A/N: A little longer than usual but I didn't want to write several chapters of Edward being away, so only one it is. Also nothing heavy this chapter. Just some light-hearted fun.
To the anon who asked for the 3 chapters I deleted. I really did delete them. I don't tend to keep unused chapters. My brain's already an unorganised mess as it is. Sorry :( If you want the gist of it, here goes: Edward was going to straight up tell Bella that he'd never get his vasectomy reversed, and she told him "well, whether we break up now or later, it's inevitable. We don't have a future". She broke it off, and Edward tried to talk her around but she was adamant no matter how heartbroken the both of them were. Addie took it very badly. I mean to the point that she ran away to Bella. It was a hot emotional mess, and while Edward was going to see the light, I just didn't think they could come back from that. So, into the shredder it went.
Yikes. Alright I'll shut up now. I hope you enjoy.
Footprints in the Sand
Chapter 39
"Okay," Edward begins, turning to me and handing me his keys. His flight's about to board, and he almost appears anxious. It's a side of him I've never witnessed before, "call me anytime you need me. I'll always pick up. For any reason," he adds emphatically, as I nod my head.
"I will."
Reaching into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, he grabs his wallet, opens it and pulls out his credit card. "For food, or if you want to take Addie out somewhere. I'll leave that up to you."
"Won't you need it?" I ask, feeling slightly disjointed as I stare unashamedly down at the American Express Platinum card I never expected to ever lay eyes on in my life, let alone hold in my hands.
"I have it on my phone," he explains with a small amused smile. "You don't have to take Addie every night. If you need a break, or if you have plans with Alice, my parents will take her," he reiterates, as he glances at his rambunctious daughter who's currently swinging from the metal railing lining the terminal gate.
"Alice is pregnant, and I'm not sure if you're aware of it, counselor, but I have a very boring social life. I spend the majority of my free time with a very stupidly handsome man and his little clone daughter," I tease him, making the grin return to his lips.
"Bella."
"I don't want to stay at Grandma's, Daddy!" Addie suddenly asserts, turning to her father with a pout.
"You'll have to when Bella's at work," he reminds her, placing his hand to the top of her head.
"Bella?" She turns to me with the full force of her father's eyes wide and beseeching.
"Hmm?"
"Will you come and get me when you finish work? Like Daddy does?"
"Of course, I will," I promise her.
"Yay!" Satisfied, she returns to swinging on the railing, and turning herself upside-down in the process.
Edward sighs to himself before turning his gaze back to me. "I still haven't bought her clothes for...F.L.O.R.I.D.A," he meticulously spells it out despite Addie's attention being very much diverted. "Do you think—"
"I'll take care of it," I assure him, and no doubt Alice will be more than on board to help.
Clothes shopping is her forte.
"Thank you, sweetheart. Also, I've let my house keeper know you'll be staying. She comes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays," he continues to check off the itinerary that entails stepping into his life.
"I can clean your house," I insist. "I really don't mind."
"No."
"So stubborn."
He smirks even as his expression warms with affection. "You'll have your hands full with Addie. I'm not going to put anything else on you."
"Okay..." I humor him, but I'm not sure I have it in me not to clean up after myself. I doubt his housekeeper will have anything to do, but I'm not about to tell him that, though. This man takes chivalry to a new level.
"Good, and..." he pauses for a moment as that frown of his puckers his brow, "when the results come in, call me immediately." He's referring to the results of Addie's evaluation for ADHD. It was the week before, and we're expecting it to arrive in the mail any day now.
Edward's been not-so-subtly twisting himself inside out, worrying over it.
"I will."
"Okay—"
"They're calling your flight," I point out, stretching on my toes to straighten his tie. He tends to tug on it subconsciously and it's almost always pulled askew.
"I'll call you when I arrive," he says, his voice falling in volume as his eyes zero in on my lips moments before he merges his own briefly with them.
