SM owns. I'm just messing around.
Long ass note at the end.
Mari, I can't even with you.
[This chapter quote belongs to the lovely ladies yellowglue and TeamBella23, writers of the
fic called Dusty, that basically owns me right now.]
See you at the end.
Enjoy.-
Epilogue: No Regrets
"Love is endless possibilities."
Dusty by YellowGlue, chapter 22.
I feel warm, soft lips fluttering against my skin; my jaw, my lips, my throat. This is a good dream. Too good. I lose myself in it.
"Edward," her voice whispers and I smile. A good dream indeed. I turn my face to the sound while more tiny kisses are given to all of me.
I think I moan. I hear a giggle.
"Wake up, sleepy head." Bella says as I start to come out of my unconscious state. She pecks my lips and plays with my hair.
With my eyes still closed, I search for her body. My hands find her waist, then her butt and we push and pull against one another as burning desire settles in my groin.
She gasps and sighs and I finally open my eyes to see the pleasure on her face. Her eyes are closed, her eyebrows are scrunched together and her teeth bite her bottom lip.
I live for this.
I use my fingers and my mouth to intensify that look on her face until she comes. I'm so glad I'm awake.
She opens her eyes and smiles at me as I look down at her, and position myself between her legs. She wraps her arms around my neck and thrusts upward, joining our hips in a suggestive manner, causing a hiss to escape out of me.
"I was supposed to wake you up with an orgasm, not the other way around." She confesses and I grin at her. Her hair is splayed underneath her and her skin is flushed with the brightest pink that I only get to see when we're like this.
"We still have time for that, sweetheart." I finally say, pushing inside her.
We move until out bodies find the ultimate state of bliss, whispers of love and desire tumbling out of our lips.
While we lay on the bed, trying to catch our breaths, I play with her hair and she caresses my chest.
"Are you ready to say goodbye to this place?" I ask her. She nods before looking up at me with her always curious brown eyes.
"Are you?" She counters and I nod back.
I am so ready for this. I've been waiting for this day for a while now, and it's here at last.
We grin at each other for a few seconds before the doorbell rings, interrupting our moment. We mutter curses of annoyance as we get out of bed and into our last night's clothes.
We make our way to the front door, hand in hand and let our intruders in. Guys in uniforms greet us pleasantly and get on with their job right away, moving boxes around.
"Are you really ready for this?" I whisper to the top of her head. Determination settles on her face as she stands on her toes and kisses me before adding, "I am."
This reality is far much better than the dream.
"Why are we flying with you again?" Emmett asks from his seat while we wait for our flight to board.
"Because we're good people." Rosalie answers in my behalf, pecking his lips. He softens immediately and smiles at her. Bella tightens her hold on my hand at the sight.
Truth is, I don't know the answer to that myself. When Bella and I decided to move all the way from Seattle to California, it came as a shock to everyone around us and a lot of protests were made. My mom hasn't come to terms with that yet. Her crying self before we said goodbye earlier is proof of that.
But months later of announcing our news, here we are, about to board our plane with my brother and Rosalie, his fiancee, in tow to help us settle in our new house.
I fell in love with that big mansion as soon as I saw it, surprising both Bella and me with how ostentatious it is. She joked about me being as pretentious as my parents. I rolled my eyes at her. I smile fondly at the memory of that trip we took last year. I wanted to see where Bella lived while she was away from me, and what it was about that place that gave my girl so much peace and insight. She grew up so much. And even though those months apart were Hell, it was the right thing to do.
I took a liking to California. I still can't figure out why. But when we had to part back to Seattle, I found myself not wanting to leave. Weeks later, I asked Bella about moving together to California, and her answering teary smile was the last impulse I needed to contact some people and buy that house. It's under both of our names.
"You aren't as good, just so you know. This has more to do with a rehearsal to your honeymoon than anything else." Bella says, bringing me out of my head.
"We don't need a rehearsal. We have plenty of hot sex, thank you very much." Emmett says, earning a giggle from Rosalie. Apparently she's capable of such reactions. My brother is the lucky one that gets them out of her.
"But isn't that about to end? You getting married and all?" I joke. He scoffs.
"Is that why you two haven't sealed the deal yet? Because you're scared of not getting laid afterwards?" Rosalie asks, back to her no nonsense self. I give her a pointed look.
She had to bring that up.
"I'm going to get some coffee." Bella says in a cold voice, detaching her hand from mine.
"You just had to go there." I spat at Rosalie when Bella's out of ear shot. She shrugs.
