A/N: Evening All! Not much going on in my neck of the woods these days. The usual thanks to my beta MaggieMay14, whose comments usually make me laugh like crazy. Thanks to my awesome and supportive pre-readers: Risbee, flightlessbird11, TwiOthGirly, TillyWhitlock and Beegurl13. They are all wonderful authors, so go check them out.
I don't own Twilight; I do have a husband who can't change the toilet paper roll though. I've been doing a little experiment and there are now three empty rolls on my counter and one on the roll. Apparently he really is that lazy!
Who wants more fluff?
EPOV
"So I'm proposing to Vicky for Christmas," James said while he drove me to the airport in Lebanon. I was catching a flight out to Boston and then one that took me direct to Seattle, where Bella was going to pick me up from the airport. My parents had given me the tickets home months ago, but insisted they were my Christmas gift, which I didn't mind. In fact, it was the best gift in the world to me, because I was getting to see Bella again. It had only been a month, but it felt like forever.
"I can't say I'm surprised man," I replied as I patted him on the back supportively. "You guys seem perfect for each other, really." It was the god's honest truth. James and Victoria went together like peanut butter and jelly or umm… other things that go together well. They were both uber competitive and would make an interesting married couple. I could practically see them at Lamaze classes trying to outdo the other expectant parents. I really was pleased for them and it was about time they started planning for their life together outside of college, because it was quickly approaching.
"Thanks. I just hope it works out alright. We're going to Stowe skiing for the holidays and I'm hoping to surprise her on Christmas Eve. Her parents have a cabin and the entire family will be there. I know it's a little trite, but she said she loves Christmas more than anything, so I'm running with it," James said and I could see his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly in nervousness.
"Well then it sounds like it will be fine. You guys have been together for like three years, she'll say yes. Don't worry about it," I said as I tried to reassure him. I truly didn't think he had anything to be concerned about when proposing to Vicky, but he clearly thought otherwise.
"How would you do it man? How would you propose to Bella?" he asked and my mind stepped into overdrive because to be honest, proposing to her was not something that was in the forefront of my mind, but I would be lying if I said I never thought about it. I was in love with the girl wholeheartedly, of course I thought about spending the rest of my life with her. However, since we had only been back together for like six months, and a good chunk of that time was spent apart, I wasn't ready to seriously consider anything like marriage. Bella would probably laugh at me if I was to propose to her now anyways.
"I'd probably try and mark off one of the things on her list. You know, make it unforgettable for her. She used to always talk about having memorable moments, so I would do something she always wanted to do," I stated as my mind thought of some of the possible ideas I could do one day. She did always want to go spend New Year's Eve in Times Square, so that was a consideration, even though it was kind of silly and overdone. Every year when watching the ball drop, there was always some guy proposing to his girlfriend on TV. I didn't want to be that guy though. I needed something a little more fitting of us. I shook my head from the thought and remembered it was way too soon to even think about it. "Don't be nervous about how you propose. I'm sure Vicky will just be happy that you are doing it at all. It's not always about the execution, but sometimes it's just about the sentiment. Tell her how you feel."
"You should be a psychologist, or do one of those sex shows like Dr. Drew."
"Nice try asswipe. Now pull in front so I can catch my flight in an hour please," I said with a grin as James pulled to a stop in front of the airport and I hopped out, grabbing my luggage from the trunk. I put it down on the sidewalk and leaned in the passenger side window. "I'll see you in eight days. Merry Christmas… and good luck man," I added as I waved goodbye to James and strolled into the airport, eager to get on my flight and head home to Bella.
My flight seemed to take forever, but I was relieved when it arrived early and I discovered that Bella was already at the airport waiting for me. As I walked towards her, Bella noticed me coming out of the doors and ran towards me eagerly. My heart soared knowing how much she had missed me during the past few weeks. "I may have been a little bit excited that you were coming back today," she said with a grin as she pulled me in for a big kiss that resulted in both of us gasping for air. "Come on; let's go get your luggage."
We walked hand in hand down to the luggage area and Bella remorsefully explained to me that she couldn't get out of working the next day, which was a relief since I was still having trouble finding the perfect present for her. I had talked to Alice at length over the past few weeks and she had provided me with dozens of excellent suggestions, none of which seemed to work for me because they weren't enough to express just how I felt about Bella.
We were not at the same point as James & Victoria, so an engagement ring was out of the question, but I wanted something with meaning. Something that told her I was in this for the long run. Unfortunately, finding a gift with such significance wasn't an easy thing to do.
