Time is running out to donate to the Babies at the Border Fiction Compilation fundraiser! Donations to the ACLU or RAICES of $10 or more by November 24 gets you a copy of the compilation that includes 90 authors! See the Facebook group, Babies at the Border Fiction Compilation or the blog batbcomp. blogspot. com for more details about where to submit your receipt.
I've donated the first 3 chapters of "His Dirty Girl" which is ADL part 2 :)
"You look beautiful today," he says, pushing a hair behind my ear. "Your skin shines against the blue of this shirt."
"Someone has good taste," I say, smiling. He bought me this for Christmas last year, but he must have forgotten judging by the confusion on his face. "You bought it."
"Oh, wow." He shakes his head. "I don't know how I could've forgotten." He steps closer, cupping my cheek. "Yes, I do. It's you. You scramble my brain with your perfection."
I place my hand over his, tilting into his touch. "The things you say take my breath away."
"You take my breath away." He releases me and takes a step back, dropping to his knees and producing a black velvet box from his pocket. I'm too stunned to speak, so I only stare. "You're it for me, Bella. I know we're still in college, but we graduate in the spring, and I don't want this part of our lives to end without knowing you're going to be mine." He pauses, taking my hand and pushing the diamond onto my finger. "Will you marry me, Isabella Marie Swan?"
Tears leak from my eyes, and I nod furiously. "Yes!" I say, smiling and sniffling and so overcome that my heart is pounding. "Yes, E—"
My eyes pop open, and the sunlight reflecting off the bright mounds of snow outside the window causes them to slam back closed. I groan, burying face in the fluffy white pillow as I try to forget the dream. It doesn't take much to push it away. A single image destroys the longing, and the pain that forced me to drive nine long hours comes roaring back.
"Bella," Mrs. Cope calls, pushing the empty cart back to the desk. "I finished putting the books away earlier than expected. How do you feel about getting out of here an hour early?"
"Are you sure?" I lay the book I'm reading aside, inserting the bookmark and stuffing it in the drawer. "I don't mind staying."
She waves me off. "The campus is dead with winter break. I can handle closing up alone. Besides, Mr. Cope will be here in thirty minutes as usual."
"If you're sure," I say, already grabbing my coat.
"Go on. Get!" She giggles as I throw up my hands and pretend to scurry away.
The early evening air is freezing, and it forces me pull my coat tighter as I exit the library and begin the short walk to our apartment. We've been living together for over a year in a nice apartment only a block from campus. We've discussed finding a bigger place since the engagement, but we're not even sure if we'll stay in Seattle come spring.
My feet pound against the stairs as I hurry up the two flights. The warmth of the building is finally starting to settle in by the time I make it to our floor.
Just as I pass Alice's door, it opens, and she comes into the hallway. "Hey, Bella," she says in her usual perky voice. "I was about to run to the store, but is there any chance you have some sugar?"
"How much are we talking?"
"Just enough for coffee in the morning."
"Sure thing." I motion down the hallway. "Follow me."
What we find when we open that door is an image I'll never forget for the rest of my life. My boyfriend, my fiancé, has Rosalie Hale bent over the arm of the sofa as he plows into her from behind. They don't even realize I'm there, and It's Alice who comes out of her trance to pull me away.
The sound of water running brings me from my memories, and I roll over and sit up. The blanket falls to my waist as I search for the origin of the sound. Is that the bathroom? I ask myself, noticing a door on the right side of the room. Just as I toss the cover, ready to stand, it creaks open and a man clad in only a towel props against the jamb.
"Isn't this a surprise," he says, his eyes raking over my semi-naked body before coming back to mine. "Though I can't say it's a bad one."
I wonder what's under that towel.
WOW! You guys blew me away with the love for so few words. I hope I live up to it!
See you Monday :)