Edward was making impatient noises and comments outside my door.
"Hold on, I'll be done in a minute!"
"You said that ten minutes ago!"
He was right of course. I had been in the bathroom a little longer than usual, but I also had to find everything I needed.
My shower was over with and I had on my bikini with shorts and a tank top over it but I couldn't find the sunscreen. I was so pale, if I didn't use it, I would look like a living tomato.
"What's taking so long?"
"I can't find the sun block, Edward." He opened the door and searched through the cabinet for tow seconds.
"Here it is." He held it up.
"Not fair. I've been looking for twenty minutes!"
"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair." He chuckled and threw me over his shoulder.
"Hey!" I said, pounding his back with my fists, "I need my bag! And put me down!"
He just grabbed my bag off the floor and carried me into the kitchen. He sat me on one of the stools at the counter.
"Pack some food." He ordered.
"How long are we going to be gone?" I asked, already looking through the cupboards.
"Your mom's note says she'll be home around five thirty, so we'll probably be gone until five."
"Do you want me to get sun poisoning? The sun's a lot stronger here than it is in Forks, you know."
"Yes, Bella, I do know. And who ever said we were going to be at the beach all day?"
"Where are we going then?" I didn't expect him to tell me, but I wasn't giving up my right to ask.
"It's a surprise."
"Great, another one."
He just grinned.
"Have you got all the food you want?"
'Yes."
"Okay, then. Your mom took the car, so we'll have to run."
"Fine." I had gotten used to his speed and I could now keep my eyes open while he ran—without getting sick. "How did she expect us to get to those places if we had to walk?"
"I think most of them are within walking distance but she left a number for the cab company too."
"Oh." I said, climbing onto his back and gripping his neck in a hold so tight that it would have strangled a normal person.
Edward ran out of the house at a speed that made him invisible. I was the only one who could see the shimmering of his cool skin. I suppose if anyone did see him, it looked like a heat mirage, so they soon forgot about it.
"Where is this place?"
"It's not near the main beach, so nobody will see us, but it's near the the other place we're going."
"And you still won't tell me where that is."
"Not a chance."
I sighed. He stopped running and I looked around. We were on a small beach surrounded by the wind-battered trees you see so often near the beach. There was a cool breeze blowing off the sparkling blue ocean. It ruffled my hair and Edward inhaled.
"It's beautiful." I said, climbing off his back.
I reached for my bag to spread out the quilt I'd brought but he was, as always, a step ahead of me. Edward lay down and patted the space next to him. I lay on my back in the spot he suggested.
"Unless you want me to fry up like a potato chip, you had better give me the sunscreen."
Edward pulled it out of my bag and started rubbing it on my back. He did it perfectly, as he did everything, and I was sure I wouldn't get burned. I pulled my tank to p over my head so he could apply it to my entire back.
"Done." He said a few minutes later.
I had had to revert to my old habit of focusing on breathing. His technique of rubbing on the sunscreen in soothing circles and trailing kisses up and down my neck had left me lightheaded and my thoughts were going haywire.
Instead of answering him, I just leaned back onto his cool chest and relaxed. He put his arms around me and inhaled again.
He chuckled and I looked up, a questioning look on my face.
"The sunscreen makes you smell funny. Freesia mixed with coconut. It's a strange scent."
I made a face at him and stole the sunscreen. I began applying it to the rest of my body. When I was finished, I ran into the water.
Edward watched me splash around in the shallows for a bit and then, grinning hugely, plucked me up and carried me into the deeper parts. I struggled to free myself from his hold, but he just laughed and held me even closer. The water around his body shone with the light reflecting off his skin.
"This color looks wonderful on you." Edward said, fiddling with the strap on my suit.
"Let me down." I told him, "I want to swim."
We played around in the water for a while, swimming and splashing but, as if by unspoken consent, we floated. The waves lapped at us as we were pushed to the shallows like beached whales.
We lay there for a while in silence, just a few feet from each other but he reached over and pulled me on top of him.
Slowly, his eyes closed as I stroked his face, marveling at the way the tiny drops of water on his face concentrated the beams of light reflecting off his skin.
I kissed him slowly, passionately and then pulled away. I was leaning down to kiss him again, when my stomach grumbled. A smile flitted across his heavenly face.
