One year later
~/~ June ~/~
So much had changed in the past year...
Edward and I had spent a blow-out summer last year, making the most of every last minute together. It had hurt really fucking badly to say goodbye to him in the fall, as I had known that it would, but going to medical school was his dream. And I wanted him to experience and fulfill each and every one of his dreams.
Because I loved him.
The distance had actually been helpful in some ways—without the distraction of each other, we had both been able to concentrate fully on our schoolwork. Surprisingly, the distance had also helped to strengthen our relationship; even though we were eight hundred miles apart, we managed to talk—really talk—every day. During the course of those conversations, we learned a lot about ourselves as well as what we wanted out of life and each other.
We also learned not to take a single moment together for granted. We visited each other as often as possible, but it never seemed to be enough. Whenever we found a good deal on a plane ticket, we took advantage; we alternated between him flying to Seattle to visit me, and me flying to San Francisco to visit him. But convenient plane flights weren't always affordable, or available, so we had also come to know Roseburg, Oregon quite well. The city was about half-way between Seattle and San Francisco—well, half-way, drive time-wise; Edward drove much faster than me. We had tried each and every Bed and Breakfast in the city, and being regular guests had earned us a few perks…
Edward was back in Seattle for the summer now; he had moved in with me four weeks ago, as soon as school was out for the semester. There was more than enough room for him now; Rose had moved in with Emmett at the beginning of May. They weren't engaged yet, but I knew my old roommate... She was in love, so it was only a matter of time before they got to that point.
I was busy as always—taking classes, working as a graduate assistant with Jacob, and still working almost-full-time at The Coffee Break with Emmett, who I learned was not only the manager, but the owner of the store; Jasper had landed himself a 'real' job back in the fall and no longer worked with us—but it was different now. In the past, I had tried to stay busy in order to fill the void in my life. Now, I was happy. Really, truly happy.
Loving Edward, and being loved unconditionally by Edward in return, had changed me. So much. And definitely for the better. Bella the Bitter Bitch was long gone. The softer, kinder Isabella, who for years had been hidden behind an ever-changing and always-prickly façade of self-preservation, had finally emerged. I had softened over the past two years. The idea of change—of relinquishing control—used to scare the shit out of me. Now I realized that instead of protecting myself, which is what I thought I had been doing, I had actually just been holding myself back all that time. I had sequestered myself away from life and love.
Only now, with Edward, was I free to be myself. Free to be the person I was supposed to be—Isabella.
It was liberating.
I leaned back into Edward, savoring the feel of his arms, which were wrapped securely around my waist. As I settled into his embrace, I pondered the long, crazy ride that had brought us to where we were today. What started as a temporary trip to fantasyland had morphed into an epic life-changing journey. It had taken us seven years to overcome all of the roadblocks that life had thrown in our way, but we had finally made it.
We had finally found happiness together.
I sighed in absolute contentment as I tilted my head back so that I could brush my lips across his jaw. He squeezed slightly before his fingers edged under the hem of my tee-shirt. Laughing in response to his tickling touch, I allowed my head to fall back onto his shoulder. He dropped his head to brush his lips along the side of my neck—softly, suggestively—and my laughter halted, a small moan issuing forth. I reached back to cradle the back of his head, holding his lips in place. He sucked harder on my tender flesh, causing me to hiss in response.
"Careful, baby… I can't have any marks on my neck this weekend. I'm wearing my hair up, remember?" I chastised him.
I heard his soft chuckle, but his lips eased their pressure. Slightly. I sighed when his hand slid further up my shirt, teasing the underside of my breast with a fingertip. The tickling touch caused me to squirm slightly, and when he pushed beneath the lacy cup of my bra to brush across my now-hard nipple, I moaned again. Shifting behind me, Edward spread his legs and I settled in between them before he reclined further on the couch. The evidence of his arousal pressed hotly against my backside, and I arched my back so that I could grind my ass into his erection.
At my eager response, his hand became rougher, tugging my bra down and out of the way so that he could cup my entire breast and pinch my nipple. While the one hand taunted and twisted, the other pressed against my abdomen and dipped beneath the waistband of my shorts. My stomach clenched and my heart stuttered erratically as the silken tip of his finger slipped lower, teasing but not touching. Building the flame and fueling my desire, yet leaving me longing for more.