My stomach's in knots, but the prospect of him about to fly to the other side of the country is giving me genuine anxiety.
"Come here, kid." He motions to Addie, holding out his hand to her.
Running to him, Addie hurls herself in his arms instead. "Will you be lonely without me and Bella, Daddy?"
"Terribly lonely. Listen—"
"Make sure you go to bed on time," she reproaches him as the length of his tender smile broadens.
"I promise. Now, be good—"
"I will." She comes close to rolling her eyes."
"I'm serious. I don't want to come home and find out you were giving Bella a hard time. If she tells you it's bedtime, you go to bed. If she runs you a bath, you get in the bath—"
"Daaaaad," she complains, and I'm fairly certain it's the first time I've ever heard her refer to him as anything other than Daddy.
"Give me a kiss. I have to go."
Squashing his cheeks together, Addie quickly kisses his puckered lips. "Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck," she lowers her voice and imitates him as Edward breaks gently into laughter. "Love you more, Daddy," she responds to whatever he spoke against her temple, making my insides turn to water.
After hugging him one last time, Edward Places Addie back to her feet, and taking my hand, he draws me closer. "Remember, call me if you need me. Any time of the day or night. I won't mind."
I nod once in answer, biting on the inside of my bottom lip, almost positive I'm about to start sobbing.
"I love you," he murmurs after tucking my hair gently behind my ear.
"I love you too," I reply softly, being forced to sever eye contact before I really do fall apart.
"You might want to go back on birth control, too," he leans in and adds huskily against my ear.
I immediately gaze back up at him, but I'm at a complete loss for words, and winking, he plants his lips tenderly once more to mine. "Goodbye, baby," he says before turning to hand his boarding pass to the woman at the gate.
"Bye," I whisper, feeling more than a little dazed.
He wants me to go back on birth control?
"Goodbye, Daddy!" Addie calls after him.
"See-ya, tiger," he says over his shoulder before disappearing into the jetway.
"Bella?" Addie grabs my hand and swings from it, pulling me from my wandering thoughts.
"What is it, sweetie?" I reply, roughly inhaling back the imminent threat of tears.
"Can we watch Daddy's plane take off?"
"Sure we can."
. . .
For the first couple of days, Addie's fine. Like she is at my apartment, she becomes my shadow, and on top of going on our runs – through her neighborhood at Edward's insistence – I keep her relatively busy. It's not until I return to work, and she's back to spending her days with Mrs. Cullen, that she begins to feel the absence of her father.
It doesn't help that I have to wake her up at four-thirty in the morning to drop her off at her grandmother's in time for work, and like any five-year-old, when Addie's overtired, she gets out of sorts.
"Bella...?" A very morose-sounding voice speaks up from the backseat as we're driving back to her house after my first shift.
"What's up, sweetie?" I reply, glancing at her through the rear-view mirror.
"Do you think Daddy's lonely?"
"Well... I bet he's very busy, and that's distracting him. Do you want to call him?"
"I talked to him today. He told me I have to be brave, and not give you leprovy," she says innocently as I break lightly into laughter.
"Why don't we make him a video to send him when we get home?" I suggest.
Addie immediately sucks in her breath in excitement, and we start brainstorming all the different possibilities. By the time we arrive home, a video has turned into a music video, and while I hastily make myself a ham and grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, Addie races upstairs to put on her Rapunzel dress.
After setting up my phone in the best position to record, I hand Addie the least lethal-looking frying pan I can find, before the two of us sing and dance around the family room to When Will My Life Begin with the song playing from the Amazon Echo in the background. There's several takes, but the finished result is me dancing around with a broomstick and wearing one of Addie's tiaras, while Addie sings the final lyrics solo.
"Take a bow," I say when we finally finish, and grabbing my hand Addie bends at the midsection, taking me with her. "Okay, after three. Ready?"
"Uh-huh." Sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, she nods vigorously.
"1... 2... 3—WE MISS YOU, DADDY!" Addie and I chorus in unison.