"Time to feed the human." Edward said, his eyes opening.
He stood up and swept me into his arms in the same motion. He grabbed a towel from my bag and wrapped it around me before sitting me down on the quilt. I adjusted it as he brought me my food.
"Eat." He ordered me.
"Edward?" I said, opening my sandwich.
"Yes?"
"Have you ever been to the beach before?"
"I've seen the ocean on trans-continental flights—at night of course—and I've seen hundreds and thousands of pictures but no. I have never been to a beach before this."
"Really? You mean you never went when you were human?"
"It's possible but I don't remember. So if I did, it probably doesn't count."
"Probably not. So how do you like it?"
He grinned. Most people couldn't even speak on their first trip to the beach.
"It's beautiful. It looks like the water just goes on forever. It's mind-boggling. It's much better than I imagined."
I finished my food and leaned into Edward's perfectly muscled torso.
"But I'm sure I wouldn't have liked it half as much if you hadn't been here with me, my love."
I blushed and he chuckled. I still couldn't believe that this marvelous creature, the epitome of perfection, could want me. I t defied all the rules and laws but he did love me.
"Thank you." I said. He knew what I was talking about.
"You don't have to thank me, Bella. My love for you is not voluntary. At first, I fought against it with all my extra strength, but or love is much stronger than even me."
"Are you actually being humble for once?"
He chuckled and began to hum my lullaby. My eyes began to close.
"Are you trying to make me go to sleep?" I was slightly disoriented, both from being half-asleep and prolonged proximity to his beauty.
"No, my angel, but if you do it doesn't matter."
"But what about your surprise?"
"Are you looking forward to it now?"
"No, I'm just curious as to what could be better than this."
"We have time. Sleep Bella."
I did. My eyes closed and I drifted into dreamland.
In my dream, I was walking—running, actually—down the sidewalk near my old house in Phoenix. I knew where I was going—James was waiting in the old dance studio.
The dream was exactly the same as it had been that day the previous spring—until I entered the studio. This time, he really did have my mother—not just our old home movies. She was tied to a chair in the corner.
"Hello, Bella." He said in his smooth, generic voice.
"Hello." My voice was shaking.
He walked closer. His eyes were the flat black color that meant he was thirsty. He continued to circle around me the same way he had the first time.
He leaped forward and I felt his razor-like teeth slice the skin on my neck. Amazingly, he wasn't drinking. I looked up through the haze of pain from the venom in my bloodstream. He was looking from me to my mother. She was struggling and making a lot of noise.
I watched as he decided what to do. He crept over to my mother and bit her neck in the same spot he bit mine. This time, he did drink. I watched as the vampire
Slowly drained my mother of blood.
"No—" I said weakly.
He looked up—his eyes now bright red—and smiled. The blood coating his lips and teeth made the sight even more unnatural.
"I think I'll let the venom spread." He told me, "That's what your boyfriend seems to fear the most."
I twisted in agony for an endless amount of time. When the pain was gone, I looked around me and down at myself.
I was a vampire
I woke up screaming in Edward's arms.
"Shh. Shh, Bella. It was only a dream. Shh." His cool breath helped me distinguish dream from reality and I sat up.
"I'm sorry. It was the dream." I told him what happened and he held me.
"It's okay, Bella. It was only a dream."
"Yes." I said, "What time is it?" It was still light on our secluded beach but I was sure my nap hadn't been very short.
"It's almost time to go."
"Alright." I leaned back into his arms again and waited. He would tell me when we needed to leave. "No humming this time. I don't want to fall asleep again."
I felt him smile into my hair and turned my head for a kiss. He gave it and I leaned into him as the kiss deepened. It was a comforting kiss, with just a little bit of recklessness. I loved it. When he pulled away, I just got up and went down to the water's edge. I sat down in the wet sand and watched as the water reached for my toes and then receded. This day had been perfect—even with the nightmare. As long as I had Edward with me, I would be okay.
"Come here." I said, "I want you to sit with me."
I never heard him but suddenly Edward was sitting right next to me, his arm around my shoulders and his hand in mine.
"Thank you, Edward, for sharing this with me. It means a lot to me that you wanted to be with me on your first trip to the beach."
