Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter is ridiculously long at like 7,400 ish words. I thought about breaking it up into two chapters, but I couldn't find a good place to break. So, it's like you get two chapters in one!
It was also the most difficult chapter to write. This end result can be accredited to my beta Isabel. She practically co-wrote this with me and went over draft after draft. She does so much to help this story, even when she's scared I'll get mad and dump her. (Which will totally never happen.) So, thank you Isabel, you're the greatest.
I'd also like to thank my other beta, Elizabeth. She looks over the chapters even with her crazy work schedule and social life. She always gets back to be no matter what.
And of course thank you, readers. I love each and every one of you. You're awesome at reviewing and supporting this story!
Enjoy! :)
EPOV
I sat at the kitchen table with Jasper, talking about mutual acquaintances and who knows what else. Jacob remained brooding in the corner as Alice demurely chewed the meal she'd made for herself.
I couldn't focus on any of them. All I could think about was Bella.
Just a few moments ago, we'd all been here, Bella at my side. I'd been close enough to touch her, to wrap her in my arms and kiss her rosy lips.
And then Jacob had offered her a chance to leave the cabin-and me- behind and go home. I had tried to be unselfish and told her to do whatever she wanted. Come to think of it, maybe stupid was a better word.
I had wanted to throw her over my shoulder and lock her in my bedroom until everyone left, but I only stared into her mahogany eyes and silently begged for all I was worth.
Please, please, please, Bella, stay with me. I love you. I love you so much. Don't go.
And…she ran to the bathroom-probably because my simpering stare had caused her to puke.
So I was left in the kitchen with the three musketeers.
"So, Edward…" Alice began after she finished eating, "what have you guys been up to these past few days?"
"Just the usual cabin activities: board games, movies, the works."
She snorted obnoxiously.
"Cut the crap, Edward. You two reek of sweat and sex," she said with a knowing grin.
"Shut up, Alice," I hissed coldly, acutely aware that everyone in the room was actively listening.
"You've just been doing the nasty this whole time, nonstop, I bet," Alice went on, choosing to ignore me in her excitement to tease. "Sheesh. Bella must be so worn out. You know she's never-"
"I said 'shut up', Alice!" My tone that made it clear I would not tolerate any more. We glared at each other for a moment before she backed off. This was a good move on her part considering I was at the end of my rope.
She had interrupted at the exact moment I was about to profess my love to Bella, not to mention it was her fault Jacob was even here in the first place. And she just had to bring up Tanya in front of Bella.
"Fine. Fine. No more talking about you and your lovely Bella. Have it your way," she sighed, always needing to have the last word.
I was just picturing myself strangling her skinny neck when I became aware Jacob's venomous stare trying to burn holes into my head.
I couldn't believe this asshole. He just waltzed in here, acting like he had some sort of claim on Bella, touting his fake stories of chivalrous rescue and righteous grudges, trying to win Bella over by acting the good guy, but I knew his game. I am a man after all.
God, the way he looked at her…It made me bloodthirsty.
I couldn't understand the emotion that stirred inside of me when I saw them together. It was such a tangle of pain and rage and desire and despair. I had never felt it before; I couldn't put a name to it.
It took of few minutes of pensive thought before I could finally put my finger on it.
I was jealous.
I hated him even more than I had before. I glared at him with a deep hatred and he leveled his own glare right back at me. Alice and Jasper were laughing to themselves next to us.
I finally looked away in annoyance and groaned loudly, wishing everyone would just haul ass back out the door and leave me alone with Bella again, the way we were before all of the chaos.
Our perfect snow globe had been shaken up too vigorously. So quickly, everything was spiraling out of control. Out of my control.
I suddenly remembered going to Las Vegas with my family when I was ten. We saw all the sites- MGM resort, Cirque de Solei, and Sigfried and Roy. However, the thing that stuck in my head the most was Hoover Dam.
It completely awed me that one wall could weather all of that water. I always wondered what it would take to make the wall crumble. Would there have to be a massive flood? Or could a single drop of water bring it to its breaking point?
I now respected its strength more than ever. I was being forced to withstand so much that I felt my control leaking through the cracks, drip by drip.
Ever since I'd opened the front door, my discipline had begun to slip. I had always prided myself on my restraint and composure. I'd spent my whole life building up that wall, but now it was all falling apart.
