KMYI Futuretake - two years later. Part 1 of 2.

"I don't know what to pack."

"Well, for starters, you probably don't need that giant-ass suitcase," Edward points out. "We'll only be in Joshua Tree for two nights."

"Right. But the days are hot, and the nights are cold. So, I need to pack for two different types of weather."

"You always bring way too many clothes and end up wearing the same two things over and over again," he muses, opening the closet.

I playfully glare at him.

He's totally right, though.

"Can I throw my shit in with your stuff?" he asks.

"Get your own suitcase."

"That is my suitcase," he points out. I merely smile, and he tugs on the vintage T-shirt I'm wearing. "This is mine, too."

"So is the person wearing it," I say sweetly, kissing his scruffy cheek. He's got more of a beard going on these days, and I really, really approve. "Don't act like you don't love me in your clothes."

"You're right. I do. But I love you even more with nothing on." His fingers pull at the hem, slipping it over my head until I'm topless.

He kisses my neck, dipping his head and bringing my breast into his mouth.

"Emmett and Rose will be here any minute," I warn. "She texted me, like, half an hour ago saying they were taking an Uber from the airport."

"They can wait."

"What if they walk in?"

"Front door's locked."

"Edward," I warn, feeling myself caving to the idea when his tongue flicks out over my nipple.

"I deserve the sex today of all days," he murmurs, and I laugh under his touch.

"Why's that?" I feign confusion.

"It's my birthday."

"It's actually not until tomorrow," I point out, shivering when he sucks on my neck.

"Bella."

"Fine," I concede, but of course I want nothing more than to give into him. I just have to give him a hard time.

He undoes the button fly of my jean shorts, tugging them down my legs.

And being the selfless man he is, he goes down on me first, kicking off his birthday weekend by giving me a mind-blowing orgasm.

XXX

The two-hour trip to Yucca Valley is one of the more scenic drives we've taken while living in California. I'm not sure why we haven't made it out here before, but celebrating the birth of the man I love seems like a great reason to invite our best friends out to the desert.

The house we rented off AirBnb is an Instagrammer's dream. When I read a review that labeled it a "property for architecture enthusiasts," I knew it was the perfect house for us to celebrate in.

It's light, airy. The living room has floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors that slide open to the back of the house, almost inviting the desert inside. There's a sweeping view of the mountains where Joshua trees and cacti dot the landscape and a hot tub with lights strung up around the area.

Edward whistles when we walk in.

"Did you just get a boner?" Emmett asks seriously. "'Cause I did."

Rose and I roll our eyes.

"Do you love it?" I ask Edward, who's marveling at the design and aesthetic.

"I do." He pulls me against his side, kissing my temple. "You did good, baby."

"Go pick a room," Rose calls out, making her way into the kitchen. "We'll start unpacking all the booze, and I'll have Em make us some cocktails."

"Sounds good," I say casually, pulling Edward behind me.

We walk down the hallway, checking out each of the three bedrooms, landing on the one with a wall of windows and a king-sized bed.

I throw myself onto the mattress, and Edward stares out at the view.

"God, this bed is so comfortable." He stays put, his back to me. "Hello?" I say, snapping him out of it. "Insanely sexy girlfriend lying on the bed, waiting to be ravaged…"

He breathes out a laugh as he slowly makes a move to hover over me.

"Hi."

"Hi," I echo, pulling him down so his full weight is on me. He buries his face in my neck, and I feel him breathe into my hair. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

"Are you worried about turning thirty?"

"No."

"You should be. You're old AF."

He laughs, brushing some hair away from my face. "You're only a year younger than I am."

"Still younger."

"If older means wiser and more mature, I'll take it," he teases.

I pinch his nipple through his shirt. "Fucker."

He kisses my mouth, pushing his hips into mine. "I really, really am. But we should unpack."

"We're only here for two days, remember?"

"I remember."

I'm still holding onto him. "So let's not unpack."

