*Bella*
*Chapter Song - Come On Get Higher*
I stood with him at the airport, my hands clutching onto his arms as we listened to his flight be called over the intercom again.
The past week had been amazing. We'd barely left the house and he'd actually taken me seriously when I said that I'd wanted to christen the dining room table.
That had been fun.
Multiple times.
And now it was the day we'd both been dreading for a week and a half. He was leaving and I had to say goodbye to him.
"Well," he said brightly, a large grin on his lips as he hastily dropped his hands from my waist. "It was a nice trip, Bella. You've been fun."
I blinked at him, digging my nails into his arm as he tried to pry my hands off of him.
You've been fun? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"But… what… are you going to call me when you land?" I stuttered, not understanding the complete… stillness on his face.
Not that I expected tears or some big dramatic display, but some kind of recognition that this would be the last time we'd be seeing each other for quite some time would've been nice.
Not the emotionless eyes and mechanical bright smile on his face.
"Nope!" he chirped, shaking his head. "Bella, you have to let me go."
"No," I insisted, only managing to dig my nails in a little deeper.
Eventually he'd start bleeding, but I didn't care. How can he act as though none of this mattered; as if I never mattered? After all that we'd been through up until this point, he was just going to shove me off?
"Why aren't you going to call me?"
"Listen babe, we had our time. It's over now. Thanks for keeping me occupied."
My jaw dropped and I felt my suddenly lifeless hands slipping down his arms as he quickly stepped backward, grabbing his carry-on bag and slinging it over his shoulder.
"What?" I breathed.
"You didn't think this was serious, did you?" He grabbed his boarding pass from his back pocket and slapped it against his free hand a few times as he smirked at me. "Come on, Bella."
"But you said… you… I… you love me."
He threw his head back and laughed loudly, pointing the boarding pass at me and nodding.
"Oh, Bella, I'm an actor!" he laughed. "I can make you believe anything."
A breath sobbed out of my lips as I reached up and clawed at my throat, my mouth moving in a sad attempt to say something – anything – to him.
It wasn't working. I couldn't say anything and he was just standing there, watching and laughing at me as I struggled to force air in and out of my lungs.
"Oh, Bella," he laughed, reaching over and actually patting my head as if I were some kind of pet. "You've amused me so. Thank you for that."
I felt my heart break as he turned on his heel and I fell to my knees as I heard him start to whistle something that sounded very familiar when he handed over all of his papers to the security guard standing a few feet away from me.
Even that guy was laughing at me.
"Don't leave me," I managed to choke, one hand reaching out in front of me.
"Oh, I'll be back," he reassured, looking over his shoulder at me. "We can do the whole stairs thing again, okay?"
And with that, he was quickly walking away from me, still whistling that damn familiar song as I leaned forward on the floor, curled in to myself and sobbed my broken heart out.
"Goodbye, Bella… Bella… Bella!"
I jumped, flailing my arms at my sides and resisting the arms that I felt around my waist, trapping me in this place.
I needed to go. I couldn't be in this airport anymore. He'd just… he was gone. And he didn't want me anymore. Jessica was right.
"Bella, hey, come on, love. You're all right, Bella, wake up!"
I finally opened my eyes, realizing that his voice was in my ear as opposed to walking further away from me, my chest heaving with each breath I took as I looked around frantically.
We were in his bedroom. I wasn't in an airport. He wasn't leaving me. I wasn't sobbing on the floor in front of too many people that didn't care that I'd just gotten dumped by the love of my life.
"Bella," he whispered, one of his hands coming up to push hair off of my forehead.
I slowly looked over at him, swallowing hard when I saw the concern etched into the corners of his eyes before I flung myself at him and wrapped myself around him.
His arms tightened around my waist and he buried his nose into my neck, his hands rubbing up and down my back as he whispered into my ear.
"You're okay. I'm here, I'm right here and I’m not going anywhere."
I let out a muffled sob, only realizing then that I'd probably been crying throughout the whole ordeal and buried my face into his bare chest.
"It's okay," he whispered, one of his hands cupping the back of my head and he moved to press his lips against my forehead. "I'm here."
