He smiled crookedly before pressing his fingers down and starting the song I recognized as my lullaby.
"I love you too, Bella."
EPOV
AROUND THREE MONTHS LATER…
"There's one week until Christmas!" Bella said excitedly, twirling in front of me as we walked to our favorite coffee shop.
"Slow down, love, you're going to…"
"Aah!" She yelped and fell backwards into the snowdrift. I couldn't help laughing when she popped up into a sitting position almost covered in snow.
"Trip," I finished my previous statement. I pulled her out of the snow and brushed her off. "Need a kiss to make it better?" I teased her, but she stood up on her tip toes and kissed me softly with warm, smooth lips.
"All better." She grinned and took my hand as we continued walking. "It's nice out," she murmured, staring up at the snow-threatening sky. "Let's sit down for a few minutes." She pulled me down onto a bench and leaned against my shoulder. We sat in silence and watched the snow begin to stumble suicidally from the cold, unforgiving sky and blanket our shoulders.
"Okay, I could use a warm cup of coffee." I finally said after a few minutes and her faraway stare turned to my face.
"Can't stand the cold, get out of Washington." She smiled and we walked into Macy's together. The employees saw us and immediately started making our coffee. "Thanks, Angela." Bella smiled at her and took her coffee, sipping at it as I paid for our drinks. She was getting more used to my spending money on her often. We sat down across from each other in a booth and I smiled at her deviously. "Please don't ask me again." She whined, pouting at me.
"What do you want for Christmas?"
"I'm okay with you paying for my coffee, Edward, but you don't need to get me anything for Christmas. Just be with me all that day and it'll be the best Christmas ever." She smiled and blushed lightly, I felt my heart beat pick up its pace a bit.
"I can do that whole being with you all day thing," I grinned crookedly at her, "but I want to get you something for Christmas. Please?"
She sighed and looked out the window for a moment. "Edward." She said in what I thought was supposed to be a warning tone.
I leaned forward, across the table, "Bella." I tried to use the same tone as her and she looked at me. "What do you want?"
She glared at me with narrowed eyes, but I didn't back down, I actually had a hard time not laughing. "Fine," she growled, "I don't want anything specific, something from the heart, okay? I want something that doesn't cost much that you had to think about." She sat back with crossed arms, looking pleased with her request. My eyes narrowed in thought as I started thinking on what could fit that description. I already had one idea, but I would come up with more.
Bella's phone rang and she picked it up, "Hey, Alice… Are you sure that's okay?" She paused for a moment, staring at the table top. "I don't think we can really trust Emmett on that… I can't persuade him to do everything." Her brown eyes flashed up to me for a second and then back down to the table top.
"Yes, you can," I said quietly. We both knew she could. She smiled but didn't look up at me.
"Okay, Alice, we'll be there soon, bye." She hung up and looked at me for a moment. "We're going to your house." She finally said.
"What do you need to persuade me of?" We stood and she linked her arm with mine as we walked out into the light snow.
"She asked Emmett and he said it would be okay, but it's Emmett… She wants to set up a Christmas tree in your apartment and everyone will meet there for Christmas." She looked up at me expectantly. We turned and walked in the direction of her apartment, which was closer, we'd drive in my car that I'd left there.
"Why do I need to be persuaded? That sounds like fun; I'm not always the party-pooper." She laughed and shook her head.
"Not always." She raised her eyebrows a couple times before pulling me slightly faster into the parking lot. We got in my Volvo and I pulled out of my space and the parking lot.
Bella stared out the window thoughtfully and I couldn't stop glancing at her as I drove. When we got to my complex, I jumped out of the car and helped her out. We traveled through the thin layer of snow to the stairs and then I pulled Bella onto my back like I always did, carrying her up the stairs. Instead of letting her down at the top, I walked to my apartment door, let her open it, and walked in with her still on my back. I set her on the couch and sat down next to her. "Hey, guys." I said and they looked up from what they were doing to wave. Rose and Alice were gathered around a few boxes, looking through ornaments, and Jasper and Emmett were trying to get lights on the tree unsuccessfully. "I better help them." I squeezed Bella's hand and stood to help the guys get the lights on the tree. Together, Jasper and I finally got it. Emmett went to our stereo, not as big as my personal one, in the living room and turned on some Christmas music. We all sang 'Felis Navidad' loudly as we danced around and put our tree together.
While the girls and Emmett went crazy doing that, I lit a fire in the fireplace and Jasper turned on 'Scrooge' for us to watch as we worked. I helped Alice lay out bowls of Christmas polpary everywhere, Jasper and Rose put up lights on the deck outside, and Bella and Emmett were setting up little Santa Claus statues and such around the house. I'd never seen an apartment so decked out for Christmas before. It was the most fun I'd had in years. Later that evening, we all ended up on the couches, Rose and Emmett on the floor, lying with our girlfriends watching Christmas movies with a nice fire. I couldn't think of a better way to possibly spend my day. I kissed Bella's cheek and she looked up at me curiously. "I love you." I told her in a whisper and she smiled, reaching up to touch my cheek. I automatically leaned into her hand and it was a struggle keeping my eyes open.
