Bella had an excellent idea today when she came over to spend time with me. She was in my bedroom and we were listening to my records, chatting when the brainwave hit her. She asked to see in my closet, I was hoping she would like to try being piled under sweaters, but then I was worried that she might be anxious if she were seeking such comfort. I gave a little warning scuttle and Bella stilled me, explaining she merely wanted to see 'the famous Edward Cullen sweater pile'. I proudly flung open the closet door and presented her with the stack of neatly folded cashmere.
"Edward, do you have any spare blankets?"
"They're all spare, silly! I don't sleep!"
"Do you know what a blanket fort is?"
I frowned, "Has there been a declaration of war? Do I need to construct defences?"
"It's like a tent made of blankets, it's fun, let's build one for you and your sweaters."
"What do you do with it?"
"You sit in it. It's fun, you'll like it."
"Well in that case…"
"We need blankets, pillows, Christmas lights, clothespins or clips, or both. Oh and some string. Do you think you've got all that stuff?"
"I don't know about string, but I know where there are some ropes."
"Ropes?"
"Yes, I saw them when I was sad one day. I was lying on the floor and I spotted them. I'll go and grab them now." I ran down to Carlisle and Esme's room and retrieved the ropes from under their bed. Bella said they should be fine.
Bella and I gathered the softest blankets we could find around the house. I found a particularly good hoard of brand new cashmere blankets in Alice's closet, still in the department store bags. I think she has been squirrelling them away in hopes of a sleepover with Bella. The clothespins were, no problem, as we actually do laundry just like any other family. I found some binder clips in my drawing supplies as well.
Upon our return, Bella started pointing and ordering me around, which put me in an excellent mood right away. We shifted my clothes to make space and suspended the ropes between the existing clothes poles at the back of the closet and Bella started clipping blankets together and using the clothespins to secure them to the ropes. Working together, we made a kind of tent out of the blankets. I thought we were done, but Bella added pillows, Christmas lights and all of my sweaters to the inside to furnish it and made a final door out of a balnket, to block everyone out. Three hundred and sixty degrees of softness ensued and Bella was in it with me! Ordering me about! I had to excuse myself for a quick lap around the grounds and dash up and down a few trees to work off my obvious arousal.
After I had changed my pants, I returned to the closet to find Bella reclining in an exceptionally beatific repose. IN MY CLOSET. WITH MY SWEATERS. Attempting to rid myself of my erection was fighting a losing battle. I opted to keep my lap covered with a cushion for the remainder of our time in there. This is becoming my go to position whenever I am near my beloved. She is far too lovely for my foolish nether reasons to lay dormant. I know I shall never touch her in that way, but my body is a slow learner.
Bella did a little countdown and turned on the lights, bathing us in a soft warm glow. She bundled me under blankets and sweaters, giggling as I burrowed in them and wiggled about to get comfortable.
I asked Bella if there were any particular blanket fort related activities I should know about and she said it's good for reading, writing in my journal and spending time with friends, talking. I chose the last option as talking to Bella is my favourite. She is so pretty and kind.
We talked about the blanket forts Bella had made in the past and she reminisced about building them with her mother on rare rainy days in Phoenix, and with her cabin mates on the one summer she spent at sleepaway camp. She told me about all the activities at camp and she promised to show me how to make friendship bracelets. I plan on making one for her!
Bella slouched down next to me and we both admired our handiwork.
My hand was positioned below Bella's, mere sweaters away from her! I wished I could hold her so badly.
We lay beside each other, chatting and sometimes just quietly smiling at each other for a while. I think Bella was hot because her cheeks looked rosy. How I wish I could read her mind just once. She seemed happy though and I know I was.
Bella started asking me questions, all sorts of silly things: do vampires burp, what do the teachers secretly think of our classmates, who has the funniest mind at school, what vampire 'superpower' do I think is the best and why, what my favourite smells are (I described her without saying it was her, of course), silly things Emmett has done, what the other houses we've lived in were like, my worst fashion errors, am I ticklish.
Upon asking this last question she sat up a little and then attacked me! Of course I am not ticklish, though I did squeak a great deal. She insisted I was ticklish, so I let her have her fun.
Bella giggled breathlessly and lay down beside me again. She stroked my hair a bit to calm me down afterwards and we went back to just smiling at each other. It was heaven. When she rolled onto her back admiring the Christmas lights again, her head was just touching mine and the contact was electric. I would have done anything to have kissed her.
Alice muscled in on our fun soon enough and plonked herself between Bella and I. She said I could keep the blankets until Bella came for a sleepover, which she soon started loudly planning.
Eventually Bella got hungry and said she had to go home to cook, but that she'd text me after dinner. I insisted she take her favourite sweater as a souvenir of our lovely day together. She chose a blue one that will look beautiful on her, I'm sure.
I wish she could have stayed.
A/N: Reviewers get to stroke Edward's hair in the blanket fort.
Thanks a million to my wonderful betas itsthatkindofanight and wh1teow1, please show some love and read Moirai, a reimagining of Twilight for the new decade!