Chapter 25.

The end of the semester is brutal. Once classes are over, Coach double downs on practices during study week, and by the end of finals week, I feel like I crawled my way to the finish line, barely making it. I'm looking forward to going home. To having some downtime. To seeing my mom.

But what I'm looking forward to the most is spending the weekend with Bella before we both head home. We will be apart for two weeks after, and I am definitely not looking forward to that.

It was my suggestion, for us to do something together. The result: A weekend getaway at Diamond Hot Springs on Forks Mountain. There's a cabin-style lodge with an adjacent motel at the base of the mountain about two hours south of Ogden, and just an hour away from Salt Lake City, where Bella and Vicky are flying off to Florida on Sunday.

The girls planned all of it, and we split it four ways. I had saved some of the extra money from my private lessons with Sammy, and I even had some left over to get my mom a Christmas present.

We get to Forks Mountain on Friday evening and check in at the main lodge. Two nights. Two rooms. One bed in each.

Emmett and I chat briefly with the tour guide on shift, getting some tips for the hike to the hot springs tomorrow.

"I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow morning for breakfast?" Emmett waggles his eyebrows as he hands one set of keys to me then wraps his arm around Vicky's shoulders, who looks at us with a devious smile on her face.

"Are you okay with this setup?" I ask Bella while Emmett and Vicky walk out of the lodge and over to the trail that leads to the motel. We hadn't discussed that we'd share a room, I also didn't want to assume. I knew it was Emmett's intention all along, and probably Vicky's too, but I wanted to leave it up to Bella.

"Of course." She loops her arm through mine, smiling sweetly up at me. I only find excitement in her eyes, and I begin to think maybe she was in on the arrangement from the get-go.

"All right, let's go." I grab our bags and we head to the rooms without another word.

Inside the room, there's a full bed with a night table on each side. A chair. A dresser with a TV on top. A bathroom in the back. It's pretty nice. Clean. I drop our bags on the chair with a huff while Bella returns from inspecting the bathroom.

"Do you like the room?" I ask awkwardly, pulling on the back of my neck. I know I'm in my head. Overthinking it. But it's a room. And a bed. For both of us to sleep in.

We've shared a bed before, of course. Plenty of times. But this is different. No roommates in sight. An actual lock on the door that neither Em or Vicky have the key to.

The whole night to ourselves. In that bed.

I swallow loudly.

We've been together for four months, and we've done stuff, obviously. Some stuff. Not all of the stuff. So this would be a big step in our relationship.

She must sense my nerves because she's up on her tiptoes, her hands cupping my face, pulling my lips to hers and bringing me back to the moment.

"It's perfect," she says against my lips. "What do you want to do?"

I smile, letting out a breath and dropping my forehead onto hers. "Anything you want to do."

"You look like you need a nap," she says jokingly.

"I'm good…" I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her to me. I mean, I'm beat, but a nap is probably the last thing on my mind. I did work this morning and then we had double practice to finish off the semester. I honestly don't know how she's not tired. "But I'm up for anything."

"There's a bathtub in there."

"You want to take a bath?"

"I was thinking something more along the lines of a massage," she lowers her tone to a whisper as her fingers trail down my arms. "For you, in the bathtub."

"Oh…"

She grabs my hand, pulling me to the back of the room. I squint at the bright lights of the bathroom as she flicks them on, and then she lets go of my hand and bends over into the tub to start the water.

Her smile is wide as she returns to me, taking off her sweater, which leaves her in a black tank top over her leggings.

I notice right away there's no other piece of clothing under that tank top. I gulp as she peels her leggings off, and then she's standing in front of me.

Black tank top, black underwear, creamy skin everywhere else.

The water sloshes against the porcelain of the tub, and steam starts filling up the room. Her fingers reach for the hem of my shirt, bringing it up my chest, then I help her with the rest, avoiding lifting my right arm too high, hoping it goes unnoticed.

"Is your shoulder okay?" Of course she catches it right away.

"Just a little tight."

"This week was rough." She steps even closer, running her fingers over my shoulders and down my chest. She then walks around me, stopping behind me, and planting kisses on my back, and under my shoulder.

I agree with a huff as I close my eyes, all of my senses in overdrive.

She walks in front of me again, and her fingers trail lower until they meet the hem of my sweats. She hooks a finger on each side before pushing them down, looking up at me when I open my eyes.

I step out of my sweatpants, deciding to keep my boxer briefs on, until I get a better sense of what she wants to do, what she's willing to do.

She leaves the bathroom then, coming back a second later with her phone in her hand. She plays music from it and starts dancing as she checks the little bottles that are lined up next to the sink. My eyes wander despite my best efforts, and I end up hopelessly staring at the skin that hangs out of her boyshorts.

After making her choice, she dances to the tub, spilling the contents of the little bottle into it.

"Are you getting in?" she asks as the water foams and she turns the faucet off.

I test the temperature with my toes and then pull my foot right out. "Fuck, that's hot!"

"C'mon it's not too bad…" She chuckles, rolling her eyes at me as she sticks a hand inside. "You'll get used to it."

"You planning to peel my skin off or what?"

"No…" She's coming closer to me, and presses a finger on my chest. "Like I said, I want to give you a massage."

I bite back a hiss as I get in quickly, yet unwillingly, with a few expletives leaving my lips, making her laugh loudly.

