Chapter 27: Another decision made…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight related…
"I wonder if Cary Grant actually filmed that scene or if it was a body double," Edward mused, puffing on a cigarette.
"Good question; I bet that Eva St. Marie did her own stunts," I replied looking over the edge of Mt. Rushmore, thinking of North by Northwest.
We had arrived last night, having stayed in Yellowstone for extra day. After the drive from Arizona to Wyoming gave me a touch of heat stroke, Edward suggested that we take an extra day at Yellowstone before attempting another long drive.
During my planning, I hadn't taken into account how bad the heat would get. San Francisco's mild climate spoiled me and the drive we had up here left me dehydrated and hot. Edward hadn't been as affected as me due to his army training.
The change got us off schedule by a couple of days but we didn't care. There were no deadlines, no social obligations, no work responsibilities. I was as free as a bird for the first time in a long time and it felt wonderful.
Edward looked better too. He was still having night terrors but nothing as bad as that first night. He looked happy, having lost the haunted look he carried with him.
We had a blast in Yellowstone. And after I recovered from my sickness, Edward took me hiking around the park. Turned out he came here with his family when he was a kid and again in prep school with his buddies. After we made the mandatory stop to see Old Faithful, he took me to see the other wonders.
Other than Old Faithful, I had no idea what else Yellowstone offered. For instance, I had no idea that this park was one of the most biodiverse and untouched areas in North America. And it was home to a lot of natural hot springs. I could see why Edward wanted to know if I had a swimsuit with me.
He convinced me to go swimming in one of them during our stay. It was like a taking a warm bath. A forbidden warm bath since the springs weren't technically open for another month.
That was one of the things I liked most about Edward. After my divorce was final, I was convinced my flirtation with rebellion was over, but Edward brought me out of my shell. He reminded me it was okay to lighten up. Without him I wouldn't have appreciated all the small things we had done on the trip.
I had been sad to say goodbye to Yellowstone. Coming to Mt. Rushmore meant that our trip was halfway over. I didn't want to think about the end of this trip and saying goodbye to Edward. If you had told me when I agreed to take Edward with me that I was going to miss him, I would have called you a liar.
We didn't bring up anything romantic since the Grand Crayon. The temptation was there. Especially when we were camping and swimming the springs. The weather had been beautiful, the skies clear at night. It was hard to imagine a more romantic scenario.
I started to wonder what it would be like to have sex with Edward. Seeing him in his swim trunks took me to another level of lust. He had a beautiful body, chiseled abs, but also lean. It wasn't the toned body young men had; his time in the army had given him a more rugged look and muscle definition.
There were several scars along his torso that I couldn't quite make out. Edward caught me looking and that seemed to upset him, so I ignored it after that. Given his reaction, I assumed it was something from Vietnam so I refused to ask.
We had an unspoken agreement, if we wanted the other person to know, we'd tell them. There were some things that couldn't be rushed.
Since we arrived last night, we put off Mt. Rushmore until the morning. While the camping had been fun at Yellowstone, I was desperate for a real shower so we opted for a Motel 6 by the park to get some sleep. As Rose used to remind me, it was getting there that mattered, not the speed you do it.
I called my parents and Vanessa when we got to the hotel. I hadn't spoken to them in a few days. My father had insisted I call collect if I ran out of quarters. I giggled thinking back to that first night in Vegas when I got lucky at the slots and all those coins popped out. Quarters would not be a problem for the immediate future.
Now Edward and I were looking at the Black Hills together. Edward was snapping away at everything he could with his new camera. I had been right about his talent; he had gotten his film developed and the photos were spectacular.
He had a gift and I was anxious to see what Nessie thought. I hoped that my package of some of his pictures I sent had arrived.
"Hungry?" he asked after we finished touring the sculptures.
I nodded thinking that a sandwich would be hit the spot. We agreed that the cafeteria was the best place to eat. It was surrounded by glass windows giving us an amazing view of the Black Hills.
Since it was just after 2:00 pm we missed most of the young families. They were out looking at the views, so Edward and I had the café to ourselves. I grabbed a chicken sandwich with their soup of the day and a coke. Edward seemed the have the same idea as me, except he grabbed a ham sandwich.