Much more.
I whimpered in frustration, a pathetically vulnerable little sound that revealed my combined dissatisfaction and desire. Tired of his teasing, I fisted my hands tightly in his hair and tugged—hard. His soft grunt of approval sounded in my ear, and his hand finally slid down to touch my tender flesh. When he lazily spread my wetness around, I groaned his name in desperation.
"Edwaaarrrddd…"
He chuckled, halting his motions, leaving his finger poised right at my entrance. I bucked my hips upwards, and the tip of his finger slid in. I whimpered again.
"Is this what you want, love?" he asked, pushing his finger in deeper, stroking me gently.
I gritted my teeth against the intensely pleasurable feelings. "No."
"No?" he asked, surprised.
"No," I asserted.
It wasn't nearly enough.
His finger stopped its rhythmic motion, and I relaxed minutely.
"What do you want then?"
"You," I said simply, honestly. "I want you. All of you."
"Greedy, aren't you?" he teased.
"Yes."
Edward chuckled and slowly pulled his hand from my pants. He pushed me up and somehow managed to turn me around so that I was facing him. Before I could even settle properly, his lips were on mine, urgent and demanding, and his hands were once again roaming my body. We shed our clothing quickly, and I sighed when I felt his warm, naked skin against my own. I sat up, straddling his lap, and my satisfied sigh turned into an agonized groan when he shifted his hips and his hard length slid against my slick skin.
"Does that feel good?" he asked.
He thrust his hips upwards slightly again, increasing the friction as the head of his shaft bumped deliciously against the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs.
"Oh fuck. Yes," I hissed.
Edward raised his hands to palm my breasts and leaned forward to capture one of my nipples between his lips, suckling gently. I jerked slightly when his tongue snaked out to encircle the tip, the heat of his wet mouth searing my sensitive skin. My eyes drifted shut on a shuddering sigh. Moaning throatily, I raised my hands to sink into Edward's silky hair and clasped his head to my breast, arching my back in invitation. The overwhelming sensations I experienced each and every time we were together enveloped me completely, surrounding me in a fiery embrace. I felt like I was burning alive. Burning for him…
Burning with him…
I bucked my hips against his, relishing the doubly pleasurable sensations of his mouth on my breast and the head of his shaft rubbing against my overly-sensitive and swollen flesh. Reaching down between our bodies, I pressed my hand against him. His hot, hard length throbbed in my palm as I pushed him deeper between my lips and into my wetness. This time, he groaned.
I leaned down to kiss him, then lifted my hips, aligning his tip against my entrance. Our eyes met and held as I slowly lowered myself onto him, my body stretching to accommodate his. He groaned softly as my body settled around him, and his eyes darkened, their emerald green hue turning black with desire. His hands dropped to my hips to hold me steady while we both sucked in ragged breaths and savored the pleasurable sensation of him filling me completely. After a moment, he encouraged me to move, and I began slow up-and-down motions, taking him deeper each time. Leaning forward, he suckled on my neck, and my arms circled around his back, pulling him closer. Our bodies rocked slowly for a minute, a slow and lazy, yet intimate, coupling. But all too soon, it was not enough, and we began to move more frantically.
Eventually, Edward fell back against the couch with a small grunt. My hands moved to his chest, where I braced myself as he began thrusting into me more forcefully. When my head fell forward, my once-again long hair formed a curtain around our faces as we stared intently at each other. I rose slightly on my knees in order to grind against him, my hips moving in opposition to his, trying to obtain the most friction possible. The flush rising up his neck and spreading across his cheeks, as well as the small grunts and groans he was making, told me that he was getting close. Clawing frantically at his chest, I groaned in frustration and desperation as what I needed eluded me.
Sensing my need, Edward shoved a hand between our bodies to press firmly against my clit, and I gasped at the strength of the sensation. I sucked my lower lip between my teeth. He traced firm, quick circles around that sensitive bundle of nerves, and the tingling sensation that signaled my release begin to build in my abdomen. My moans increased in frequency and intensity.
Edward huffed with each thrust, and the strained look on his face told me that he was holding back. For me.