"Penny for your thoughts," asked Bella as I noticed my bag pass by us on the carousel and I tried to grab for it, but was too late. Well, I probably could have grabbed for it, but I would have knocked down two senior citizens and a blind man with a guide dog. I wasn't about to do that with a few days before Christmas.
"Sorry. I think I'm just jet lagged," I lied anxiously as she quirked her eye brow at me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder tightly, watching again for my bag.
"I'm sorry I can't be around for you tomorrow. I hope you aren't mad, it's just something I couldn't get out of if I wanted to be in Forks for Christmas."
"I'm not mad at all Bella. I know how important your job is and I know you have been establishing yourself as a nurse that can be trusted, respected and relied upon. I don't expect you to drop everything because I have a few extra days to visit you," I replied honestly. Bella offered up a gentle smile in response and shouted out when she saw my bag passing on the conveyor again. I grabbed it quickly and then we headed off into the cool Seattle air, both of us in a rush to get back to her place.
We spent the evening cuddling on the couch after Bella had finished wrapping her final gifts for our families. I rested a little bit while she wrapped and just before nine, we strolled off into bed and made love until we both passed out. I couldn't help but think this would be how our life would be if I moved in with her. It would be comfortable and everything I always wanted, but I wasn't sure if she felt the same way. Anytime I had mentioned it before, she wasn't exactly jumping at the chance for us to move in together. I slept restlessly all night, my mind in overdrive as I had a nightmare where Bella and I argued constantly regarding our future, and we finally just called it quits. It was at this point I woke up startled. I sat up and wiped the sweat from my forehead as I looked at the clock. It was 2:35 in the morning. I tried to go back to sleep, but I was still agitated and sleep didn't come easily.
When I awoke the next morning, I felt the soft touch of Bella's lips pressing against my forehead. "I'm heading out to work. I left you a spare key on the counter," she said sweetly as I pulled at her wrist and yanked her back into bed. "Don't start anything. You know I can't resist you and then I'll be late for work," she added as I grabbed at the hem of her shirt and tried to pull it over her head unsuccessfully.
"Scrubs are fucking hot," I said seriously as I leaned down and kissed her belly button, my tongue swirling around it as she yelped in surprise and jumped back from the bed and subsequently my grasp. "When does your shift start?"
"In thirty minutes, which is why we don't have the time baby," she replied as she leaned down and pressed her lips firmly against mine, my entire body aching to pull her towards me and wrap around her, keeping her with me for the entire day. "Anyways, don't you have some Christmas shopping to finish?"
Shit. She was right.
"Yeah, I do. Why do you always have to be the voice of reason?" I let out a huge sigh as Bella gave me one more kiss and sprinted out of the room. She was clearly eager to be at the hospital on time, and I had already kept her longer than needed. After a very long shower, I decided to grab something to eat while I was out and ended up grabbing a coffee and bagel at a local bakery, which was surprisingly wonderful. I walked down to Pine Street and window shopped for what seemed like ages, nothing sticking out in my mind as something that was suitable to give to Bella for Christmas. I went into a few stores and some salespeople tried valiantly to help me, but it was very depressing to not find anything. I eventually texted Alice, who informed me she was in the middle of her pre-Christmas mani-pedi, whatever the fuck that was, and that she couldn't come help me. It felt hopeless.
Of course, that was the moment I saw it.
Just as I felt like I would never find anything that was perfect for Bella, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a necklace hanging from a small display in a shop window. It had a small dangling heart that matched perfectly to the bracelet I had given to her for our first Christmas together. That had also been the first time I said I loved her. Of course these days I said it constantly because I never wanted her to doubt my feelings, but it didn't belittle the significance of the gift.
I ran into the store breathlessly and quickly handed over the three hundred dollars for the necklace before heading back to the apartment, determined to make Bella something for dinner. As I walked back towards her apartment, I passed a small floral shop and got a great idea, and stepped instead to finish formulating my plan. I stressed for weeks about what to get for Bella, and now all of a sudden I walk down a street and I get ideas left, right and center.
Later that night, when Bella walked in the door looking absolutely exhausted and downtrodden from her shift, I was putting the finishing touches on the lasagna I had made for us for dinner.
"You cooked?"
"Yeah, I cooked," I replied with a grin as she dropped her coat on a chair in the dining room and came towards me. "I'm a really good cook I'll have you know."
"It smells really good." She turned her head slightly and took in the new additions to her small living room area. "What the hell did you do?"