We stayed that way until I calmed down and loosened my death grip around him, keeping my face hidden in his chest.
"You've been asking me not to leave you all night," he whispered against my forehead and I closed my eyes tightly when I heard the slight tremor in his voice. "And then you started crying and… God, Bella."
"I'm sorry," I managed, my voice groggy and raw and resembling something closer to a frog rather than a human being.
"No, don't apologize," he said forcefully and I felt his lips brushing my forehead as he shook his head. "Don't you dare apologize for this."
"I didn't mean…"
"Stop it," he whispered before he shifted and his lips were against mine.
I clung to him again, immediately opening my mouth to his and pressing myself tightly against him. He fisted one hand in my hair and the other in my sweater as I threw one of my legs over his.
I needed him. Every part of my body wanted him and needed to feel him underneath me, on top of me, inside of me. I wanted to be completely consumed by him.
It had never been this intense for me before. I'd never had this ache inside of me for someone else. I never knew that it could actually feel like this with someone.
And it had everything and nothing to do with my dream all at the same time. I knew he was here and I knew that he wasn't going anywhere – yet – but it didn't matter. I still needed this.
"Edward," I breathed, pushing him on his back and rolling on top of him.
"Maybe we should…" he started, his hand sliding from my hair to rest on my waist. "Bella, you're…"
"In love with you," I finished quietly, leaning down to kiss his chest.
"And I'm in love with you too, but don't you – oh," he moaned when I ground my hips down against his, "think we should – God."
I kissed my way down his stomach, trailing my lips on the top of his pajama pants, flicking my tongue out against his skin.
"Maybe we should – damn," he breathed as I hooked my fingers into the waistband of his pants and started to pull down on them.
He couldn't just enjoy something, could he?
I sat up, placing my hands on his chest and holding him down as he tried sitting up with me.
"I need you," I said, my voice still raw and rough. "I need you to make it real for me."
"Bella," he said softly, tilting his head to the side and reaching up to place his hands on my shoulders.
"I need you," I said again, feeling his arousal underneath me and slowly moving my hips back and forth. "Edward, I need you."
He grabbed my wrists, moving them from his chest and sitting up to press his lips against mine again. He ran his hands up my arms, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I wrapped my hands around his neck, relaxing into him and opening my mouth to his again.
"I need you too," he whispered, breaking away to kiss a trail to my neck. "God, Bella, I always need you."
I whimpered, running my thumbs down his throat and shifting my hips against his again.
"Hang on to me," he whispered, tightening his arms around my shoulders before turning and laying me down on my side of the bed again.
He situated himself in between my legs, moving his arms from my shoulders to anchor himself above me.
"I'm gonna take my time with you," he whispered again, leaning down to kiss my jaw. "I want to know every curve, every line; every part of you."
I swallowed hard and reached up to tangle my hands in his hair, my eyes rolling back in my head as he kissed down my neck. He made his way down to my chest, kissing through the sweater that I was still wearing from work.
"I don't want to leave you," he mumbled against my stomach, one of his hands moving to slide underneath my sweater and trail up my side. "It might kill me to leave you."
I bit my bottom lip, arching into his touch as his fingers trailed over the wire of my bra.
"So don't," I whispered, shaking my head as he pulled up on the bottom of my sweater.
It was nice – for just a minute – to really believe that those two words would actually be enough to keep him here with me.
"Bella," he whispered, sliding back up my body to kiss me forcefully.
And then it was as if we couldn't wait anymore; my sweater and bra were off before I could comprehend what had really happened and I was sliding his pajama pants and boxers down.
He kicked them off, sliding back down my body and hooking his thumbs into my panties, kissing the inside of my thigh as I lifted my hips to help get them off. He continued to kiss down my leg, pulling my panties off once he'd reached my feet and then switching to my other leg.
I looked up as he sat back on his feet, lifting my leg and placing soft kisses against my ankle.
Every little touch sent flames straight to my stomach, gloriously setting me on fire and alerting me that this was real. This man loved me, he was real and he was here.