"I'll turn it off, Bella," Addie volunteers, and running to grab my phone, she very clearly whispers an adage to our video. Something I find out after the first play back.
"Bella misses kissing you, Daddy," she'd said before erupting into a fit of childish snickers.
"Um—what is this?" I play along and gasp.
Her giggling quickly turns to laughter, and then squeals when I grab my broom and chase after her, imitating Mother Gothel.
"Rapunzel, let down your hair!"
By the time I run her a bath, I'm thoroughly worn out, but Addie's grinning from ear to ear, and has caught a definite case of the giggles.
"Let's do Frozen tomorrow, Bella," she says leaning her head back as I rinse shampoo from her hair.
"Uh, Totally," I agree, as she clamps a soapy hand to her mouth and smothers her laughter this time.
We send Edward the video during bedtime, and then wait for his reply snuggled together between Addie's Moana sheets.
Bella. He texts back roughly four minutes after,followed by: Looks like I'm missing all the fun, and I miss kissing you too. You have no idea how much.
What did he say, Bella?" Addie asks curiously.
"Ah, he says he's missing out on all our fun, and he misses you a whole bunch," I embellish as a cheesy grin pulls wide on Addie's lips, her shoulders rising with it. "Okay, girlfriend, which story?"
"Hmm... Sleeping Beauty?"
. . .
How was your day?Edward texts just as I'm crawling exhausted into his giant, plush king-size bed.
Pretty textbook. Yours? I immediately reply, the smile broad across my face.
Texting is our thing, something uniquely us, and it does more to turn me on than the sound of his deeply sultry voice through the receiver of the phone.
Busy. I want more of those videos by the way.
Your daughter is already one step ahead of you, Daddy.
Bella. Just my name again before he adds. Do you know how wholesome you are?
Again, Edward? Potatoes?
He replies with a string of laughing emojis. Addie asleep?
She is, but she'll no doubt find her way in bed with me sometime around midnight.
That's usually the consensus. Baby, it has to be brief tonight. I'm so fucking busy.
Okay, but try not to overwork yourself. I hate worrying about you.
There's nothing to worry about. I have a deposition tomorrow. I'll have my phone on silent, but if you call, I'll answer. I want that to be our rule.
To always answer each other's call?
Exactly. Without exception.
Deal. How long will the deposition take?
Eight hours give or take.
OMG. Promise me you won't leave your lunch sitting in room temperature all day.
I won't make that mistake twice. Especially without my potato pie here to force-feed me kombuchas.
You are such a dork. I reply, chuckling to myself, and feeling positively giddy. He remembers everything I say, and while I envy that about him, it only adds to the depth of his sex appeal.
You're the only one who's ever called me that. Sweetheart, I really have to go. I have to prepare.
Okay, you can go. Sweet dreams.
I won't be dreaming tonight, but make sure you do.
I'll do my best. Love you.
Ibidem.
Tu callidus, formosus. I took Latin as an elective for three years in high school, counselor. Were you testing me again?
Bella. And again. I wasn't testing you the first time, but you still surprise the hell out of me. Go to bed, woman. I can't have you in my head right now.
Alright, I'm going. Talk tomorrow. I send him a love heart emoji as a conclusion—something he reciprocates—and tucking myself beneath his comforter, I close my eyes with my grin as wide as Addie's was earlier.
For too long, my mind fights sleep, before I finally succumb to it just after ten.
. . .
The following night Addie and I perform a song and dance routine to "Love is an Open Door". With Addie dressed as Anna, of course, and me as that sleazeball Hans, wearing one of Edward's ties.
This kid really has perfect pitch—I really need to speak to Edward about getting her singing lessons—but just being Addie, humor is automatically incorporated into it, and we laugh and almost kill ourselves as we do all the motions in the family room.
"Can I just say something crazy, Bella?" Addie quotes at the end.
"I love crazy," I say my line.
"Daddy wants to marry you!"