Each time Jacob looked at Bella with that intense longing, a drip seeped through the cracks of the dam I'd spent so many years building up. Drip.
Her beautiful eyes had looked up at me, unsure and worried. Drip.
When I'd asked her whether she wanted to stay with me or leave, she ran away. Drip. Drip.
My sister talking about me having sex. Drip.
How did I let it get to this point? I should have just told her I love her the instant I realized it. I hated myself for being too afraid to let her know. Drip. Drip.
Maybe then she would be in the kitchen with me, telling our intruders to get the hell out, instead of hiding in the bathroom.
I was just wishing that she would come out already when she silently walked into the kitchen and asked to talk to me. Her eyes never left the floor so I couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling.
Her behavior gave me the worst feeling. I felt like I was about to be sentenced to the worst pain imaginable. Even on the short walk to the living room, I felt like a dead man walking, the couch like an electric chair.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
She sat next to me, looking as beautiful as ever. She was sitting so close that I could feel the electricity humming between us, but far away enough that I could tell something was off. As we sat in complete reticence, I tried to figure out what it was.
She started talking, but refused to make eye contact with me. Her gentle voice started telling me how much she had enjoyed the past few days. It didn't escape my notice that she was speaking in past tense. She thought our days together were already over.
Drip. Drip.
I agreed with her. Honestly, my time with her was unforgettable, the best days of my life. She was everything I was looking for and more. I almost told her in that instant. I even drew breath to do so, but she started talking first.
"I think…I should leave," she told me, looking away hurriedly.
Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip.
I was stunned. I thought she would at least skirt around the issue or talk about it a little, but it seemed that she had already made her decision.
I don't even know what I said in response to her. It felt like my entire brain was shutting down, only replaying the same message over and over.
Bella wants to leave. Bella wants to leave. Bella wants to leave.
I heard her continuing to speak. Yet I only heard bits and pieces of what she said and what I said in reply.
She didn't want to leave, but she didn't see a reason to stay.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"What about me? I'm not a reason to stay?" I wanted to shout. But I didn't. Instead, I hid like a coward behind my façade of indifference as my heart started breaking so hard, I was sure it was audible.
I didn't want her to know that she was ripping my heart out of my chest. I didn't want her to know that I was close to yelling or crying. I didn't want her to know that I was a minute away from throwing myself at her feet and begging her to stay.
I had to maintain some semblance of pride as she sat there and rejected me. The experience was degrading enough to begin with.
So I acted like I didn't care because she obviously didn't. I mean, she was throwing away everything I had given her- the passion, the honesty, the love- things I had never given to anyone but her. She wanted none of it. And that launched me into anger.
"So you're going to leave," I asked for confirmation. "You're going to walk out that door and go straight to Arizona."
"Pretty much, I guess," she said in a little voice. Drip. Drip. Drip.
"And these past few days were just what?" I demanded viciously.
Finally, her eyes met mine in surprise.
"Excuse me?"
"These past few days, what were they to you? A fling? A mistake? A fun time?"
She stared at me for a few moments. She didn't understand what I was getting at. Drip.
"I just wanted to know what our time together meant to you because I seem to be misinterpreting things lately. I simply want to know how you will look back on them so that I can adjust my memories accordingly," I elaborated.
I needed to know because I was going try my hardest not to look back on my memories and think of them as the days I had been with the love of my life if she hadn't felt any of it. It would hurt too much.
Her actions were beginning to make me think I had only imagined that special light she would get in her eyes when she looked at me, that the zing of electricity I felt whenever we touched was pretended. I needed to know if she felt it too. Maybe she was just leaving because she was just as scared as I was.
Suddenly, she turned on me, snarling-seriously snarling- at me not to be an asshole. I didn't know what she was talking about.
"How dare you insinuate that our time together is meaningless to me? How can you even think that?" she asked.
Wait, what? A glimmer of hope sparked within me. But I couldn't figure out why she was getting mad at me. I was giving her what she wanted! She wished to walk away from me. Who was I to stop her?
"Isn't it true?" I said instead. I struggled to keep my tone emotionless though I was anything but. I'd never felt so many emotions in my life- and all at once!