"Do you know how much I love you?" he whispered, one of his hands trailing down my leg and resting on my thigh, gently kneading the skin there.
I whimpered, fisting my hands into the blankets as I lifted my hips again, begging for him to reach the part of me that desperately needed his attention.
"I never thought it was possible to feel this way for anyone else." He dropped my leg and I was quick to wrap both of my legs around his waist as he hovered over me again. "You bring out the best in me, Bella."
"I love you," I breathed, opening my eyes to meet his and wrapping my arms around his neck again.
One of his hands trailed down my side, running across my hips as he leaned down and softly pressed his lips against mine. His hand trailed down and I moaned loudly as I felt him slide two fingers inside of me.
"Every part of you," he whispered, pulling away from me and resting his forehead against mine.
"Is yours," I moaned, moving my hips against his hand as he started to move his fingers in and out.
"There's no one else for me." He captured my top lip in between his, my hips still working against his hand as pathetic whimpers sounded out of my mouth. "You're it, Bella."
"Stay with me," I all but begged, my arms tightening around his neck. "Don't leave me."
"Bella," he choked, moving from my mouth to bury his head into my neck.
He trailed his lips down to my chest, placing light kisses against my breasts before moving down to my stomach and over to my side. My arms fell to the mattress, fisting in the blanket again as he started to move his hand a little faster.
He kissed over to my other side, moving his mouth up and kissing the side of my breast before his lips were back on my neck.
I threw my head back into the pillow, my hips moving frantically against his hand as I felt the tingling in the pit of my stomach start to intensify. He moved his hand from me and I wanted to cry at the loss of contact before I felt him shift slightly and slide into me.
The moan that sounded out of me couldn't have been natural as I threw my arms around his shoulders again, holding on tightly.
Being with him this way made me feel whole and complete and like I was finally able to fill that piece of me that had always been missing. I hadn't realized that it had been gone until I'd met him and knowing that I'd finally been able to fill that spot in my heart that had been missing for so long was completely satisfying.
Nothing else mattered expect for how he made me feel and that he was with me; that he loved me in a way that no one else ever had before.
"Feel me, Bella," he whispered huskily, his breathing choppy and uneven in my ear as he stayed still. "I'm real and I love you."
I closed my eyes, squeezing them together tightly as I felt tears fill my eyes, my hands closing into fists against his back.
Oh, God, he was it. I knew, in that moment, that no one would ever be able to make me feel this way. I would never be able to be with anyone else because Edward was all that there was for me.
And having to live without him for the months in between visits would probably kill me but for him, I'd wait. I'd wait for as long as I had to just to be with him again.
And if that meant having to wait for the better part of the rest of my life, I knew that he was worth it. He'd be worth all the pain and the heart ache I'd suffer when he was gone because I knew that he'd be there, waiting for me the same way that I was waiting for him.
And the rest of the world – the people that would try tearing us apart and beating us down – would just have to deal with it because we are stronger than they are. We have something most people only dream about and I'd be damned if I let them take that away from me.
"No matter how far apart we are," he started, echoing my thoughts as he slowly pulled out and pushed back in again, "I love you."
"I love you too," I whispered, shifting my hips against his and moaning into his chest.
He kept his slow pace, his hand roaming over my stomach and chest, his thumb flicking over my nipples and making me arch my back as our hips moved together.
"Only you, Bella," he grunted, his hips starting to move more frantically against mine. "I'm yours."
I unclenched my fists only to dig my fingernails into his back as I met every thrust of his hips with my own, the sounds emitting from my throat growing more frequent and louder.
I tightened my legs around his waist and moaned loudly when he managed to slide deeper into me.
His lips found mine, his tongue invading my mouth as he started moving faster into me, his hand gripping tightly onto my waist. I grabbed onto his shoulders, biting down onto his bottom lip as I felt my entire body starting to shake.
"Yes," he moaned, tearing his mouth from mine to bury his head into my neck again. "Yes, Bella, yes."
The hand he had on my waist moved in between us, finding and rubbing against my clit and I screamed, my entire body arching into his as my mind cleared completely and focused only on the way he felt inside of me.