"I just don't understand why you two aren't married yet." She says.
"She isn't ready for marriage." I explain for what feels like the hundredth time.
My parents and I have had this conversation as well. After they accepted Bella in my life, it was all they talked about. When are you getting married? Is your relationship stuck? Are you sure your relationship is going somewhere? I just ignored them.
"What are you talking about? You have been an official couple for like, what, two years now?" Rosalie asks. I nod
One year, 10 months and 13 days to be exact.
"They were doing it way before that, you know." Emmett says, referring to the beginning of my relationship with Bella. When she felt more like a dream than a reality. When she gave me snippets of her time and her real self. When she wasn't really mine.
Leave it to my brother to be the one to bring those times up and sour my mood. I slump farther into the uncomfortable chair.
"I changed my mind, don't come with us." I grumble.
"This house is a fucking dream, bro." Emmett says after we've put some boxes down by the indoor pool. His eyes take in everything around him, and he lights up like a little kid. I understand. This pool was one of the reasons I fell in love with this house.
Bella and I had a lot of fun buying furniture online for this room. I can't wait to see how everything looks when we're finally done, moving things around and having stuff delivered.
I grin at my brother who's currently inspecting the door that connects the pool with the backyard, directly where I plan to place our BBQ.
"It is, and it will be even better when we're done decorating and stuff." I say as he makes his way back to me.
"I could take so many great pictures here. It seems like you'll have me visiting soon." He says with mirth on his face.
I just smile at him and make my way outside. I'm so thankful my relationship with my brother is as strong as ever. We made peace long ago. Those months Bella was away from me, allowed him to understand my feelings for her much better and in turn, allowed me talk to him at length about everything she and I went through.
And then, when she came back, it took some time, but he and Bella eventually hit it off. They both made an effort, not only because of me, but also because of Rosalie. I guess I really should be thankful I have her in my life. She makes my brother happy, and she's a great friend to both Bella and me.
"Hey you," Bella says when she sees me entering the kitchen. Rosalie is opening boxes, while Bella puts stuff away. I smile at the sight.
"Hi." I say and make my way to her to kiss her. I wrap my arms around her, her back to my front, and I nuzzle her neck. I feel her shiver in appreciation. We stay like that for a few seconds, just enjoying each other, until Rosalie speaks.
"It's going to take forever to get this house look like a home. Why did you have to want such a big ass house Edward?" She asks, grabbing a knife and opening another box.
"Stop giving me a hard time about it, I just liked it."
"I don't know what you two will do with this mansion. You better start filling it with children soon." She says and buries her face inside the box she just opened. I tense up at her comment. Bella murmurs an excuse to get out of my arms and the room.
Rosalie just rolls her eyes at my stern look.
It takes us a while, but eventually the house starts to look decent. Rosalie and Emmett helped a lot in the days they were here. Now, only a couple of rooms have boxes unpacked, and the outside furniture is the last one to be delivered sometime this week.
Bella's happy. I catch her smiling to herself when she enters the kitchen, or the living room, or our bedroom and sees the work we've done. She sighs with content a few times a day and her eyes are always bright. I watch her. I watch her a lot. She usually catches me looking. We always end up tearing each other's clothes.
I'm happy, which of course means, I'm scared. But I'm trying not to let that get to me. I've been happy with Bella ever since she came back. We spent some time adjusting, trying to ease ourselves in our new relationship, and for a few weeks it was awkward at best. Until we finally found our rhythm. And now, here we are.
She's getting dressed in front of me while I lie on the bed in my underwear. She stands in front of the mirror, wearing dress pants and her bra. She's messing with her hair and huffing as she goes. She's nervous. She has a job interview today.
When we decided to move here, I pulled a couple of strings with some friends and managed to secure a job before arriving here. A friend I went to college with has a successful law firm, who to my incredible luck, lost one of their best lawyers this year, leaving a vacant waiting for me. It feels weird having a boss now, after being my own boss for so long, but I knew it'd be unrealistic of me to begin in this place without an important name backing me up.
Bella on the other hand, couldn't do the same, so we both decided she would start looking for a job when we got here. It's been two weeks since we moved, but today is the first day on the hunt. And she's freaking out. I can see it in the way she's handling herself right now. She's usually very self possessed in her movements. It doesn't make her look unapproachable like it used to. I'm still in awed of how much she changed, yet stayed the same.
She's managed to merge a sweet, innocent and vulnerable girl with a poised and strong woman. I love her.
"Stop looking at me, Edward." She says, twisting her hair in a weird up do before letting it fall down her back. She's done this three times this morning. I chuckle at her and get up.
