A/N: I just want to say thank you to all of you who are leaving me reviews! It's great knowing that people are not only reading my story, but enjoying it and loving these incarnations of Bella and Edward as much as I do.
At this point, there will be six more chapters after this one. I don't think it'll change, but with me you never know! It could just end up having a few long chapters. And, of course, there will be the sequel in a few months.
Happy reading!
Chapter 31
We soaked in the tub together, drinking wine and talking until the water cooled off so far that we were both starting to shiver. We dried off quickly and dressed for bed – Edward in his shorts from Alice and a white t-shirt, me in my nightgown and robe. Edward made us both hot chocolate and we curled up under a blanket on the couch to watch some TV before going to sleep.
Edward was randomly flicking through the channels when he came across a re-run of Angel. "Ooh, stop here!" I squealed.
"Angel?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Problem?" I asked, raising mine back at him.
"Nope," he grinned, kissing me quickly before turning back to the screen.
It was one of my favourite episodes. The demon Angel and his team were fighting multiplied every time it was killed – one happy, one sad. By the end, we were both laughing, trying to understand exactly what was going on. It finished just before 11 and Edward turned off the TV and grabbed our long empty mugs, rinsing them and placing them in the dishwasher.
"Bedtime?" He offered me his hand.
"Bedtime," I confirmed, taking his hand and standing up.
We turned out the lights on our way to his bedroom. "Give me a minute?" he asked, stepping into the ensuite. I nodded and he closed the door
I busied myself by pulling back the covers and switching on the lamp next to the bed. I guessed that was the side he slept on since there was no lamp on the other bedside table. I'd just turned out the main light when he came out of the ensuite and grabbed me in a hug.
"Mmm, minty fresh!" I joked as he dropped a soft kiss on my cheek. "My turn to have a minute."
He let me go with a smile and I headed into the ensuite and closed the door. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and used the toilet before checking my reflection in the mirror one last time. I walked back into the bedroom to see Edward lying on the pillows on the side of the bed I had presumed was 'his'.
I lay my robe across the foot of the bed and climbed under the covers, letting out an appreciative moan at the feeling of the sheets.
"What sort of sheets are these?" I couldn't help asking. "They're not satin, but they feel almost as soft!"
Edward chuckled as he leaned over and turned out his lamp before pulling me into his arms. "To be honest, I don't know. Alice bought them for me for Christmas last year, something about being a high thread count?"
"Sounds like Alice," I said as I snuggled up against him. "What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?"
"I was thinking about that on my way home," he replied. "Did you want to get up and come in with me in the morning, you can go to the observatory for the morning, then I'll meet you for lunch and we can go to the zoo and Garfield Park together tomorrow afternoon?"
I lifted myself up on one elbow and smiled at him in the dark. "Sounds wonderful," I whispered as I found his lips and kissed him softly.
"Bella…" he whispered, not removing his lips from mine.
"You need your sleep," I replied softly.
I felt him smile as he responded, "Yeah, but its nice knowing you'll be here in the morning!"
"I love you," I whispered, kissing him again.
"Love you too," he replied as I snuggled back down, savouring the way his body felt so close to mine.
Tuesday morning
"It's seven oh three and this is the news…" Edward's alarm went off.
I heard him groan as he rolled away from me to hit the snooze button. He was quickly cuddled up to my back again, nuzzling into my neck. I tried to say good morning but it came out like the sound a sheep might make whilst giving birth.
"What was that?" he whispered.
I made a conscious effort to lick my lips this time and swallowed before trying again. "It was meant to be good morning," I mumbled, burying my face in the pillow.
"Of course it's a good morning," he countered. "I woke up with you!"
I rolled over and smiled at him. "You're gorgeous, you know that?" I said. "Even with creases in your face from the pillow and your hair everywhere, you're gorgeous."
He smiled. "You're not so bad yourself."
I stretched lazily, enjoying the way his eyes travelled down my body. "So, what's for breakfast?" I asked.
"Hmm…toast, fruit, cereal, yoghurt…whatever you like, really!" he replied.
"Coffee?" I asked with a pout.
"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "Sorry!"
"You don't have to apologise for swearing you clown," I teased. "Unless there's no coffee…" I smiled to let him know I was still joking.