I heard him cry out into my neck after a few more thrusts and felt him stiffen, his mouth latching onto my neck and his tongue slowly sliding across my skin before he collapsed on top of me.
I stayed wrapped around him, my chest heaving against his as I ran my hands up and down his back.
"I'm never moving," he finally mumbled, nuzzling his head into my hair and sliding his arms underneath me to hold me tightly.
"I'm okay with that," I laughed, my voice a little shaky and watery as I pressed a line of kisses against his shoulder.
"You wanna talk to me about that dream?" he asked softly, turning his head to press a soft kiss against my ear.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes tightly, biting my bottom lip and stilling my hands to wrap them tightly around his shoulders again.
No, I really didn't want to tell him all the horrid details. It was only going to taint what had just happened and while I knew that it was going to come up in conversation at some point during the day, I'd really hoped to put it off until the very last minute.
I had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't let me up if I didn't, though. And while normally I'd be all for staying in bed with him all day, I figured that he wouldn't stop asking me about the dream until I finally caved.
"What did you hear?" I asked quietly.
"Enough," he whispered, kissing my ear again. "Tell me, Bella."
I swallowed hard and squeezed his shoulders, sucking in a deep breath and burying my nose into his shoulder.
"You were leaving," I finally whispered, "and you didn't care. You said that you were an actor and you could make me believe anything. Even that you loved me."
"Bella…" he whispered, shaking his head and squeezing me tightly. "No. You know that…"
"It's okay!" I said quickly, shaking my head. "I came to a conclusion."
"When?" he asked slowly.
"About five minutes ago."
He was quiet.
"Did I bore you?" he asked dryly.
"What?"
"I'm… we're… I was… you were thinking during that?"
He moved his arms from around me and I continued to cling to him, biting my bottom lip to stop the sudden and completely inappropriate giggles that threatened to come forth.
"Need I remind you that you were the demanding one?" he continued, still trying to sit up even as I kept my arms tightly around his shoulders and my legs around his waist, refusing to release him. "I wanted to talk and you wanted to jump me!"
"Which I did," I said easily.
"Bella!" he exclaimed, his voice exasperated as he slid out of me.
I whimpered and huffed, my legs still wrapped around his waist and my arms still locked around his shoulders.
"You were seriously thinking during that? What the… Bella… why did you… does it clear your mind or something?"
"One of the perks of sex, I suppose, yeah."
"You're killing me," he groaned, giving in and flopping back on top of me to bury his head into the pillow.
"Are you done with your tirade?" I asked softly, reaching up with one hand to absently trail my fingers through his hair.
"You're damned and determined to ruin my ego, aren't you?" he grumbled. "You're halfway there, you know. Maybe if you just told me how much I really suck in bed, I'll be back to the awkward teenage boy I used to be. Were you faking?"
He didn't give me any time to react before he lurched up, his eyes wide and frantic as he looked down at me.
"Bella, if you were faking, I can do better… I can… you just… I…"
I placed a hand over his mouth, not able to fight the bark of laughter that slipped through my lips even as his eyes narrowed at me.
"I'm glad you find this amusing," he grumbled, rolling off of me and onto his side of the bed, crossing his arms over his chest and staring hard at the ceiling.
I untangled my legs from his and turned on my side, rolling half on top of him and propping myself up on my elbow to look down at him.
"Now are you finished?" I asked softly, placing my other hand over his heart and splaying my fingers out.
It was beating rapidly against my hand and I bit my bottom lip, starting to feel a little guilty. He didn't really think any of what he was saying was true, did he?
He just grunted, still staring at the ceiling, and I took that as a yes.
"Would you like to hear my conclusion?"
He grunted again and I felt his heartbeat pick up the pace a little. I tilted my head to the side, leaning down and pressing my lips against the spot below his ear.
"I'm yours," I whispered, keeping my lips against his skin. "I love you and despite what you're thinking about me right now, I know that you love me too. And we are going to have a lot to deal with, especially when you leave."
