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Chapter 15

Lick Me or Don't Lick Me

Bella

We were in the car - my car - and Edward was driving.

I still couldn't bring myself to get behind the wheel myself, otherwise I would have been spared a really strange situation today.

Flashback

After the extremely successful walking practice - I was really proud of myself - Edward had brought me to his room and suggested that I should make up for my missed morning nap. He had to discuss something with Carlisle and took care of a few things.

Although I wasn't actually tired, I dozed off while daydreaming about my earned rewards, accompanied by soft piano music from his stereo.

In the afternoon I was woken up by a rather heatedly looking Edward - as far as one could say that about a vampire at all - and suggested to go swimming tomorrow to the hot springs near Port Angeles.

I had been there with Charlie when I was a kid, not for swimming but for hiking and visiting the nearby waterfalls.

I thought it was a good idea and agreed.

But when he cautiously asked me if I preferred to go with him alone or with the others, I hesitated.

First and foremost, I didn't want to offend Alice, because she was my best friend and I had nothing against Emmett in principle, I could even imagine that being quite fun. But Rose and Jasper ...? Well, we didn't have to sit on top of each other all the time ... Actually, we had never done anything with the six of us ... But then straight to the swimming pool. As charming as I imagined it to splash around in the water with Edward only in swimwear, as unpleasant as the idea was to expose myself in front of all the other, with their perfect bodies ... An advantage of it would be, of course, that my fiancé would not be the only one who would be adored from all sides ...

Finally I inquired what he wanted and had an immediate "With you alone" for an answer. He mumbled something else about "Escaping any gauntlet that could be avoided" into his non-existent beard, looking at me hopefully.

After I agreed, he had a brief but - judging from his facial expressions and gestures - heated phone conversation with Alice, during which he asked me only once, briefly, if I wanted to go home now to get ready.

Somewhat irritated, I said no, because nothing in the world would make me drive the new car alone, and I didn't really know at that moment what there was to prepare.

And it was this statement then apparently that brought me to Rose in Alice's bathroom after a snack. She gave me a choice: hot or cold wax, Lady-Shave or epilator.

Hmm ... OKAY. Getting my legs in a respectable condition might not be such a bad thing if I was planning on jumping around in a bathing suit tomorrow in the presence of Edward - and an unknown number of other people.

With a bright red face, I decided to use the razor, since the other options were foreign to me, and I had no desire to dare any experiments here and now.

Rosalie only acknowledged this with a raised eyebrow and a cool "Are you sure? Do you need help?" which I spontaneously and rather perplexed refused.

Help from Rose? No, thank you. And what did she mean by that anyway? I didn't dare ask.

"Alice said that you would be even more reluctant to go to a spa", was the only other information I got before she twirled around with her hair blowing and was gone too.

Flashback end

Now, as I sat in the car with Edward, and he gave me a furtive, almost fearful sideways glance for the umpteenth time, another question that had come up today popped into my head again.

'One lick' - as Emmett had put it - as a reward for me ...?! When my boyfriend reacted so horrified, I had asked completely thoughtlessly and had reaped only a roaring laughing fit of his brothers, which let me become skeptical to some extent. With the behavior, it could only be something to do with sex. Licking ... me ... Should he spoil me with his tongue? ... What was so lewd about a French kiss? ... Or what else should he taste with his mouth?

The deeper I drifted into thoughts of my body, the warmer my cheeks became until they were literally on fire.

Another - nervous-looking - silent question from my left made me stare abruptly out the window.

OH MY GOD!

I struggled to control my breathing and appear reasonably calm.

THAT had to be it! The behavior of the three allowed no other conclusion ... No wonder Edward was so shocked - and now so unsure. He was a long way from doing that. After all, he hadn't even touched me there!

I could not calm my racing heart, nor my thoughts, which were taking on a life of their own.

When I thought about him, I always had the vague desire to be close to him, to be united with him, but about the details, I had never made so precise ideas. Sex, yes of course - but ORAL SEX? ... Well, that was not quite true, if I was honest. During my first unveiled encounter with his cock, I had already briefly thought about how he would taste and whether I should blow him ... But trying myself in this situation with a blowjob appeared too risky. I wonder what he thought about it? I could not quite visualize it. It was a strange idea. His head between my legs ... How would that feel? His mouth ... his tongue ... in my most intimate place?

A now familiar tingling sensation set in, sent a shiver down my spine and I definitely got too hot and felt the urgent need to open the window, but didn't dare move.

And then other images popped into my mind's eye - from the bathroom today.

Did Alice know something I didn't?

I couldn't look at Edward ...

No! That could not be ...! And if so? Should I have shaved more? How would that even work ... without being a contortionist? And then I saw Rose's facial expression again ...

And I felt slightly nauseous as a crazy thought forced itself upon me.

Had she offered me an intimate depilation!?

So slowly I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Bella?" rang out Edward's concerned voice. "Are you all right?"

Oh, how I hated his vampiric perception sometimes!

"Hmm ... I'm all right," I brought out and then lowered the window after all and took a few deep breaths.

The cooling evening air helped me calm down a bit.

I knew there were spas that offered something like this ... That's what the wax was for? Oh boy! I didn't even want to imagine how painful that must be - let alone how it would be to have that done to you by a stranger - or even an acquaintance. You had to have a big piece of masochism in you. But would he want me to? I would probably feel pretty ... naked - even more so than I already do. Would that be important to him? Somehow I didn't think so ... But I wasn't sure ... How the hell was I supposed to find out? I couldn't very well ask him! 'Hey honey, if you want to satisfy me orally, would you prefer I shave my pubic area?' My God, now the complications of being a vampire were added to those of being human ... As if that wasn't enough already! But why had Alice set this up? Or was I beginning to suffer from delusions?

I peeked over at him cautiously between my strands of hair, thinking about how restrained he had been when he had finally touched my breasts.

No! Just as sure as I was of what Emmett had been talking about, I was sure that wasn't very high on my future husband's to-do list - and that I didn't have to worry about sorting it out in the too near future. Whether I was happy about that or not, I wasn't sure myself.

I took another breath of the oxygen wafting in and turned back to him.

"I'm fine, don't worry," I assured him.

He eyed me briefly, whereupon the worry line between his eyebrows disappeared and, after a relieved smile, the suppressed nervousness was written on his face again.

I had to stifle a grin - now that I knew where it came from - and the temptation stirred in me to just innocently ask him about it. Just to test out how he would react.

But by then Charlie's driveway appeared in front of us and I had to postpone that idea until later.

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