Our third video takes place in the backyard the following evening, with me and Addie singing "Something There" from Beauty and the Beast. Addie is adamant that I play Belle, insisting that not only are our names similar but that I look like her. She definitely gets her charm from her father. She sings the Beast's role, wearing her Chewbacca mask, and every time she opens her mouth, Chewbacca sounds erupt, causing the both of us to burst into laughter.
After several takes, we decide to send it, laughter included, but Edward enjoyed it, and after, we sit on the patio furniture chatting to him over Facetime.
He looks exhausted and I hate to think how much sleep he's skipping.
That man.
Explain yourself, woman, he texts me later that night, forwarding a message from his housekeeper that reads: I don't know why you pay me to clean your house when your fiancé does everything before I arrive.
Addie told her you're marrying me.
I met Angelina on day two. Addie of course repeated her usual spiel of "this is Bella—my daddy's gonna marry her", and Angelina proceeded to stare at me for several seconds, mouth agape, as though the possibility of Edward having a girlfriend was some kind of paranormal activity.
You know what I mean.
Edward, I can't not clean up after myself, and I can't think of anything more uncomfortable than watching someone clean up after me.
Bella. Just my name. What am I supposed to do with you?
We've already had this discussion. Anything you like.
Do you understand now why I call you unspoiled?
You have a very strange way of complimenting me, counselor.
You never say what I'm expecting.
What are you expecting?
When it comes to you, I have no idea. Your break starts tomorrow?
It does.
What do you have planned?
Shopping for Addie's vacation clothes. Alice is tagging along. After that, we're going running, and then we're watching Finding Nemo.
Make me another video?
Addie's already on it.
You have no idea how long she's been waiting for you, Bella.
I'm sorry? This man—he absolutely leaves me without words.
I've been waiting for you even longer.
Edward.
Sweetheart?
I'm still here.
It's not like you to go quiet on me. Tired?
Exhausted, but it's strange sleeping in your bed alone. I don't like it.
I'll be back soon, baby, and then we'll be doing a lot of things in my bed. Sleeping will only be one of them.
Smooth.
He sends me a laughing emoji followed by: You sleeping well?
Pretty well. Your daughter tires me out as much as you do. Are you sleeping at all?
Here and there. More tomorrow with a bit of luck.
What's happening tomorrow?
Mediation, and settlement hopefully.
Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Anything come in the mail?
Nothing yet. I'll let you know as soon as it arrives.
Ok, well, have fun tomorrow. I'd love to talk more, but I still have a ton of work to get through.
Can you at least try to sleep, Edward? The human body kind of needs it.
Bella.
You're so stubborn.
I am. Sleep well, baby.
. . .
I wake late the next morning with Addie's hand draped over my face. She wandered in sometime around one a.m., and then proceeded to chat about our next video for the next two hours. I eventually persuaded her back to sleep, and lulled her into it by running my fingers through her hair.
She wants to do "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift, and today we're buying props.
After rousing her awake, she follows me into the bathroom and mirrors me as I brush my teeth.
"Can we have pancakes for breakfast, Bella?" she asks behind a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Sure," I say winking down at her.
"I'm really excited about seeing Alice today," she adds, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, despite the toothbrush still dangling between her lips.
"Are you? Alice has a big secret that she's going to tell you today," I confess as Addie sucks in her breath and almost asphyxiates on toothpaste.
"Really?"
"Really, really."
Can I take Gooby?"
"Sure, you can. Okay, rinse." I hand her a cup full of water, and after taking a large gulp, she stretches on her tippy toes and spits it out in the sink.
I learned very early on that it's better to get Addie dressed after breakfast. This girl can spill even the most un-spillable of edibles, and breakfast is not concluded without her wearing almost as much maple syrup as her pancakes.
After cleaning her up and getting her dressed, she helps me stack the dishwasher and wipe down the counters, and then we embark on Operation: Tidy Daddy's Bedroom.