I moved my hand from his chest, running it up his throat before reaching around and cupping his cheek.
"And it's not going to be easy and I'm going to miss you every second of every day." I moved my head, lightly kissing his jaw as I traced his lips with my thumb. "But I'll wait forever for you, Edward. I'm not going anywhere and even if you do leave me at the airport the way you did in my dream, you're not getting rid of me."
I felt him relax underneath me and smiled softly, placing one more kiss against his jaw.
"Bella," he whispered, turning his head and gently touching his lips to mine.
"If that means turning into one of your stalker fans, I'll do it. You said that I was it for you and I'm holding you to that."
"You know I meant that," he said softly, turning on his side to face me and reaching up to place one of his hands on mine.
"And know that I mean it with everything inside of me when I say that you're it for me too," I whispered, leaning in to rest my forehead on his.
He closed his eyes and I heard his sharp intake of breath before his lips were on mine again, lazily dragging them across and twisting our fingers together.
"I don't ever want to know life without you," I whispered, squeezing his hand as I backed away. "I don't think I could handle it."
"You won't have to." He shook his hand out of mine, snaking his arms around my waist and pulling me against him again. "I'll never leave you that way."
I curled myself around him again, burying my face into his shoulder and slowly dragging my fingertips up and down his back.
"So," he started, his voice low as he tangled his hands in my hair, "you weren't faking, right?"
I laughed loudly, squeezing my arms around his shoulders as I shook my head and kissed the bottom of his ear.
"I'm a crappy actress, Edward."
It was his turn to laugh loudly into my neck, his hands roaming freely around my back and I smiled, getting as close to him as I possibly could and closing my eyes.
"And oh, how I love you for it."
He kissed my shoulder, squeezing me once before his hands continued their random patterns on my back.
"Can we stay here all day?"
"Mm," he mumbled, dragging his nose against my jaw before leaning back. "I have something planned for us today."
I slowly opened my eyes, closing the distance between us and resting my forehead against his again.
"What kind of plans?"
"Surprise plans," he grinned, nudging his nose against mine.
"I'm not such a big fan of surprises."
"Trust me with this," he whispered, brushing his lips against mine and causing my eyes to flutter closed again. "You'll like this surprise."
"Is this the only one of the week?"
"Not by a long shot," he laughed, kissing me softly. "But the rest of them can be easily done in the house."
I whimpered a little and listened to him laugh, my own lips curling up at the corners despite how much I wanted to argue with him about this new development.
I'd never been a big fan of surprises, no matter who the one was surprising me. There was just something mind-numbingly terrifying to me about not knowing what was coming my way or when.
Add in my complete inability to stay on my own two feet most of the time and the result was never something good.
"I think you should tell me."
"Nah," he mumbled, his lips brushing against mine as he spoke. "There are a lot of things I want to do for the woman I love this week." I shivered from his words, somehow managing to get even closer to him. "And I'm really hoping that she'll let me."
I opened one eye to look over his shoulder at the alarm clock before snapping my eye shut and wiggling one of my legs in between his. He hissed and I smiled, my lips meeting his again.
"What time do we need to go?"
"Appointment's at seven-thirty," he mumbled, slowly moving his hips against mine.
"Good," I whispered before moving my hands in between us and pushing on his chest, crawling on top of him when he was flat on his back. "Then we've got plenty of time."
~*~
"Can I take this off yet?"
"No."
I huffed, childishly crossing my arms over my chest as I stared straight ahead at black nothingness and listened to him chuckle under his breath.
After finally getting out of bed, we'd taken a shower together and had quickly gotten dressed once Edward noticed that our activities had taken quite a bit longer than either of us had anticipated.
I wasn't complaining. Despite the dream I'd had that had led us to that point, it was probably one of the best mornings of my life.
Once we'd gotten into the truck – because neither of us had dug out the Volvo quite yet and it was too cold for any of the snow to even think about melting enough to drive over it – he'd pulled the bandana out of his jacket pocket, asked me if I trusted him and then wrapped it around my eyes.
I was sorely regretting my positive answer to his question. I was regretting even more my decision to let him surprise me.