"There's coffee, you'll just have to wait for it. Normally I set the machine the night before so the coffee is ready after my shower, but I was…distracted…last night and forgot," he explained.
"Well, how about you go and put the coffee on, then join me for a shower?" I suggested, letting my body rub up against his.
"You have no idea how good that sounds, or how often I've thought of you being in there with me since I've been here without you," he said gruffly, throwing the covers back and getting up. "Be right back!"
Once he left the room I shot into the ensuite, leaving my nightgown between the bed and the door. I quickly brushed my teeth and my hair, then turned on the water and stepped in carefully. I tipped my head back under the water and smiled at the warmth. My smile grew when I heard Edward come into the room.
"Room for one more?" he asked as he opened the glass shower door.
"I think you might just fit," I replied, not opening my eyes.
I heard the door close and then his arms were around me again, crushing me up against the blue-tiled wall.
"Don't you have to go to work this morning?" I teased as his lips roamed hungrily down my neck.
"Do you want me to stop?" he countered.
"Well, no…" The rest of my words were cut off by his kiss.
Half an hour and an excessively long shower later we were drinking coffee in the kitchen. I was munching on a piece of toast with peanut butter and he was eating cereal.
"Does coffee really go with corn flakes?" I asked him.
"Not really," he replied. "But I usually have more time for breakfast!"
I poked my tongue out at him as I rinsed my mug in the sink. "You should have had a shorter shower then!" I retorted with a smile over my shoulder as I went to brush my teeth.
We left Edward's house just after 8:15 in his Volvo. "You can drive this around today if you want to," he offered.
"Is everything in walking distance from where you'll park?" I asked.
"I can drop you at the observatory if you want…they don't open until 9 but it'll probably be close to that by the time we get there," he said, looking at the traffic.
"That sounds fine, as long as you give me directions to your office…and I'll still probably get lost!" I joked.
Edward leaned over and pulled a small map out of the glove box. "This should help," he said. "It's a bit out-of-date, but it's a tourist map I picked up for Alice when she visited a couple of years ago, and my office is marked on it."
We pulled into the parking lot at the observatory ten minutes before it opened. "Will you be ok on your own?" he asked, turning in his seat to face me.
I smiled before answering, "I'll be fine! There's a lot to do here and I'll probably stop for a coffee at some point. What time should I meet you for lunch?"
He thought for a minute. "Let's say twelve thirty – it'll take you about fifteen minutes to walk there from here. If I'm going to be later I'll let you know."
"Sounds good," I said, leaning across the centre console to give him a quick kiss. "Now get going so I can see you sooner!"
He reached over and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, pulling me in for another kiss. "Be safe," he whispered.
"I will, I promise," I assured him as I slid out of the car.
I waved to him as he drove off and walked up to the visitor entrance. I waited for a few minutes until the security staff came and opened the doors for the day. I bought a ticket and talked to the girl behind the desk about what I should do while I was there.
I spent the next two hours taking it all in. I went out on the observation deck and well and truly conquered my fear of heights before heading back inside and feeling like a little girl again when I got excited about the talking telescopes. I spent over half an hour looking at the history wall, taking in what made Chicago into the city it is now.
Just after 11 I hit the gift shop and bought some tacky touristy souvenirs to take back to everyone at home. Jasper and Emmett got key rings and Alice and Rosalie got a pack of fluorescent pens stamped with the observatory logo.
I'd grabbed a couple of pamphlets from the information desk when I bought my ticket and left the observatory in search of the Hershey's shop. Alice had said something about them having the best chocolate cupcakes she'd ever had so I decided to try it out for myself.
A five minute walk landed me right out the front. I hit the coffee shop first and had a mocha latte with said chocolate cupcake…and Alice wasn't wrong. After that I wandered through the shop and ended up spending more money than I'd planned. I had custom chocolate bars made for Jasper and Alice, and Emmett and Rosalie with their names on them plus one for Edward and myself. I also bought a big bag of Hershey's kisses to leave for Edward when I left, with some sappy note about him being able to have a kiss from me every day even though I wasn't there.
I also bought a dozen cupcakes. I figured Edward and I could have them for dessert and then have a couple more the next day, and I could buy a plastic container to take them home for Alice and me to share.
Just as I was putting my money away my phone rang.
