Edward's POV
I awoke to the lovely smell of my face in Bella's hair. My arms were wrapped loosely around her waist, and her arm was draped over my chest. She slept on her stomach, her back moving up evenly with each breath. The most divine creature ever created, I thought to myself. When her brown hair splayed out in every direction, her lips open ever so slightly, and her face so painless, so clear, it was impossible to deny that she was beautiful. As she breathed in deeply, I admired her pale skin. For a Phoenix girl, she looked quite a bit like a Victorian doll. So delicate, so fragile. When I lived in Chicago, I walked everywhere, so my skin became tanner. Not to the point of a lifeguard standard, but dark none the less.
"Edward," she murmured in her sleep, shifting to get closer to me. "Edward Masen, you're amazing." I was surprised that it sounded so clear. Had I not known what a terrible actress she was, I might have thought she was awake.
"So are you," I whispered back almost inaudibly. I made sure that I did barely more than mouth it when I said, "Marry me, my angel." I knew I wanted that. Every plan in my future involved Bella. I wouldn't ask her in high school, of course (she wouldn't like others to stare because of such an anomaly), but I was sure I would someday.
"Yes, Edward. Whatever you want." Her sleep-talk surprised me. Did she just . . .? "I will put ham on the sandwich if you want." I sighed in relief as she murmured this.
I lifted her thin arm gently off my chest and got up. Bella's sleeping form frowned, and muttered, "Oh, so you don't want ham?" I chuckled quietly and walked out the room, shutting the door quietly.
After seeing that my mother's bed was still empty, I headed downstairs. Bella had told me that she was a late sleeper, and seeing as how I enjoy getting up at six o'clock, I decided on finding something to do.
The piano stood in the same spot as last night, ready for me to think of another song for my Bella. Already having written something more romantic, I decided on something more dramatic. She always told me that my emotions sent her spinning, but I thought that she was the confusing one.
My fingers hesitated on the ivory keys for a moment. What if Bella didn't like the composition I made especially for her? What if she thought it was mediocre, inexpertly crafted? I bit my lip, wondering how I should start it. My thumb shifted from middle C down to one much lower. I held the pitch for a moment, letting the richness of the tone fill the air. With a quick slide over, my fingers began belting a series of lively notes, each seeming to jostle each other for the spotlight. Quirky, I thought. The jazzy melody progressed into a mellower, much more subdued tune. Though it was much deeper, the driving beat remained present. Chords erupted, sending the song into a more cheerful phase again, but a completely different melody. Every so often it would dip into a lower note, and then sway easily back into the peppy jive. This repeated, though never got tedious because of the frantic bridge.
By the time I looked at the clock, four hours had slipped by. I decided that Bella had her own bed; she could sleep later.
The sound of her even breathing was still able to be heard as I tiptoed up to the bed. She was lying on her back now, both arms around a pillow. I leapt onto the bed, putting my face above hers. My body hovered over her as I placed my lips onto hers. As though she had been awake all along, she dropped the pillow to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me down on top of her.
"Good morning," I breathed against her lips.
"It is now," she laughed, putting a chaste kiss on my lips. She stared at me for a moment and then said, "Your hair is beautiful in the morning. It's so messy." Her pale fingers ran through the length of my hair. "Scratch that. Everything about you in the morning is beautiful."
"I think you look much more gorgeous. One could even say pulchritudinous," I countered.
"You and your debonair ways, Edward." She shook her head. "You're always so gentlemanly. By what you say of your father, he obviously didn't teach you your manners."
I shrugged. "My mother always told me to be polite. I just thought that rule should be extended especially to women."
Bella laughed. "Didn't you ever just want to slap someone, though? Or go wild?"
I leaned into the side of her head, my teeth grazing her earlobe. She shivered under my touch. "Why yes, I actually have. Go wild, that is."
"Really?" she mused, her voice heavy from erratic breathing.
"Yes, love. Really." My lips connected with the skin of her neck, trailing up until I reached her jaw line. I let my nose graze the skin there, running back and forth across the flawless, pale edge. Beneath me, I felt Bella's hand move to my shoulders and massage them. "You're tense," she observed, her voice still shaky.
"Self-control tends to make one tense," I admitted against the corner of her lips.
"How tense would you be if I did this?" I gasped when she nipped playfully at my ear. That's right; not grazing, nip - as in bite.
"Bella," I warned. "If you keep doing things such as that, you will most likely break through my perfectly built self-control."
She giggled into my ear. "Okay, none of that. How about kissing; can we do that?"