And what the hell was even open at seven thirty in the morning? What could we possibly be expected to do this early in the morning?
And why wouldn't he let me see any of it?
"We're almost there, love," he chuckled and I jumped when I felt his hand on my knee.
He only laughed a little more and I scowled in the general direction of the driver's side of my truck.
"You'll forgive me for this, won't you?" he asked, his voice sweet and innocent as he squeezed my knee.
"It depends on what you've got me walking in to," I grumbled, huffing again.
"Would I ever hurt you?"
"No."
"Would I ever make you do something that you really didn't want to do or wouldn't enjoy?"
"No."
"Would I ever do this if it wasn't important?"
"Maybe."
"Bella!" he exclaimed, laughing and moving his hand to squeeze the back of my knee.
I screeched, kicking my leg out and trying to curl up against the door, away from him.
If I'd had enough common sense – and really had a death wish – I'd just take the damn bandana off. Nothing was stopping me from it. Aside from the fact that the look on Edward's face before he'd slipped it over my eyes reminded me of something extremely pure and almost innocent, there was absolutely nothing stopping me from taking it off.
I sighed loudly, surrendering to my thoughts before scooting back into my seat and facing forward again.
I couldn't resist a mostly pure and sort of innocent Edward getting that excited about something that he wanted to do for me. Or show me.
I wasn't really sure what this whole thing was all about and no matter what I did – or where I'd touched him – he wasn't giving in.
It was maddening and slightly exciting all at the same time.
Plus, it smelled like his shampoo. And I loved that shit.
The truck came to a stop and then he turned it off. I heard his clothes rustling as he moved and hoped for just a second that he was going to take this damn thing off of my eyes.
"You love me, right?"
So much for that hope and I rolled my eyes in vein.
"Is the sky blue?" I shot back.
He hummed and I felt the heat radiating off of him as he leaned over me. I licked my lips without really thinking about it, dropping my arms to my lap with my hands turned palm up.
"It's actually more of a grey color right now," he quipped, and the warmth coming from him disappeared as he leaned back from me.
I pursed my lips in irritation, folding my hands together and grumbling words I didn't even understand under my breath.
"I think it might even snow!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "But you didn't answer my question, Bella."
"Yes, I love you, you jackass."
I jumped back when his lips were suddenly on mine and narrowed my eyes against the blackness when he laughed at me.
"And you trust me, right?" he mumbled, peppering kisses along my cheek.
"Will it get this thing off of me?"
"Maybe."
I growled and he laughed, kissing me again, his hands coming up to frame my face as his lips became a little more forceful and urgent.
I relented enough and reached up as well, carefully placing my hands on the back of his head and twisting my fingers into his hair. I heard him slide closer to me on the bench seat, his hands moving from my face until his arms were around my waist and he was pulling me against him.
"You trust me, right?" he whispered, breaking away from me.
"I already told you that I did," I grumbled, huffing slightly and leaning forward again.
"Just wanted to make sure." He kissed me quickly and chastely before I felt and heard him moving away from me. "Don't move."
"Where the hell am I gonna go?"
He only laughed again and I sat back against the seat, rolling my eyes and crossing my arms over my chest again.
He was incredibly lucky that I loved him as much as I did. There weren't many people that I'd let blindfold me and lead me into a possible lion's den.
Okay, there wasn't anyone that I'd let lead me blindfolded into a lion's den. I'd rather chew off my own foot than trust anyone else enough to lead me blindly around God knows where while holding all the important information from me.
I jumped when the door next to me opened and reached out, swinging my arm at air as I heard him laughing at me again.
This was getting old. Fast.
"Would you like me to carry you or do you think you can walk?"
"I can walk," I barked, sliding as close to his voice as I dared.
I didn't need to fall out of the damn truck. That would just give him more reason to laugh at me and prove that I was completely incompetent when I wasn't able to see anything.
He put his hands on my waist and guided me down from the truck, keeping one arm around me as I heard him close the door.
"Lock it?"
"Locked."
"Got the keys?" I asked, linking our fingers tightly together as he grabbed my hand.
