Author's Note: I was all set to upload the next chapter, when I saw the review from icrodriguez, suggesting that Bella and Edward go to the beach at night. Reviewers tell me ideas sometimes, and I don't feel I have to use them, but this idea was brilliant and, in retrospect, obvious. In the future chapters I had already mapped out, Edward never went to the beach. I'd sent him to Florida, but I hadn't let him see the ocean. Clearly, that was a mistake, and there was a lot of potential fun in the alone time for the two of them. I realized the best time for this outing was before the chapter I had planned to be next. Cheerfully ignoring my work obligations, I immediately began typing, and this is the result. Thank you icrodriguez!
They showed us around the pleasant, small apartment. "Are you tired? What would you like to do?" Renee was trying to be a good hostess.
"Mom," said Bella, her eyes and voice suddenly full of animation. "Can Edward and I go to the beach?"
"It's kind of late," Renee hesitated. But she was picturing us strolling hand in hand along the ocean. I want her to see how beautiful it is here.
"We're on Pacific time," Bella cajoled. Renee handed Bella her keys. I listened attentively to the directions. Perfect recall and the ability to see the landmarks in Renee's thoughts made me an excellent navigator.
"Be careful," she cautioned automatically.
Bella rolled her eyes. "I'll be safe with Edward."
She grabbed my hand as we left the apartment. She dragged me to the car at a rapid pace. She was bouncing with excitement. Her heart was beating quickly.
"What's gotten into you?" I asked in amusement.
"I have to be alone with you."
Her words took my breath away. I could never get over the thrill of hearing that she longed for my company and my touch as much as I longed for hers. She tossed me the keys.
"You drive, OK?"
"On one condition."
She stopped in her rush to the passenger door. For one moment she looked at me with a puzzled expression. I gazed at her, concentrating on the depth of my love and desire for her. Then she guessed what I meant, and she opened her arms. I was there in an instant. Too quickly, if anyone were watching, but I couldn't worry about that now. She was kissing me, and my senses were flooded with the warmth, the delicious taste, the softness and the electric response in my body. Reluctantly I pulled away.
"You read my mind that time, sweetheart. But I still can't read yours. Do you really want to go to the beach or was that just an excuse to get me out here and ravish me?"
She was slightly breathless. She ran her hands over my chest. "Yes, the beach," she murmured.
"Not that I'm complaining," I added. I opened the door for her, and she practically fell into the car.
I pulled out of the parking lot. "So, we have to get to the beach before I can touch you again? If you want me to drive at your speed, you'll have to distract me."
"Tell me your impressions of Renee and Phil," she demanded. She always liked me to give her the inside story.
"Renee is delightful. She's so happy to see you. Her thoughts are joyful and loving. I can barely keep from nodding my head when she's thinking about how wonderful you are."
"Oh, you're silly," she scoffed. "What does she think about you?"
"Honestly, she's been focused on you. It feels like she's reserving judgment on me. Phil thinks I'm mature. Little do they know how mature."
"Or how immature," she replied smartly. "If they saw you wrestling with your brothers, they'd believe you're a real teenager."
"Unless they noticed the damage we do." She laughed. "Maybe they'd believe if they knew how desperate I am to kiss you again," I continued. "Teenage boys are like that, aren't they?"
"I wouldn't know. You're the only one I've ever kissed."
The idea that with all my faults, I'd been the one to win the most glorious girl on earth elated me for the thousandth time. I stepped on the accelerator.
The beach was not lighted, but the moon was up. There were a few other people walking along the water. Bella ran out onto the sand. She pulled off her shoes and transferred them to one hand.
"Just drop them. I'll be able to find them."
She wrinkled her nose. "You mean you'll be able to smell them. Yuck!"
"You'll never be able to get away from me. I can track you down." I tossed my shoes next to hers, and we rolled up our pants.
"I wonder…," she began.
"What, love?"
"I want to play hide and seek," she declared with an impish grin.
"What are you talking about?" She was the only one who could keep me guessing.
"You have to hold your breath." I stared at her incredulously. "Yes," she insisted. "You're going to stop breathing, close your eyes and cover your ears while I hide, and you can't follow my scent."
"Bella, I'll be able to find you," I said patiently.
"I know! I just want to try it." She was all charged up.