"No!" she yelled. "Why would you even say that?"
"I suppose for the same reason you're about to walk out that door," I replied coolly.
"And what reason is that?" she snapped.
"Hell if I know! Why don't you tell me?" I shouted desperately.
Do you not love me the way I love you? Does your heart not feel like lead right now? Why are you doing this to us?
"Because it's better this way," she said in a crushed voice. I barely recognized her without her perpetual happiness. Drip.
My arms started reaching out to comfort her before I stopped them. She didn't want my comfort or me. She'd made that all too clear. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. My dam was becoming weaker by the second.
She said she didn't think we could work- that it was out of the question because of all the impracticalities. And Bella was nothing if not practical. Drip. Drip. Drip.
I knew I was keeping up a conversation with her, but I barely registered the words that were leaving my mouth.
I was too busy trying to think up a reason for her to stay or rather come with me.
Before I knew what was happening, before I could even start to formulate a game plan, she stood up and called for Alice.
Alice tip toed carefully into the room followed closely behind by a sympathetic looking Jasper and a fed up Jacob.
Trickle. Trickle. Trickle. Trickle.
The drips had stopped. They'd been replaced with small streams leaking through the cracks in my mortar. I could no longer find the strength to keep all of my thoughts and emotions bottled up any longer.
The trickles of feeling began growing bigger and bigger until the bricks of my dam started to deteriorate.
I had heard about moments that changed your life, seen stories on the news, read about them in books, but I'd never experienced one myself.
That was until Bella grabbed Alice's hand and began to walk away. Nothing had ever terrified me so much in my life.
I suddenly realized that everything I'd believed in prior to meeting Bella was complete bull. I had always felt the need to have a dam in order to keep my emotions in check, to exert control on all aspects on my life, even those I could never manipulate, like love and loss. Especially those two at the moment.
At once, I felt like I had been submerged in water and had risen a new man. Through my self "induced baptism, I could finally see how useless controlling everything in my life was.
So I stopped trying to keep my dam in place. I let the water flow out as it wanted and became a new person, one who wasn't afraid to take risks and leave things up to chance.
I was ready to man up.
"Are you sure, Bella?" I called after her, forcing myself to stand up on my quivering legs. I was somewhat surprised my voice still sounded the same since I felt completely different. I gazed at her over the back of the couch. She couldn't have been farther than ten feet away from me, but at that moment it felt like miles.
Everyone turned to gawk at me. My new sense of bravery faltered for a moment, replaced by unparalleled nervousness, but I knew I had to go onward.
"B-Because I think we could make it work," I stuttered. My tongue felt like it weighed a million pounds behind my numb lips.
My sister gaped at me in blatant shock. She'd never seen me doing anything like this, not her quiet, tame, lonely brother. I'd never even brought a girl home for dinner.
"Edward, there are too many obstacles in our way for it to possibly work. Why try?" Bella said.
I almost backed down, except…
Except I could hear the sadness in her voice as she spoke and see the heartbreak in her watery eyes as she turned to leave.
So, I inhaled to do what I had never done before, especially with an audience, something that scared the hell out of me, but something that needed to be done, something that should have been done a long time ago.
I would do it for Bella, to keep her.
I let my dam fall to pieces.
"Because I'm in love with you!" I blurted in declaration, the water of my dam flowing freely through its former barriers.
The entire room froze. Bella slowly turned back toward me, her tears-like the water from my dam- flowing unhindered.
Alice remained at Bella's side, staring at me, a stunned statue, before she slumped against Bella and breathed, "Damn, I'm good."
I was briefly distracted as Jasper laughed from the other side of the room and came to pick her up off the floor where she'd fallen. "Up you go," he said softly. Alice came to and righted herself before turning to look at each person in the room authoritatively.
"Everyone out!" she yelled, being helpful for once. Jacob and Jasper shuffled out behind her regretfully. I was sure they wanted to stay and watch what was about to unfold, but I didn't really want spectators- especially if Bella was going to shut me down.
I turned back to look at Bella, wondering if she could hear the thunderous booming of my heart or my erratic panting. I felt like I'd just run twenty miles. My insides were collapsing from anxiety.
I searched every inch of her, trying to uncover her feelings.
