(Ok guys! I haven't updated in pretty much FOREVER, so I'm going to make this chapter extra-long if you guys don't mind reading it. It's mostly fluff and a little humor, but I thought it was getting a little to dreary so I added a little buzz. ALSO, if you are watching the O.C., don't read as soon as you see this: ()()(), and you can start again once you see it again. Ok! Here it is! xoxo-L)
Edward and I laid on the bed, panting for breath. He squeezed my hand tightly and smiled at me. I smiled back and got up, walking to the bathroom to wash up.
I splashed cold water on my face, and really looked at myself in the mirror for the first time since becoming a real vampire, not a red-eyed, bloodthirsty newborn.
Not a strand of my glossy chestnut hair was out of place; it ran smoothly over my shoulders and back. My cheekbones were more prominent, and my full lips now fit in with the rest of my face; they did not look out of place. My eyes were light butterscotch from feeding earlier that day, with only the slightest hint of a purple shadow under them.
I stood back a little ways from the full length mirror to see my whole body. My always slender legs now had muscle definition, and I couldn't help but smile when I realized how much time I had saved since I no longer had to shave them. My stomach looked toned, as did my arms. My porcelain skin was flawless, and though I thought I would love not having to worry about my appearance anymore, I was actually a little disappointed. Of course I was still Bella; I just wasn't the same. I wasn't used to beauty, and I didn't know how to feel about it.
Sure, it was nice at first having men's eyes watch me as I walked down the street, seeing women shoot looks of jealousy at me in clothing stores. But now those men's eyes seemed a little creepy, and I didn't like making enemies as soon as I met a girl. Of course Edward probably liked it better this way, and I was happy for him to be happy. But I couldn't help but be curious, so I walked into our room to get dressed and ask him about it.
"Hello, love," Edward greeted as I walked in. "What have you been doing?"
"Just washing my face," I said with hesitation as I pulled a t-shirt over my head. The hesitation didn't go unnoticed (of course).
"Something wrong, Bella?" he asked as he stood up (I saw that he was only half naked- he had put on a pair of jeans) and placed a hand on my back. I loved how his hands no longer felt cold, and I could get so close to him without a shiver. I pulled a pair of black yoga pants on and turned to look at him.
"I was just... wondering..." Why was this so awkward? It wasn't that awkward a question. Do you like me now that I'm actually pretty? It didn't sound weird in my head. So why was it so hard to spit out? "I was just, er... thinking about...some things..." Oh my god. I sounded like an idiot! Why didn't I just say it?
"Mmm... what kind of things?" I didn't realize how close we were. His arms were now constricted around my waist, pulling me closer. I should have known he could get anything out of me with those beautiful eyes, looking straight into mine.
"Do you like me more now that I'm pretty? I mean I know you loved me before but I was just wondering because I know that you're totally gorgeous and I was always just a boring human girl and now that I am on about the same level of attractiveness as you it might be easier for you to like me and-" I was rambling. I probably would have kept on talking too if he didn't smile and hold a finger to my lips while his eyes closed. I quieted down and buried my face in his chest. How come at first I couldn't get my words out, then when I did, I said way to much? Ugh. There really was something wrong with me.
"Bella... my sweet. I love you for you, and even if you really did have a third eye and webbed feet, you would always be the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing thing in my world. Well, you would have to be- you are my world."
"I love you more than anything, Edward." I said quietly into his bare chest. "But... that still doesn't answer my question. I'm not asking if you find me attractive, or if you would love me if I wasn't. I just can't help wondering if you love me more now that I'm a little more beautiful." I was surprised that I didn't ramble or speak without confidence, but my voice stayed steady- and full of curiosity. I looked up.
He looked halfway between incredulous and full of disbelief, as if I'd just asked him to go steal Rosalie's panties and wear them as a hat. I made sure he told me the entire truth. Then, all of a sudden, the room was filled with loud, roaring laugh and he fell backwards onto the bed.