Instead of using meaningless words, I caught her lips in mine. She was the one to gasp this time, but immediately responded. Her hands braided themselves into my hair as my own went to her back, pulling her small body closer. One of her hands slid from my hair down to my face, cupping it gently.
We pulled back, both of us panting. I leaned back in to kiss Bella on her cheeks, the tip of her nose, her closed eyelids, and finishing with her forehead.
"That was a great way to start the day," Bella sighed.
"We should do this more often - you know, the make-your-dad-mad-and-then-stay-at-my-house thing."
Bella laughed, her smile making me dizzy. "I'd like that. Just not now, with the way my dad's been acting. There's always college . . ."
"Speaking of that, do you know where you want to go?" I asked. My fingers began to fiddle with her hair.
"I haven't decided yet. Some place with a good art museum nearby," she answered. "How 'bout you?"
"I was thinking about DePaul. It's in Chicago, so that would be pretty nostalgic for me." I thought for a moment, and then added, "You know, I think they have a pretty good art program there. Not to mention the museum. When I was a kid, my parents would take me there once a month because I loved it so much."
Bella smiled happily. "Where's my application form?"
~!~!~!~!~!~
Once we had managed to pull ourselves off each other and get out of my room, Bella decided to make breakfast.
"You don't have to do that, love," I protested. "I can just make myself some cereal and-"
"No," Bella interrupted. "I am going to make you a proper breakfast. Now sit down." I did as she said and sat in one of the bar stools by the counter, watching her fingers flit easily over the ingredients. The way she worked so easily and carefree left me with nothing to say. Watching her in a mode such as that was awe-inspiring.
"What're you looking at, Mr. Masen?" Bella asked, not looking up from her mixing bowl.
"You," I answered truthfully. "You look so . . . breath-taking when you cook."
She cocked her eye-brow in genuine confusion. "When I hold a mixing bowl you find me more appealing?"
I laughed loudly at her bewilderment towards my comment. Beautiful, naïve, Bella. It amused me that she was so unaware of the beauty that she carried. I was also surprised that she never noticed the men around her staring.
I got up to wrap my arms around her waist. "It isn't that you aren't gorgeous anywhere else, and believe me, you are, I just find that when you cook you seem to not see anything else. When you're in your own little world, all of your beauty comes out."
She turned to face me, adoration clear I her eyes. "I love you. You're the most amazing man I can ever imagine. So perfect."
"I could say the same about you," I started. "But why don't I just show you?" I moved my lips towards hers, but she simply turned her head so that I would only kiss her cheek.
"Ah, ah, ah, lover boy. I have breakfast to make, and I am trying not to get pancake batter everywhere," Bella scolded. "If you want to do something, go find me a pan. These crepes won't make themselves."
"Mmm," I murmured, getting out an large pan as she had instructed.. "I haven't had crepes in a long time. How'd you learn to make them? I thought that you said Renee's food was more like a lethal science experiment."
"Oh, it is," she laughed, leaning back into my chest. "I learned before the crash. Remember? I told you that day that I had a few a memories of my time with Renee. Not many; the only I have are of some cooking and planting flowers." Her full lips turned down into a frown. "I couldn't even remember her husband's name. Charlie had to tell me. I hate being like this . . . so vulnerable. I'm always disappointed that I can't just toughen up and have the memories just fly on back."
I turned her face towards mine, making sure that her eyes were focused clearly on my face. "You're disappointed in yourself?" She nodded. "Love, you need to get the notion out of your head. None of this is your fault. No matter how much of it you try to blame on yourself, it will never be your fault."
She turned to face the stove again. "I won't even try to disagree with you. I'm pretty sure I'll lose. You tend to be very persuasive."
I kissed the skin below her ear. "It's my devilish smile, isn't it?" I joked.
"Sure, Edward, sure it is," she laughed.
We ate our breakfast in a tranquil silence, neither of us awake enough to make any real conversation. I watched Bella carefully as she blew on her food. If I could simply look at her angelic face for the rest of my life, I would completely satisfied. She caught me staring and blushed. That had to be one of my favorite things about her. The way her cheeks blossomed into such an exquisite color was truly enrapturing. She turned her gaze to the large window, where outside the rain was pouring in sheets. Her lips turned downward in distaste.
"Bella, why don't you enjoy the rain?" I asked. Her hate for the cloudy weather had always befuddled me.
"I don't know. It just seems so depressing to me," she grumbled.
An idea popped into my head, sending a smile onto my face. "Finish your breakfast, and then I want to do something."