"I love you too, Edward." I smiled crookedly and she rested her head on my chest as we continued to watch movies.
A WEEK LATER—CHRISTMAS DAY
(Still) EPOV
The door banged open and in came in Alice, Bella, Jasper, and Rosalie. "We're ready to open presents!" Alice yelled, bouncing over to the couch to sit down. Jasper sat next to her and placed an arm around her small shoulders.
"Finally you guys are here, I've been dying!" Emmett boomed and his head disappeared under the tree. Bella sat next to me on the love seat, leaning against the arm rest and kicking up her feet into my lap. I laid my hands on her legs and thought I saw her smile from the corner of my eye. I pulled her close and kissed her. "Merry Christmas," I whispered against her lips and she smiled, kissing me again.
"Merry Christmas to you as well," She pulled back into her former position but stared at me with warm brown eyes.
"Have I told you that you're beautiful today?"
"No, I just got here." She smiled and I laughed.
"This is true, well, you look exquisitely beautiful today."
She rolled her eyes but was still smiling, "You seem to come up with a new adjective to put in front of beautiful everyday…but I never get tired of hearing it."She stuck her tongue out and then sniggered quietly.
Emmett stared calling out names and throwing out gifts until everyone had one. "I call going first!" Emmett yelled, holding up his gift. "Then we can just go around the circle." That would put me at last, oh well. Emmett ripped open his gift, which he said was from Jasper, and pulled out a new wireless controller for his X-box 360. He cheered and set it down next to himself before thanking Jasper and looking expectantly at Rose who opened her gift.
"Thank you, Alice!" She said, gently placing the new high heels on the ground and hugging her friend. And we went around the circle like that. Alice got an expensive gift card to a designer store from Jasper and he got a fancy watch from Alice in return. Bella opened a little guitar kit from Jasper, complete with picks, strings, tuner, and a cloth to clean it. My turn came and I opened up the gift Emmett had given me to find a book of piano music, filled with classics. I thanked him and he passed out a new round of gifts and we went around the circle again and again until we ran out of gifts. The grand total of my gift list was:
Emmett—the piano music book
Jasper—a book he'd told me about last week that I'd shown interest in
Rose—a black button-up shirt in the fashion of my favorite dark blue shirt
Alice—new cologne that had a small note attached that said Bella would love it.
Out of curiosity, I left for my room to put away my presents, throwing a glance at Alice, who smiled and gave a small nod. As soon as my door was closed I looked at the cologne for a moment before putting on two squirts. It did smell pretty good, I hoped Bella would like it. I set down my stuff on my bed and walked back to the door. I opened it and paused, Bella's hand, which had been lifted to knock, dropped back down. "Hey," she smiled and I let her in, closing the door behind her. "Ooo…" She stepped closer and rested her head on my chest, sniffing lightly as she wrapped her arms around my waist. "You smell good." She murmured. I laughed and held her close, burying my nose in her soft mahogany hair.
"You smell pretty dang good yourself. I bet you taste good too." I chuckled and she laughed as well. "I have your gift," I walked over to the stereo, still holding her and pressed 'play.' Her lullaby came on and I felt her smile.
"Thank you," She whispered, "do I get the CD?" I nodded and she reached into her pocket. "And I have your gift; it's not a big deal, but I want you to have it anyway, because it's important to me." She pressed the gift into my hand and I looked down at it to find a guitar pick in my palm. I turned over the plain black pick in my fingers and she sighed softly, pressing her face back against my chest, "It's my first pick ever."I smiled gently and closed my fist around it, before setting it on the stereo.
"Thank you." I kissed her lightly before placing my chin on the top of her head.
"Hey, Edward," She pulled back and her eyes were glowing with excitement, "can we go to our meadow?"
I smiled, that would be perfect. Beyond perfect. "Yes, I think that's a great idea. Do you have a good warm coat on?"She nodded in answer and I took her hand in mine, leading her out of my room. "Well, it sounds like a plan to me." We told our plan to the others and they shooed us off, Alice had an excited look in her eyes and I grinned at her. I carried Bella on my back down the stairs and to the car. I got in on my side and pulled out of the lot, driving, probably like a mad man, in the direction of our meadow.
Bella laughed her musical laugh "Slow down, Edward, you're driving like we're trying to outrun a forest fire." I rolled my eyes but slowed up a bit to make her happy.
"Hey, Bella," I looked at her and she looked away from the window, at me. "I love you." I whispered and she smiled, looking at her feet.
"You say that a lot," she murmured. Her lips were turning up in a smile and I wanted to kiss her, but to save both of us, I turned my eyes on the road.
