down, sagging the mattress and dipping me slightly towards him. He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "You've been to my house, yes? You've been in my car and you've seen the others that my family owns. My sister lived in Paris for two years. We have homes in Montauk and vacation in Ibiza. I've graduated Harvard. ...I'm doing just fine, and I wanted to do all of this. I wanted to come to Seattle with you and stay at this hotel and see the concert the way we saw it, and now I want to eat this food with you. I don't care about the money. I don't expect anything from you for it."
"I know that, Edward. I know you don't. I just...ugh I don't know," I groaned and wiped my hands down my face. "I'd never be able to do anything like this on my own. First of all I don't have a car but if I somehow managed to find my way to Seattle, my seat would have been in the fucking nosebleed section of Key Arena and my room would be at the Roadway Inn."
Edward broke out in exquisite laughter. "I'd love to join you for that experience as well. ...Just relax, Bella. ...And eat." He picked up the phone on the bedside table and placed our order.
I was changing in the massive bathroom when the doorbell rang. Moments later I emerged in my Snoopy pajamas bottoms and the Radiohead concert tee Edward bought me when I wasn't looking. The food had arrived. Edward had it spread out on the table; a plate for him and a plate for me with matching glasses of wine and our chairs pulled out just so. It smelled amazing.
"Hope you're ok with burgers and fries. I tried to pick the most un-luxurious thing on the menu," Edward teased, waving me towards my chair. I sat down and he pushed me in. "Nice pajamas, by the way," he added in my ear. I gave him the finger and he laughed heartily on his way to the stereo on the wall.
"They have satellite radio. How about the classical station?"
"Sounds good," I replied, pretending to take a sip from my wine glass.
We ate and drank, well, Edward drank and enough not to notice that the volume in my glass didn't go down. We laughed and I picked at his fries and he played air piano and told me stories about the lessons he took when he was a kid and the hours and hours of practice he had to put in before he was allowed to watch TV. I cleared our plates and tossed my wine down the drain in the kitchen and poured us two glasses of water.
"You're beautiful, Bella," he hiccuped from his slumped position on the couch. "Even in those ridiculous Snoopy pajamas."
"Thanks, Edward. You're not so bad yourself," I humored him. "Even when you're slurring drunk." I stood at the end of the couch with my hands on my hips and shook my head in amusement at the sight of Edward laid out like a ball of wrinkled mess and rosy cheeks. "I'm going upstairs to bed. I suggest you do the same. Come on." I held my hand out for him to grab.
"Thank you, Bella," he said, looking carefully at my hand but not taking it.
"I haven't done anything yet, Edward. I'll help you get into bed without falling over but you're on your own in the bathroom," I snorted.
"But you have. You have done...so much...for me...and you don't even know it, which is part of it, and why you're so amazing. Just by being you."
"How much did you drink?" I laughed, pulling him up to a standing position.
"Not enough to say the things I really want to say," he hiccuped, weaving his way towards the stairs to the bedroom loft. "But hopefully enough so tomorrow I won't remember the way I'm acting right now."
"You're acting just fine," I said, following close behind. It was the truth. I'd had the time of my life from the moment we left Forks, from the moment I walked down the stairs and saw Edward waiting for me at the bottom - every moment had been more thrilling than the one before, even the quiet ones when we were chewing our food or waiting for the elevator, there was this inexplicable force that filled the seconds.
He closed himself in the bathroom and I climbed into the enormous four-poster bed. Edward wasn't kidding - it was a really fucking big bed, with a memory foam mattress that melted around me and I melted into it. I propped myself up on a dozen down pillows and listened to Edward brush his teeth. Moments later, just as I was closing my eyes, the door opened and Edward emerged. He'd removed his shirt and jeans and was in nothing but gray boxer briefs and socks. I pretended not to notice but my heart was absolutely fucking pounding in my chest. He didn't seem shy about the fact that he was walking across the room practically naked but he wasn't making a show out of it either. This was the way he slept. He was going to bed. We were going to bed. And so what if Edward didn't wear a shirt to bed and so what if he had a stupidly sculpted body, firm abs, toned arms, a smattering of freckles across his shoulder blades. So what if his ass looked unbelievable and under that thin material was what looked from the outside to be a very decently sized package.
"Feeling ok?" I asked as I watched him pull back the covers on his side of the bed, which seemed light years away from mine.
"Yeah," he muttered, messing with the generous pillows. "It felt like I had fur on my teeth, but that sonic toothbrush thing in there is incredible." He settled under the covers and draped his arm over his eyes.
"Do you want me to shut the light?"
"Sure," he said. And again there was a twinge of disappointment that the night was officially coming to an end. I leaned over and hit the switch. The room went dark except for the glow of the skyline below us.
"...Bella?" came Edward's voice from the other side of the bed.
"Hmm?"