"Everything is taken care of, love," he said softly, kissing my ear. "Just relax."
"Do you want me to blindfold you?" I snapped.
"I'm not opposed to it," he said easily.
I squeaked when he squeezed me against him and lifted my feet off of the ground, placing me back on what I could only assume was the sidewalk.
"I just might," I grumbled, holding on tightly to his hand as he slowed our steps.
"I'm up for it," he whispered into my ear before he knocked on what I assumed was a door.
I shivered, anticipation shooting straight down through my stomach and in between my thighs.
And I wanted to smack myself. Really, after two times this morning and an almost third in the shower before he reminded me what time it was, I was still ready for him?
I think there was something wrong with me. This never happened. I never acted this way. I'd never wanted this way.
And before I had time to say anything else, he was ushering me forward into I don't know what and I could hear him snickering behind my back, an extra set of footsteps garnering my attention as we walked onto hardwood floors.
Heels. So, this extra set of footsteps was a woman. And she was in on this whole thing while I was still – quite literally – in the dark about all of it.
I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Okay, love," he finally said, his voice echoing around the room and I heard a door being shut and locked behind us. "You can't get mad."
"I don't like the sound of this," I grumbled.
"You are perfectly fine, okay? I'm right here," he whispered, ghosting a kiss against the side of my neck as he moved from my side to stand behind me.
"Are you finally taking this damn thing off?" I asked, forced to swallow hard when his kiss caused the complete inability to speak.
"Yes," he laughed.
I heard the heels moving around the room again and pursed my lips, anxiously tapping my toes against the floor as he untied the knot at the back of my head at a snail's pace.
"I love you," he whispered, kissing the back of my neck before the blindfold disappeared from my eyes.
I squinted, massive little lights shining directly into my poor unsuspecting eyes. Groaning, I reached up and rubbed the heels of my hands into them, Edward's hands on my shoulders.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
"Mhmm," I mumbled, dropping my hands and opening my eyes into little slits.
My mouth dropped open a little, a small whimper making its way out of my mouth as I recognized Angela's portrait studio, completely covered in white Christmas lights. Every spare inch of the spacious room and its walls were covered in tiny lights, winking at me as I gaped at Angela, standing on the other side of the room behind her camera and grinning at me.
I turned around, slowly taking a step back and looking behind Edward to see that a seamless white background was behind us, all of her professional lights set up and merely waiting to be turned on. More Christmas lights were strewn across the background and I noticed that all of the windows – including the huge one that let everyone walking by her store see into it – were covered with black paper, successfully keeping prying eyes out.
I finally focused on Edward to see that he was nervously fidgeting with the bandana as he watched me.
"You… pictures? Of us?"
He nodded almost sheepishly, even ducking his head a little bit.
"So that we'll have something better than picture phone photos to look at when I'm gone."
I breathed out a laugh and launched myself into his arms, wrapping them tightly around his neck and pressing my lips forcefully against his. I saw the lights come up behind us from behind my closed eyes and then heard Angela's heels on the floor as she walked over to us. His arms were quickly around my waist, his lips just as urgent against mine as he turned us to the side.
"Drop the bandana, Edward," Angela demanded quietly.
I could only assume that he had, as his hands were suddenly splayed out on my back and pulling me even closer to him. I saw all the lights flash when I heard the shutter as she took the picture and smiled against his lips before stepping back down.
"This was a good idea then, right?" he asked softly.
I laughed and nodded, kissing him quickly once before walking out of his arms, kicking the bandana out of the way and standing in front of Angela. She stood up straight and let the camera hang around her neck as she grinned brightly at me.
"I owe you."
"You owe me nothing, my dearest friend." She slung an arm around my shoulders. "Your hot actor neighbor boy has offered to pose for me and that's all the payment I need."
He scoffed from behind us, mumbling something about the new nickname she'd just given him.
"Angela…" I said quickly, looking over at her and shaking my head.
"Bella, I've already tried," Edward laughed from behind us. "She won't take my money."
