oOo
Bella was fast asleep in his arms, but Edward couldn't find any rest.
For one thing, he was all riled up after kissing her for hours and hours.
The other thing was his mind, where his thoughts were racing to and fro.
He knew that he could not stay with Bella indefinitely. Actually, he would have to go home tomorrow if only for the fact that he had been wearing those boxers… ugh… far too long.
But that wasn't the point.
He needed to do something about the whole situation. For one night and one day they'd pretended that everything was fine, and normal.
They had acted like a couple.
But they were not. A couple. Not yet.
And Edward wasn't happy about the fact.
Bella had already invested so much into their relationship, she'd put herself out there and he'd done so little to make her feel as revered, as cherished, as she deserved.
He would change that.
Bella twitched in her sleep, startling him. She mumbled something unintelligible.
He kissed her temple, and she calmed immediately.
He inhaled her scent once again, and finally, finally, he became drowsy.
.
"Hey." She smiled. "Good morning."
Edward had to face facts. Bella was a morning person.
"Hey," he muttered groggily.
She kissed his cheek and darted out of bed.
He listened to the sounds. Her bare feet pattering to the bathroom. The sound of the toilet flushing. The tap being turned on. Gargling. The shower.
Edward swallowed.
He tried to go back to sleep.
The scent of coffee was wafting over to him.
He opened his eyes again, and remembered that, at one point during the night, he had come to a decision.
"Hello!" She was smiling when he showed up in her small kitchen after he'd showered and dressed, once again, in his grubby jeans and shirt.
"Bella?"
"Yes?"
She handed him a cup of coffee.
"Thanks. You know, I need to go home today…"
She nodded.
"Yeah. We couldn't stay in our little bubble forever," she said sadly.
"Can't we?" He cocked his head.
Bella shrugged. She looked quite lost in her enormous knitted pullover. It had a reindeer on the front, which Edward noticed only now, and which made him fondly shake his head.
"This?" She gestured to it.
"Mmm."
"Jackie made it."
"She must have quite a… different sense of fashion…"
Bella pursed her lips, looking up at him with huge, round, dark eyes.
"What I meant was that I need to go home primarily because I need to change my clothes. You're aware that meanwhile, it's Saturday, are you?"
"And you normally change your clothes on Saturday?" She smiled impishly.
"You're silly." He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. "You know what I mean."
He cleared his throat. They'd become so close over the last two days, and yet he felt shy asking her.
He took her hands in his.
"Bella, do you… do you think your parents could accommodate another guest at their party?"
Her eyes became even larger.
"Like… like your boyfriend?"
oOo
Woo-hoo! E and B, sitting in a tree…