Huge thanks go out to: EdwardsFirstKiss, AWayWithWords, and LaPumkle, who all help keep me readable., and for my wonderful writing partner, Nicola Pitt, who always supports me in all I do in the Fandom FanFiction world.
Chapter 11
The sun is barely coming up as I wake. I smile when I see Edward still in his bed, facing my direction, asleep. The experience in the pool was something different, but I enjoyed it. I plan to learn to swim, so I can enjoy things like that again.
Getting up, I shower and get dressed. I grab my pajamas and now dry swimsuit, and start to pack my bag as Edward stirs.
"Good morning, future cave dweller – it is about time to go," I laugh. He jumps up, and quickly heads into the bathroom. He packed last night, and only has to get his dry swimsuit from the bathroom, and pack his pajamas.
He's so excited to go check out the caves, which was all he could talk about before we fell asleep last night. There are some rather cool trails and caves to explore that we found online, and I'm looking forward to exploring them, too.
"Good morning, Bella. I'll be ready to go in five minutes. It's a forty minute drive to Cave Junction from here, so let's grab breakfast, and then head out within the next hour," Edward says with a smile.
I can't help but laugh; he seems almost more excited about my trip than I did when I planned it.
Within minutes we are checked out, and have loaded up the Durango.
"The guy at the counter said a good place to grab breakfast is Elmer's; it is two miles up the road," I say.
"Sounds good to me," Edward tells me.
We get to the place and it is busy, but there are tables available. We both order a Mr. Elmer's Omelet, fruit, and pancake breakfast. The food is good, and we both become full pretty fast.
Like Edward had planned—within an hour—we are on our way to Cave Junction. It is barely nine in the morning when we arrive. We go straight to the Chateau. Once we are checked in, we head out for the one thing Edward found that I'm unsure of, but he says there is a training class for. When we arrive at Out N' About, I am nervous. The first thing we have to do is get checked in, and weighed on a scale. Then we are taken into a classroom-like setting, where we are joined by ten other people, and a couple of instructors.
They teach us all about the safety measures of the harnesses, and before I know it, we are being fitted into them. I am still scared, but I believe anyone who will be zip lining through trees, and around mountains, should have a healthy amount of fear. The ride is amazing to say the least, and the beauty and majestic feeling of seeing the view from up in the air, flying like a bird, is an experience I'll never forget.
When we're done, we head back to the next thing Edward wanted to do, which was called the Tarzan Swing. This looks even scarier than the zip line did, and I choose to just watch Edward. He is attached with three different hooks to this huge rope, and told to hold onto a handle. They pull him up to a base high in a tree, and he looks so small from where I am standing. Suddenly, he comes down, and when he gets to the bottom of the rope, he flies out over the side of the hill gliding about seventy feet off the ground. He makes me smile when I hear him cheering, and yelling how he wants to go again. Part of the package for the swing allows a person to go twice, and the second time he goes, his laughter echoes around and I can't help but laugh with him.
When we head back to the Chateau, Edward is almost bouncing in his seat over the excitement from this morning's adventures. We decide to grab an early lunch at the Chateau, and change before heading off to the adult cave tour. The beauty of the cave is astounding, and we are both in awe. I smile as I realize Edward's still holding my hand, after he helped me step over a place at the start of the cave. The tour lasts for about ninety minutes, and we decide to do the candlelight tour this evening, to see it in a different perspective.
After we have signed up for the tour tonight, we head back to the Chateau to clean up, and relax a bit, enjoying the scenery off our small balcony. I grab my laptop to look at the next leg of our trip, and Edward checks his voicemail.
"Oh, wow, I think I may have found an apartment," Edward says.
"Really? That is awesome," I respond, happy that he is no longer going to have to stress out about not having a place to live.
"I have to call them back," he says and I hear him dial the number. I was going to give him some privacy, but he motions for me to stay.
"Hello, this is Edward Cullen, and I was told to call regarding an off campus apartment to rent," he says.
"No, I don't mind sharing a place as long as I have my own space," he says.
I watch him as he listens, and he seems like he's happy for several minutes, and suddenly his face turns down a little.
"Just a moment, I need to check on something," he says before looking at me. "Bella, I know you are in no hurry to get to San Francisco, but I need to get there by five tomorrow, or I will go back to the bottom of the list. Is there any way you can get me at least to an airport first thing in the morning? If not I can always call for—"
"Of course, getting you there is no issue," I interrupt him.
He smiles at me and squeezes my hand, but doesn't let go as he goes back to his conversation.
"Mr. Banner, I can be at the office tomorrow by five."
The man must be talking again, because Edward pulls his hand back and starts jotting down some information.
"Okay, thank you, so much ... Yes, I will see you then." Edward hits end on his cell and places it on the little table.
"So, at the last minute an apartment became available. I was on the bottom of the list, but the people before me cannot afford the amount of rent. It will be twenty-two hundred a month, but I only have to share with one other student. So it sounds perfect. I have to see it and make a decision by five tomorrow evening. I need to find the closest airport, and work on getting a flight to San Francisco. Maybe I should just rent a car, and drive there."
"Edward, I will drive you; it is not a problem. I can always drop off my belongings at my place, and go to Disneyland; I wanted to do that anyway."
"Are you sure, Bella, I don't want you to cut your trip short for me?"
"I wouldn't offer, if I did not want to, and besides, I was bringing out the laptop to make our next destination plan anyway. So let's look and see how long it takes to get to San Francisco from here, and we will plan tomorrow's adventure."
After looking things up, we decide to leave by seven after breakfast, and even with stopping for lunch we will be to the apartment by three in the afternoon. We will be able to see his new apartment, and if he likes it, complete the necessary paperwork for the lease.
After that, we will go to my place, drop off a few things, and spend the night there. The next morning we will head out for Anaheim to visit both Disneyland, and Knott's Berry Farm.
I smile as we take turns booking and paying for things we want to do over the next week and a half.
After eating a wonderful dinner in the dining room, we go on the candlelight tour, before heading back to the room at the Chateau to get some rest for our busy day of driving tomorrow.
A/N: So an apartment came available ... At least they are still going to vacation together, huh?