"Why would I ever stop looking at you?" I ask, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "If you're so beautiful, and we both know how me looking at you usually ends." I add, smirking at her, and taking a step closer to her. She turns around and points a hairbrush at me.
"I don't have time to fool around, mister. So keep it in your pants." She says and I lift my arms indicating I won't do anything as I make my way to the adjoining bathroom.
"But just remember…you're the one who takes it out of my pants most of the time." I say before leaving the room.
I take my time in the shower so by the time I'm out, Bella's not in the room anymore. I get dressed without much fuss and make my way downstairs.
"You look gorgeous." I tell her as soon as I see her. She decided to wear her hair down, and her silk purple blouse looks great with her black pants. She's wearing killer shoes as well. I stand behind her and kiss her neck, murmuring a proper good morning while she serves us coffee.
"Thanks." She answers, tilting her head to the side, so I can kiss more of her skin.
"You shouldn't be nervous, you know?" I say to her skin, gripping her hips. "You have lots of experience in the area, you're smart and clever and you'll be great." I punctuate some words with kisses and I feel her relax in my arms.
It leaves me breathless. The fact that I have this effect on her makes me tremble with need. I want her. Always.
"You don't know that." She whispers, giving me her insecurities. To make them better, to kiss them away. To show me she's human, and that she's mature enough to let them out in the open.
"I know you." I tell her, because I do. After all we've been through, I know her.
She turns around and looks deeply into my eyes, asking me to believe her next words.
"I love you." Her voice is laced with feeling. I smile at her softly and look down at her. My life, my everything.
"I love you too." I say before kissing her lips and losing myself in her.
Several weeks pass and our life in California is as good as any. Five failed job interviews later, Bella finally got a job at a local newspaper. She's very excited about it. Even though she doesn't hold a high position, she seems very eager to grow and I know that she will make the best of her time there.
I'm just happy our work schedules turned out to be decent and we can see each other often. We leave for work at the same time in the mornings, and I return to find her home every night. Sometimes, my heart aches with how happy I am. I feel so lucky.
"We will get there in time, Rosalie, calm down." I hear Bella's voice before I see her, as I make my way to our bedroom. I find her pacing around the room, with an exasperated look on her face. She mouths hello to me, as I take my suit jacket and place it on the bed.
I continue to undress until I'm only wearing my pants. Bella's voice falters when she notices, and I smirk at her. She reassures Rosalie about whatever she's concerned about this time, and promises to call her later.
No sooner than she has ended the call, she's in my arms. I'm drowning in her scent as I bury my face in her neck. She runs her hands through my back, and I shiver at her touch.
"I missed you." She whispers against my skin. I step away from her embrace and search her eyes before responding the sentiment. She takes my hand and leads me to the bed, where she straddles me.
We sit like this for a while, talking about our day until our touching becomes too much to allow any more speaking. As she comes undone on top of me, I tell her I love her again and again. I don't know if she's listening but I repeat the words, until her body stops shaking.
"I love you too." She says while we catch our breath. I smile and kiss her. I will never get tired of hearing those words coming out of her lips. And I know, when she kisses me back and sighs in my mouth, I know. When she doesn't hide from me, or recoils away from her feelings, I know.
As she gazes at me, peace and love and longing in her eyes, I know.
She's ready.
Next week, while we're in Seattle for Emmett and Rosalie's wedding, we'll make a stop at Pep's. I'll ask her to marry me, confident she's going to say yes.
So, this is it. Last chapter of my first story.
Thank you to everyone that indulged me, reading, reviewing, adding me to favorites and alerts. You people made me so happy and I will forever remember it. Thank you to everyone who was patient enough to wait for my updates and stuck around until the end.
To my RL friends that showed me constant and unconditional support, Amelí, Yuliana, Scarlyn, my beautiful BrujaPartnerInCrime, Heidy, and my always awesome Teppy, THANK YOU so much. Really. I love you all.
And last but not least, Damarys, my rockstar, my lovely editor, thank you a million times for taking up on this with me. Thank you for taking me seriously, and making me feel like I'm living my dream. I couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for all the time you dedicated to this, to the chapter names, the quotes hunt, the ramblings, enduring all my questions and doubts. I will always be thankful. You know I love you like hugging books that make us cry and I admire your brain (most of the time :p). This is so yours, bb. Thank you.
I hope everyone enjoyed this. If anyone's reading my other story "Friendzoned" I'll be dedicating myself fully to that one now.
Till next time.
Much love.-