"Bell," he laughs, kissing me. "If you don't let me get up, then I'm gonna get up, and it might be insanely obvious why we've disappeared for so long."

"So?" I challenge, and he raises his eyebrows.

I know he wants it, too, because of the way I teased him on the drive here. With my feet propped up on the dashboard and shorts so short he couldn't keep his eyes off my legs. More than once his attention was diverted, and he eventually had to tell me to put my legs away. I did, but I wasn't happy about it. Just like I'm not happy about him putting an end to this now.

"They're waiting," he tries again.

"Fine," I sigh, pushing him off of me. "You know, if you were harder on the eyes, this wouldn't be a problem."

"So, it's my fault you want me so bad?" he jokes, adjusting himself in his jeans.

"Damn straight it is."

"Trust me, it's equally difficult for me to keep my hands off you," he murmurs sweetly, sliding my fallen bra strap back in place under my tank top.

"Says the guy who just turned down birthday sex."

He grabs my waist, letting his hands slide down to cup my ass. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I love you." His eyes darken, and he kisses a trail from my cheek until he reaches my mouth. "Later."

"Later," I echo, smirking.

I'm gonna hold him to that.

XXX

When we join Rose and Em outside on the patio, they already have snacks and drinks prepared.

The four of us lounge in the sun, toasting to the birthday boy with blueberry basil mojitos. We talk tentatively about what we wanna do tonight and go back and forth on either grilling some food or heading into town.

After our third round of mojitos, it's decided that we don't want to bother with cooking.

"Should we get some pictures before we get a little too toasted?" Rose asks, looking at me.

"Shoot." I slide my sunglasses onto my head. "Yeah, we probably should."

I stare out at the horizon; the sun is about to turn everything dreamy and golden. It's the perfect time to get some photos.

"Pictures?" Edward asks, confused.

Six months after I moved to LA, I got a job working at a boutique clothing store, handling their Instagram and providing content for their website. Cora, the owner, and I totally hit it off in the interview, and after a glowing recommendation from Ben, she offered me the job.

It's a small business, but the shop is warm and inviting, and the people I work with are total gems. Every item in the store is expertly curated to reflect Cora's Bohemian taste, and though it's the only shop she's opened so far, she carries brands and unique quality goods from around the world.

When she heard we were coming to Joshua Tree this weekend, she definitely used it to her advantage. She asked me to bring a few clothing items and accessories to photograph in the desert setting. The entire thing escalated when she realized my bombshell of a friend would be here, too, and decided to send along all of next season's items for Rose to showcase.

Rose was thrilled when I told her.

Edward, however, looks less so.

"Cora asked me to get a few photos of Rose wearing our Fall items. Remember?"

"So, you're working," Edward says a bit flatly.

"Just a few shots," I say carefully. "That's all."

He's quiet, contemplative. If he's upset, he won't say it in front of Rose and Em. That's not his style.

"Em, will you help me clear the table?" Rose and Em start stacking glasses and plates.

Edward and I are quiet until they leave.

"What's wrong?" I ask gently.

"'Just a few shots' usually turns into hours of you disappearing," he replies, a little deflated. "I'm not mad, I just… didn't think you'd be working this weekend."

"It's not even really work."

"Just like our trip to Mexico, which turned into you spending hours uploading and editing photos to send to Cora, wasn't considered work?" I open my mouth, but he keeps going. "Just like in San Francisco when you left me at the hotel for a few hours to meet with that shop owner? That wasn't you working?"

"I didn't leave you for hours," I counter. "It was like—"

"Three hours, Bella."

"Okay? But we'd just started carrying their items in our store, and Cora just wanted me to—"

"Bella."

"Edward. Why do I feel like I have to defend myself to you?"

He gives me a look.

"You don't. I'm just... bummed."

This feels all too familiar, and apprehension brews in my belly.

Right after I got the job, we argued a lot. I wasn't even working as much as he was, technically, but my job required me to be gone during weekends, whereas he had weekends off. So, we barely saw one another. Which turned into us orbiting around each other, picking the stupidest fights when we were together.