"Your money's no good here!" she declared, moving her arm from my shoulders and walking over to the stereo in the corner of the room. "Your photos, however, are priceless."
I smiled slowly when I heard the drums start, clearly indicating a song that Angela had recently declared she was in love with. And to be perfectly honest, the six thousand times or so that I'd heard it hadn't been all that bad.
I'd also realized that it was damn impossible not to want to dance and feel incredibly happy while listening to it.
Oh, yes, Angela knew exactly what she was doing.
"Be natural, you guys," she said conversationally as she started to walk back towards us. "I'm just a spectator."
"I miss the sound of your voice, and I miss the rush of your skin."
I turned back to Edward, kicking out of my shoes and holding out my hand to him. He laughed and grabbed my hand in his, pulling me against him and slowly starting to move with me.
"And I miss the still of the silence, as you breathe out and I breathe in."
I laughed and let him twirl me around, barely noticing when Angela started moving around us in slow circles, the lights flashing every time she pushed the button on the camera.
"If I could walk on water, if I could tell you what's next, I'd make you believe, I'd make you forget."
He twirled me back into his arms, swaying side to side with me and resting his forehead against mine as he grinned down at me. I laughed, my heart suddenly feeling lighter than it had in longer than I could remember.
"So come on, get higher, loosen my lips. Faith and desire and the swing of your hips. Just pull me down hard and drown me in love."
"Hey, Edward, twirl her again," Angela suggested from her crouched down position on the floor in front of us.
He did as she asked and I laughed, our hands connected as I grinned and looked at him over the space of our arms.
"So come on, get higher, loosen my lips. Faith and desire and the swing of your hips. Just pull me down hard and drown me in love."
He pulled me back to him, his grin still in place as he pressed my back against his chest and wrapped his arms around my waist. I leaned my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes and placing my hands on his.
"I miss the sound of your voice, loudest thing in my head. And I ache to remember, all the violent, sweet, perfect words that you said."
He rested his chin in the crook of my neck, already having a feel to the song as he hummed into my ear and swayed from side to side with me. I turned my head, pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek.
"If I could walk on water, if I could tell you what's next, I'd make you believe, I'd make you forget."
"I believe in you," I whispered into his ear.
He squeezed my waist before lowering his lips to my neck and keeping them there as the lights flashed again.
"So come on, get higher, loosen my lips. Faith and desire and the swing of your hips. Just pull me down hard and drown me in love."
I hummed before twirling out of his arms again and raising my own above my head, swinging my hips and throwing my head back. I heard him let out a choked laugh and smiled evilly to myself, opening my eyes to see Angela right behind me.
She laughed as well, shaking her head as she snapped the next picture.
"So come on, get higher, loosen my lips. Faith and desire and the swing of your hips. Just pull me down hard and drown me in love."
He finally walked over to me, grabbing my hips and pulling me against him. I grinned and dropped my arms around his neck, shaking my hair out of my face and looking up at him.
"This song fits us, you know," he said softly, running his hands up my sides to rest them on my waist.
"I miss the pull of your heart, I taste the sparks on your tongue. I see angels and devils and God, when you come on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on."
I put my hands on his cheeks, running my thumbs over the bridge of his nose and smiling softly as I nodded.
"I'm holding on," I whispered, moving my hands as I stepped up and kissed him softly. "Tightly."
He laughed and bent down slightly, grabbing me behind my thighs and lifting me up. I screeched, laughing loudly as I wrapped my legs around his waist and placed my hands on his shoulders.
"So come on, get higher, loosen my lips. Faith and desire and the swing of your hips. Just pull me down hard and drown me in love."
"Seriously, you two are fucking perfect together," Angela declared, the flashes going off as she rounded us, her finger firmly planted on the shutter button.
"Yeah," Edward smiled, nodding as he looked up at me. "We really fucking are."
I looked down at him, smiling stupidly and wrapping my arms around his neck to kiss him loudly.
The last few words of the song only made me hold on to him a little tighter as he started dancing on his own, laughing against my mouth as he wiggled his hips.
"'Cause everything works, love. Everything works in your arms."
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