Edward's a pretty decent cleaner, but he's messy. He has the propensity to throw his clothes over various pieces of furniture and leaving them there—not to mention the menagerie of Addie's toys and dolls that litter the floor. It takes us a good hour to put everything into proper order, while the only things I don't mess with are the piles of files and paperwork he has throughout his room.
I stack them neatly where I find them, before moving on, and while I'm not looking for a certain small box, I don't find one. Edward's good at hiding things, it seems.
Or maybe Addie completely misconstrued what she saw.
. . .
"You're whiter than Casper the Ghost, chickadee. Bella's going to take you sunbathing and get some color into you," Alice offers up in explanation for Addie's constant questions over why I'm buying her so many swimming costumes, sun hats, sandals and clothes suitable for Florida's humidity.
Tilting her head, Addie gazes up at me in confused scrutiny. "Huh, Bella?"
"It's summer, silly bear, and you're growing out of all your clothes," I attempt to salvage it. "So, your daddy asked me to buy you more."
"They're going to Disney," Alice cups a hand to her mouth and quietly fills in the cashier as she rings up the numerous items.
"Ahhh."
"Can we go to the beach?" Addie pipes up, her clear green eyes wide with excitement.
"Absolutely," I reply.
"Bells, oh my god," Alice says, holding up a black, retro Guns N' Roses t-shirt. "You have to buy this for her."
"I'm not sure her father would approve."
She scoffs. "Trust you to marry a guy who's just as much of a killjoy as you are—Blondie!" She immediately squeals, her attention instantly diverted by the pink onesie. "I am so buying this."
"Is that for Bella's baby, Alice?" Addie asks innocently.
"It-s—I'm sorry? Bella's baby?" Alice echoes, raising one very shrewd brow. "Got something to tell me, bestie?"
"Bella doesn't have a baby because Bella's baby daddy has had a vasectomy," I add drolly, whispering the latter harshly and away from Addie's earshot.
I haven't confessed to Alice that I'm fairly certain he's getting it reversed. I'm not sure she'd survive the anticipation.
"Remember, Bells, one percent?" she reminds me in deliberate emphasis. "And shut up. I'm not delusional. I'm a realist," she quickly heads me off with an over dramatized eyeroll.
"You're a nut, Al," I say, taking her in good humor as I pull Edward's Amex card from my purse and hand it to the Post Alley Kids employee manning the register.
"Okay, I need caffeine—stat," Alice announces the instant we leave the store.
"Starbucks?" I suggest. There's one in Pike Place Market only a few minutes' walk north.
"It'll have to do," Alice says with a grimace, but she's a self-confessed misanthrope of foam, after all.
We stop first at Pier 57 so Addie can ride the carousel. I snap dozens of photos as Alice sighs wistfully beside me.
"She's so gorgeous. How do your ovaries not explode being in her presence?"
"That ship sailed with her father," I say wryly, waving back at Addie as she rounds past us, clutching the pole of the horse she's sitting on one-handed.
"I keep imagining Izzy looking exactly like Jay and I just can't stand it."
"Izzy?" I repeat turning to her skeptically. "Al, what if Izzy is a Hudson?"
"Izzy is an Isabella," she asserts confidently. "I told you, Bells—my bones?"
"Okay..." I let it go because sometimes there's just no arguing with her.
"Jay prefers Sybella, but she'll get called Sybil and ew." Scrunching up her nose, she pulls a disdainful face.
"Sybella is different," I point out tactfully.
"It's weird. Anyway, I'm over Hudson. I like Lincoln now. I'll probably keep changing boy names, because subconsciously I know she's a pink one."
"A pink one? Al..." Shaking my head to myself, I step closer to the carousel to catch Addie as she jumps off.
"Can I ride it again, Bella?" she gushes behind flushed cheeks and over-animated eyes.
"Let's go on the Ferris wheel instead," Is Alice's suggestion as Addie reacts to it on absolute impulse.