"Are you over your little episode?" I asked quietly as he started to settle down. Was that truthfully what he thought of me?
"Oh Bella, you are absolutely hilarious. I honestly haven't even noticed that much how you've changed. Of course you look extremely gorgeous, but you always have; and even if you think you weren't pretty before, I think you have always looked this beautiful. Of course I don't love you more; there was no way to love you more than after the first time I kissed you."
He said it with humor, but it was also somehow filled with passion and romance. I smiled at how the words made me feel and laid down next to him. Ah, he was perfect. My world was perfect. At some point during the hunting trip Edward had gotten on good terms with the rest of the family, so I no longer felt the need to choose between the Cullens and Edward- we could all live as one big happy family, forever.
Just as I was wallowing in my beautiful moment with an even more beautifully shirtless Edward, (ha-ha,) I heard a voice from downstairs. It seemed Emmett had just bought all of the seasons of the O.C.
Edward and I walked downstairs, not knowing what was about to take place. Because of course, with Emmett, I never really knew. But Emmett had just gotten over the 'Guitar Hero' phase a few months ago, so I had a general idea of what awaited us.
"Oh, c'mon, Summer. ZACK? We all know you and Seth belong together, so how come every god damn time you and him are about to kiss, freaking Zack comes back into the picture? Ugh!"
Turns out, Emmett gets pretty emotional in teenage dramas. Everybody had gathered in the family room to watch the show, even though most people paid more attention to Emmett's reactions than the tv.
()()()"Marissa! Oh, please, first the yard guy, and now a highschool dropout? A WOMAN highschool dropout? We all know you're not a lesbian, and you're just trying to get your mom upset. And Ryan... you can't possibly be going out with CALEB's daughter. That makes her your aunt or sister or something!"()()()
Emmett talked to the characters like they were actually in the room with him. Jasper and Edward were sitting on the loveseat (aww) looking at each other, grinning every time Emmett made a comment.
Alice seemed bored. She was absentmindedly playing with a strand of Rosalie's hair, who was seated beside her on the large sofa and also looked equally as bored. Apparently, they had both seen these shows on TV a few months ago. Esme sat in the recliner and kept a small grin on her face, happy to see her son happy. Carlisle said he needed to cover somebody else's shift at the hospital who was sick today, even though I knew he was lying because he didn't change and he started driving in the wrong direction. I was sitting with Emmett on the floor, getting into the show and agreeing with whatever he said.
()()()Emmett threw the remote at the TV when Marissa got in the car crash and died.()()() He looked sad. SAD. His face was all squinty and his head rested in his palms. He took the DVD player and threw it against the wall. Of course, this made Esme and Rosalie pissed off, so he earned two smacks in the head and a shopping trip with Alice to get a new DVD player.
Jasper agreed to join them, stating that he knew more about electronics than anyone else. Esme and Rosalie said they would go, but only to visit a store opening. Alice then insisted that she wanted to go to that, too, which made Jasper and Emmett upset that they would spend the day in the mall. THEN Esme told them that if they put up with it, she'd let them buy another WII so they didn't have to take turns anymore.
This little argument lasted about 30 seconds, and before I knew what was happening, Edward and I were sitting alone in the main room, with a smashed DVD player and Carlisle's 'forgotten' doctor bag. I shrugged, snuggled in with Edward on the couch, thinking it was just another day in the Cullen family. Suddenly something dawned on me.
We were alone.
In this huge house.
The other seven vampires (who all had super hearing, I might add) were all gone.
I sat up quickly, startling Edward with my vamp speed. I made a mental note never to think of the words vamp speed again.
"EDWARD!" I squealed in my musical voice.
"Bella? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Over protective Edward, as always. Even when I was practically indestructible he still worried about my well-being.
"No, silly! Do you realize what is going on?!" I was speaking very quickly, and even with his vamp hearing (I decided never to even try using the word vamp-anything, because it never sounded cool) I doubted he could make out everything I was saying.