"Well, I couldn't very well plant you a garden out on your balcony, so I figured this was the next best thing. Let's consider it an early Christmas present." A beautiful smile graced her face as she moved around the room, looking at the various plants and flowers I had delivered from the shop. They were surprisingly accommodating when I bought $500 worth of plants and told them I lived two blocks away. I even got a few poinsettias to make the apartment feel a bit more like it was Christmas. All Bella had in her apartment to make it look festive was a huge selection of Christmas cards from friends and family. Hell, even Victoria had made James and I put up a Christmas tree. Sure, it was sad and no doubt all the needles would be on the floor when we got back to Dartmouth, but at least we did something for the holidays.
"I'm just… I'm shocked."
"I have many talents you have yet to discover," I replied as I kissed her temple sweetly and wrapped my arm around her waist as she ran her fingers reverently down the leaf of the fern I got her. "I'll show you when you finally agree to let me move in."
"Edward…" Bella let out a small sigh and I immediately felt remorseful for pressuring her. I knew she hadn't decided yet about me moving in late in the spring, even though we had talked about it in passing since she first moved in to the apartment. I didn't want to rush her, but I couldn't just let it continue to fester within me. Bella and I had agreed on being honest with each other when I moved away, and this was just me trying to be truthful. However, based on the look on her face, this definitely wasn't the right time for such a heavy discussion.
"Hold on… let me turn back time and we can pretend I didn't say that since I can tell by the expression on your face that you wish I hadn't," I replied as I let go of her and bent down to pull the garlic bread I had made out of the oven. I rested the bread on the counter to cool and when I turned around, Bella had tears in her eyes. Could this get any worse? "I'm sorry."
She moved into the living room and curled herself into a ball on the couch. I tentatively went over and sat behind her, stroking her hair slowly as her crying eased a bit. "I'm not trying to put pressure on you at all. It's just… you have to tell me what you want. Do I need to find my own place in a few months? I've already applied to the UW Medical School and with my grades there should be no issue getting in." Fuck, now I was rambling.
"Can we just enjoy your time here and worry about it later?" she asked as she brushed tears from her cheek and I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly.
"You know it's just because I want to be with you forever right?" I said as I felt her head lean back onto my shoulder.
"I know."
"Do you want to tell me why you are worried then?"
"Sometimes, I can't help but wonder when the other shoe will drop," she said quietly as I turned her slightly until she was looking at me and the tears started brimming in her eyes again. "I can't help but sometimes question why you are with me and then that leads to me thinking that you might leave." She whispered the last part so quietly, I almost thought I had heard differently, but I couldn't mistake the lack of confidence she had in me and it hurt.
"Look at me," I said as I rested my fingers under her chin and lifted her head until she was looking at me head on. "I don't know why you are second guessing our relationship. Everything was great until you came home tonight. You need to believe me when I say that I am in this… with my entire heart and soul. You're it for me."
"At work… I've had the pleasure of working with a young girl; she's ten years old. She had been suffering from leukemia for years and finally seemed to be getting better, but she died this afternoon unexpectedly." Bella brushed the tears from her eyes again and straightened up her back a bit as she tried to tell her story. "I'd been shadowing one of the nurses on her case for about a month and I would chat to her on my breaks and let her know it's possible to beat the cancer. She was really optimistic about everything, and then this happened. I saw a lot of myself in her, and it just reminded me of how things broke down between us."
I nuzzled my face into Bella's neck and held her close. No matter how often I apologized or reassured her, I knew my past mistakes would always haunt us. "Bella," I tried to say, but her fingers covered my lips and she silenced me as she looked at me with such desperation in her eyes.
"I have to say this, because I need you to know something," she said firmly as she turned slightly and moved her body closer to mine, practically sitting on my lap. "I forgave you, and I meant it with my entire heart when I said it. However, there will be times when I am reminded of what happened between us. It won't ever go away Edward. It's always going to be a part of our past. It's part of who we are as a couple."
"You don't need to apologize anymore for what happened, but I need to come to terms with moving on from it completely. I want you to move in here with me later in the spring when you graduate. I want you to share my bed and my life, which is why I'm sharing my feelings with you now. Don't ever doubt how I feel about you, even though I sometimes worry about losing you."
"You'll never lose me," I said stoically as I held her hand tightly in mine, our fingers entwining. "I'd propose to you right now if I knew you would stop having doubts about my need for you in my life. I need you like I need air to breathe. "
"Excuse me… you'd what?" she stuttered out incredulously as I sat there completely dumbfounded at my stupidity. Where the hell was this complete lack of verbal filter coming from?
"It's just… James is proposing to Victoria over the holidays and it's something I've thought about. I've thought a lot about marrying you and making a future together. Hell, I thought about that while we were in high school," I admitted anxiously as Bella grabbed my face and kissed me fiercely. "I would do anything for you."
"You're not proposing now though… right?" she asked with a quirked eye brow. She was shaking slightly and I knew she was even more nervous now than she had been a moment before.