"Hello?" I answered with a smile, knowing it would be Edward.
"Hey there beautiful! Does twelve thirty still suit you for lunch?" he asked.
"Sure does – I'm just leaving Hershey's," I told him.
"Let me guess – Alice told you about the cupcakes?" I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yep, and as usual, she was right," I confirmed. "I'll meet you out the front of your building in twenty minutes?"
"You don't want to come up and see where I work?" he asked.
"I do, but I also don't want to meet Tanya," I told him, feeling bad.
"I wouldn't either," he said under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. "There's a little garden thing with a fountain to the side of the building – I'll see you there soon, ok?"
"Miss you," I said as I hung up.
I checked the map and headed off to meet Edward for lunch. The city was beautiful as I wandered along – old buildings mixed with modern people. I found his building with a couple of minutes to spare and sat down on a low stone bench near the fountain.
"Now what's a pretty girl like you doing sitting all on her own in a place like this?" Edward had snuck up behind me and was now sitting next to me on the bench.
"Waiting for her wonderful boyfriend to come along," I replied with a grin, turning for a kiss.
"What's in the bags?" he asked.
"None of your business," I said. "Can we leave them in your car though?"
Edward reached down and picked a couple of my bags up. "Sure can!"
We went to a little deli for lunch and had fresh sandwiches with fresh-squeezed juice. After lunch we went back to Edward's car and I made sure than none of my purchases were going to get broken in the trunk.
"To the zoo?" he asked.
"That's the plan," I said back, watching the city go by through the window.
We parked at the zoo and Edward left his tie and suit jacket in the car. We spent half an hour watching the sea lions play before moving on to the penguins.
"They're so funny looking!" I said with a smile.
"Have you seen 'Happy Feet'?" Edward asked.
"Pffft! It's a kid's movie!" I retorted.
"I own that kid's movie," he replied. "And this, coming from the girl who was reading Harry Potter yesterday?"
"Umm…wanna watch it tonight?" I said, feeling bad.
"It's ok, I think we'll have more on our minds tonight that kid's movies," he murmured in my ear, making me shiver.
We spent an hour wandering around the rest of the exhibits, stopping for longer to watch the bears, lions and monkeys.
"I always wanted a pet monkey," he told me as we watched them play.
"Like Michael Jackson?" I asked with a cheeky grin.
"Maybe not so much," he said back, squeezing my waist as we moved on.
It was just after 3 when we left the zoo.
"Did you still want to go to Garfield Park?" Edward asked as we arrived back at the Volvo.
"Do we have time? I'd like to see it," I replied.
"Of course we have time honey! They're open till 5 – let's go see some plants." Edward put the car in gear and we arrived soon after.
It was worth the visit – I was totally absorbed in the beauty as we walked through the conservatory.
"You are breathtaking," Edward whispered to me as we walked along, hand in hand.
I stopped and leaned into him for a hug. "You're pretty spectacular yourself," I mumbled into his chest.
"What would you like for dinner tonight?" he asked as we continued along.
"What's the house specialty?" I countered.
"Something with pasta?" It was a question, definitely not an answer.
"Whatever you'd like to cook, I'm happy to eat," I told him. "Did we need to stop to get anything on the way home?"
It was Edward's turn to stop and he pulled me down onto a nearby seat. "Say that again."
"Did we need to stop to get anything on the way home?" I repeated, confused.
He smiled at me – a soft, soppy smile. "I like the way that sounds."
All of a sudden I got it. "We and home?"
"We and home," he confirmed.
We sat there, lost in the moment, until I felt a few drops of rain hit my face. I turned my face to the sky and grinned. "It's about to pour – we'd better make a move!"
By the time we got back to the car we were both soaked. We collapsed into the leather seats in gales of laughter. "You look like a drowned rat!" Edward proclaimed.
I turned to insult him back but my words got lost on the way from my brain to my mouth. He was wearing a white shirt and it was sticking to his body in all the right ways. Add to that the soaked hair dripping in his eyes… I shook my head to break myself from my drooling but it didn't engage my brain filter.
"And you look damn hot," I ended up saying.
He looked confused for all of two seconds before leaning across and kissing me deeply. "Maybe we should go home and warm up in the shower?" he suggested.
I nodded my head. "How far is it from here to there?"