"You ready, baby?" I asked.
He grunted in response, pressing harder with his finger. My eyes rolled back and I moaned loudly as rippling waves of pleasure began to lap at my insides. I dropped my head again, keeping my eyes squeezed shut as I concentrated on the sensations radiating out from the center of my being.
"Look at me, Isabella."
My eyes snapped open in response to his command, my lower body throbbing with anticipation. I loved it when he spoke my name. Especially when he was inside of me. As soon as our eyes met, he thrust up into me—hard. The combination of feeling him fill me so fully, the play of his fingers on my aching clit, and the look of absolute devotion in his eyes sent me over the edge. The wave finally crashed and my body exploded around him.
"Oh, God… Fuck!" I cried.
My legs clenched against the outside of his thighs, and my fingernails curled into his chest, scraping desperately at his skin as I rode out my orgasm. He hissed in response and increased his pace. Several short, choppy hip thrusts later, his guttural groan let me know that he, too, had found release.
I collapsed onto his chest, my head buried in his neck. We were both panting, coming down from our incredible ride. I nibbled at his collarbone, alternating between soft kisses and gentle nips. His hands rubbed soothing circles across my back and shoulders.
"So good…" I breathed into his neck.
His hands tightened around my back in a gentle squeeze, and although I couldn't see his face, I knew from past experience that he would have a sexy, satisfied smile on his lips.
~/~
Afterwards, we wandered to the bedroom and lay for hours, snuggling and touching. Happy to simply be together and enjoying this one last night before the craziness of the upcoming weekend overtook us.
Tomorrow we were headed to Forks.
That was another thing that had changed in the past year. My relationship with my parents had improved immensely. And that, too, was likely due to Edward. Or at least his influence. He had recognized my bitterness towards my family—our years of non-communication—and he had encouraged me to reach out. I had been amazed by the results. That first Christmas had just been the beginning. Over the past year, my mother had presented me with copies of each and every one of her books. I had been amazed by her writing. Although she had now branched out, I have to admit, much to my surprise, that I harbored a soft spot in my heart for her romance novels. Once I had opened my mind, simply telling my mother that I was proud of her accomplishments—something I had never done before—had revolutionized our relationship. We now talked on a regular basis, and for the first time in my life, I also considered her to be my friend.
I would be staying at their house this weekend, something else that had become a bit more common over the past year. Alice and Rose would be staying with me, while Jasper and Emmett would be staying at Edward's parent's house before the wedding.
"You ready for this weekend?" he asked.
I chuckled in response to his question. I swear… There were some times when I wondered if Edward could read minds.
"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," I replied. "How pissed do you think they'll be that we're not showing up until tomorrow?"
Everyone else had departed for Forks this morning. We had opted to stay in Seattle for one last night since we wouldn't get to spend much time together this weekend; the bachelor and bachelorette parties were scheduled for tomorrow evening, and the rehearsal was on Friday night. Saturday was the big day, and Alice, being the paranoid pixie that she was, wanted to make sure that the guys didn't see any of us until it was time; the wedding wasn't scheduled until seven in the evening. So, this was the last opportunity that Edward and I would have to spend time alone before Saturday night, after all was said and done.
I felt him shrug behind me. "I really don't give a fuck what they think."
I laughed lightly in response. That was another thing that had changed… While my vocabulary had improved greatly, my old foul mouth had definitely rubbed off on Edward. It still made me laugh to hear curse words cross his lips.
I snuggled deeper into his arms, squeezing them with my own and trailing abstract designs on his forearms with my fingers. He sighed in contentment and kissed the top of my head. His words were spoken into my hair.
"I'm really glad that you and Alice patched things up."
"Me, too," I sighed in response.
I had been surprised by that outcome as well; despite our initial hatred of each other, Alice had become my second best friend over the past year. Once the reason behind her hatred of me had been revealed—and I had apologized—things between us had improved dramatically. After we worked together on Edward and Jasper's graduation party, and in an attempt to include her in my life outside of time spent with Edward, I had reluctantly invited her to participate in Rose and my 'girl's night ins'. Surprisingly, that had been the biggest ice breaker; once I had demonstrated a true desire to be her friend, the past transgressions from high school had been forgiven. It had taken a little while, but I honestly didn't know what I would do without her now… I loved Alice's frenetic energy, and she and Jasper had kept me company on many a lonely night this past year. Not to mention, in Edward's absence, she had been my only tangible link to him.