"No. I'd do something a little grander than just toss it out there while I was reassuring you about my devotion to you Bella." She breathed a slight sigh of relief and I kissed the end of her nose briefly. "Just don't doubt something like me leaving you. It's the last thing I would ever consider doing. You are my life Bella. It's you and me, okay?"
"Okay," she replied with a small smile as she looked up at me through her eyelashes. "You can move in with me in the spring. I'd like nothing more."
"Good. Cause I was really starting to fucking freak out. Can we eat now, I'm starving?" I jumped up from the couch and reached my hand out to Bella, which she took eagerly. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when she strolled into the kitchen and began to slice up the garlic bread. We had just had one of the most involved conversations since I had moved back to college, but we were stronger for it, I knew that for a fact. I just hoped that her own reservations didn't overwhelm her. However, I would spend the rest of my life proving my remorse to her for what happened all those years ago.
The rest of our night was fairly calm, compared to our rather frank discussion from earlier in the evening. We ate our dinner and talked about the long drive to Forks the next day. I helped Bella finish her laundry and then we packed one bag to take with us, rather than lug all my luggage in the rental car I had gotten us. During the past few weeks I had tried to talk Bella into buying or leasing something, but she didn't see the point. She could walk to work or take public transit and she saw her friends directly after work so they all went out together. I knew it made sense; I just didn't like seeing that she wasn't able to get back to Forks as much as I knew she wanted to.
When we crawled into bed that night, both of us exhausted beyond words, we curled around each other, my hand stroking her cheek softly. "When do you want to exchange gifts?" I asked curiously. I didn't really want to give her my gift in front of her entire family on Christmas morning. I wanted us to be alone and preferably post coital when I gave it to her.
"What's wrong with now?" Bella replied as she nuzzled into my chest, her arm clutching me tightly as though she thought I was going to leave her. I let out a small sigh but I knew this was something I was going to have to get over as time went on. She would always worry, though hopefully not always as intensely, that I would leave her and I would also hate that she feared that. I would work on her confidence in us though and in my mind it was a small concession to make if it meant she was mine for the rest of our lives.
"Umm… mine isn't wrapped. I was gonna have my mom help me with that when we got back to Forks," I said with a laugh. "Plus, I only got it earlier today."
"A last minute gift? Is it a gift certificate to the fruit of the month club?"
"Not quite. Don't knock my gift by the way. A lot of thought went into it. Alice will vouch for me too," I said with a kiss to her temple as she then shimmied out of my grasp and went into her closet to get what I assumed was my gift. She came out with a fairly decent sized box that was wrapped perfectly, with a big bow in the center of it, and I felt bad that I hadn't yet had a chance to wrap mine. I should have had them do it at the store, I cursed at myself. "Okay… so this gift is kinda for both of us."
"Is it filled with sex toys?" I said with a grin, my voice filled with humor and Bella just shook her head at me as I began shaking the box excitedly. It didn't do anything.
"No."
"Hmm… is it slutty lingerie?"
"Have I ever worn slutty lingerie?" Bella questioned as I pouted and slowly shook my head. "You want me to wear slutty lingerie?" she croaked out as she handed the box over to me tentatively. I hopped from the bed and fished her box from my luggage, and slipped it under my pillow before getting comfortable again.
"There's nothing wrong with lingerie you know."
"I never said there was. I'm just… you never mentioned that you liked it."
"Baby, I like anything involving you and I'm sure I will love this gift. Can I open it?" Bella curled into my side and urged me to open it, my fingers ripping the paper with ease and feeling a little bad because it took me seconds to tear it to shreds and probably took her ten minutes to wrap. When I finally got the paper off, I lifted the lid off of the box and came face to face with a life jacket. "Umm… I'm confused."
"Look under the life jacket."
I lifted the slightly obnoxious orange vest and rested it on the bed beside me, before I noticed a small envelope on the bottom. When I finally had that opened, I was shocked to see that Bella had gotten us a weekend white water rafting getaway on the Wenatchee River in Washington. "This is awesome baby. I thought you've been rafting though?"
"I have been rafting, but never with you. I want to do everything with you, and I thought you would enjoy it."
"Hell yes I will enjoy it. Even more because you are coming with me," I said sincerely as I wrapped my arms around her tightly and kissed her lips, her mouth responding eagerly to mine as we moved together. I was about to move my hand down to cup her ass and hopefully move things in a more amorous direction when Bella pulled away and looked at me expectantly. "I guess you want your gift right?"
"Well, that is only fair, Cullen," she said with a sigh as she sat up and held her hands open, waiting impatiently for me to give her something. I reached for the box under my pillow and handed it to her before sucking in a deep breath. I was nervous.
