A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts.
I also want to add thanks to those of you who've reviewed or messaged me to let me know what a distraction it's been to read this story, especially during these crazy times - and especially considering it's a story about a cruise! As I've mentioned, writing it has been a distraction for me, so I'm honored to know it's helped you guys out, even if it's in such a small way.
Most characters belong to S. Meyer. The rest belong to me. All mistakes are mine.
Almost, almost, almost done. ;)
Seven Nights – Chapter 18
On What Would've Been Day Seven of the Cruise – Early Evening
Sprinting out of Mom's hospital room, I run down the glaringly white hallways and toward the elevator bank. Euphoria incited by Edward's proximity lightens my steps and practically makes me fly. I'm so buoyant that when the elevator arrives, I float in and press the 'Lobby' button in one fluid motion – even though it's already pressed. There are people in here.
I eagerly face the doors as they shutter closed, prepped to jump out when they open. I grin to myself then laugh aloud when I recall Edward's and my elevator ride just a few days ago, the one we took back to his room on the first night we made love. My body physically vibrates at the memory. Despite my worries of the past couple of days, despite my lack of sleep, and despite my lack of nourishment, I'm fueled by adrenaline, alighted by the knowledge that Edward isn't all the way at the other side of the country but right here!
All the while, in my periphery, I note my fellow elevator passengers eyeing me. They think they're surreptitious with the way they carefully back up or step away from me. I suppose a hospital isn't the best place to laugh aloud by yourself, yet I go ahead and do it again. Let them think what they want; tonight, I'm going to be in Edward's arms once mo-
The first sliver of fear, of doubt, rolls up my spine just as the 'L' lights up on the elevator's digital display panel. When the elevator stops, and the doors slowly pry themselves open, I remain rooted to my spot. The passengers in front of me quickly exit without a glance back, while those behind me suck their teeth when they're forced to sidestep me, giving me a wide berth. As the final passenger crosses the elevator's threshold – a man with a cane and in about his mid-sixties – who vaguely reminds of Jasper, turns and looks at me.
"Hey, Missy, this particular elevator doesn't go any lower than the lobby. If you want to get to the basement-"
"No. No, I don't need the basement. Thanks."
He frowns and eyes me curiously for a moment. Then with a shrug and a careless wave, he turns and walks off.
For a handful of seconds, I'm frozen. It's not until the elevator doors threaten to close and lock me in, pull me further away from Edward once again that I finally react and jump out.
Still, I stand outside the elevator now, immobile because the last time Edward and I saw each other, I was pretty horrendous to him. What if he's not here to make up? What if he's here to…to return the clothes and items I left in his cabin? To give me a piece of his mind in person?
"Excuse me, Miss, do you need help?"
A young orderly stops and smiles much more pleasantly than did the man with the cane.
"Oh, no thanks."
He frowns curiously and continues on his way.
Next, I recall the conversation Edward, Alice, Jasper, and I shared just a couple of days earlier when Jasper relayed his and Alice's story to us. The first time Jasper messed up, he realized pretty quickly he'd made a mistake. Nonetheless, Alice walked away from him. Afterward, it took them three years to coincidentally, or even fatefully, run into one another again and then make up.
Three damn years. I suppose it just wasn't their time, but still, three damn years…
"Excuse me, Miss, are you lost? Can I help?"
A doctor in her mid-fifties or so stops and offers me assistance.
"Oh, no thanks."
She tilts her head, eyeing me with some confusion before moving along.
Then, I recall the nightmare I had just a short while earlier, the one where three years later, Edward did forgive me, just as Alice forgave Jasper. And just as Alice had once been, in my dream, Edward was engaged. Yet, unlike Alice, Edward had no intention of breaking his engagement.
A shudder runs up my spine and makes me shiver.
"Fuck," I hiss and grip the hair at my crown, shutting my eyes and hanging my head against the nausea roiling in my stomach. "Get a grip, Bella. You just saw him forty-eight hours or so ago. When the hell between now and then would he have gotten engaged?"
Smiling ruefully at my own stupidity, I slowly force one foot forward, then the other.
"Excuse me, Miss, is there something wrong with your feet? Can I get you a wheelchair? Do you need-"
I sprint forward once more, following the signs and arrows leading to the 'Cafeteria,' turning corners around more white walls and past more men and women in scrubs and in regular clothing. My heart races. Fear and anxiety, whether rational or irrational, still make me tremble. Around the final bend, before the Cafeteria, the voices grow louder, the tinkling of conversation and silverware meld and carry as one in the air.