It wasn't how I envisioned our first year of living together.

But that was our reality.

Eventually, we decided we should go to therapy. After a couple of months of being consistent with it, it finally came out that Edward was still harboring some resentment toward me after I pushed him away and threw myself into my old job, with Ben. I guess my new gig in LA, coupled with being overly busy, brought back those feelings, and he wasn't sure how to talk to me about it.

He was scared of losing me again, I guess.

Instead of empathizing, I lashed out. Why would he think he was losing me? I moved for him. I quit a job I liked, and gave up everything to be with him. And what did he give up? Nothing. He already had a life in LA without me, and I had to figure out where I fit into the equation.

We worked through it, though.

We moved past it.

Or so I thought.

"I don't know what you want me to say," I tell him, swallowing back any defensiveness that's starting to build. "How would you have liked me to handle this differently?"

"I just wish you would've told me about having to work beforehand. And… maybe don't let Cora dictate what we do in our free time? I hate that she convinces you to sneak in some work while we're on vacation."

"Okay." I think about this. He's not wrong, and I get where he's coming from. If he abandoned me to work, I'd feel hurt, too. Especially during my birthday. "Well, I did tell you. Two weeks ago. When we were at the beach?"

Recognition flashes over his face. "Oh. Yeah. I forgot."

"Maybe you're right. I should be better at telling Cora no. Next time I'll tell her no work on vacation. Because that is shitty… I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

"But I'll do this for her today because I can't go back on my word. Half an hour, tops. That's it."

"Thank you." He drains his glass. "I'm not trying to be a controlling asshole. You know that, right?"

I leave my chair and sit in his lap. "I know. And I don't think you're being a controlling asshole."

"I just want this weekend to be perfect for us. No work. No bullshit. Just... you and me."

"And Em and Rose?" I offer, smiling.

"You know what I mean."

"It's still perfect. To me, at least."

"Okay," he says, sighing. "That's all I want."

"It's your birthday weekend, though," I laugh. "It should be perfect for you, not me." He leans over and captures my mouth in a kiss. "Let me go do this and then… we can shower together before dinner?"

His eyes twinkle. "Okay." I stand from his lap, and he gently tugs my wrist, keeping me in place. "I'm sorry for being weird about it."

"It's okay," I say, then add as an afterthought, "we're okay."

I meet Rose inside and start unpacking all the clothes I need for her to wear. She's more than obliging to play dress up, and I really, really appreciate it.

We make our way outside, and she follows behind me as I walk through rocks and dust to find the perfect spot to shoot. I let her pass in front of me, capturing some shots of her walking away. Then stopping. Then looking back at me. We do that a few times until we move on.

She stands near some cacti, and I guide her on where to look, how to stand. I toss her a brown felt hat, and she puts it on her head, staring out into the distance.

"You're killing it," I tell her, staring through the lens of my camera.

"This is so weird," she laughs.

"I know. But we're almost done," I promise. "Also, thank fuck you're here, otherwise I'd have to set up my tripod and be in the shot. Or I'd have Edward do it, but… sometimes he teases that I just want him to be my Instagram Husband. So, I try not to bug him too much with taking photos for me."

"Speaking of husbands," Rose says.

"Real subtle, Rose."

I get a shot of her mid-laugh.

"Well, what? Have y'all talked about it? Do you want to?"

I lower my camera. "Of course I want to. I love him. Yeah, we've talked about it in the sense that it's going to happen, and we'll be married someday. Not like… planning out every detail or anything, though."

I'm not in a rush, either. I like where we're at right now. Not that I wouldn't mind if we got married. I'd say yes in a heartbeat. But I'm also not going to push it.

When it happens, it'll happen.

"Okay, I think…" I scroll through all the photos I've taken. "We're all set."

"Now what do you gotta do?"

Pick the best ones. Edit them. Email them over to Cora and await her approval, then retake any photos she requests.

But my insanely sexy boyfriend is inside, waiting for me to jump into the shower with him.

Everything else can wait.