Bella opened it slowly, lifting the lid off and when she saw the necklace, she let out a small gasp. "It's just like…" Tears started to flow from her eyes and I reached up and brushed them away, her face leaning into my hand for support.
"It's just like your bracelet," I said, finishing her sentence as she nodded her head over and over again in response.
"I haven't worn that bracelet in the longest time," she said, her voice full of remorse as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and held her tight against my chest. I stroked her hair slowly as she continued to talk to me through her sobs. "I took it off and put it away so long ago Edward. Even when we got back together it still reminded me of our past, so I couldn't put it back on. I want it back on though."
"If it reminds you of bad times baby, you don't have to wear it," I said simply as Bella lifted up the hair at the back of her neck and had me put the necklace on her. Of course, it looked perfect and I leaned in and kissed her neck sweetly before she jumped up from the bed to get the matching bracelet from her jewelry box. When she came back, she handed it to me, along with her wrist and asked me to fasten it back on. Once it was in place, a barrage of memories came back from when I first gave it to Bella all those years earlier.
"It's perfect," Bella exclaimed as she looked reverently at the bracelet while one hand clutched at her necklace.
"Yes, you are," I muttered as I kissed her slowly and we leaned down in bed together, talking about our dreams and hopes for the future before slipping into a comfortable sleep.
Bella and I spent the next day driving to Forks and then spent two days shuffling back and forth between our parents' places. We spent Christmas Eve together at Charlie and Sue's house, and then the day after we spent with my parents, but we all ate Christmas dinner together at Charlie & Sue's. It turns out Charlie had finally broken down and proposed to Sue on Christmas Eve in front of the entire family, with the blessing of both her kids and Bella. It was really a very sweet moment and Charlie apologized for taking so long for proposing, though Sue insisted it didn't bother her, she was just ecstatic that he did finally propose.
On the 26th, we met up with Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper at the diner in town and spent a few hours catching up. The girls chatted happily about the wedding, while Jasper and Emmett declared me lucky as hell for getting such a wonderful Christmas gift from Bella. Jasper groaned because Alice got him a spa day, which she insisted he use before the wedding. I'm shocked she couldn't hear him rolling his eyes as he told us with a scowl what he had gotten. Emmett, as per usual, got season tickets to the L.A. Lakers, courtesy of Rosalie and her grandfather, who coughed up most of the cash for them. It was slightly bittersweet when we said goodbye, knowing full well the next time we saw each other we would all be college graduates and getting ready for Alice & Jasper's wedding.
I stayed in Seattle with Bella until January 2nd and we spent New Year's Eve making love, drinking champagne and watching the fireworks as they went off over the sound. It was perfect. Rather than have to suffer through a tear filled farewell at the airport, which would no doubt turn both of us into blubbering messes, I drove the rental to Sea-Tac by myself after Bella and I agreed that she would come out to Dartmouth for Valentines' Day.
The next month dragged on unbearably slow. Between studying for classes, various projects, essays and preparing for Bella's visit, I was a nervous wreck. I wasn't sleeping; instead my thoughts ran wild as I anticipated the worst case scenarios when Bella finally came for her visit. I had visions of her and Victoria not getting along, or us running into someone from my past, and when I expressed my concerns to James, he just laughed at me. He reassured me that Victoria would be on her best behavior for the few days Bella was in town, but also reminded me that he was whisking Vicky away for the weekend to Killington, Vermont for some skiing and romance. I was thankful that the girls would only spend a day or two in each other's company because I was wary of what would happen.
On February 11th, when I finally picked Bella up from the airport in Lebanon she was more than ecstatic to see me. We ran to each other and I swept her up into my arms, holding on to her tightly as we kissed, our connection feeling ten times more intense than usual. Every time we reunited, my body eased into calm just from being near her and I reveled in it.
"It's probably wrong of me to say this, but I really hope this is the last time we reunite in an airport," I said with a grin as I kissed her again and then we headed towards the luggage carousel to grab her bags.
"Well, you do want me back for graduation right? I already booked my time off from work," said Bella with a small smile as I realized I had forgotten all about graduation in a few months.
"Of course I want you to come back for grad. So that will be the last time we have to reunite in an airport, hopefully for a long time," I said with a grin as I wrapped my arm over Bella's shoulder and we waited, somewhat impatiently. It was over an hour and a half later when we finally got back to my small rental in Hanover, and when we walked in, James and Victoria were making out like teenagers on the middle of our couch.
