Chapter Nineteen

"Do you have a bucket list."

Bella looks up at Rosalie with slight incredulity at that kinda morbid question. They're on Bella's bed. Bella on her stomach doing some chemistry readings while Rosalie is next to her, flipping through a car mag.

When Bella doesn't respond, Rosalie flicks golden eyes up to her. "What."

"I didn't know you knew that term."

Rosalie rolls her eyes, bumping her shoulder into Bella's. "This dog may be old but it can learn a few new tricks."

Bella smirks suggestively. "Yea, can I train you some new tricks too?"

"Bella, dear, it's already been established I'm the one going to melt your mind with what I know in bed."

Bella shudders at the promise, biting her bottom lip to stem the desire going through her. "Dear? I knew you hadn't given up your old time speak."

Rosalie rolls her eyes, switching to a more modern vocabulary. "Whatever. So, tell me. You have one?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Rosalie's lips thin, the way they always do when she has to breach an uncomfortable topic. "Uh, well, you're going to have to transition soon. So I figured if you had anything left as a human you want to do, we might as well do it over winter break. It's coming up soon."

Bella's eyes go round. Right, she had forgotten entirely about winter break. "I don't actually know," Bella said, tapping a finger to her chin. "Maybe food related stuff? I won't be able to eat after all once I'm a vampire."

"Okay, so fine dining. What else," Rosalie bobs her head, looking like she's making a mental list. She's taking this very seriously.

"Uh...? I don't know. I mean, I can do other stuff as a vampire, can't I? Like going to movies or stuff like that."

"You won't be able to go to the beach."

"Not during the day."

"You won't be able to have kids." Rosalie's voice catches on this and Bella rubs her back, knowing this is a sore point for Rosalie.

"They're overrated anyways. Besides, we could adopt," she says and Rosalie's eyes light up.

"You want to adopt? For me?" she breathes out, touched by this gesture.

"With you," Bella corrects, turning onto her back so she can look up at Rosalie. "And maybe not now. I'm still young. But a few decades down the road, maybe."

"I thought about adoption," Rosalie confesses, "but I just never went through with it. Emmett and I had the papers and we just," she shrugs, indicating inconclusiveness here.

"There's no rush. I'm sure you'll be a good mom."

"Thank you," Rosalie smiles because that means a lot to her, and leans down to kiss Bella. Bella's eyes slipped closed and she brought a hand up to run through Rosalie's hair, reveling in the silky feel of it.

"Alright, I made a gastronomical food map road trip thing, for my bucket list. I'm emailing it to you." Bella tells Rosalie over the phone. She has the blonde on speaker while she packs her bags. In two days she and Rosalie are going on a road trip so that Bella can taste the best food in the Northwest before she's transformed. Bella had spent hours of research on this and she's satisfied with the list she has made. She hopes Rosalie will like it too.

Not that the vampire can complain. She's not the one eating.

"And did Charlie agree to this?" Rosalie asks and Bella can't help but laugh.

"Rosalie, I'm packing right now. Obviously he let me go."

"I'm just checking."

"That's sweet of you." If it had been up to Edward or Alice they would have gone behind Bella's back and gotten his permission without even notifying Bella of it. "Thank you," Bella adds as an after thought.

Eventually the two days leading up to the trip fly by. Bella celebrates Christmas with her father, but her mind is a thousand miles away as they unwrap presents under the tree. She can't wait to spend time, just her and Rosalie alone. She hopes they'll have fun. It almost feels like they're going on a honeymoon of sorts. This suddenly has Bella thinking of different things. Of marrying Rosalie.

She knows they're only dating. But could Bella marry her? Could she? Rosalie was her mate but Bella had never given much thought to marriage before. Her father's hadn't turned out successful and her mother had been remarried so many times that Bella didn't care to count. She hadn't had the best example of marriage.

All Bella knew was that Rosalie valued marriage a lot. Had wanted to be a house wife. Bella tries imagining herself coming from work in a suit and tie, briefcase in hand, to find Rosalie in a 1950s outfit with perfect hair and perfect make up, setting the table up with a roast dinner and kissing Bella on the cheek after a long day of work.