"Really?" Her tone goes up by several decibels.
"Alice..." I complain.
"Can we, Bella?" Addie turns to me, tugging on my shirt, and only a monster could turn her down.
"Okay, but first let's offload these bags in the car. 'Kay?"
"'Kay," she echoes chirpily.
"You have to teach me to braid, too, Bells. If her hair's anything like Jay's she's going to have a lot of it," Alice says as we're heading toward Edward's car, with Addie skipping between us.
"The last time I tried to teach you, you threw the hairbrush across the room and put a hole in my wall," I remind her as Addie breaks into giggling.
"I have a lot more patience than I did back then," Alice replies, winking down at her.
. . .
After an hour's wait, and a further twenty minutes hovering above Seattle's skyline on the Ferris wheel, Addie is overstimulated and desperately needs her run, but Alice won't let us go anywhere without coffee first. We end up driving to La Marzocco after Alice's constant moaning over the prospect of a paper cup of foam grated on my last nerve.
"Honestly, Al, who is the five-year-old here, again?" I say good naturedly as we take a seat at our usual spot on the café's sofa.
We had to wait a few minutes for the previous occupants to vacate, before Alice grabbed mine and Addie's hand and bulldozed us over to it. Much to Addie's continued amusement.
"I'm pregnant," Alice waves her hand and offers up her usual excuse as Addie gasps and clamps her hand to her mouth.
"Are you having a baby, Alice?" She can barely get the words out.
"I am, chickadee."
"Is that your secret?"
"Well, it's not a secret anymore," Alice says tugging one of Addies braids playfully.
"Is it a girl?"
"Sure is."
"It might be a boy," I tell Addie as Alice rolls her eyes.
"Would you like me to remind you how many times I've been right?" she deadpans.
"Want to hear my secret, Alice?" Addie ventures.
"Um...sweetie..."
Oh god, I know what secret she's about to spill on.
"You have a secret? Do tell, Ads," Alice says, humoring her and leaning over me to bridge the distance between them.
"My daddy bought Bella a berry beautiful ring," Addie announces not only to Alice but to half the café.
"Oh, did he...?" Alice straightens up and turns to me, a smug, all-knowing smirk pulling slowly on her lips.
"Don't say it," I mumble, dropping my head into my palm. "It could be—"
"Say what? I told you so?"
"Al..."
"Well, I was right about Jay, so naturally I'm going to be right about the guy my BFF marries."
"Please stop."
"Hey, Ads, want me to tell you the story of when I first met your dad?" Alice switches her attention back to Addie with a sly smile, and Addie's face immediately brightens.
"Yes," she replies eagerly.
"Alice," I warn her.
"Oh." Tsking, she waves her hand again, dismissing me. "Come over here, honey." Taking her hand, Alice moves Addie to sit between us before she starts. "Me and Bella were sitting right here, and Bella was trying to convince me she didn't have the hots for your daddy when she so did."
I can only release my breath in exasperation as Addie giggles and practically bounces on the sofa.
"Then," Alice continues, "your daddy walks in, comes straight up to her, and d'you know what he said?"
"No," Addie replies, shaking her head as her giggling increases.
"He said, 'hello, Bella-from-next-door-to-Grandma's-house'"—changing the tone of her voice, she imitates Addie imitating Edward—"and acting all cool like he didn't have the hots for her, too," Alice recaps to Addie's full laughter.
"Oh my god..." I murmur to myself.
"Then, Bella hid behind her coffee," Alice continues, as Addie clamps both hands over her mouth and practically chokes.
"And your daddy was staring at her so much his ears went bright red."
At this point, Addie throws her head back and completely surrenders to laughter.
"Dad-daddy's...ears...al-always turn...r-red...when...he-he's..." she stammers uncontrollably, unable to get the words out to finish.
"Then he left and forgot his coffee," Alice finishes while Addie's practically on the floor.
