Bella

I was exhausted.

We shopped for almost eight hours. Eight hours! I didn't think that was possible. I'm sure we hit every store in Port Angeles. Lucky for me, Alice followed through with her promise and I had over a dozen new books to read.

By the end of the trip Rosalie had to carry me to the car because my legs weren't working. I didn't know exactly how much I walked today. If I had to guess it would be at least five miles. But I had to admit. Despite how tired and sore I was, I did enjoy being in Rosalie's arms.

Emmett drove us home as I laid in Rosalie's lap in the back seat for the drive. I wanted so badly to sleep but my mind wouldn't quiet down. "You should sleep," Rosalie muttered in my ear.

I snuggled closer to her cold body. As much as I wanted to sleep, I wanted to be with Rosalie more. I knew once I got in Rosalie's comfortable bed I wouldn't last long. So, I planned on making the most out of our time together. "Not yet," I told her.

Rosalie hummed in my ear. "I'll make you a warm bath when we get home," she promised.

That sounded nice. "Will you stay there with me?" I asked. I glanced at Emmett and saw him grinning. The perv. "Not for that," I quickly corrected. "I'm afraid I'll fall asleep and end up drowning."

Rosalie laughed. "I'll stay with you," she said. "Are you hungry? Do you want Emmett to stop for something or Esme can cook?"

"I'm a little hungry," I admitted. I walked several miles today, with only one stop for food during the trip. I should have made Alice stop more because I could feel it now. "I don't want to stop though. I'll eat the fruit Esme prepared earlier."

Emmett pulled into the garage and I sighed in relief. I was home… well no, I was at Rosalie's house. But it felt like home. Rosalie climbed out the car. I scooted over so I could get out but Rosalie pulled me into her arms before I could.

"You don't have to carry me," I protested weakly.

"Bella, you're exhausted and I know you're sore," Rosalie said gently. "Let me get you upstairs and into the bath."

I sighed. The bath was sounding better and better. And the thought of Rosalie carrying me was rather nice. I was so comfortable in her arms.

Rosalie moved slow, a normal human pace. I wasn't sure why. It could be to make things easier on me or maybe she simply wanted to prolong our time together. Either way it didn't bother me.

Rosalie sat me down on the toilet and made her way to the bathtub. She turned on the water and poured in some lavender bath salts. "You'll need to test this," Rosalie told me. "I'm not sure how warm it will be."

I got up, wincing at the pain in my feet and legs. I leaned over to check the temperature. "It's good," I told her.

"Good," Rosalie said. "Now, take off your clothes and get in. I'll get you some food."

I waited until Rosalie left the bathroom before stripping off my clothes. I threw them into the corner. I climbed into the bathtub and sighed. The water was so warm and comfortable. The smell of lavender filled my senses. It was so more relaxing than I thought. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warmth.

Rosalie returned minutes later. I opened my eyes and saw her holding a tray of fruit and chocolate. In her other hand was a bottle of water.

"Esme was a little upset with me and Alice," Rosalie said putting the tray on the edge of the very large tub. "She said we should have stopped more for you. And she's right." Rosalie looked down. "I'm sorry love. I should have paid more attention."

I leaned forward so I could grab Rosalie's hand. "It's not your fault Rose," I told her. "I could have said something but I didn't." Rosalie kissed my hand. "Will you join me?" I asked. Rosalie's hand turned to stone in my hand. "Please? It's not… I just want you to hold me."

"Of course Bella," Rosalie agreed. She pulled away so she could strip off her own clothes. I stared at her naked body. It wasn't polite to stare. I knew that. But Rosalie was a literal goddess. Her body was perfect. No blemishes or anything. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. "Scoot forward."

I moved forward to give Rosalie enough room to climb in behind me. Once she was settled, she pulled me against her cold body. I sighed. This was what I was missing. I couldn't truly relax without Rosalie. "This is nice," I muttered, leaning against Rosalie.

"It is," Rosalie said, her arms wrapped around my waist.

"Is this weird?" I asked curious.

She pressed a kiss to my neck. "Hm, is what weird?" she asked me.

"You, me, in here," I said. "You know, without sex?"