She chuckles. She can so not take a Rosalie like that seriously. Can't even really imagine a proud woman easily submitting to the stringent rules of society that are constraining.

Rosalie arrived for Bella early in the morning, and for once, Bella is not sleepy. She couldn't sleep at all, last night, because she was so excited. And seeing the sight of Rosalie's sports vehicle pulling up has her giddy with their adventure. It's only going to be a five day trip because they don't have a long winter break, but it's jam packed with stuff to do. And thanks to the overcast weather due to winter being in full swing, Rosalie can actually walk about in the day and even the fact that she'll be covered up won't look weird.

Rosalie puts the car in park, and gets out to help Bella with her baggage even though it's only a duffel bag and it's small. Bella can totally handle it on her own but Rosalie's being gallant even as she looks like a princess in her purple peacoat, and her blonde curls hanging down her shoulders.

"You ready?"

"Of course I am. Excited too," Bella comments as she allows Rosalie to sling the bag inside and then open up the passenger side door for her.

"I can tell," Rosalie says with a happy laugh. "I can practically feel you vibrating."

She closes the door after Bella and then gets into the driver's seat. They pull out of the driveway and within minutes they're on the roads, the car smooth and silent around them. Bella can't stop smiling and Rosalie's face is the exact mirror of Bella's. "So, what's the plan? You said to leave the planning to you and I'm pumped to hear what you've got."

Bella had let Rosalie figure the semantics out because Rosalie would know best how to account for sunlight, being out around people, and other vampire things. Besides, Bella had seen Rosalie's notes. She was organized and her handwriting was so pretty. It was like looking at script from old Latin books. Bella enjoyed the loops and curls. Edward's handwriting had been short and squat in comparison and Bella cannot believe she's actually comparing handwriting as if it was a major decision making characteristic for dating someone or not.

How sappy has she gotten to even be in love with Rosalie's handwriting?

"We've got a full day booked. Before we hit up the first town, it's going to be about three hours. The weather forecast said it would be slightly sunny today during the peak hours and since we'll be arriving in the town during that time, I was thinking we could do something that involved us staying indoors until it got a bit darker."

"Like what?"

"There's an old fashioned drive in movie area in the town. There's a movie roughly about that time. We could watch it?" Rosalie suggested.

"I'm down for it," Bella nodded her head.

"It's an old classic. Coupled with the old fashioned way of viewing movies, it's got me feeling nostalgic," Rosalie admitted.

"Did you do that a lot, back in the day?" Bella asked. She still didn't know too much about Rosalie. But seeing as Bella was set on becoming a vampire, she supposed there was no point in rushing to know everything about Rosalie now when she would have so much time later.

Rosalie nodded her head. "Not when I was human. But when I became a vampire. Because they would often play movies at night time and it was one of the few activities I could do."

"Do you have any favorite movies? You must have like a ton, given you've been around to see so many of them."

"I'm not a huge fan of the movies. I used to be when I was younger and more...dramatic, shall I call it."

"Oh, you being snarky is called being dramatic?" Bella teased. "You should have joined theater."

"Can you imagine how people would freak out when they saw I didn't age?" Rosalie shook her head. "No, I wouldn't. Though the thought did cross my mind occasionally. But, I wouldn't ever be good for acting on someone elses orders. Not with how I've had my eyes opened to how much more I can do. How I don't have to answer to anyone."

"What about acting in movies?"

"Same concept applies," Rosalie said, taking a turn and they were finally leaving Forks, heading out into the greater Northwest. "But, I do appreciate those who can take directions. Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses."

"How did I know you would name her," Bella said with a small smile.

"She's a classic!" Rosalie defended and they continued to talk in this similar vein until they finally pulled into their destination. Rosalie must have memorized the whole route because she didn't use a GPS or a map at all.

The wonders of vampire memory.

Rosalie purchased tickets for them, careful to keep her arm not too long out in the light. She might be wearing gloves and a long sleeved jacket but she didn't want any sunlight catching on her face through the open window. Luckily the man manning the booth gave them tickets easily as there wasn't a long line and they pulled into the empty parking spot in the second row. Rosalie turned the car off as they waited for the place to fill up and for the movie to start. "Do you want popcorn?"