"Erm... well, we have a bunch of adolescent werewolves trying to start a war, a crazy brother who is obsessed with the OC, and a father who is sane enough to run away from it all for a bit. Which were you referring to?" Edward raised an eyebrow, humor filling his face.
"Uh, how about none of the above?" I mused, and took his hand. Sure, we had already done... THAT...today (twice. ahem.), but we had to take advantage of this. Sure, we had our own suite upstairs. And if we tried to be really quiet, most people couldn't hear. But where's the fun in that? I wanted to go crazy!
"I don't quite follow..." Edward murmured, but laced his fingers through mine anyway.
"Ugh. For a vampire who has gone through high school and all the ivy league universities, you don't seem very smart. But I'll give you a hint. What do all girls think when they walk by you?" I questioned, pressing my lips to his collarbone.
"Well, if you're talking about Alex in the O.C..." He smiled.
"That doesn't count, she likes girls. But I bet you're so good-looking you could turn her straight." I patted him on the top of his head.
"I think it's actually something genetic in their bodies, not that they think girls are prettier," Edward explained.
"Good to know. But you're not going to distract me today. I know you know what I'm talking about. And, excuse me, but I thought all guys wanted to do all day was have sex," I knew, that even if I were human, I wouldn't have blushed. Me and him were comfortable with this subject now.
"Yeah, with their wives." He said.
I looked at him, confused, for a minute. What the hell was he talking about?
"Listen Bella, I know you probably want to explore new things, but I really don't want to share my love with any other woman, even if you were there too."
I stared at him, wide-eyed and open mouthed. Then I started to laugh.
"Oh-Edward," I said between fits of giggles. "I don't want to have a... menage au trois. I was just- using that- as an example of what I was in the mood for-" I broke off again, laughing.
"Well, you can see where a man can get confused!" Edward said, louder than usual and full of obvious embarrassment. "I mean, you obviously wouldn't want to do that sort of thing with other people in the house. So I don't see why sleeping together would be anything special just because our family is out of the house!"
I was still laughing hysterically. A threesome! He didn't understand that I just wanted to scream as loud as I wanted, and I was sure that was what girls thought about when they saw Edward. I tried to simmer down. Edward looked frustrated.
"Oh, Edward, don't be upset," I reasoned. "You know how many times I feel like an idiot when I'm around you?"
"Well, I'm not upset. Nor do I feel like an idiot. I just think it would be nicer if you were to explain where you are going with conversations more clearly." He spoke stiffly and formally.
"Huh. So I guess I'm not gonna get any, huh? Oh well. I'm going upstairs to listen to music, since you don't seem to want to act like a man right now. I don't mind, you just tell me when you're over yourself-"
He didn't let me finish. Actually, by the time I collected my thoughts, my shirt was off. Well then! That was just nice wasn't it. At least I knew how to make him do stuff for me. Insult him, make jokes about his sexuality, threaten to leave the room. Surprising; I never would have thought that turned guys on.
But his lips were moving fiercely with mine now, probably wanting to prove something to me. Oh well. I'll take it. I leaned over top of him, straddling him so my knees were on either side on him. His fingers traced up and down the backs of my thighs as I kissed him harder, daring him to see if he could act like a 'real man'. Well let me just say this- over the next hour, he definitely proved himself.
(There! I know I write short chapters compared to most people, but ideas come easier to me when I'm not writing for long periods of time. This cute chapter took less than an hour to write, and I know nothing much happened, but I just really wanted to show everyone that Edward and Bella's relationship was still strong. Sorry if there are typos. REVIEW! I have a feeling that people are getting a little bored with this story, so unless I get enough reviews to convince me otherwise, I'll be finishing it off within a few chapters. No point in writing a story that no one reads! Anyhooooo, yes, please review. CLICK IT! I KNOW YOUR'RE LOOKING AT THAT LITTLE BLUE BUTTON AND ARE ABOUT TO CLICK IT RIGHT...ABOUT...NOW!!)