"What the hell?" I shouted out in frustration as we both watched, albeit reluctantly, as James began to adjust his pants and Victoria pulled her sweater back over her tank top. "I know you two are engaged now and seem to think that every room of my house is your own personal sex den, but is that any way to greet Bella? Couldn't you guys have been doing homework or something?"
"I was studying… anatomy," commented Victoria with a smug grin and a wink as she began eyeing up Bella suspiciously.
"Where's the fun in that Edward," laughed James as he moved across the living room and extended his hand to Bella. "It's great to finally meet you."
"Same here," Bella said quietly, no doubt embarrassed by the situation we walked in on.
"This stunning and sarcastic redhead is my fiancée Vicky," he said as he pointed towards her and she simply smiled and offered her hand as well before backing away. "Her bark is worse than her bite, I promise," added James in a whisper that everyone heard regardless.
"Thanks asshole," Vicky muttered as she rolled her eyes and looked up at Bella and I. "Why don't you guys go get settled. James and I already ordered some Chinese food from Ho-Lee-Chow for all of us." I was literally shocked at how nice Vicky was being, but based on the wink James shot me a moment later, I knew full well he had said something and she was actually on her best behavior. Later in the evening, James eventually confessed to me that he promised to do all the laundry for the rest of the year if Vicky behaved. It was well known in our house that it was her least favorite chore, so of course she jumped at the chance.
I led Bella upstairs to my bedroom, pointing out a few of the other rooms along the way. Once I had her luggage on the floor and the door was closed, I was practically mauling her as I pressed her against the back of the door as my lips attached to her neck. "Fuck, I've missed you," I said frantically as my hands grabbed the hem of her oversized sweater and I tried to pull it off of her. Unfortunately for me, Bella pushed me away and looked at me with a bit of anger in her eyes. This wasn't how I planned for all this to go.
"Your friends are downstairs and have made an effort to order dinner for us. Hell, Vicky even seems nice and like she wants to talk or something," Bella said as she lifted her large bag onto the bed and opened it up, trying to find something lighter to wear than the sweater she had worn on her flight. "I think we should at least play nice for a few hours, Edward."
Then Bella yanked her sweater off, along with her bra and slipped a rather tight long sleeved shirt on. My mouth hung open in surprise. To make matters worse, she then peeled off her jeans and the panties she had been wearing, and pulled on a pair of comfortable pants. "Umm… you forgot something."
"No, I didn't," Bella said with a straight face as I let out a small growl.
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"Maybe," Bella replied with a grin as she suddenly stepped from the room and I had to adjust myself before heading downstairs to join her. She was standing at the kitchen counter, talking cheerfully with Victoria who was pouring us all glasses of white wine. Unfortunately for me, this was how the rest of my night went. We spent time chatting in the living room with Victoria and James, Bella sitting on my lap and grinding herself slowly against my aching cock, even though our friends just thought she was trying to get comfortable.
All through dinner, all I could think about was the fact that Bella had nothing on under her clothes and was clearly trying to torture me in some way. However, it seemed Bella had a master plan in mind because when we got upstairs later that night, I was all over her like never before.
"Please don't do that again," I said with all seriousness as I pulled her shirt off and walked forward, pushing her knees up against the bed.
"Do what?" Bella responded as she pretended not to know what I was talking about.
"All night, Bella," I said with a growl as Bella sat down on the edge of the bed and I kneeled on the floor between her legs. "All night you teased me. I think it's time you got teased too." Bella simply smiled happily at me as I pushed her down by her shoulders onto my bed and grabbed the waistband of her pants, yanking them off and tossing them across the room. Something fell from my dresser, but I didn't really care, because I grabbed Bella's ankles and lifted them to the edge of the bed, leaving her spread wide open for me.
"Do you want to be teased?"
"Y-es," she croaked out anxiously as I used one finger to trace lightly around her clit, which was throbbing. I then dragged the same finger slowly between her wet lips and slid it inside of her, watching with rapt attention as she lifted her ass slightly off the bed as my finger pumped inside of her slowly.
"You are so wet for me."
"It's cause I need you so much."
"Promise not to go without panties again?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Cause I like to get you worked up. It means you'll fuck me hard," she said boldly as I looked down at her in surprise. She was propped up on her elbows, watching me closely and licked her lips in anticipation.
"I like when you tell me what you want." I leaned down and kept my eyes trained on hers as I stuck out my tongue and slowly lapped up and down her slit, my dick growing hard as I reveled in tasting her again. Fuck, she was perfect.
"Oh god… more of that. I want more of that," Bella forced out as I noticed her hands wrapped around my comforter and her face was watching me still, her bottom lip clutched between her teeth. I eased my finger slowly in and out of her, as my tongue continued its assault on her, tasting every inch of her wet pink slit and then biting on her clit, flicking it between my teeth as I felt her legs shaking around me.