All of those things are why I had agreed to be her maid-of-honor this weekend.
I rolled over in order to look at Edward, reaching up to brush my hand across his cheek.
"Have I told you how much I love you today?"
He shook his head, his eyes boring into mine. I stared back, not breaking eye contact as I spoke.
"I love you. I love you so fucking much that I don't know what I would do without you. You are everything to me."
His eyes blazed at my words, his own emotions amplifying each fleck of color in their brilliant green depths.
"You're it for me, too, Isabella," his words echoed mine of more than a year ago. Then he added an additional disclaimer. "You are my life now."
The tears that had been brimming in my eyes spilled over to run down my cheeks. He leaned down to kiss them away. I could taste their salty wetness when his lips settled on mine a moment later.
Our coupling this time was slow and sweet, unhurried. Hands brushed lightly, lovingly. Lips met, parted. Soft sighs and quiet moans filled the air. And when he finally settled between my legs—poised at my entrance—he looked deeply into my eyes, his own eyes revealing everything that he was feeling in that moment.
"I love you, Isabella. Always."
He finally pushed forward, entering me, filling me, sliding home. But he wasn't the only one... In his arms, our bodies joined, our souls shared, I was home too.
~/~/~/~
It was Saturday night.
The wedding had been beautiful, going off without a hitch. Of course, with Alice's meticulous preparation, and with every detail planned down to the second, I don't think that there had been time for anything to possibly go wrong. Everyone looked great, and even I, Isabella Swan, hater of all things dress-related, had been forced to admit that I loved my bridesmaid dress—it was a silvery-blue chiffon number with spaghetti straps and a loosely flowing skirt that swirled around my ankles as I walked. It had matched Alice's dress in style, and she had been the most beautiful bride that I had ever seen. Seeing her happiness as she and Jasper had exchanged wedding vows had brought a tear to my overly-cynical eye, and made me realize that this—marriage—was something I was definitely looking forward to.
The reception had been nice, with both Edward and I, as best man and maid of honor, giving speeches. The food had been great, the wine had been flowing and music had been rocking. The dance floor was still packed several hours later.
Edward and I were now sitting in the back of the reception hall at a table by ourselves, watching the festivities. I smiled warmly as my eyes fell upon Alice and Jasper, who were swaying gently to the music, oblivious to anything except each other. His devotion to her was obvious in the way he held her and in the way that his head would dip almost reverently in order to brush his lips across her forehead, cheeks and lips. Rose and Emmett were also dancing, though calling it 'dancing' was probably a stretch; it was more like a sexual exhibition—she was wrapped around him so tightly it looked as if they were one person. I shook my head ruefully. Some things never changed. Charlie and Renee were cutting a rug on the dance floor, which caused me to smile. I had never before seen my parents together, and happy, like that. Even Carlisle and Esme were waltzing slowly, the fact that he was dancing at all a major accomplishment.
My poor feet were killing me after all the dancing I had done in the uncomfortable strappy sandals that had a heel far higher than I was accustomed to wearing. I had kicked those shoes off as soon as we left the dance floor a few minutes ago. I moaned in appreciation when Edward pulled them up into his lap and began massaging them gently. Leaning back in my chair, I reached for my glass of wine. I took a sip and frowned when I realized the glass was now empty. I didn't remember drinking all of it.
"You want me to go get you another?" he asked, smiling.
I nodded and smiled in return.
Yes, please.
Edward relinquished my feet, and I groaned at the loss of his soothing touch. He chuckled at my obvious pouting, and I smiled sheepishly back at him.
"I'll be right back," he said, with a wink in my direction.
I guess that I was more tired—or quite possibly a bit more inebriated—than I realized. My eyes must have closed, and I must have drifted off for a few moments, because the next thing I knew, I felt Edward's hand on my shoulder. I glanced up as he placed the glass of wine on the table next to me and walked back around to stand in front of me. I removed my feet from the chair that he had vacated a few minutes earlier, expecting him to reclaim his seat, but he didn't. Instead, he remained standing front of me. He appeared a bit nervous, and I frowned up at him in question. He spent another moment deep in thought, then suddenly, his face cleared.