When she sits on the edge of the tub behind me, and her hands start rubbing my shoulders as promised, I sigh in relief. I may be getting second degree burns from the water, but the way her fingers feel on my muscles makes it all worth it.

Minutes pass and I sink farther into it, the burden of the past months weighing me down. Bella's fingers are gentle but purposeful as they work on my shoulders, back, and neck, putting me back together and making me feel brand new.

"Fuck, that feels so good." I rest my head back on her thigh, looking up at her. I find her eyes intently on me, her cheeks flushed from the steam. I get lost in the depths of her eyes for a second or two, with my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

She scrubs my jaw with one hand while the other peels strands of hair that are sticking to my forehead, with a combination of sweat or water, I am not sure.

I still feel like I'm boiling. I feel a lot of things.

"Swan, I am falling so hard. I'm—I'm in love with you." The words just slip out of my mouth without my authorization. "I…shit…" I sit up, turning to her. I know it's not too soon. The words have been burning in me for months. I'm just hoping, most of all, that she feels the same. Her eyes widen slightly, but there's no fear in them, only elation.

Her face splits into a grin, and she raises an eyebrow at me. "Are you just saying that to get another massage?" She's joking—I know this; the twinkle in her eyes gives her away—but I feign shock anyway, and then I just grab the back of her leg and pull her in while she squeals, splashing water everywhere.

"I meant what I said." I hold her over my thighs, my hands clasped on her waist, while she laughs, cleaning bubbles from her face. When she settles down, her hands reach up, her fingers rubbing across my jaw.

"I know," she says, so softly, inching closer. "I'm falling too. I've already fallen, actually." She giggles playfully, touching her nose to mine. "Yeah. I'm in love with you, too."

We're falling together. We've fallen already. We're kissing, too, hurriedly and desperately, soaking wet and covered in foam.

She straddles my lap and pushes me back until my head hits the tile of the wall behind me.

"Ow…" I say as she giggles and apologizes into my mouth.

She fists my hair while my hands clasp onto her hips, my fingers digging into her skin, loving and hating the pressure that hardens between my legs as she rubs herself on me. Her hand reaches into my boxers then, and when her fingers close around me, I moan into her mouth.

I might become a bath fan after this.

"Swan, please…" I gasp and beg her for mercy, wrapping a hand over hers. Her strokes are deep and steady, and she is slowly killing me—I won't make it.

She releases me with a smile, and then her tank top is coming off. Her breasts, tiny and perfect, are just inches from my face. I want them in my mouth.

Resuming her torturous pace, Bella brings me close to the edge, while I alternate hands and lips, worshiping her breasts, her neck, her jaw, the spots behind her ears. When I dip a hand into her underwear, she moans in my ear. Her sounds. Her skin. Her hands on me. Her body almost naked with mine. It's too much.

"Swan…" I know she's probably not even close to there yet, but I can't possibly hold off any longer if she keeps touching me like this. "Please…I'm so close…" I wrap my hand over hers again, halting her movements, and try to breathe.

"It's okay," she whispers in my ear, tightening her grip on me. "I'll go next." When she continues the motions, I'm done.

"Holy fuck…" I drop my head back on the tub as I spill into the water, and Bella nuzzles over me, peppering kisses along my jaw while I catch my breath. "Jesus, I'm sorry."

"What are you even sorry for?" she asks in my ear.

"I touched you for like three seconds." I run a hand down her arm, embarrassed.

"It was way more than that." She chuckles softly. Goosebumps spread over her arms as I realize she's trembling.

"You okay?" I lift my head, looking at her. Her eyes are closed, her head resting on my chest, a sweet smile on her face, but she's definitely shaking.

"The water's gone cold," she says, nodding.

I'm still burning all over so I can't really tell if the water is cold or not.

"Okay, let's rinse off." I retrieve the water stopper and lift Bella with me as I get up, setting her down gently and pulling the curtain shut before starting the shower. Warm water falls over us as I hold Bella to my chest, running a hand over her hair and rinsing the soap, and everything else, off.

I turn the water off and step out of the tub, reaching for the towels that are stacked on the metal rack next to the tub. I wrap one over Bella's shoulders and put another one on the floor, taking the last one for myself.

"C'mon…" I extend a hand to her and help her out. "It's your turn now."

Wrapped in towels but still soaking wet, we stumble into the bedroom. I lift her onto the bed, on top of the covers, my lips never leaving hers.

Bella squirms under me as I make good on my words, my hand deep in her underwear, one finger inside of her, then two, while my lips are on her neck.

"I want to taste you, so fucking bad…" I whisper in her ear while she moans. "But you're going to have to tell me you want that."

I trail kisses down, over her breasts and across her stomach. She gasps softly as I slightly pull her underwear down, below her hip bones and kiss the softest skin my lips have ever touched. I kiss her thighs too, alternating between legs, as she moans under me. I go around, up to her belly button, and then down again, everywhere except there. Not until she asks me.

"Please," she begs softly, and I smile, looking up at her. And thank fuck because I was about to beg her myself. Her eyes are closed, and she's clutching a pillow with one hand while the other is in a tight fist over the sheets.

"Tell me what you want," I whisper, pulling the fabric a little lower and trailing kisses down her belly button. She doesn't tell me, not with words at least, but her hands fist my hair, pushing me down, granting me the permission I desperately sought.