"So Chicago tomorrow?" he asked as we settled down at table by the window.
"Yeah, if we leave early enough we should make it there by the afternoon," I answered, putting a straw in the can.
We ate in silence, something we had grown comfortable doing. Now that we seemed to be passed that initial awkward phase in Vegas, we didn't feel the need to talk all the time.
Edward looked at me for a few more minutes and then said, "You know we have a standing date in Chicago."
I blushed thinking back to our dinner in the Grand Canyon. "That's right. We don't have to.."
"I want to," he interrupted. "I really want to Bella."
"Are you sure? Because I won't be offended if you're having second thoughts," I said slowly, my heart beating faster.
"Are you have second thoughts?" Edward countered, "Because I can see where you might not want to go out with a broken down vet."
"As opposed to you going with a frigid divorcee?" I joked back to him.
Edward snorted. "You're a divorcee but I highly doubt you're frigid."
I laughed as he blushed when he realized his own words. "Fair enough. Anything you want to do?"
"I got a few ideas. Just leave it to me. One thing, when do you have to be in New York?"
"There's nothing written stone. I planned to be there by mid-July. Why?"
"I was wondering if you would like to visit my family," Edward explained, his ears going a little red.
"Your family?" I replied surprised.
Silence surrounded us again. "Yes, I would to introduce them to my girlfriend," he replied quietly.
"Your girlfriend," I echoed. Another moment of silence hung over our heads.
"Or my friend if this is too much too soon. I know we talked about taking things slow…" Edward looked concerned that he had overstepped.
"No, I like the idea of being your girlfriend," I blurted out, surprising us both. A slow and glorious grin spread on his face.
"Really?" Edward looked like a young boy, his happiness was infectious.
"Really," I answered, putting my hand in his.
Slowly, he leaned over and pulled me over to him. I knew what was coming, I took a deep breath, concerned if he would enjoy it. Very gently he kissed me in that sun filled cafeteria. He was the second man to ever have kissed me and in hindsight, it didn't last very long. It was a gentle brush across my lips, lingering for just a moment, holding there just long enough so I could feel the potential of what was to come.
~~~~~AMW~~~~AMW~~~~
If I were a different woman, the kind I read about in Cosmo or Harlequin, I would have demanded that Edward take me back to our motel and spend the afternoon screwing my brains out. But alas I was still me, Bella Swan, debutante of the 1960's.
When we broke our kiss, Edward rested our foreheads against each other. The one thing that will stand out in my memory forever was his eyes were the deepest green I'd ever seen them and that the sun brought out the highlights in his hair.
"We should finish our hike," I mumbled.
"Yeah," he muttered back, like it was the last thing he wanted to do. In fact, he looked he wanted to screw my brains out but was fighting to remain a gentleman.
"Edward," I asked, as we threw out our trash, "did you make any decisions about what you want to do for the rest of the summer?"
"Past coming home to Massachusetts, not really."
"Come with me to the Hamptons," I blurted out.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, I mean why not? If we're going to date then you should meet my parents as well," I started babble, "I know that Nessie could use some help with the baby."
Another slow grin spread on his face. "Okay, that sounds good. I'd love to help out Nessie."
"Just Nessie huh?" I joked nervously. I was essentially asking Edward if he wanted to stay at my parents' house for the summer.
"I think we both know it's more than just helping Nessie, Bella."
"You're right it's more than just helping Nessie," I replied, "There is also my pill popping sister."
He snorted. "At least we won't be bored."
Edward was right. In the weeks and months to come we were not bored. In fact, we would be dealing with one thing after another and at the time it felt the drama would never end.
AN: Okay – I know it's not a steamy lemon and but it's a start and I promise it's getting there. This chapter is important for later so please remember. Any thoughts to what Edward and Bella's families are going to say when they announce they're dating?
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read/review/favorite/follow this story. I'm trying to better with the posting so I wanted to get something out this evening. I apologize for any typos that I missed. it's nearly midnight here so I'm running on fumes!