Her cheeks were furiously pink, and her eyes couldn't get any wider beneath her furrowed brows. Her mouth was stuck in a position that made it look like she was about to say something, but she didn't. The only mobile part of her was her tears than continued to stream down her face and her slightly trembling bottom lip. The rest of her didn't move at all, not even to breathe.
Maybe you gave her a heart attack. Wouldn't that just be perfect? Death by "I love you."
I was vacillating between staying and being strong and running away for all I was worth. Then Bella's legs began to move slowly toward me like she was sleep walking. She seemed barely aware that she was moving. Her watery eyes never left mine.
When she came to stand directly in front of me, I began to feel awkward, like I should say something.
"Bella, I-"
Without warning, she jumped on me. Her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms enveloped my head as her mouth savagely attacked mine. We crashed back onto the couch clumsily.
I stroked her face tentatively as she continued to ravish me. Her tears had stopped, thank God. If there was one thing I never wanted to see it was a crying Bella.
My hands gripped her body to me as closely as I could, my fingers using all of their strength. I needed her to be as near to me as possible. It felt so good after almost losing her that I moaned loudly into her mouth, fanning her fire as I continued to kiss her for all I was worth.
After a few intense moments, she gently pulled away to look at me.
"You love me?" she said so softly, I had to read her red lips to understand what she was saying. I was so out of breath, I could only nod dumbly. "Say it again?"
The longing in her voice made me feel like I could jump over the moon. How could I say no?
Looking deeply into her chocolate eyes, I said, "Bella Swan, I'm in love with you. I think I have been since the minute I met you. I've never loved anyone the way I love you."
She reached back up to kiss me so hard that it almost hurt, but I barely registered it through my rapture. Her fiery lips trailed along my jaw to my ear.
"I love you too," she whispered and it sounded like she was crying again. Those exquisite words combined with the sensation of her hot breath caused me to visibly shiver. "I love you so much."
This time, I attacked Bella. I'd never thought words could sound so great, but when Bella told me she loved me, my entire body thrilled.
I could feel her lips smiling under mine and I couldn't help but laugh. I felt light-headed with happiness. Being in love was like the best drug in the world.
When I could feel her gasping, I regretfully let her up for air, but continued running my hands up and down her back. I was unable to relinquish physical contact. Bella was magnetic, her touch addictive.
She traced her fingertips along my face as if memorizing it.
I thought dreamily about the fact that it was in this very area that we had first kissed, first made love. This was where we'd first consummated the greatest passion I would ever know. I now realized it had been love- fantastic, passionate love-even back then, even when I was too blind to recognize it. What had I ever done to deserve such a gift?
I looked down at Bella to share my thoughts, but I noticed her face had become troubled.
"Edward. I love you, but if we leave together-"
I quickly pulled her into a sitting position on my lap and covered her mouth with my hand, my other arm cradling her to me. I knew her well enough to know what was coming. I wasn't going to let her try and sabotage us again before we even had a chance to try. Not again.
I said hurriedly, "Shush. Wait. Let me say something first. Then you can talk."
She nodded her acquiescence. I stared into her quizzical eyes and took a few calming breaths.
"I know that it seems like there are a hundred reasons for us to just go our separate ways, but I can think of a million reasons for us to stay together. And I know that would be impractical, but, Bella, love isn't practical. It doesn't always come in convenient little packages. It's not always easy, but I'm willing to fight for us."
I needed a concrete reason, I realized. A reason to convince her to come with me. I needed to appeal to Bella's practical side. My hand still over her mouth, I went on, thinking a mile a minute.
"I think you should move to Seattle and live with me. You wouldn't have to worry about paying rent anymore. I have a pretty big apartment. It wouldn't be too crowded. My office is just down the street and everything." I was speaking rapidly to keep up with my thoughts, and I didn't want to give her time to find a flaw in my improvised plan. "And…you'll need a job…"
I was wishing I'd thought everything out earlier, but it wasn't like I'd really gotten a heads up.
"You can…you can come and work with me," I said triumphantly, wondering why I hadn't thought of it before. "I need a receptionist, and you can do that until you find something else. And, hey, you could work on your writing in your down time. That'd be perfect right? You could get published!"
I was on a roll. It was amazing how many things I had been containing within myself. I hadn't realized the sheer volume of all of it until now.