"He didn't buy a coffee," I contradict her.
"Yes, he did," she insists calmly. "I noticed him the instant he came in. He ordered first and then spotted you."
"Dad-daddy's...s-so...fun-funny!" Addie bursts, continuing to laugh so much she quickly becomes breathless.
"Sweetie, your hot chocolate is here," I attempt to distract her as the waitress delivers our order with an amused grin on her face because Addie's laughter is infectious. "Why don't you tell Alice about the videos we've been making for your daddy?"
"Huh? What videos?" Alice's ears are immediately pricked.
It still takes Addie a further five minutes to be able to speak a coherent sentence, but she quickly delves into explaining our new nightly routine until Alice wants in, too.
"It's just something fun and spontaneous, Al," I protest when she attempts to choreograph our next video from the sidelines.
"You have to get some plastic glasses from Dollar Tree, and a band helmet. What are they ca—"
"Shakos," I preempt her. "You forgetting I was in the school band?"
"I thought you mentally blocked that out?" she teases me.
"Ha-ha," I say ruefully, while beside me Addie slurps her drink loudly.
"You know, Bells," Alice leans close to me and speaks in confidence against my earlobe, "you should give Edward an X-rated version of it after little miss goes to sleep." Pulling back, she arches a very suggestive brow.
"I..." My face burns, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't seriously considering it.
"Do it. You know you want to," Alice jibes, elbowing me in the ribs.
"Oh, geez..." I mumble awkwardly because pregnancy seems to have increased Alice's investment in everything me and Edward.
. . .
"Okay, ready?" I say, placing the oversized, black costume glasses on Addie's nose.
I'm already wearing mine, and the damn things itch.
"Uh-huh," she replies, nodding as her messy pony tail bobs up and down.
We're both wearing track pants, baggy white t-shirts with "I love you" written in thick black marker, and our Converse, of course, because she wears high heels and we wear sneakers.
The song starts and Addie and I dance around the room, singing into hairbrushes. Addie's glasses keep flying off mid-song, so several takes are needed before we finish, but it's our best video yet. And Edward more than loves it.
You two are adorable, he texts back after watching, making Addie's smile turn as sunny as it is exhausted.
It's a good thing I got her in the bath straight after we came back from our run, because she's dead on her feet and I'm forced to carry her to bed.
"Goodnight, sweetie," I whisper, gently pushing her hair off her forehead to plant my lips to her brow.
"Goodnight, Bella. I had lots of fun today," she mumbles sleepily.
"Did you?" I ask, tucking her blanket under her chin.
"Uh-huh," she half nods as her eyes slowly close, and she's off to Hush-a-bye Mountain not five seconds later.
After locking up the house, hitting the lights, and turning on the alarm system, I make my way upstairs, disappear behind Edward's closet door and dress into the sexiest, black lace panties and matching bra I own. I then give myself a smokey-eyed, red lip glossed makeover in the bathroom, even as I fight off the nervous, full-bodied flush.
This one's definitely getting ticked off the bucket list.
Conscious of not waking Addie, I place the Echo beside my phone, hit record, and play You Belong With Me on moderate volume.
The song begins, and I proceed to dance seductively around the bedroom, lip-syncing to the lyrics, giving Edward extreme close ups as I crawl along his bed and toss my hair around my shoulders.
I switch naturally from sexy to silly, and then back again, but it's so subconscious, I don't immediately realize it. And after cropping and editing the video, I send it to Edward before I can die of mortification and talk myself out of it.
Something for you, I add, holding my breath as I wait for it to be read.
It does almost instantly, but the length of the video passes with no reply. In fact, close to thirty minutes goes by before those three flickering dots finally appear at the bottom of my message screen.
Fucking hell, woman. What are you doing to me?
You liked?
I more than liked it, and you keep surprising the hell out of me.
Well, get used to it, counselor.
Facetime. Now!
A/N: look at Bella getting all saucy ;)
Thanks for reading.