"But I'd have to let you wander away from me."
"It's safe here. You can tell there's no threat. Come on, please?" She pushed down on my shoulders, and I obeyed her wordless command to sit in the sand. Kneeling in front of me, she stroked her fingers over my eyes to close them, and she placed my hands over my ears. She touched her finger to my mouth to remind me not to breathe. I nodded my acquiescence.
My eyes flew open in shock. She had licked my lips before running away. I slammed them shut again. Bella was so entertaining. She knew full well that she was by far the most desirable prey I had ever encountered. Now she was making me hunt her. I had to smile. She hadn't instructed me on how long to wait, but I felt that three minutes of sensory deprivation was all I could tolerate. I leaped smoothly to my feet and looked around. Her footprints were obvious. She'd run straight into the water, hoping to obscure her trail. Her heartbeat was just as obvious. She'd returned to the beach a short distance to my right. Now, did she want me to find her or did she want to baffle me? Did she want to be impressed with my tracking skills or impressed with her own stealth and cunning? Not breathing was making me edgy. I needed to find her and fill myself with her scent again.
She was lying on her back on the sand among some low dunes. I approached her swiftly but in perfect silence.
"May I join you?"
She was startled, and her face lit up with pleased surprise. "That was quick." She held out her hands to pull me down next to her. "Look at the stars." She snuggled next to me and put her head on my shoulder. The sky was clear and sprinkled with light, especially to my vision. The steady sound of the gently lapping waves was very soothing. A light, warm breeze ruffled Bella's hair.
"It's a beautiful night," I commented.
"Yes, it's so nice here. I wish we could come in the daytime."
I grimaced. "According to Alice, it will be overcast tomorrow morning, but after that, sunshine. I'm sorry."
"It's OK. I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't really mean it. I'd rather be with you even if we were in an igloo."
"Someday I'll take you to a deserted beach where nobody else can see my skin. I'll get all warm in the sun like a lizard, and I won't give you chills."
"I want you to give me chills." She rolled on top of me and held her lips over mine. I could feel the heat, but she didn't touch. It was wonderful. I could feel the weight and warmth of her body all along mine, and right where my nerves were quivering to feel the connection completed, she kept herself poised just out of reach. We were both breathing fast. I could feel her breath but not her skin on my lips. I lifted my head to try to capture her, but she moved away to maintain that sliver of separation. The proximity was warming my mouth and sending hot waves of painful pleasure racing through me. All my senses were concentrated on the touch she was withholding. The need was expanding, exploding.
I couldn't take any more. I pulled her head down to bring her mouth crashing onto mine. The contact after the long moments of teasing sent a huge jolt through my body. I felt the reaction in her body too. As our lips met at last, she shuddered in my arms and I could hear her heartbeat take off. After all the anticipation, I couldn't get enough. We kissed and kissed while I ran one hand through her hair and used the other to press her close to me. Finally, I rolled to the side and gently tipped her onto the sand next to me.
"Bella," I said, trying to get my breathing back to normal. Looking at her beautiful face, I saw an entrancing girl who had played a child's game with me and an enticing woman who had left me tingling with desire. I spoke each word separately. "That. Was. Fantastic. How do you think of these things?"
"I don't know," she said, blushing slightly and smiling. She ran her hand along my arm. "Being here in the dark, watching the stars together, maybe it reminded me of something. The time Mr. Banner showed a movie in Biology. Do you remember?"
"Of course."
"I wanted to touch you so badly. But I wouldn't let myself, and it felt…," her voice trailed off and she frowned, trying to find the right words.
"So terrible that you weren't sure if you wanted it to end immediately or last forever?"
She laughed. "I guess that's about right. Anyway, I just wanted to try it."
"Hide-and-seek and almost kissing. You're a genius. Do you have any other ideas for us to try tonight?"
"Well, we're going to have to try spending the night apart for the first time in ages," she said, sighing. "We'd better get back."
I helped her up, and we walked down to wade in the water before I led us back to our shoes.
Author's Note: I simply adore writing fluff. I realized it's because when Bella makes Edward happy and he thinks she's amazing, he's really talking about me. He doesn't know it, but I'm the one using my imagination to drive him crazy, the only way I can-- on paper. Please let me know what you think!