"It's the most important thing I've ever said to the most important person." I hoped that wouldn't make her withdraw at all, it was the naked truth and I wanted her to hear it. She just smiled again and I took her hand in mine, kissing the back of it. We reached our destination and I pulled over on the side of the road. I jumped out and went around the car, opening it for Bella and taking her hand again. We walked to our meadow quickly, talking about random things. I didn't even need to catch Bella; it was like she knew the exact way. We did come often enough, after our second visit, it had become an almost weekly thing, coming here.
When we arrived I took Bella's hands in mine and jokingly slow danced with her around the snow-blanketed meadow. We left huge circles of footprints and I joined Bella in laughter. She threw her head back and just laughed. I kissed her gently, she was so happy, and I was so glad I could join in something like her happiness; I never thought I'd experience something like it. I wanted to always be around to make her smile and laugh like she was now. I wanted her to always be around to make my day by just being there. I couldn't imagine life without her anymore. It wasn't natural, it was just plain wrong.
I stopped dancing and pulled her close to just sway gently in the middle of the meadow. "It's even more beautiful here then it's usually is." She whispered this in a way that it seemed like she was trying not to disturb the peace that I was feeling right now. I wondered if she felt it as well.
"Bella, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What do you want your home to be like when you're out of college? Like, do you want a house or an apartment? Country or city? Kids or no kids? Big house or little house?" I stopped to let her speak and she laughed quietly before thinking for a long moment.
"I don't know… Maybe a medium sized house kind of in the outskirts of a city. Yes, I want kids, maybe two to four, and I always want music to be in my home. It'll be against the rules to close the doors, so we can always hear the music when the kids practice. Whether it is trombone in the first year where they're just blaring, or guitar in the fifth year, or maybe singing to the radio. I always want there to be some shape or form of music." She pulled away and smiled at me, "What do you want your home to be like?"
"Well…what you described seems better than anything I could ever come up with, though there's one thing that I want to be there no matter what. The one thing that has to be constant." She looked at me curiously and I smiled. "I want you to be a part of it." She looked confused and I took a shaky breath before pulling my second gift to her out of my pocket. I knelt in front of her and one of her hands covered her mouth as her eyes grew wide. I was scared enough and her shocked expression wasn't helping me much. "Bella, I love you. I've never said anything more true than that. I want you to be home, and to be my wife. I want to wake up and see your face first thing, and I want to go to bed with your beautiful smile and eyes the last thing I see. I want to hear your voice and see you smile and laugh every day. I can't imagine not being with you. We can wait until we're out of college if you want, but, Bella, will you marry me?" I opened the small velvet box to expose the elegant golden bad and diamond, with two emeralds set on either side. She'd told me emeralds were her favorite gem, so I had the ring made specifically for her. Alice had given me a few pointers like don't get a huge diamond, when I'd asked her if I could marry Bella instead of asking her father. It had kind of become a joke between us since I'd asked her, that I'd asked Alice to 'give her away' because I couldn't ask her parents."Will you make me the happiest man ever to walk this Earth?" I just laid my heart out for her and I desperately hoped she would accept it as hers like she had everything else about me.
She knelt down in front of me in the snow and stared at me for long agonizing moments, looking between me and the ring. Then she kissed me. She kissed me like she'd never kissed me before. I wrapped my arms around her and crushed her to my chest. But I pulled away again, too quickly and looked her in the face. "Now…now would be a good time to answer," I whispered. If that was supposed to be a goodbye kiss, I wanted to know.
She smiled and murmured "Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes, I'll marry you, Edward."I grinned so big it hurt my cheeks and I took her left hand in mine, gently slipping the ring onto her finger. She stared at it while I stared at her and tears formed in the corners of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked, slightly frantic.
"Nothing, it's beautiful. I'm getting married," She whispered in awe, "I love you, Edward." Her whole face was glowing and she looked so unbelievably happy. "Wait, I told you not to spend money on your gift to me."Dang, I thought she'd forget about that…
"It's not a Christmas gift." She raised a questioning eyebrow and I thought quickly. "Happy Friday." I smiled and she laughed, and then kissed me again. I stood, pulling her up out of the snow. "Thank you," I murmured, resting my forehead on hers. "You found me." I sang softly and she smiled that beautiful, amazing smile, the smile that made me love her so much it hurt.
"On the Corner of First and Amistad."
A/N: And so it ends… So, what did you guys think? Review like crazy because with this chapter and the epilogue I REALLY want to reach 500 reviews, or at least around there. We're at 424, so go crazy; I like anonymous reviews so don't let that hold you back!! That's a lot of feedback, and advice you guys ;] How do you think I improved at all since I wrote Trust? You guys told me what to do, make the chapters longer and such! Even with 8 less chapters, Amistad is around 15 thousand words longer. Anyway, check out my new story, 'She Was A Skater Girl' has been posted. Also check out my little website for my fanfics. Thank you sooo much for reading, all of you, and I hope to post the epilogue soon!! :] Review!