ON HOLD - Seeing the past (R. Hale)

Date

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I am not sure that I will ever get used to how fast she drives, but it is slightly exhilarating. My fingers drum lightly against the tan leather of her car door, "you know I could be mistaken, but I am pretty sure that I asked you out." The ride so far has been somewhat tense and quiet. It seems the golden eyed girl has a million thoughts racing through her mind, and no way for them to escape.

She lets a soft chuckle bubble past her lips, and it ignites a warmth within me, knowing that I am able to cause her to smile. She reaches over and gently laces our fingers together, "you would think that with eighty years of practice I would have learned patience by now." The corners of her perfect lips lift ever so slightly, "but the day you walked into my life I swear all of my restraint, fears, and anger disappeared." Lifting our interlaced hands to her lips, she inhales lightly before placing a chaste kiss on my wrist, "so I may have been too impatient to wait for you to plan the date yourself."

The smirk that rest on her scarlet lips makes my heart flutter. All I want to do is lean across the center console and kiss her. I want Rosalie in a way that I have never wanted anyone before. "I guess that means I should start planning our second date now."

A full beaming smile graces her lips, "why are you so sure there will be a second date?" One perfectly sculpted brow lifts as she laughs.

It is my turn to smirk now, "oh honey," leaves my lips in a slow drawl. Her pupils dilate ever so slightly changing them from a golden honey to a darker amber. I lean a little closer to her ear as and tuck a loose strand away, "I know there will be a second date. You are already addicted to my presence." She shivers and I know she would blush if she could. A warmth settles low in me as I witness the effect I have on her. Leaning back in my seat I notice that we are now parked outside of Poppy & Marigold's. It is a small mom and pop art gallery that my dad used to bring me to every summer. I have missed this place.

As I reach for the door handle a cool hand wraps around my wrist turning me quickly back towards the other occupant of the vehicle. Once we are facing one another she cups my face before sliding her hand to the back of my neck. A shiver runs down my spine as she begins to pull me in. My heartbeat accelerates, and I can hear the blood pulse through my body. Her lips meet mine in a searing kiss, but before we can begin to lose ourselves in it, she pulls away. Rose kisses a trail along my jaw to my pulse point where she lightly sucks causing a low breathy moan to escape me. She moves to my ear, and in a low sultry voice she says, "sweetheart I think you will find I am better at this than you are." As she pulls back, she nips my earlobe lightly, and is out of the car in seconds. Meanwhile, I stay frozen and very turned on in the passenger seat. She is laughing when she opens my door and offers me her hand, "are you ready Athena?" The tone of her voice is innocent, but I know what she is doing.

She must possess the best self-restraint out of them all because to be so close to my neck and be able to walk away as if nothing happened is no small challenge. I have heard how tantalizing I smell in her mind before. To her my blood smells better than anyone she has ever met, but yet she never falters. She has never once looked at me with a barely concealed struggle like another vampire I know has looked at my sister. I find myself in constant awe of Rosalie Hale. The woman who everyone believes is made of ice but is actually one of the most caring people I have ever met. I swear she is the sun, and though she is the one susceptible to fire I know that it would be me that would burn. Sometimes I feel like our relationship is toeing disaster and heartbreak, but for her I would be Icarus. She is stealing my heart slowly, and I am her willing victim. Taking her hand, I send her an impish smile, "it is so on."

She throws her head back and releases a laugh before leaning over and kissing my temple, "oh what have I gotten myself into." As we approach the door an older man with a kind smile exits the gallery and holds the door for us. We both say a soft thank you before entering. We stroll through the rows and rows of paintings and sculptures in relative silence only speaking to comment when a particularly thought-provoking piece interest us. More times than not I can feel Rosalie's eye trained on me instead of the art, and it sends small jolts of electricity through me. As we reach the end, we take a moment to look at a local artist's rendition of one of the paintings from Claude Monet's Water Lilies series. It is so beautiful that I cannot begin to comprehend how to put it into words. A hand wraps delicately around my waist, "I feel as if I just watched you fall in love." She is looking intently at the painting in front of us as well. "I'm not sure that I have ever been jealous of a piece of art before."

I give her a soft smile before kissing her cheek, "you have nothing to be jealous of. I am sure that I look at you in a very similar fashion." At this she hums, "are you ready to go?"

She nods, "but give me a moment. I will meet you at the door." She sees my eyebrows pull together in confusion, "and don't use your gifts on me." It is a playful quip that makes me laugh and salute her. Rose shakes her head as she walks away. I stay and gaze at the painting a little longer before finally making my way to the door to wait. After a few more minutes, Rose approaches me, and we exit the little gallery. She takes my hand, and we walk along the boardwalk for a while. The sun is starting to set now, and they sky is painted with bright hues of pink, orange, and gold. The air is filled with the smell of sea water and the cold evergreen forests that surrounds us.

My skin begins to tingle and burn. Instantly the calm I was settling into diminishes, and my eyes roam my surroundings feeling more alert. I have felt a similar feeling since seeing Rosalie earlier, but this is different. It oddly feels more threatening. Another vampire is near, and I have a sinking feeling this one is not of the vegetarian variety. Rose releases my hand with a hiss, and I whip my head towards her. She is shaking her hand softly but staring at it as if she has never seen it before. "Are you okay?" My voice is thick with confusion and worry.

She looks at my hand before gingerly reaching for my sleeved arm. She lightly wraps her fingers around my arm before lifting it to examine my hand. It is then that I notice the palm of my hand is bright red, almost like I dunked it in a pot of boiling water. My tanned olive skin does nothing to mask the change, but as we both stare in confusion may hand slowly fades back to normal. She finally meets my gaze before asking in the most confused voice, "are you okay?" She emphasizes the you when she asks.

I shrug removing my arm from her grip and shaking my head, "I honestly don't know. Did I hurt you?"

She still looks perplexed, "it felt like you were trying to set me on fire. At first it was just my hand which I thought may be normal because you always run warmer than me." She laughs, "obviously, but then when you tensed a moment ago the feeling started to spread. It felt like everything inside me was on fire, and then my hand..." she stops, looking at her hand in wonder, "my hand was smoking. It was faint. Barely noticeable, but still there." She looks at me, "the more time the less certain things about you start to make sense."

I look at my own hands in wonderment because to me they feel normal. Then remember the way mom mentioned everything about me was designed to protect me from them before looking at Rosalie again to ensure she is actually alright. She is still looking at me in confusion. "Trust me Rose, since I moved here nothing is really making sense to me anymore either." The feeling of being watched takes over again so I lean over and kiss her cheek lightly, "but hopefully we can make sense of it all together."

A slow smile takes over her lips, "I would like nothing more Athena." She slips her hand into my own and intertwines our fingers again. "Are you ready for the last part of our date?" She squeezes my hand lightly.

I follow her willingly as she tugs me along behind her back towards her car instead of further into town, "of course, but where exactly are we going?"

She throws a smirk over her shoulder at me, "my house."