Rosalie laughed. "It's only weird if you think it's weird," she said softly. "I find it rather relaxing." She pushed my hair to the side. "Do you think it's weird?"

"No," I answered. "It's almost too comfortable."

Rosalie shifted slightly so she could pull the tray closer to us. "Eat my love," she said, gently rubbing my back. Her hand slid to my thigh. She grabbed a strawberry and held it to my mouth. I took a small bite and moaned softly. The fruit tasted so good after a long day. Rosalie's hand tightened on my thigh.

As we laid in the bathtub, Rosalie fed me fruit, and to my surprise, chocolate. Her left hand gently stroked my thigh. It wasn't sexual in nature but every stroke sent tingles down my spine. It made me crave her touch. And more than once I caught myself thinking about her hand going higher. She wouldn't do it, I knew. She wanted to do everything right. Even though I didn't understand it, I would allow it if that's what she wanted.

Rosalie reached for something else and I grabbed her hand. "No more," I told her.

Rosalie frowned. "You need to eat more," Rosalie said firmly. I rather liked this forceful Rosalie.

I turned to look at her and made a decision to ask Alice for food. "Got it Bella," Alice shouted for the other side of Rosalie's bedroom door.

Rosalie raised an eyebrow at me. "You're right. I need to eat. So, I made a decision to ask Alice to get me some food."

"That's rather brilliant," Rosalie laughed. She moved the tray to the floor away from us. "Do you have plans on Friday?"

I turned to glance at Rosalie's face. "You would know that better than me," I pointed out.

Rosalie shrugged against me. "You're free to do what you want love," she said. "But I was hoping you would be free for a date."

"A date," I repeated. I glanced at my naked body and her thighs and legs on the other side of my legs. "Aren't we past that?"

"We're never past that," Rosalie said. "No matter what is going, we can always set some time aside for each other." She wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my shoulder. "So, do you want to go?"

"Okay," I agreed. I liked the idea of spending time alone with Rosalie. "What are we going to do?"

"It's a surprise," she told her. She laughed when I started pouting. "Don't pout love. You'll love it. I promise."

"Fine," I said. I hated surprises but I did trust Rosalie.

The water started to cool down and I shivered. "We should get you out of here," Rosalie muttered.

I shook my head. Even though I was cold, I wanted to stay here. The tub was comfortable and so was Rosalie. "No, I want to stay," I told her.

Rosalie laughed. "You're cold love," Rosalie said gently. "Plus, Alice just got home with whatever disgusting human food you requested."

It was my turn to laugh. "It's nachos," I said. "With carne asada, guacamole…" I trailed off. She probably didn't know what those foods were. Nor did she care.

"What else?" Rosalie questioned. I turned to looked at her face. She seemed genuinely interested but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. "I love you. Of course, I care about what you like. Even if I don't like human food."

"It doesn't matter," I said shaking her head. "It's a bunch of human food I probably shouldn't be eating but I don't care. I'm sore and starving." I frowned. "Do you think Esme will be upset I didn't ask her to cook?"

"No," Rosalie promised. "She's not upset with you. She's more upset with Alice and me for not taking care of you properly." Rosalie cocked her head to the side. "She's making you brownies."

I groaned. I love brownies. "Okay, I'm ready," I told her. The excitement over food and brownies was enough to get me out of the comfortable bath.

Rosalie stood and wrapped her arms around me. She lifted me out of the bath and set me on the toilet seat. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her pale body before handing one to me. "Can you walk?" Rosalie questioned.

I stood, with Rosalie right next to me in case I fell. My legs were still sore but I was a bit more steady on my feet. The water helped with the aches. "I'm okay," I told her.

"I'm going to grab us clothes," Rosalie said. She disappeared before I could respond.

I started drying off while Rosalie was in her room. I could hear her moving around which was strange because she was normally so quiet. I assumed she was being loud on purpose, so I could hear her.

Rosalie returned not even a minute later with underwear and a pair of pajamas for me. She was already dressed in a pair of leggings and a tank top.

I quickly got dressed, stumbling only once in the process. "Do you want to go downstairs to eat or stay up here?" Rosalie questioned. She grabbed our dirty clothes and tossed them into the hamper by the door. It was such a human action, it surprised me.