"Oh sweet jesus… fuck me," Bella cried out as she came moments later, her one hand clutching at my head and holding me against her as she shook and screamed out my name. When her hands released from my head, I quickly tore my own clothes off and fetched a condom from the night stand. I was already hard as a rock and I desperately needed to be inside of her. With no second thought, I knelt on the bed and turned Bella slightly, lifting her leg onto my shoulder and gripping her hips firmly as I pressed hard inside of her until I was all the way in.
"Oh god… so fucking hot," I replied as I stayed still for a moment, before pulling back and fucking Bella as hard as I could, her entire body responding to me immediately upon entering her. Bella's hands went to her breasts and she kneaded them roughly as my eyes remained glued to hers, watching as she stared at me just as hard.
Bella's hips moved in time with mine, both of us groaning in pleasure as I wrapped my arm around her waist and flipped us over until she was riding me, her tits bouncing as she leaned back slightly, her hands resting on my knees as she plunged up and down, over and over again, on my throbbing cock. I used one finger to rub her clit furiously as Bella screamed out that she was coming again. The moment I felt her pussy clench around my cock, I was done for. I grunted loudly and pushed my hips up into her as I released, feeling fully sated and completely in love with the beautiful girl panting above me.
"Sleep?"
"Sleep would be good," I replied as Bella rolled off of me.
"Yeah, you dirty fuckers… sleep would be nice," shouted James through the bedroom door as Bella and I both yelped in mortification.
"Oh my god," Bella exclaimed as she jumped off of me running into the bathroom. "I can't believe he heard us."
"Yeah, and we heard that too," James added with a huge laugh.
"Go to bed asshole. It's not like I've never heard you two get it on," I screamed back as I went into the bathroom and calmed Bella down before we cleaned up and climbed back into bed, desperate for sleep.
The next few days of Bella's visit passed very casually. We hung out around town and I showed her the Dartmouth campus, which she fell in love with. I introduced her to a few of my teachers and fellow classmates, and Bella appeared to be having a good time. Victoria was even nice to Bella, talking to her about her life in Seattle and how she liked being a nurse. It was great to see them be friendly to one another, considering I had told Bella about my history with Victoria. I thought there might have been a hint of jealousy, but I was surprised to see how well that got along.
James and Victoria left on Thursday night for Killington, and the Friday was Valentines' Day, so I decided to take Bella out for a nice dinner. We had agreed not to exchange gifts because we instead decided to split the cost of her airfare from Seattle, agreeing that all we really wanted for Valentines was to be together. We ended up going to dinner at a small restaurant called the Canoe Club, where I was surprised we actually got a table considering it was Valentines. They also had the best salmon in town and I was salivating at the prospect of having it tonight. Well, it and Bella.
Unfortunately for me, nothing ever went as planned.
"Edward, is that you?" called a familiar voice as I cringed into the booth Bella and I were seated at. I busied myself with the napkin in my lap and hoped she didn't notice me, while also avoiding the stares of Bella, who sat beside me nervously eying up the girl walking towards us. "Edward. It is you. I didn't know you were back in Hanover."
"Siobhan, it's good to see you," I said through clenched teeth. Our last conversation, which was over the phone, hadn't ended on a good note and I really hoped that it wouldn't come back to bite me on the ass right now. "Yeah, I've been back since September to finish my final year and all that." I sat up a bit straighter and wrapped my arm over Bella's shoulder. "This is Bella, my girlfriend. Bella, this is Siobhan. She's an old friend of mine."
Bella politely reached out her hand to Siobhan, who took it and shook it easily, with a small smile on her face. I could tell she was sizing Bella up, wondering what the hell it was Bella had that she didn't, but based on the fact that she was accompanied by a guy, I figured she wasn't single anymore. "Oh, yeah this is Jack, and of course you remember Maggie, my sister. That is her boyfriend Darren."
"Nice to meet you all," I said genuinely as Siobhan just stood there, looking at me like I had some of my dinner on my face or something, but we hadn't eaten yet. "Did you want to talk to me?"
"Why didn't you call to tell me you were back in town?"
"Um… I don't think this is the time or place to discuss this," I said simply as she continued to stare me down.
"I just wanted an explanation Edward," she said, the anger radiating off of her in waves. I knew things hadn't ended well between us, but I had no idea she would harbor such feelings almost ten months later. "Fuck, this is awkward, but it's just… "
"Siobhan, Edward and I were attempting to have a nice romantic Valentine's dinner, which you are in the process of ruining. And by the looks on the faces of your friends, I don't think they are appreciating the fact that you making are a scene either," Bella said simply as she literally growled at Siobhan, which was both turning me on and scaring the shit out of me. "Plus, if I'm not mistaken wasn't it you who kept coming on to Edward when he insisted he just wanted to be friends, and didn't you call him while his mother was in the hospital and hang up on him?"