"You'd be closer to your father too. I'm sure he'd love to be able to see you more often."
I wasn't certain what else I could say to convince her to come with me.
"I just love you so much, Bella, that I'm willing to do anything to keep you," I whispered, resting my forehead on hers and removing my hand from her mouth to caress her cheek, eliciting the powerful surge of chemistry I'd never experienced with anyone but her. I couldn't believe just a few minutes ago that I'd thought it didn't really exist. It was very present. "Can't you feel that? It's so powerful. I can't afford to lose it."
I quit talking and looked at my hand. It felt a little wet and I looked up to see that Bella had started crying again.
"You want me to come with you?" she sobbed through her watery smile. "Even after my little crazy-attack earlier when I tried to leave you? Even thought it's starting to look like I can't control my tears? You should know that my crazy and crying comes with the package,"
"I need you, like air and water. With the crazy, the crying, and everything," I told her and then started to laugh a little, "God, you were scaring the shit out of me with all that talk, Bella! Saying you were going to leave…I hadn't been that scared since…well that night we first met."
She laughed gently. It was the sweetest sound - a medley of relief and happiness.
"I'm sorry I said all of those things to you… I just thought I was going to lose you no matter what. I panicked and started spouting all of these horrible scenarios in my head, each possible way our relationship could go wrong. I didn't even know if we had a relationship. I didn't know if you wanted that. I…I didn't know that you love me," murmured with a lovely blush. "I was scared too…. And like I said…crazy."
I couldn't believe she was afraid just like I was-Bella, the woman who had held me at knifepoint and propositioned me on a Twister mat.
"I should have told you," I assured her. "I should never have given you a reason to doubt my feelings for you."
"No, I should have summed up the courage to ask instead of jumping to conclusions. I was being an idiot and not communicating like an adult."
"Hey," I held up my hand to quiet her. "We were both being stupid, but that's over. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm not going anywhere. So you might as well get used to looking at this face."
Bella looked into my eyes and smiled enormously.
"If you can handle my crazy, I can definitely handle that," She jumped up to place a cute kiss on my nose and giggled. I couldn't help but join in.
We collapsed into a fit of hysterical laughter. Now this was more like it. The two of us, smiling and happy.
"You really want me to move in and work for you? Seriously?" she asked incredulously.
"Absolutely. I can't think of anything I want more."
"But won't it look bad, you just hiring me because I'm your girlfriend?"
Girlfriend. I loved the sound of that.
"No. No one will care. I'm sure you're all too qualified to do the job. And besides…" I trailed off with a insinuative grin, "I've always wanted a sexy receptionist."
"Well, it had better be me then," Bella said in a jokingly stern voice. We sat in silence for a few moments, just holding each other.
When I looked down, I saw Bella frowning and biting her lip. She looked up at me from under her eyelashes and said, "Hey…what was that Alice said in the kitchen about someone named Tanya?"
Oh shit.
"This is going to sound far fetched, but Tanya is no one. Seriously. I told you I've never had anything close to a girlfriend, and I was telling the truth."
"Well then why did Alice mention her in the first place?" she wanted to know.
"I have no idea. I think she was trying to get a rise out of me so that I'd confess myself to you sooner." Bella still didn't look convinced. "Tanya is just a family friend that recently moved to Seattle. She expressed a little interest. I let her know, in a very gentlemanly fashion, that I did not return that interest. End of story. And you know what? I prefer brunettes anyway," I grinned, pushing back a lock of her silky hair so I could nuzzle behind her ear.
"She's a blonde. That figures." She sounded petulant.
I was enjoying this more than I should.
"Strawberry blonde-not at all my type. In fact, you're the only person in the world that's my type."
"I guess that's okay then," she conceded.
"Hmm," I said, deciding to tease her just a bit more. I ran my hands along her thighs and sides suggestively. I extensively liked this side of Bella. "You're quite adorable when you're jealous. It's surprisingly enjoyable."
"Humph," she grunted. I was amused that I was not the only one who was experiencing jealousy today. "Fine. I believe you."
"So you're really going to do it?" I prodded, unable to contain my hopefulness that my fantasies of having Bella in my life might come true. "You're going to come with me?"
"I…What about Alice?"
