Chapter 21

"How do you feel about marriage?"

Bella's brow furrows momentarily before she speaks. "What do you mean? How do I feel about it in general, or how do I feel about it personally?"

"Both, I guess," I tell her with a shrug.

She chews on her lip before answering my question with a question. "What brought this on?"

I take a deep breath and let it out. "A couple of things, I think." She moves off my lap but doesn't go far. "Do you want to get out of the water?" I ask, realizing that we're starting to prune.

She laughs lightly and nods. "Yeah, we probably should."

I stand up and grab a towel, handing it to her once she's standing. I dry myself off somewhat with the other towel before stepping out of the tub to finish the job. Once Bella gets out, she empties the tub and turns off the jets.

We leave the bathroom with our towels wrapped around our bodies, but remove them and slip under the covers of the luxury bed together. I pull her back into my arms as soon as we're lying down. I don't know what it is about the two of us, but our most important conversations seem to take place in bed … many of them while we're naked.

I start talking again, since I brought up the topic. "I guess it's just something I've been thinking about lately, and I realized that I had no idea how you felt about it. We haven't talked about the timing of trying to have a baby in a while, but it's definitely been on my mind. It's been a few months since your shot wore off, and I didn't know when you'd be ready.

"But that got me thinking about marriage. Not that we have to be married or anything. I just want to know where you stand on it." I realize I'm close to babbling so I decide to shut up for now.

"Wow," Bella starts. "I didn't realize you were thinking about that."

"Well, that's why I'm bringing it up," I say, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head.

She sighs before speaking. "I guess to answer your original question, I'm not opposed to marriage. I mean, yeah … I don't have the greatest opinion of the institution right now, but I still believe in it."

"But, you're not ready to jump right back in to it," I finish for her.

A frown appears on her beautiful face. "No, I'm probably not ready to jump back into it yet. But that doesn't mean that I won't ever be ready to trust in it again."

"Okay," I say, tightening my grip on her body. "That's all I really needed to know." At least I know where I stand now.

She surprises me with her responding question. "How about you? How do you feel about it?" I watch her expression for a moment as she bites her lip before continuing. "I mean, if that's something that you want, I don't want to be holding you back," she adds nervously.

I chuckle a little at her comment. "Bella, the only person I'd be interested in marrying is you, but I don't need a piece of paper for us to know that we're committed to each other."

I can feel the relief seep out of her as her shoulders sag, so I continue. "There are plenty of happy couples out there these days … with children … who aren't married. I don't see anything wrong with that. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be married to you some day, but honestly I just wanted to know how you felt about it."

She gives me a small smile. "Okay."

With a deep breath, I ask the next burning question. "So, do you know when you want to start trying to get pregnant?"

She smirks up at me. "Anxious, are we, Mr. Cullen?"

I laugh loudly. "Not necessarily. Just curious."

Her hands begin to roam my back, scratching lightly at my skin and causing a wonderful shiver to flow through my body. "Well, my doctor suggesting waiting until I've had three regular cycles, and I've only had two so far." Yes, I remember them well since she was extremely crampy with the first one and had no interest in being intimate during either cycle. "So, I guess we have a little more waiting to do."

"Okay." I kiss her lightly.

"Are you really okay with doing this so soon?"

"I told you that I'm committed to you, Bella. And I meant it. There's no one else that I'd rather be with, and honestly, the thought of creating a little person that's part you and part me … I really can't think of anything more wonderful than that."

Her eyes close and she smiles. "Yeah, that does sound pretty wonderful."

"Maybe we should get to practicing," I growl lowly as my hand roams down to her thigh.

I attack her neck with my lips and she squeals, but it turns into a moan as my fingers reach her center. "Yeah … practice," she says breathily.

As planned, we spend most of my birthday weekend in the cabin—in bed, or in the tub or in that fuckawesome shower. We do take a long walk along the shore and make it to the lodge for dinner, but end up ordering breakfast in our cabin the following morning. Most of our time is spent "practicing," because practice makes perfect!

At home, we spend many of our evenings on the balcony, enjoying dinner in the warmth of summer. Bella cooks amazing meals for us, and even goes back to packing leftovers for me for lunch since she has more free time. I constantly tell her that she doesn't need to do that—although I show her plenty of appreciation for it—but she insists that she enjoys taking care of me.

I don't argue.

One night in early July, we find ourselves curled up on the lounge chair, cuddling and looking at the stars. My fingers are gently running through Bella's hair when she interrupts the silence.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?" My eyes drift down to her, finding her looking up at me instead of the sky.

"I know when we moved in here, we both still needed our own space," she says softly. "But I was thinking … will you move in with me?"