"...Are you ok with this? With the distance?" his voice was frail and vulnerable and I'd already been so dishonest with him. He deserved some truth.
"No. ...I'm not."
"Yeah. Me either," he sighed. "...G'Night, Bella."
...
The dream began simply – a sprawling field of wild flowers on a bright sunny day. The calming sounds of birds chirping mingled with the sounds of children laughing. The laughter grew closer and the birds flew overhead in response. And then the appearance of one – a small boy with dark hair and olive skin tanned by the sun. He was running through the grasses, every now and then looking over his shoulder for someone coming up behind him. His wide smile showed the first of his pearly white teeth and his cheeks were flushed as he ran as fast as he could on short legs. The giggles grew louder and then she appeared out of the tall stalks, a fair haired girl-child in a frilly blue dress. Her long blonde curls bobbed on her shoulders as she ran after the boy, slower than he for she was younger by two years. She giggled wildly as she caught sight of someone ahead of them both, someone that was waiting for both of them at the edge of the field. She squealed as the boy was caught up in the large arms of the person at the edge of the field. Her squeals quickly turned to a child-like pout as she waited for her turn to be gathered in those strong arms of the faceless man. The two children, side by side in the safe arms of this generous hold, they looked nothing alike, dark versus light in all aspects – eye color, hair, complexion – yet there was something eerily the same about them both and then the boy reached out for the girl with his pudgy arms and gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek and she sighed and rolled over...
"What time is it?" I mumbled sleepily into the taut muscles of his chest. I was warm and there were arms around me, holding me in position. I felt my tangled hair being swept from my shoulder.
"Whatever time you want it to be," came the deep voice from above. I opened my eyes slowly – one then the next. They were confronted with a chiseled bare chest and flat abdomen rising and falling with each breath.
"Hmm. How'd this happen?" I asked with a stifled laugh of embarrassment. My nightshirt had ridden up to my ribs and my PJ bottoms were tangled around my knees.
We were in the exact center of the bed, as though we'd migrated to the middle during the night, like magnets.
"I was wondering the same thing," Edward mused. "All I know is I woke up this morning...and looked down...and there you were."
I frowned.
"Oh trust me," he added quickly. "I'm not complaining. It's the nicest way I've woken up in a long long time."
"How long have you been awake?"
"About twenty minutes."
"Why didn't you push me off?"
"Why would I do that?"
"This can't be comfortable..." I wiggled inside his arms. Notice how I'd done nothing to remove myself from his embrace while talking crap about how uncomfortable he must be. Pfft.
"Bella, there is nothing uncomfortable about any of this for me. Believe me."
"Oh I believe you," I giggled, pointing to the tent in his shorts. He lifted his head up, his abs straining and I bit my lip at their definition. The second he saw the Big Top in his pants he released me and pulled the sheet over his legs.
"Um, yeah, that's just a natural reaction to, uh, the morning. It has nothing to do with waking up to a beautiful women nestled beside you. ...I'll get up now." He rolled off the edge of the bed; there were reddish sleep marks carved into his back.
"Looks to me like you're already up," I snorted, biting my lip harder to control my laughter.
"Har har. Shut up, Bella," he groaned in embarrassment, cupping his hands over his erection as he hobbled to the bathroom and closed the door. "I'll take care of this in a second."
"A second? That's all it takes, huh?" I called out after him.
"That's not what I meant!" he hollered from the other side of the door. "It takes way longer than that usually. I mean, I last much – argh, forget it, Bella!"
I fell back into the pillow pile in a fit of giggles. Edward turned on the bath water and ran the shower. I laid in bed in the spot where he'd just been and while I listened to him humming a tune I couldn't place, I slid my hand between my legs and thought about how I'd just slept with Edward Cullen. I pressed my fingers inside my moist opening and moved them in the way I imagined he would. His fingers were long and thin and I pictured them wrapped around his cock and what that looked like. My breathing sped up as I slid my fingers in and out and rubbed my thumb over my clit with the same skill and precision I imagined Edward's fingers had. I forced the guilt aside and bathed in the enjoyment of the tingling goosebumps that flooded my skin and arched my back.
I closed my eyes and listened for signs of how close he was. His singing stopped and my fingers sped up. I thought I heard a thump and a moan through the shower spray and I let out a soft response as I neared a climax of my own. It tore through my body in shuddering ripples of pleasure just as the water shut off and the shower door opened. I caught my breath and rolled onto my side to hide my little secret, the smile of satisfaction that we came together in a moment of pure ecstasy; and when Edward emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and beads of water still rolling down his back, I thought I caught a corner of his mouth curl up as he passed the mirror and our eyes connected in the reflection. A knowing acknowledgment of what we'd done and how it was ok...for now.
I think I'll do an EPOV next, so Edward has a chance to explain himself ;p Please review.