"Alice is a big girl. And considering the circumstances, I think she would be more than supportive," I said firmly. "I mean, it sounds crazy for me to just ask you to pick up your life and come with me, but…I can't imagine living any other way, Bella. What would I ever do without you? I feel this option is the most reasonable. I can't leave my office and I absolutely won't leave you. If you don't think-"
Bella pulled my head down aggressively so she could once again kiss me.
"Stop. I want to go with you," she mumbled, refusing to let her mouth leave mine. "You didn't have to convince me, you know."
Uh…what? My brain was too fatigued to figure things out. Bella pressing herself up against me didn't help either.
"I'd go with you even if you wanted us to live in a cardboard box in the arctic, as long as you wanted me. I don't care about anything else but you, Edward. I love you," she breathed and kissed me gently.
I wrapped my arms around her body and relished the feel of her curves pressing into me so insistently
She kept whispering "I love you" over and over as she kissed me, and I joined in. It was so liberating to be able to say it as much as I wanted after holding it back for so long. Our words became unintelligible as we started to run out of breath. It sounded like we were saying "la luh loo".
We broke apart laughing out of sheer joy and giddiness.
Then what Bella said finally sunk in.
"Wait a minute. What do you mean I didn't have to convince you?" I asked indignantly. "Then why did you sit there and let me go on and on?"
"Well…" she said looking embarrassed, "It was kind of nice to hear. I hadn't expected you to think out an entire plan. It was impressive in its thoroughness. You thought of everything!"
"You're awful," I told her, trying to look upset, but I just couldn't. I'd never been so blissful. I was also slyly relieved that Bella hadn't realized how spur-of-the-moment my plan had actually been. She thought it had been impressive.
"You love me," she reminded me, sweetly running her fingers through my hair.
I leaned into her caress.
"You love me," she repeated to herself.
"Truly I do."
Would I ever get tired of saying it? Maybe I could invent new ways to say it. I adore you. You complete me. You have my heart. I looked forward to having time to think up more phrases, but not as much as I was looking forward to having Bella to say them to.
"You know, Bella," I said, remembering my train of thought from earlier, "It was this very spot where we first kissed and made love. And now it'll be the first place we said 'I love you.'"
Bella cuddled into my shoulder and sighed happily, "That's beautiful, Edward."
"Yes, it is," I agreed, not caring how mushy I was becoming.
"Edward…this whole moving in with you thing…I'm a little intimidated. I've never done anything remotely close to that level."
"Me either." I'd never shared more than a night with a woman, but here I was asking Bella to share my life. And I remembered that Bella was just as inexperienced as I was when it came to matters of the heart as well as relationships. I had even been her first lover.
"But really, I'm more excited than anything. I feel like I've just been given everything I've ever wanted," Bella smiled exuberantly.
"Me too," I said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
"Me three," Alice chirped as everyone else rejoined us. No doubt they had been listening in on our conversation, waiting for a moment to intervene. "This is fabulous. You guys are fabulous. I'm fabulous. Everything is just fabulous, thanks to me."
I wasn't one for stroking Alice's already enormous ego, but she had definitely earned it.
"Thank you, Alice. You're amazing," I said sincerely, putting my arm around Bella and pressing my lips to her cheek. It was our first public display of affection. I was somewhat surprised Alice didn't whip out a camera or something.
"Anytime, anytime. It's what I do," she said complacently. "Now, let's get you two packed up and on a plane so you can start your journey of love as soon as possible! Do you guys want to leave tonight or tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," I said so fast that it was embarrassing. Bella giggled and rubbed my chest fondly. I took this to mean she also wanted to stay another night.
My sister and Jasper retreated into the bedrooms to help us pack things up. We stood up to follow them, hand in hand, but Jacob caught Bella by the arm.
I almost backhanded him across the room for touching her. However, when I looked him in the face, I could see that his expression was nothing but contriteness and puppy dog eyes.
"Bella," he said, "Look, I didn't mean to barge in here and mess things up for you two. I was just trying to help. I didn't want you to be hurt."
He looked at me.
"Really, I'm sorry, man. After hearing what you said to Bella…I guess you're not so bad. And if Bella likes you…I guess I do also. Congrats, you two."