My brow furrows as I contemplate her words. "We already live together and share a bed every night," I puzzle out loud.

"I know." She sighs. "I just … I don't know … want it to be more official?" she says as more of a question.

"Do you mean you want me to move all of my stuff into your room?" My cheeks begin to lift at the thought.

"Yes," she says definitively. "I want you to move your stuff into our room."

My smile could light up the night. I kiss her gently and suck her lush bottom lip into my mouth. "Consider it done," I say quietly, feeling her smile against my mouth.

Eventually, I go inside to clean up from our dinner and Bella runs off to our room. I load the dishwasher and hand wash a few items, leaving them in the drying rack to dry. Leftovers are stored in Bella-approved containers and the counters are wiped down. Once I'm satisfied that everything is as it should be, I head to the bedroom to find my girl.

"Bella?" I call out, wondering what she's been doing for the last half hour.

"In here," I hear her shout, though the sound is muffled.

I find her practically buried in a mound of clothes in her closet. The place looks like chaos, which is completely unlike her.

"What are you doing?"

"Making some room for you," she says with a shrug of her shoulder. She's sitting on the floor, attempting to fold some of the clothes that she's pulled off the hangers.

I chuckle at her exuberance. "Well, in that case …" I trail off, turning on my heel and heading for what used to be my room. I head into my closet and grab the first armful of clothes that I see, hurrying back and quickly placing the hangers in the empty space she's made. "There. Now it's 'ours.'"

She smiles up at me and I can't resist. Plopping down next to her and the pile of unfolded clothes, I thread my fingers through her hair and pull her face to me, meeting her in the middle for a searing kiss. She hums her agreement.

Before we can get too caught up, she breaks the kiss. "I wasn't sure how much room you'd need. I was thinking I could put my winter stuff in the closet in the other bedroom."

"Honestly, baby … I don't need much space. Just the fact that you asked, that you want this, is enough for me." I smile at her and peck her lips chastely. "Now, how about I help you clean up some of this mess?"

With a deep sigh, she says, "Yes, please."

We get to work folding the clothes and piling them up while my mind wanders through logistics. "You know," I start. "My armoire will probably fit against the far wall. I know it doesn't match, but this way you won't have to move too much of your stuff for me."

Looking into the bedroom, she eyes it up. "That'll work."

"Good," I tell her, standing up with an armful of folded clothes. I plop them on top of her dresser and walk back to where she's sitting. "Because right now, I'd like to make love to my girlfriend instead of moving things."

Her eyes sparkle as she looks up at me. "I think that can be arranged."

We move over to the bed and fall on it, laughing and making out like horny teenagers. Hands roam and clothes fly until we're skin to skin and tangled up together. Lying on our sides facing each other, I kiss her passionately. Our tongues touch and retreat, moving in synch with one another.

I pull back and admire Bella for a moment; her flawless skin, the curve of her nose, the fullness of her lips. When her eyes flutter open and meet mine, I whisper to her. "I love you."

The corners of her mouth turn upward, and happiness shines in her eyes. "I love you, too. So much," she tells me.

We make love slowly, enjoying every movement, every sound and every caress. I continue whispering words of adoration to her while our bodies are joined together. Our combined climax sends fireworks throughout my body, piercing my soul. I know I will love this woman forever.

Eventually sated and happy, we climb under the covers together with our fingers entwined. I'm about to drift off when I feel Bella pull away.

"I'm just going to the bathroom," she says quietly. "Go back to sleep."

I hum lazily, immediately missing her warmth, but drifting off into dreamland.

In my semi-conscious state, I feel her creep back into bed, resuming her earlier position. My arms encircle her without any thought and I pull her close.

"Edward," my foggy mind hears her say quietly. I hum with my eyes still closed. "My period just started."

Even half asleep, I register her comment. A smile takes over my face and my lips search out hers, finding them quickly. "We're gonna make a baby," I say, still smiling and squeezing her tighter.

A/N: *ducks for cover from stones being thrown at my head* I know many of you want them to get married right away. Patience, please! I promise that it will all work out, so stick with me and let me know what you thought of the chapter.

I'll apologize in advance if I don't get to every review reply this week. You know I love each and every one, and love replying, but this will be a busy week for me with end of the year school activities, plus writing 2 stories and working as a beta. I'm trying to stick to posting twice a week, which means my review reply time may be cut down in favor of writing time.

I am also participating in the Fandom For Oklahoma cause, donating my services as a beta. There are lots of wonderful authors who are writing for the cause. Please check out the website and make a donation. oklahoma . fandomcause . info/

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