A/N: This will be the last chapter before I finish HP. I'm getting there, kids, I'm getting there. Anyway, happy late birthday to Edward. Aged well, hasn't he? I probably could've updated sooner, but I had to take an emergency shopping trip with my personal Alice, and I'm studying for my permit test. I'm not really sure why; apparently it's super easy. But whatev. You guys really don't care, do you?
I was shaken awake on Thursday by a very ecstatic vampire…and it wasn't Alice. Edward was hovering over me, beating his hands against the mattress repeatedly to wake me with a crack-happy smile on his ever-gorgeous face.
"Can I help you?" I groaned, turning over into the pillow.
He jerked the heavenly comfort of my favorite pillow from beneath me. "Bella, you've got to get up! Guess where we're going today! Just guess!"
I turned grudgingly back over. "Edward, what has Alice done to you?" I asked softly, seizing his face in my hands. I pushed him back slightly so that I could move to an upright position on the bed. I eyed a small drop of dried blood on his face in a smudge of dirt. "You just went hunting, didn't you?"
He smiled, happier still. "Yep! Not important, though! You didn't guess where I'm taking you! Guess!"
If I didn't know better, I'd think he was on crack. And a lot of it.
Before he could ask me to guess again, the door burst open and collided with the wall, a cracking sound erupting from the dust around the doorknob.
"Oh, well!" Alice squeaked, surveying the damage. "Edward! You cannot do that and just leave me here!" Her eyes, though she'd also very recently fed, transitioned quickly to black.
"Will someone just please fill me in!" I said, exasperated. Edward's eyes twinkled, but I held up a hand. "I don't want to guess; I want to know."
"Fine," he sighed, folding his arms across his bare chest in disappointment. "I'm taking you to Seattle today," he mumbled.
I appraised him with narrowed eyes. "You're what?"
He looked up with hopeful eyes—the same ones he'd given me when he gave me the Audi. "I'm taking you to Seattle?"
I sighed, knowing there was no possible way out of it. My fingers pinching the bridge of my nose, I addressed them. "You two carry on with your argument, I'm gonna go take a shower." I jumped out of the bed and walked around it in the direction of the bathroom. "Oh, Edward, wash your face before we leave, okay?" I winked and disappeared into the bathroom.
Just coming off his high, er, whatever, Edward sat on the bed for a few moments before understanding the intention of my wink. He came storming into the washroom just after I'd jumped into the shower. I
hardly paid attention, though I knew he was there, as he stripped himself and opened the glass door to my left.
"Morning," he murmured, his arms encircling my waist. "Sorry about that earlier, I'm just so excited to have you to myself today." He kissed the top of my soaking wet head.
"Mmm," I sighed. "I can't wait until our honeymoon so you can destroy my clothes again; it feels so nice to be with you."
A low growl erupted in his chest. "All part of the reason for taking you shopping today, Bella. If not, Alice would have to restock your entire wardrobe after Saturday."
I chuckled as I reached for my shampoo. "You are such a bad boy, Edward Cullen." I began to massage my scalp as I turned to him. "Just a few more days. Surely you can wait."
"Here," he said, moving my hands from their place on my head. "Let me." He finished the job of washing my hair, caressing my scalp with his every move. I made the mistake of letting him wash me, coming dangerously close to crossing my carefully set up boundaries.
I jumped out while he washed himself quickly and started applying my make-up. I dried my hair while Edward went to find clothes for each of us, and was straightening it by the time he'd reached a verdict. We finished getting ready in silence, and Alice turned up soon afterward.
"You're not leaving me here," she protested, making herself comfortable on the couch. "I'll follow you, I swear I will."
"Alice," Edward said softly. "Let us have a day to ourselves, okay? I want one more day alone with my human Bella, if you don't mind."
She pouted.
In the end, Edward won. By noon I had a cheeseburger from McDonald's, and we were quickly leaving Port Angeles. After eating my lunch, I decided to take a nap to pass the time. My dreams were filled with peaceful fantasies of my quickly approaching wedding.
My dad was standing at the foot of the stairs when Alice helped me down the hall. Rosalie was carrying my train, obviously yearning for her next wedding. Charlie smiled as he took in the sight of his baby girl in her wedding gown. A few tears welled in his eyes as I took his hand.
"You looked beautiful, Bells," he murmured as I wiped his tears away with my available hand. "I can't believe my baby's getting married."
"Dad, don't. I'm not allowed to cry. Alice will kill us," I laughed, testing to make sure my make-up hadn't spread.
"Stop it, you two!" Alice screeched ahead of us, pulling Jasper closer to her side. She marched off through the dining room, heading for the door to the lawn.
I followed orders, and linked my father's arm with my own. Rosalie and Emmett strolled through the living room next, and then the music began. The sound of it once would've made me flinch—a reaction I inherited from my mother, but I now welcomed it with a smile.
"Are you ready Mrs. Cullen?" Charlie asked, smiling. He leaned down to kiss my cheek, and squeezed my hand.