For once, I was suddenly relieved I had told Bella everything when we got back together.
"Um no… I just… never mind." Siobhan stammered nervously as she looked towards Jack and then her sister, looking like she was about to be ill or something. "Let's go. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day," she said as she linked her hand with Jacks' and began walking away to their table where the hostess was waiting impatiently. None of her friends looked particularly impressed about the situation though.
When they were gone, Bella turned in her seat slightly and looked at me with a stoic expression. "Well, that was awkward," she said simply as she grabbed her menu and stared at it like it held the answers to all of life's questions. She then began mumbling about what she wanted for dessert. She was currently debating with herself whether she wanted the warm apple galette or the butterscotch pudding, and I shook my head slowly and decided to just get our discussion over with.
"I had no idea she was going to be here," I said as Bella snapped her head towards me and offered a sweet, yet false, smile.
"I never thought you did Edward."
"Then what's with the icy stare and the ignoring me thing that you are doing right now?"
"It's nothing Edward."
"Whenever a girl says it's nothing, that always means it's something."
"Oh and you've been with so many girls that you know this for a fact?" she said acerbically as she turned back towards her menu just as our appetizers arrived, both of us opting for the soup of the day to warm us from the cool February air. However, my entire body chilled, knowing full well that this is something that had been on Bella's mind since she touched down in New Hampshire.
"Low blow Bella," I said as the frustration began boiling over and I groaned as I saw her fingers clench tightly around her menu. "Just say what you want to say and we can move on."
"I have nothing to say Edward."
"Oh, so you don't want to ask me how many more girls we 'may' run into that I have had some sort of relationship with? As a reminder, Siobhan and I were only friends. We never had sex and I never wanted to have sex with her. Does that make you feel any better?"
"Not really," she said as I noticed tears form at the corner of her eyes and she reached up to wipe them away, hoping I hadn't noticed.
"Why can't you be confident in our relationship Bella? Plus, why the hell do we keep screwing up holidays? First Christmas and now Valentine's Day. Should I wear a cup on Earth Day to protect the junk?" I was trying to make her laugh and distract her from what was going on between us, but it clearly wasn't working because she began crying more and calling attention to our table from the other patrons in the restaurant. I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and pulled her against my chest. "Are you worried about my past?"
"I just… fuck. It was one thing in Seattle to hear about it, but it's another thing to see it in person, you know?" she replied as she brushed more tears from her cheek and I ran my hand slowly down her arm, trying to soothe her. "I just wish I didn't have to know about it, you know?"
"I wish I could turn back time so a lot of things could be different, but I can't Bella. I just try to think positively and I tell myself that everything led me back to you, so it was all worth it," I said genuinely as Bella rested her head against my chest and I pulled her closer. "It's you I'm in love with Bella. It's you I'm here with and you I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I don't know what to say to make this better for you."
"You just did Edward. I love you too. I promise I'm going to try and not let this bother me," she said simply as she grasped my face in her hands and kissed me gently.
"Once I'm out of Hanover, you won't even think twice about my past Bella. Just like once we're living together in Seattle, you won't worry about me leaving you again, because I promise to be so devoted to you, you'll yell at me for driving you nuts," I said with a small laugh as I kissed her again and then we both turned towards our soups, which were lukewarm at this point.
"You know what," Bella said with a mischievous smile. "I'm not really hungry anymore. How about we head back to your house, order some pizza and curl up in front of that fireplace in your living room."
"Umm… we haven't used the fireplace since we moved in."
"That's alright. I only wanted you to keep me warm anyways." Suddenly my hand shot up and I called our waitress over, giving her a twenty dollar bill for the two drinks and cold soups, both of which were barely touched. Once everything was taken care of, I grabbed Bella's hand and we ran out of the restaurant, unable to keep our hands off of each other the entire way home. I couldn't help but find myself hoping that we were like this forever; talking through our issues and always wanting each other.
If you follow me on twitter, you already know that the very last chapter of TR was sent to my beta today. Following that there is an epilogue, so there are 2 chapters left to post technically. I will be auctioning off my services again as part of the Fandom Gives Back Auction, so if you are interested in a particular outtake, keep that in mind.
I have two rec's this week: The Ride by aylah50 and Relative Wind by Mac214. I recommended RW to Risbee and I seriously think she had to take a cold shower several times today after reading some of the fabulous chapters.