When I finally reach the Cafeteria entrance, my chest heaves. As I stand there and scan the room, visitors and patients alike talk and share meals and share a few minutes of respite from either a busy workday or from whatever brought them to a hospital. The mellow din of all the action creates a buzzing noise around the room.
Outside the cafeteria's large windows, rain falls over an evergreen landscape; its pitter-patter is silent against the glass, while Forks' ever-gray skies camouflage the cool, majestic mountains in the background. It's all a contrast to the Caribbean…yet in its own way, the beautifully warm Caribbean is represented.
My vision tunnels to a small, two-person table a few yards away, by the gray windows, where a striking, mesmerizing figure sits hunched over a coffee mug. Despite his weary posture, he's a lone ray of sun amid the rich, verdant backdrop. He eclipses all conversations within the cafeteria and all nature without.
Dad was right; his hair is a chaotic mess of dark and light copper spikes. I can't see his eyes from here, but I can tell he's glaring at the mug on the table, his brow furrowed, and his hand gripping that mug so tightly that his knuckles protrude sharply. When he rakes his free hand through that mess of hair, my heart both clenches and soars.
No, I'm still not one-hundred-percent sure why he's here; though perhaps I should be. Perhaps it's as clear as a sunny, Caribbean day. But I can't….I won't take him or this wonderful thing we've found in one another for granted. More than that, as I make my way toward him, I refuse to wait another three years, another three months, another three weeks, hell another three minutes to tell him to the truth of my feelings, regardless of how quickly they developed.
As if he senses my approach, Edward turns sharply in my direction just as I shout out his name.
"Edward!"
When his eyes meet mine, for one long moment, we both remain still. His shoulders rise and fall…rise and fall, yet even as he slowly gets to his feet, his intense gaze refuses to release me. Only vaguely do I note the plain jeans and wrinkled white tee shirt he wears – my usually sharp dresser. He still looks amazing.
When he's on his feet, he digs his hands in his pockets, and with a deep breath, he takes a step forward.
"Wait!" I hold up a hand, palm out.
With a bewildered frown, Edward stops.
There are about three tables still separating us; two are empty, but the one in the middle holds a group of three women in about their mid-forties who were chatting away before I yelled. Now, out of the corner of my eye, I remotely note their eyes flashing back and forth between Edward and me.
"Wait, let me get this out because I don't know if…and I want to make sure I don't miss my opportunity."
"Bella, I won't-"
"It wasn't just sex for me!"
I suppose when you shout such a statement across a crowded cafeteria, you should expect the gasps, the wide eyes, and the cafeteria's buzzing to cease. But they're all peripheral distractions. My true focus is on the sea-green eyes before me. No other diversions or interruptions can reach me at that moment. All that matters in the Universe are Edward and me, and the feelings I've wanted to share…I should've shared earlier.
"It wasn't just sex for me, Edward."
He takes another step forward. "Bella-"
"When I first met you on that seven-day cruise, yes, I was physically attracted to you; I won't lie and pretend I wasn't. I mean, look at you." I flourish a hand toward him.
As one, the group of women sweep their eyes toward him.
"You're tall and well-built. You've got great hair and gorgeous eyes, and a great damn jaw."
"He does, yes," one of the women says as all three look at one another and agree with vigorous nods.
"Bella-"
"From the moment we shared our first dance and your hands curved around my hips, your touch seared my skin, Edward. From that moment on, all I wanted was more and more of it…more and more of you," I breathe.
"Oh, my," one of the women exclaims, placing a hand against her chest.
Edward just stares at me, mouth agape.
"Then, we spent our first full day at sea together, and I found that you were more than physically attractive. You were intelligent and fun and funny…"
"In addition to the good looks? Oh, my."
"…and then we slept together that night-"
"Oh, my!"
"But we didn't actually sleep together," I smile.
"Oh," someone exclaims, sounding disappointed.
Edward grins sheepishly. "Bella-"
"Because you wouldn't sleep with me while I had a boyfriend-"
"Wait, she had a boyfriend?"
"-so then I learned to add 'Honorable' to the list, which isn't a characteristic easily found nowadays, Edward-"
"She's right; it's not."
"But Bella, I found that and much-" he begins, but I'm not done.
"-especially not when you think you're about to embark on a shipboard hookup. Then, the next day, I added more to your list of virtues: patient, adventurous, generous, kind to the elderly."
"Aww," the women say in unison.
"And then I broke up with Quil, and you and I had sex."