"Jacob, thank you," I said as I shook his hand, and Bella beamed at him. I notice with no small amount of pride that she'd never looked so cheerful. "I probably would have done the same thing. It's nice to know Bella has someone looking out for her."
He nodded appreciatively at me. "I'm gonna head out. If you guys need anything once you get to the airport, just give me a call."
"We'll certainly do that," I said, proud that I was being so civil. Bella stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, Jacob," she whispered. I noticed his bashful smile and reddening face.
I would have thrown a fit if I hadn't been so sure of her affections for me.
With that he walked out the door with a wave in our direction.
As I walked Bella into the room she'd been staying in, Alice was furiously folding clothes and stuffing them into suitcases as Jasper booked airline tickets over the phone.
"Phoenix. Yes. Yes. It doesn't matter. And one for Seattle. Yes. Okay."
He took out his credit card and started reading the numbers.
I stopped right before the doorway.
"We're really doing this aren't we?" I asked her excitedly. It almost seemed too good to be true. Bella tugged on my hand so that I would look at her. She looked so radiant. And she was all mine.
"We sure are," she said pulling me into a tight hug, speaking into my chest. "As soon as I get everything in order in Arizona, I'm flying straight to you."
Jasper came over to us then and told us that our flights were scheduled to leave late the next morning.
"We're heading back to Phoenix tonight, though," he informed us. "And we have to leave now if we're going to catch our flight."
He wasn't joking. We barely had time to exchange good-byes as they hustled out the door.
"We'll see you two later. By all means, try to find something to do so you won't get too bored," Alice couldn't help but leer as she winked and closed the door behind her.
If I didn't love her so much, I probably would have slammed the door in her impertinent little face. As it was, she was my best friend and only sister; so she got off easy. We watched them drive away for a few minutes.
Bella let out an exasperated sigh from the window. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question.
"Ugh," she groaned, "I'm so bored already."
This is why I love her.
"Well, Bella, what would you like to do?" I asked innocently. "We could go back to the library, finish our movie, or make s'mores…"
She seemed to mull it over for a few moments.
"Hmm," she tapped her chin in thought. "The s'mores do sound good, but I was thinking of something more along the lines of you taking me back to your bed and showing me just how sturdy the box springs really are."
Done and done. I bent down, and lifted her to me. She wrapped her legs tightly around my body, and I carried her to my darkened room. Her eyes bore into mine with deep seriousness and with that the moment instantly shifted. The heat of our lust set us ablaze, but at the same time, the seriousness of the moment weighed down on us.
This would truly be making love.
I sat her down carefully on the edge of the bed, her legs still wrapped around me, and brushed her hair back from her face so I could look at her fully.
Bella smoldered up at me, her breaths becoming deeper.
She moved to kiss me. It was gentle and impassioned at the same time, the very essence of our physical relationship. I matched her kiss to show her that I understood. We needed each other desperately, but this would be tender to reflect our newly affirmed love.
Bella's hand slowly eased off my shirt as I removed my shoes and then hers. Her slim fingers daintily traced the patterns of my stomach, and she brushed her nose along my chest and collarbone.
Needing to be close to her, I lifted her shirt off of her and bent to nuzzle the valley between her breasts, one of the places where her scent was strongest. Inhaling deeply, I brought my hand up to massage her left breast. Because of my close proximity, I could feel her breathy mewls reverberating from her chest.
One strap of her bra fell to the side, and I leaned up to taste her bare shoulder. I licked her delicious skin before pulling back to lightly blow on it.
Bella shivered and grabbed my hips, forcing me closer to her. Her hot little mouth sucked eagerly on the skin of my neck.
My arousal was starting to consume me. I grabbed Bella's hands and guided them to the button fly of my jeans. Knowing what I wanted, she ripped the buttons apart and ridded me of the rest of my clothing. To get things evened up I undid her jeans and hooked my fingers under them and her underwear as I tugged them down inch by inch, slowly, torturously.
Bella grew delightfully impatient, shedding her bra as I purposely worked at a sluggish pace just to tease her. I looked up to see her roll her eyes at me as I finally discarded the last of her clothes.
I took a moment to fully appreciate her in disrobed form before recapturing her lips. She moaned into my mouth before breaking away to point to my suitcase. She didn't want to wait anymore, and I was right there with her.
