A Million Miles Away
When dreams are millions of miles away, they hold on to what they can. One week is all they have.
There is always their one week in August.
When the sun beams high in the sky, but the chill in the air whispers the secrets of the upcoming fall.
The time when the early dawn mornings are sweatshirts and legs wrapped in blankets on the balcony.
No matter the time of day or temperature in the air, there's always stolen kisses on borrowed time.
Every second counts here on this island. The minute the plane touches land again, it's a race for time to begin.
They only have one week.
Seven days out of three hundred sixty-five.
There's no time for anything but each other.
Every year, for that one week in August, time ceases to exist outside of Edward and Bella. Schedules are made a year in advance. Dates and times are booked for the next August before their planes leave to take them back to their real lives.
Their separate real lives.
All contact ceases to exist until their next week in August.
This trip is no different.
Her fingers dip lightly into the water, the crystal reflections from the pool dancing across her skin. Her face is tanned and hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses, but her eyes are open and she watches him from across the pool as he orders their drinks.
Edward knows exactly what she likes, and he thanks the bartender for the quick service before heading back over to his girl. She's floating on a raft in the deeper end, near the built-in seating, so he has a place next to her. It's simple things like this that show just how much she knows him. Values his presence next to her.
Wordlessly, he swims over to her, not spilling a drop of the two drinks in his hand, with a smile on his face. She returns the smile when he hands her drink to her and drops a kiss on her lips.
"Just like I remember," Bella says, swallowing her favorite drink for the first time in a year. This is what she dreams about when she's stuck at home, buried beneath foot after foot of cold snow.
Well, it's one of the things she dreams about.
The other makes himself comfortable on the ledge in the pool, the sun beaming off his rounded shoulders as he takes a sip. His head tilts back into the heat of the day, and he sighs his appreciation for both the warmth and the drink, into the air.
"It's always better than I remember," Edward says and pulls her plastic raft closer to where he sits. "Not just the drink."
"I know."
He kisses her then, not caring that everyone else around them will get a glimpse into the passion they share. It's intense, always has been, and neither of them has any intention of ending this anytime soon.
Their one-week arrangement has lasted six long years, and even through life's twists and turns, they make sure nothing gets in the way of making this one week happen.
His lips against hers always leave her breathless; it reminds her of all those things those lips have done to her and all the promises of what lies ahead for them. She whimpers against his mouth, tasting his drink mixed with hers, and she wants him again, even though she had him all to herself in their hotel room earlier.
When they part for air, their foreheads resting against each other in the calming movement of the water, they both wish it was different.
They both wish for more than just one week.
Six years ago, when they first met on the island purely by chance, their chemistry was instantaneous and unavoidable. Every minute for the next seven days had been devoted to one another, and when their week was up, they had booked their time for the following August without a moment's hesitation.
No regrets. Not even six years later, with a plethora of both life and career experience between them both. Two high-profile people like them don't have time for relationships; this one week is all they have, despite how hard it is to say goodbye when their time is up.
They feel it now, even though their week has only just officially begun. Each movement is purposeful. Each caress is burned into memory.
Bella wouldn't have it any other way. Her mind and body respond solely to him, even on the other three hundred fifty-eight days of the year when she closes her eyes and thinks of him and their island. She's thought of him over the years longer than she's been able to physically touch him. She spends more time missing him than she has the actual time to be with him.
She's starting to hate being apart from him so much.
Fuck their careers.
Seven days isn't enough. She wants him forever.
He knows what she's thinking; it's written all over her face. He wants it, too - but it's complicated.
They met each other when their careers were firm and well-established. Each had worked too hard and for too long and had decided a week-long vacation by themselves was a substantial reward for their hard work.
And when they met, and ultimately fell in love here on this island, they swore they wouldn't let the distance become something that would ultimately keep them apart, and it has worked.
Until now.
Now he dreads leaving her even before his plane has touched down on the island. He hates kissing her - because he knows he'll be dreaming of those lips for the next year, trying to navigate life without her.
"Don't." Edward shakes his head and reaches for her hand.
She nods, inhaling to find her inner strength and exhaling to let go of the thoughts weighing her down and keeping herself from enjoying their time together.
"You're right." Bella shakes her head to regain the focus she needs.
She has a whole year to wallow; this week belongs to them.
She finds herself taking pictures far more often than usual. When they're seated at dinner, she can't look at him in front of a melting sunset as they sit at their table for two in the water, her dress pulled up to her lap so the clear turquoise water can splash against their legs, without capturing him on camera.
Bella shares the pictures with him, leaning in to show him her screen so he can get a closer look. She's so engrossed in sharing with him she doesn't see the way he looks at her. His heart clenches at the sight of her enthusiastic smile, the breeze off the water blowing her chestnut curls across her cheek, the orange and pink of the sunset casting her skin aglow before his eyes.
Even though it's only one week, Edward can't believe how lucky he is to have her.
He tells her that later that night, when he's buried deep inside her with their hands entwined above her head, how much this week, how much she, means to him. His kisses sear onto her skin like she's branded with his love, and it's a mark she proudly bears.
She holds onto those times months later, when she's wrapped up in her blankets on the couch in her living room, dozing off to memories of their weeks together beneath the summer sun. Her journal lies open on the couch next to her, her loneliness apparent as her words trickle on.
My dreams are a million miles away.
She dreams of their island, his words of love and his infectious laugh, the way he fills her completely like he was made specifically for her.
Sometimes she dreams so vividly she wakes up confused as to where she really is. She dreams of Edward's voice and believes him to really be outside of her door in the dead of winter.
Blinking and bleary-eyed, she slowly moves into a sitting position, wrapping the blanket tightly around her shoulders. She shivers as she becomes more clear-headed, the -
"Bella!"
Her head shoots over to the door, confused again by her surroundings.
Because she knows that voice.
It's coming between ferocious knocks and heavy wind gusts.
How did he -
"Bella! It's fucking freezing!"
Laughing through her tears, she scrambles to her feet and makes it to the door, ripping it open to see his face red from the snowstorm. Bella has no idea how he's here - or why - but he's here.
Edward stands on her doorstep, looking as out of place as he should.
"A week once a year isn't enough," he blurts out before she can begin asking all of the questions running through her mind.
She nods, stepping back to grab her phone and cancel her appointments for the week. "I can schedule a week now."
He shakes his head, his wet and icy glove reaching her hand to stop her. "Forever."
She smiles.
That definitely sounds like something she could do.