"Downstairs," I told her. I wanted a chance to see Esme. Besides, it wasn't all that late, I assumed. I didn't actually know.

Rosalie nodded. "Do you want me to carry you downstairs?" she questioned.

I thought about it for a minute while I put on lotion. "Yes," I decided. I was still sore and didn't want to risk getting hurt.

Once I was done, Rosalie grabbed me and took me downstairs. My food was set up on the table when we arrived. "Thanks Alice," I called.

Alice walked into the dining room. "You're welcome Bella," she said with a small smile. "I'm sorry I made you shop so much. I promise to tone it down next time."

"Next time," I groaned.

Alice laughed. "Don't worry. You're off the hook for a while. If you need more clothes Rose and I will get them for you. Or we can do online shopping," she added thoughtfully.

I stared at Alice horrified. We'd just spent thousands of dollars and Alice was ready to spend more. "Alice enough," Esme said stepping into the dining room. "No shopping with Bella for at least a month." She walked over to me and kissed my cheek. "Feeling better Bella?"

I swallowed the chip I was currently chewing and nodded. "Yeah, much better," I agreed. I blushed as Emmett started laughing from the living room. Rosalie disappeared and Emmett yelped in pain. She must have fun off and hit him. She returned and acted like nothing happened.

While I ate my nachos, which were amazing, Esme, Alice and Rosalie sat at the table and chatted about some project Esme was working on. Once in a while I would add my opinion but for the most part, I stayed quiet and ate.

I couldn't finish my food. Even though I was starving when I sat down it was simply too much food. Alice seemed to notice I was done because she stood up and grabbed the plate. I heard the fridge open and close and knew she put it away for later.

"Thanks Alice," I said when she came back into the dining room.

Alice sat down next to me while Esme went to the kitchen. "So, I heard you're going on a date Friday," Alice said causally.

Of course, Alice knew that. "Any hints on where we're going?"

"No," Alice said. "Rosalie would kill me if I told you. I will say you're going to love it and I'm going to help you dress up." I gulped at the thought of Alice dressing me up. Alice laughed. "Relax. You won't be dressing up that much."

Esme returned with a warm brownie and a small amount of ice cream on top. "Thanks Esme," I told her. She kissed my cheek and sat back down. "Did you have fun today?" she questioned. I wasn't sure if she was genuinely curious if she was going to yell at Alice if I didn't have fun.

"I did," I said. And it was true. Despite being dragged all over Port Angeles I did have fun with the Cullen kids. Even Edward was fun to be around. "Edward found me a shirt. It's the best thing I got today."

Alice pouted. "Really? That shirt was your favorite?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

I rolled my eyes at her. "What kind of shirt?" Esme asked curious.

Rosalie ran upstairs to her room. She came back a few seconds later with the shirt in her hand. She handed it to Esme. "Claire de Lune," Esme said looking at the shirt. "Edward's favorite."

"My favorite too," I said. We had similar tastes. It was what first drew me to Edward in the first place. We had the potential to be great friends if we could get past what happened. This shirt was a step in the right direction. Not because he bought it but because he remembered something I had told him back when he first started talking to me. This showed that he actually did care. That his fascination with me wasn't just about my blood. That meant more to me than anything.

"A kindred spirt," Esme said with a smile. She glanced at her watch. "It's getting late and Bella has school in the morning."

Rosalie pulled out her phone to check the time. Esme was right. It was getting late. I stood and went over to Esme's side to hug her. "Goodnight Esme," I said. Esme kissed my cheek.

With Rosalie's help I was able to watch up the stairs to her bedroom. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth while Rosalie lounged on her bed. When I finished, I went to her room and found her lying on the bed with her eyes closed. If I didn't know any better, I would assume she was asleep.

She didn't open her eyes until I was on the bed with her. "How are you feeling?" she asked, shifting so she could look at me.

"I'm good," I told her. She didn't look convinced. "Really. Shopping was…fun. The bath was even better." I blushed and Rosalie grinned.

"You should sleep," Rosalie said pulling me against her chest. "Do you want me to sing for you?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm good," I told her. I closed my eyes and was within minutes.