Before I realized what had happened, he was kneeling in front of me, staring at me intently. My heart began to pound. I searched his eyes frantically, and they softened, smiling. His hand reached into his back pocket, and when it emerged, my breath caught when I saw the little black box resting on his palm. One of my hands came up to cover my mouth in surprised shock, and tears began to pool in my eyes. The smile spread from his eyes to his mouth.
"I really wanted to wait until later to do this, but when I came back and saw you there, relaxed and so beautiful…" His sentence trailed off and he shrugged. "Well, I just couldn't wait a minute longer."
I continued to stare in shocked anticipation.
"Isabella Marie Swan…"
The tears started falling down my cheeks.
"I love you more than I ever imagined I could love anyone. You brought sunshine into my life the first time we met—even if it was under somewhat strained circumstances—and I have cherished every moment I have ever spent with you. You were my first love, and it hurt like hell when that didn't work out all those years ago. But I believe that there was a reason for that. Neither of us was ready then…"
I nodded in agreement.
"We both needed to grow and change first."
He looked at me, and I nodded again. We were so different from the young teens we had been seven years ago when we had first met. Hell, we were different people now than we had been just a year ago. We were both older, more mature.
We were both ready now.
"You have always held a special place in my heart—even when we were apart all those years ago, I never stopped thinking about you. But now… Now I know that you are the most amazing person I have ever met. You're kind and caring, you put others first and don't take things for granted anymore. You have shown me more about what it means to love someone else than I ever believed that I could possibly experience. I love you, and I will always love you. I know that we had talked about waiting until I graduated, but I don't want you to wait any longer. I've done some research, and I can do my clinical rotations anywhere in the country. After next year, when you graduate, I will go wherever you want to go…"
Edward popped the box open, revealing a beautiful solitaire diamond ring.
"Will you marry me?"
The tears were now falling freely, and I dashed at them madly. All I could do was nod. He smiled in return.
"Yes?" he asked.
I looked into his beautiful green eyes and smiled back.
"Yes," I whispered, fervently.
Edward reached for my hand and slipped the ring on my finger before leaning forward to envelop me in a hug. He squeezed me gently before moving to brush hips lips across my cheek and finally settle on my lips. I reached up and slid my fingers through the silky auburn strands of his hair. Tugging his face more closely to my own, I returned his kiss passionately, pouring all of my love into that one gesture.
When we finally broke for air, he leaned forward to whisper into my ear. "I love you, Isabella."
"I love you, too, Edward," I whispered back. "So much."
"Always…"
~/~
A/N:
: )
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, but I have had so much fun helping them along on this little journey of self-discovery.
Special thanks to my awesome betas, moonlightdreamer333 and LaraIsAwkward.
I can't believe that this little Trip has finally reached its conclusion. This is such a bittersweet moment for me… I'm torn between pride (this story is the first multi-chap that I have completed), excitement for my next projects, and sorrow—I will truly be sorry to see these guys go. In that regard… While this story is now complete, the characters still have a few things left to say. So... I have several outtakes planned, the first of which will be available in the Fics4Nashville relief effort later this week. Information regarding how you can help (and receive a compilation of stories from over 150 talented FF authors) can be found on my profile page. I have also decided that, while I have no plans for a sequel, I will be looking in on these guys at some point in the future, so I have planned a future-take (kind of like a second epi, a few more years down the line). To make sure that you get notification when these extras post, keep this story on alert, or put me on author alert.
Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, to all who have stuck with me on this one! Your reviews, comments on the discussion thread, PMs and general support mean more to me than you will ever know! I hope that I can stay in touch with each and every one of you even though this story is now done!
Last business: now that this story is over, I will be getting back to projects that have taken a back seat to this one. I also have several new fics in the works, one of which is already partially written. For anyone interested, I will be glad to share a teaser of the next new story that I plan to post, A Marriage of Inconvenience. Let me know…
Gees… who knew that signing off would be so hard. Man, it's hard to let this go... Sorry I can't shut up…
I love you all!
KL