"No."

"Oh thank god. I hate the smell of it," Rosalie breathed easily and Bella chuckled.

"Yea, I don't really like it all that much either."

"Really? I thought humans loved the stuff. Popcorn literally saved the movie industry."

"Huh, you don't say."

"It did, during the Great Depression era. People would go see movies because popcorn was cheap and affordable."

"Who knew such a snack was so important." Then, Bella's cheeks flushed as she couldn't help from saying something else. "But, you're the most important snack to me."

Rosalie looked at Bella at this, arching up a brow in enjoyment of this vein of conversation. "No, you're the snack."

"Are you saying that just cause you're a vampire?" Bella batted her eyes playfully.

"No, I'm saying this in the human way," Rosalie's body was leaning in over the console and Bella couldn't help but lean in too. Their lips met in a sweet union that had Bella's eyes fluttering shut and her hand going to rest on Rosalie's thigh. She could feel the blonde's thigh tense up under the touch and a small gasp left her lips. The sound made Bella greedy to hear more, so she opened her mouth and slipped her tongue out, running it against the seam of Rosalie's lips. The blonde got the hint and opened her mouth, allowing Bella inside. Bella groaned as their tongues slid together, her other hand going up to Rosalie's hair and raking fingers through there, tugging a bit on the roots. Another inhaled gasp from Rosalie at this and suddenly Bella feels herself moving. She opens her eyes to peek out and finds that she is on Rosalie's lap. Rosalie with her super speed managed to slide her seat back to make space for both of them, before allowing Bella to rest on her lap, all without breaking the kiss.

Bella can stretch her form against Rosalie's, enjoying the feeling of hard curves against her softer ones. Rosalie's hands stay steadily on Bella's hips, respectful for now. But Bella's blood is boiling, dizzy with all things Rosalie. Rosalie's scent fills the car, powerful and enticing. Her lips make Bella's whole body tingle, and Bella wants more. She wants what happened last time on the hood of the car, but she wants to go even further. The mate bond between her is throbbing, demanding this to happen.

Rosalie must feel the same because she's suddenly kissing back harder, hands gripping Bella's hips harder. Bella's hips began to twitch against Rosalie's own as she can feel her arousal spiking up, making her burn with it.

Just as her hand is trailing down the side of Rosalie's clothed rib cage, trying to find a way to touch smooth skin, Rosalie pulls her mouth away and pushes Bella from her, so that there's space between them. "Rosalie?" Bella questions in a quiet husky voice.

Rosalie's eyes are black and she unconsciously licks her lips, like trying to get the last traces of Bella on them. "I think we should stop. Or I might want to go further with you."

"I wouldn't mind," Bella says honestly.

"But...I don't want it to be something like this. Something rushed, and cheap."

"Um...I...well I want to sleep with you," Bella confessed as her cheeks flared up. But she needed this to be perfectly clear with Rosalie. That Bella trusted her, wanted this.

"Bella, and I want to sleep with you too," Rosalie said, her eyes darkening even more than Bella thought possible. It was like shadows were growing within them. "But...I'm afraid of hurting you."

"I trust you not to hurt me," Bella said.

Rosalie gave a small laugh, shaking her head and sliding Bella off of her. "I want it to be perfect Bella. And not in the seat of my car. And I thank you for trusting me. But I can't- if I really let myself go I could hurt you. You saw what I did to the car and that wasn't us even going too far." She looks conflicted by this. So Bella sighs but doesn't push.

"Another good reason for me to be a vampire," Bella offers dryly. "We can actually have sex."

Rosalie snorts sarcastically despite herself. "That shouldn't be the sole reason for your decision."

Bella does not want a repeat of their argument. "It's not. Let's just watch the movie," she adds hastily. Rosalie looks like she'd liked to add more to this but she holds back, which Bella appreciates because she's sure Rosalie is still not happy with the idea of Bella turning but she's allowing her to make her own choices. Which is more than Bella can say for Edward.

The two of them turn back to the movie, which has started and that they've missed nearly half of.