A/N:
Twi-Muses interviewed me (I know - I was surprised too), so if you want to read the highlights, the link in my profile. There's some good Rosebud stuff in there.
"How old did you say you were?"
"Oh, I didn't say."
"I didn't think you did. If you had, I wouldn't have asked you because I'd have remembered. How old are you?"
- Kane & Susan
March 7, 2010
Edward
Isabella stares at me with her bottom lip pinned firmly between her teeth. We're close together on her too-small bed, greedily gazing at each other in silence.
Since she is lying on her side, her ribbed tank top scoops down far enough to reveal the top of her breasts. Her eyes take in my nakedness with curious excitement, as if I'm some kind of science experiment. Her cheeks are flushed pink with anticipation.
I've started to wonder if Isabella is a deceptively innocent creature designed only to destroy all males. Kind of like candy cigarettes. Or Catholic schoolgirls.
She runs her pointer finger around my tip, making me shiver. I've been half-hard since before she even decided to touch me, thanks to her scrap of fabric that some sick person decided to call "shorts."
So when Isabella looked at me with big brown eyes, asking if she could play with my thing, I was unable to resist.
She seems unable to find a suitable name for my dick, so instead she calls it a thing, like it's the Loch Ness Monster or the frightening star of a B movie. And then she wonders why I don't think she's ready to have my thing inside her.
Isabella repeats the previous circuit, this time even more gently. She carefully trails her finger down my shaft, looking up at me nervously as she practices her feather-light touch.
"What do I do?"
I throw my arm over my eyes, the frustration of being turned on mixing with the amusement of the situation. Isabella has the uncanny skill of making me feel like I'm corrupting her whenever we venture past kissing.
"You just touch it, goddammit," I laugh, voicing my thought a little too freely.
A soundless moment passes, and I realize that we no longer share any tingling, longing contact. I uncover my face, bringing my eyes back to Isabella. Her lip is being held captive again.
"Do you have to say the Lord's name in vain while I'm fornicating you? I'm starting to feel a little guilty here."
I would believe her words completely if it were not for the mischievous glint lighting up her face.
"Okay, that's it," I threaten. "No more fornicating for you."
Isabella squeals as I grab her, laying her down on the bed. I hover over her as she laughs.
I watch her eyes sparkle with amusement until she feels me, hard, against her thigh. Their transformation to lustful and dilated leaves me breathless.
She needs to stop looking at me like that. I'm about to combust.
"Are you ever going to sleep with me, Edward?" Isabella pouts, looking like she might pounce at any moment.
I run my thumb over her accentuated bottom lip, stopping when three words suddenly come unbidden to my mind. I'm so surprised that I can barely stop them before I make the most unromantic proposition ever.
Marry me first.
May 23, 2010
Edward
I brush my lips against Isabella's bare skin, kissing over the subtle dips of her spine. She squirms beneath me on our bed, wriggling like a snake.
"Stop moving," I murmur against a small freckle near her shoulder, squeezing her hip as I place another kiss.
Isabella disobeys as she giggles, twisting her body even more.
"And stop laughing," I chuckle breathlessly. "You're hurting my ego."
She laughs harder, in protest.
"But it tickles!"
"Fine," I allow with sighed resignation. "I guess we should get up anyway."
I stand reluctantly, walking over to the closet. When I turn to ask Isabella what she wants to do today, she sits up, her body tangled up beautifully in the white sheet.
"Stay still," I murmur, picking up her camera bag on top of the desk.
Isabella looks at me questioningly as she ineffectively tries to blow the hair out of her face.
"This better not end up on a blog or something," she warns, only half-joking. Her body is covered up quite modestly, but she's probably worried about her ruffled hair.
"Hush," I chastise gently. "You look beautiful." Stunning. Ethereal. Perfect...
I look down at the weighty piece of technology in my hands, having no clue what to do with it. The lens cap is already off since Isabella lost it last week. I've been meaning to find her a new one.
I glance at Isabella apologetically.
"I..uh...the guy helped me pick it out." If I was one to blush, I would be doing so right now.
Isabella smiles kindly. "It's a point-and-shoot, just like your small one. It's already on automatic settings."
I nod with relief, finding the power button easily.
The camera makes a soft whirring sound as it starts up, and I try to decide which angle I should take this from.
I move to the side of the bed, and Isabella starts to turn so her body will face me. I don't know if it's a conscious decision, but we always seem to revolve around each other.
"Wait," I halt her, probably sounding a little too harsh due to my amateur portrait skills. "Right there. Can you just move slightly so you're looking at me?"
Isabella placates me, twisting so I can see both her bare back and her face. Her eyes peek over her shoulder, meeting the gaze of the lens.
I press down on the shutter button slightly, waiting for the shot to focus before I capture her small, secret smile.
"Just one more."
Isabella's grin widens as I use her trademark line.
July 27, 2010
Edward
I plug in and turn on Isabella's laptop, hoping that the pictures I took are saved with her favorites.
Looking through her computer like this makes me a little guilty, but I desperately want to see them.
If this doesn't work, I can always search through the millions of memory cards she has in her camera bag. Even though Isabella wasn't thrilled with the photos, I don't think she would have deleted them since she knew I wanted them.
I search for a folder designated solely for photos taken of Isabella, but I can't find any. So instead, I click on a folder called "Final," guessing that it might hold photos she plans to print.
I'm surprised when a large number of thumbnails show up that I haven't seen before.
There's a close-up of us that she took herself, when we were on the blanket in Sospel. My ear is cut out of the shot, and she's kissing my cheek.
A zoomed-in image of...my little toe? It's too ugly to be Isabella's.
My eyelids closed in slumber.
My stupid, loved Scruff McGruff T-shirt.
A handful of photos taken of the house and garden.
Random things or places, Isabella's house, Forks...
But starting about halfway through, they are mostly of me.
Each photo is numbered manually, not using the typical file names that cameras give automatically.
1, 2, 3, 4...
I scroll all the way down, noting that there are 197 of them.
Knowing that this is probably nothing unusual, I still find the purposeful organization to be disconcerting.
I hear Sue cleaning in the spare upstairs bathroom as I enlarge random thumbnails. This afternoon, she unexpectedly showed up to make up for leaving yesterday. Things have been pretty stressed between us all day, but we still need each other.
"Hey, Sue?" I call, hoping that she might know something about this.
She enters the bedroom a moment later, wiping just-washed hands on her jeans.
I gesture toward the screen. "Can you look at this for me?"
She nods, not trying to hide her confused expression. When she gets closer, I get up so she can sit at the desk.
"I was just wondering if you knew what this file was."
Sue takes a minute to scroll through the pictures, making her way to the top of the window.
As she glances at my face, she seems to debate over whether she should tell me. She finally devotes her attention to the computer, her mind made up.
"It's called a 365 project."
A/N:
I thought this warranted my first ending note:
No, Edward did not propose right after Bella was done playing with his thing, haha. He likes to think himself more romantic than canon Edward. That's just when he thought to ask; the mind is a strange thing. And sex won't be used as a bargaining chip. Not purposefully, anyway.
See you at the next update, and thanks for reading. xoxo