"I'm ready," I said, holding back a giggle at the double-meaning.
Edward went over a speed bump, and my head hit the window, jerking me awake. He looked over at me apologetically and turned to the woman in a toll booth to his left. He paid her ten dollars, and pulled ahead to look for a spot in a nearly vacant parking garage.
"I tried not to wake you, sorry. That was a big speed bump," Edward said, his fingers wrapping around mine.
"S'ok," I muttered, still sleepy. "You would've had to wake me up anyway, right?"
"Yeah, you're right," he agreed.
He leaned over for a kiss. I gladly obliged, hardly noticing that Edward maneuvered the car into a space perfectly without breaking our kiss. He turned the car off, and then turned entirely in my direction to deepen the kiss. I broke away reluctantly, recalling the reason for our journey to Seattle.
"If we get a start on this, and you buy enough, we might be able to finish this later, okay?" I winked, and threw open the passenger door.
Checking to see that no one was watching, Edward dashed out of his seat and made it around to my side to help me out before I had one foot on the concrete. I took his hand, and we proceeded down the muggy Seattle streets, stopping in stores and boutiques here and there to stock up on new clothes for both of us.
We were walking out of a Louis Vuitton store, a gift for Esme in hand, when I spotted a Barnes & Noble store across the street screaming my name. I squealed and ran to the corner, pushing the crosswalk button repeatedly in my excitement. Edward pulled my hand away, laughing.
"Calm down, you'll get there eventually. I don't think they'll be closing at four in the afternoon." He noticed my one excitedly clenched fist, the other carrying four shopping bags. "Here, let me have those," he offered as the little walking man flashed in front of me.
I threw the bags back without a backward glance and ran across the street, Edward laughing behind me. I didn't have any book specifically in mind, so I took off to scan the shelves. Edward wondered off toward the small selection of books on cars, while I paid no mind to the particular section I was in.
Twenty minutes later, I walked over to Edward with a massive amount of books in tow. I struggled to hold them all, but somehow managed to make it the rest of the way to the cash register. The cashier looked to be about nineteen, and commented on most of my choices.
"Oh, I just finished this one. It's really good," he commented offhandedly as he scanned Choke. "Who doesn't love The Catcher in the Rye...You look like a Jane Austen type girl…Wuthering Heights in one of my absolute favorites," he rattled off as he scanned each one.
Ten minutes and five bags filled to the brim with books later, Edward and I were headed back to the Volvo.
"The kid in the book store was actually pretty decent. He was actually thinking about how smart you came off to be instead of how pretty you are. But he noticed that, of course. Who couldn't?" He gave my hand a squeeze as we walked into the garage.
I rolled my eyes. "Edward Cullen, I believe you may be spoiling me," I mused, tossing bags into the trunk. "Do you think they'll all fit?" I stuffed a tiny Victoria's Secret bag into the very corner of the trunk, and pushed the Louis Vuitton bag back in order to close it in.
"I think you've got it," Edward said, closing it with a locking sound, and hurrying forward to open my door. "My lady," he offered with a wave of his hand.
"Why, thank you, kind sir," I replied with a sly smile, sliding onto the seat.
He closed the door, and joined me only a second later, the car purring to life after its nap. He pulled out into the street, and drove toward the exit to Tacoma.
Three hours later, the men were carrying my bags up to Edward's room, and Alice was sorting through them, most receiving her seal of approval. She graciously hung them up for me in the guest room closet, and offered to get me dinner.
"You know, Alice, I think I'll just go make myself a turkey sandwich. Go do some online shopping. I know you must've died today." I smiled, she returned it, and then she was gone in a streak of white.
I got my dinner out of the way, and ran back upstairs to see if Edward had given Esme her gift yet. Opening the bedroom door, I found him patiently sitting on the edge of the bed with the multi-colored handbag we bought her. We smiled to one another, and searched the house for her high and low. Eventually, we found her in the attic, looking through an album filled with the family wedding photos.
"Esme," I said gently, approaching her where she sat on a trunk. "We got you a present today when we went shopping, if you'd like to see it now?"
She looked up at me, surprise and happiness flashing in her glassy eyes. She'd obviously been feeling sentimental, looking through her family's memories. "I'd love to."
Edward pulled the bag from behind his back, and Esme gasped happily.
"I love it!" she sighed. "Thank you, both of you, so much for this. I love you both very much." She hugged us, and we both returned the sentiment.
"I better get this one to bed," Edward said dismissively, kissing my cheek.
"Goodnight, Bella," Esme said, following us out of the attic. "I'll see you in the morning, dear," she added to Edward. When she was downstairs, Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"Ready to finish what we started earlier yet?" he growled softly in my ear.
He kissed my neck, and what I had intended to be a teasing façade crumbled at my feet.
Fuck it, I thought as he carried me off to his room. I've got plenty of new clothes. I don't really like this top anyway…
A/N: I'm tired as hell. Review, and don't expect to hear—er—read from me for about a week. I love you all! G'nite!