She turned wary, staring at me with her brow raised. "Okay, Edward, but this better be safe. I don't want to lose my memory again."
~!~!~!~!~!~
"Have you ever even given the rain a chance?" I pleaded.
"The answer remains as no," Bella said curtly.
"Please, Bella?" I begged. I moved closer, running my nose along her jaw line. She froze for a second, leaning into my touch, but quickly pulled back.
"Nope," she said, popping the p. "There is no way I'll ever do that. Do you realize how moronic we'll seem? Your neighbors will think I've gone insane."
"Not if we do it in the back yard," I suggested.
She sighed, showing signs of defeat. "Well, if we do it in the back yard . . ."
I kissed her hand happily. "Thank you, Bella." My smile almost cracked my face in half. "Trust me, you'll love this. I played on this almost every day when I was a kid."
The air whooshed pass my ears as I ran into our storage room. There, sitting in the corner as it had been for years, was my old Slip n' Slide from I was seven. The slick, neon plastic didn't come out of the box easily. When it was crunched in a ball in my arms, I stepped out of the over-stuffed space. There wouldn't be a need for a hose; the sheets of rain would be enough. Bella shook her head as I walked by her.
"I still can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered. She said more loudly, "It isn't that I'm keeping what ego I have from getting bruised, but I'm just wondering what made you think of doing such a juvenile thing!"
"You make me feel young again," I laughed in an attempt at an elderly voice. When she grabbed for her raincoat, I said, "That thing won't keep you very dry. It'll only hold off the water for a second." She sighed, placing it back down.
She murmured a "thank you" as I opened the door for her. Once outside, I laid out the slide, smoothing it onto the spring grass.
Once it had been set up, I turned to Bella and asked, "Would you like to go first?" She shook her head as a no. "Suit yourself." Before running back to get a good start on my slide, I pulled off my shirt, knowing it would only slow me down. It wouldn't bother Bella. In fact, I bet she wouldn't even notice it.
Bella's POV
Oh, dear.
If I'm being completely honest, my mind was terribly confused. Thoughts buzzed frantically, making me feel dizzy. My eyes widened, taking in what was before me. The tendons in my hands contracted, telling me not to let them move towards what was before me. My lips pursed together tightly in order for them not to kiss what was before me.
Every sign pointed in one direction: Edward had just pulled off his shirt.
For what reason, I have no idea why. Maybe there would be less friction if it was only his skin touching the plastic, therefore giving him more speed. Frankly, I'm not sure if my mind was clear enough to even try to figure it out.
He stepped back, pressure gaining his apparent muscles. They rippled slightly beneath his skin, making me swoon. In a burst of energy, he shot forward with breath-taking grace. A few feet before the beginning of the slide, he flew into a position similar to that of a super-hero. As his bare flesh collided with the plastic, he slid on, hitting the end with an oof!
He got up, brushed the water off of his finely sculpted chest, and walked over to me. Let me tell you, if Edward is striking without his shirt from a distance, he is absolutely God-like up close. "Would you like to go now?" he asked.
I sighed. "Why not."
I decided to follow Edward's actions. Up until the super-hero dive, I was doing so well. Before I was able to put my body in the board-straight position, my toe caught on some sort of invisible rock. So instead of sliding gracefully on my stomach to the end, I flopped onto my back and made it to the end.
Edward was by my side in a flash, his hands moving over my body worriedly. "Are you okay, Bella?"
"Ow," I said. It didn't hurt much except for a small pounding my back.
He laughed. "I'll take that as a no. Where does it hurt?"
I shrugged.
He leaned in, pressing his lips gently against mine. "Here?" His lips touched my cheeks and forehead. "Here?" I shivered as his lips ran up my jaw. "Or here?" His lips found their way onto my neck, swerving down to kiss the hollow in my collar bone. "Is that any better?"
"If I say no, will you keep kissing me?" I teased.
"Anything for you, love," he murmured before tenderly kissing my lips.
As we got up I asked, "Can we do that again?" Though I had fallen flat on my back, it was surprisingly very fun.
"The kissing or the sliding?" he chuckled.
"I was thinking the sliding."
He hesitated. "Okay. But be careful. I don't want to see you hurt."
"Yes, mom," I laughed.
This slide was also different from the last time. Not because I fell, but because as I jumped into the super-hero position, Edward jumped with me, wrapping his arms around my waist. In a motion that I probably would have screwed up and died in, he flipped over so that I was on top of him as we landed together.
Before he got up, Edward said, "Now tell me if your mother would have done that."