"Well, who else was I going to share it with? Emmett would be chasing after Rosalie, Jasper would take one look and say, 'Okay. We've seen it. Now can we go?' and Carlisle has seen lots of beaches. But it's also something I can remember and know you," he tweaked my nose, "were right there with me."
"You are so cheesy." I said, "But I love you for it."
He smiled and said,
"It may be cheesy, but it's how I feel."
I nodded, knowing I said the same types of things just because I couldn't think of a better way to put them.
"Time to go." He said, getting up.
In the time it took me to get up off the sand, he had packed all of my stuff into my bag and brought me my clothes.
I pulled the tank top over my head and brushed the sand off my butt before pulling my shorts on. Edward turned around and I climbed onto his back, resuming my stranglehold on his neck.
I glanced back as he took off and caught a glimpse of the sparkling ocean before it was swallowed up by the trees in Edward's wake.
"Close your eyes." He commanded me.
I did as he told me and rested my head on his shoulder. I was tired, but mostly in the way lying in the sun all day makes you.
"Are you tired? We could come here tomorrow if you are." He sounded worried.
"Edward, I'll be fine. It's just from being in the sun all day."
"Alright—can you get down for a second? Just stand there and keep your eyes closed, okay?"
"Okay." I was a little confused but I did as I was told.
I tried to guess where I was. I heard lots of voices and some screaming children. It was hot but I didn't feel the sun on my face, so I was outside, under some sort of shelter. Where was I?
I felt Edward's cool hand reach for mine.
"Keep your eyes closed." He said when I tried to open them.
"Why?" I asked as we started to walk. "I'm going to fall." I was already stumbling slightly.
"I'll hold you up." I felt his arm wind around my waist and support most of my weight.
"Thank you." I said, glad that I wasn't going to harm anyone now.
"You're welcome." He chuckled. "Stop." I did. "Now open your eyes."
My eyes fluttered open and I gasped.
In front of me was an entire world. An undulating world of multi-colored fish, seaweed, and an assortment of other creatures.
"When I first proposed the idea of coming to Jacksonville to Charlie, he mentioned how much you loved the tide pools down at First Beach. I figured since I cant take you to see the real thing, I'd at least take you to see a simulated version."
"I think it's perfect. Thank you." I said.
"You're welcome Bella." He kissed me right there in front of a crowd of children.
"Eeew!" They chorused.
"Mommy! They're kissing and I can't see the fish!" One of them screeched.
Edward and I laughed.
"I think we had better move." He said, still laughing.
We wandered around for a while, admiring the vibrant colors of the fish and enjoying each other's company.
"Bella, we need to head home. Renee said she would be home around five thirty."
"Just a few more minutes. Please?" I was standing in front of the tank of seahorses. "They're so pretty."
"Yes, Bella, they are pretty but we really do need to go."
"Renee can wait a few minutes."
The seahorses were, by far, my favorite creatures in the entire aquarium. They looked so graceful and calm. I watched them pumping their tails up and down for a while. I heard a noise that didn't fit in.
"Edward."
"Yes?"
"You're ringing."
"Oh. Hello?" He answered his cell phone. "Alice? What is it?" A pause "Oh. Would you like to talk to Bella? Here. She wants to talk to you."
I took the phone from Edward.
"Hey Alice! What's up?"
"Nothing much. I was just calling to see what you and Edward are doing."
Edward was wandering around acting like he was interested in the fish but he kept shooting glances over at me. He thought Alice called for another reason.
"As if you didn't already know" I heard her laugh a little. "Alice are you sure you didn't call for another reason?"
"Bella, I just called to talk to you two. I swear on my family I didn't have a vision. Well, not a bad one anyways."
"Alice, what did you see? Tell me."
"You'll find out. It's not bad, I promise. Now you go have fun with Edward."
"Are you sure it's not bad?"
"Yes, Bella, I'm sure."
"Okay. Bye, Alice. I love you."
"I love you too Bella." She hung up.
"What is it?" Edward sounded strained.
"It's nothing. She said it wasn't bad and that we would find out."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, unless she was lying to me, which I don't think she was."
"Okay then. Let's go find out what this is about."