As I searched my luggage for protection, Bella moved to lie in the middle of the bed. I was momentarily distracted at the sight of her laid out for me. When she caught me staring intensely, she moved restlessly, starting to rub her legs together in search of relief. One of her hands lowered to stroke her bundle of nerves as the other roughly massaged her breast. She returned my stare with equal intensity, biting down hard on her luscious lower lip as she touched herself.
Fuck.
If I didn't hurry, she was going to finish without me. I hastily rolled on the condom and climbed into bed with her. But instead of joining her, I sat Indian-style with my back against the headboard.
"What are you doing?" she rasped.
"Come here," I said simply and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to straddle my lap. "Like this."
Her eyes widened with understanding, and she adjusted herself closer to me.
"Make love to me, Edward," she whispered.
My mouth sought hers hungrily while I guided her onto me. I rubbed myself against her for a moment before entering. She let out a satisfied sigh as took me all the way in.
I flattened my palms against her shoulder blades and pulled her nearer. She wrapped her arms around my neck. Then, ever so gently, we began to rock.
I'd never tried this position before, but it seemed befitting for our new relationship. It provided almost overwhelming intimacy because we were so close to each other while also affording sensual intensity. Since we were so tangled, I couldn't completely pull out of Bella. We were continuously joined. The stimulation never ceased for either of us.
"Bella," I moaned as she pulled my hair. I never knew pain could be so pleasurable.
I returned the favor by sliding my hand around to roughly pinch her nipple. Her head fell to my shoulder as she quietly whimpered and began to move with more intent.
I began rocking into her at a more accelerated rate, and Bella responded, meeting my tempo with even more impassioned fervor.
"Harder," she choked, digging her short nails into my back, "I need it harder, Eeeed-waaarrrd. Mmm. Give it to me."
God, the things that come out of her gorgeous mouth.
I was getting dangerously close, and I reached down to massage her clit only to find that her fingers were already there, working vigorously.
"Allow me," I murmured.
She obligingly took her hand away. I quickly replaced it with mine, using all of my fingers to pleasure her. I flicked and rubbed and tugged the way I knew she liked it.
I did this as I continued to rock into her with all of my energy. I would have been worried that I was hurting her except Bella was attacking me with just as much fervor.
"Oh, oh, oh God," she moaned. "I-Ungh! Edward! EDWARD! GOD! YES!"
Suddenly, she dramatically arched her back and froze as her inner muscles went crazy in culmination. Her head fell back as her jaw opened in a silent scream.
I watched her orgasm as I continued to thrust into her frantically.
"Edward," she whispered, grasping at my shoulders. "I-I-I-again. Ohhhhh. Eeedwaaard!"
When she came for the second time, I went with her, experiencing my most powerful climax yet.
"BELLAAAA! FUCK! YES! YES! UHHH YES!" I roared, burying my face in her neck. Stars were clouding my vision, and it felt like my lungs had quit. I didn't realize how violently I was shaking until I reached for Bella's hand.
As we recovered, we leaned on each other out of exhaustion, our breathing wild, our bodies drenched in sweat.
"I love you," she breathed.
"I love you too," I answered.
I gingerly lifted Bella off of me and laid her on the fluffiest pillow, pulling the cover over her as I got up to go to the restroom and get cleaned up so she wouldn't get cold.
When I turned on the light, I heard Bella snickering behind me.
"What?" I said groggily, turning around.
"I love watching you walk around naked," she smirked brazenly, but her blush gave away her embarrassment at being caught. "Your butt is flawless."
I bounded back into bed with her and crawled under the covers, unable to stay away another moment.
"Luckily for you, we're moving in together. You get to see it every day, as often as you like," I promised her happily.
"I can't wait," she said, snuggling into my side.
I looked down at her. She was simply glowing. The extreme emotion that ripped through my heart from just looking at her staggered me. I loved her so much more than I could describe. I hugged her closer, kissed cheek, and rested my head next to hers.
"Me either," I told her.
And we both fell asleep, happy, in love, and eager to start our new life.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading!!! Don't forget to review! There are only about two chapters left!
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Just out of curiosity- do I have any male readers or readers outside of the US?
Oh, and that position is a variation of the lotus, just in case you were wondering ;)