"Oh. my."
"Wait, who's keeping track; what day of the cruise was this?"
"And it was…the best sex," I stress, "the toe-curling kind of sex, the mind-blowing kind of sex."
"Oh…"
"…my…
Here, Edward chuckles and drops his head.
"So, I added 'Amazing Lover' to the list. And then the next day on the yacht and on St. Maarten-"
"A yacht?"
"And St. Maarten!"
"-I got a mere hint of your musical talent, and every ensuing day on that cruise I learned more and more about you – your strength, your thoughtfulness, your attention to detail-"
"Damn. What more can a woman ask for?"
"-and throughout it all, the sex just got better and better-"
"That."
"-but Edward," I rush out breathlessly, "I'd already convinced myself it was only temporary."
"Bella, I should've-"
"I convinced myself it was only a hook-up, that it was only about the great sex, and I could blame my shortsightedness on the fact that we had sex so quickly; I could blame it on my fears about my mother's health or on the fact that we never stopped long enough to discuss the future-"
"Jesus, she's killing me."
"Bella, please, let me at least take full res-"
"Just one more thing, Edward, please," I plead, "and then I promise you can say everything you came all this way to say."
Drawing in a deep breath, Edward nods. The cafeteria falls completely silent.
"A couple of months ago, my mom and I were having one of our talks – I've told you about our talks."
Again, he nods.
"She told me that when you've had the right kind of sex, the best kind of sex, it makes you want to shout about it from the rooftops," I smile.
Edward grins, and everyone around us chuckles.
"You want to have it everywhere and all the time," I continue, "and you hope that everyone around you is having the same kind of sex-"
"Girl, we're not all that lucky."
"-but it's more than that."
The reveling chucklers around us quiet down and physically strain forward to listen.
Edward is still and focused. "What else did she tell you, Bella?" he murmurs.
"She told me that it's more than the amazing sex that makes you respond so dramatically to someone. It's the shared passion, Edward." The words erupt in a strangled whisper, and as I smile, I subconsciously rest my joined hands over my heart. "It's the knowledge that somehow you clicked with that someone from the very beginning. Even more than all that, it's the work you put in to ensure that you always keep that passion alive because the work itself isn't even really work at all."
"It's sex," one of the women says.
"And it's not denying it because it happened so quickly. And that one," I grin, "I got more from what my dad always says: 'When you know-'"
"'You just know,' damn it." Edward rushes forward at the same time that he completes the phrase for me, and when he cages my face between his hands, our cafeteria audience gasps as one.
"I knew, Edward," I spout rapidly because his eyes move restlessly between my eyes and my mouth, and I know I don't have much time. "I knew, and I'm so sorry I denied it to myself, and I'm sorry I was so horrible to you a couple of days ago, and I'm so grateful for what you did for me, and I'm grateful that you came to-"
"Shut up." He grins crookedly, sea-green eyes back on mine. "Just stop apologizing." His hold tightens. "And stop talking. You had me at 'it was more than sex.'"
I chuckle heartily, and when he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me off the floor, I slide my arms around his broad shoulders. Our eyes hold for a moment longer, both of us aware that it's a moment we'll never forget. And as our mouths come together, we exhale in relief, our breaths mingling, lips tasting tenderly then more urgently as our mouths open for our tongues. Because we're both full of passion and lust for one another, and that's more than just okay…it's perfect.
And all around us, the Forks' Hospital Cafeteria fills with applause and catcalls.
"Wait a minute…I think I recognize him. Isn't he Edward Masen, that young, hot music producer?"
"Oh my God, I think you're right. Quick, where's my phone?"
When we finally pull apart for air, we gaze at one another like two people who just won the lottery - or a trip on a Caribbean cruise.
"May I say now," - he brushes his lips against my nose - "what I came to say?"
I nod, laughing.
"I love you, Bella."
My heart feels close to bursting. "Okay. And by the way, all of that was a roundabout way of saying that I've fallen in love with you too, Edward."
"Good. I'm glad," he smirks. "Because I've been there since Day One of the cruise. Hey, when you know," he shrugs, "you know. And Bella...I should've said it sooner."
"It's okay. I think we did well. It only took us seven days…and we've still got tonight…"
Chuckling, he brushes his lips against my forehead…then my nose again…and then he returns to my mouth.
"Holy hell, we need to find out what cruise line she went on and book ourselves on the next sailing."
A/N: Thoughts?
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*Epilogue coming up next.* :)
Stay safe, my loves.
