The List

Chapter 16: The Weekend, Part II

BellaPOV

Edward slipped out of the bathroom and pulled the door shut behind him. I stepped out of the shower onto the plush bath mat. After counting to five I begin silently screaming into my towel and jumping up and down. That was the best fricking shower anybody has ever taken in the whole history of the world!

After my small celebration I glanced up at myself in the mirror. My usually pale skin was flush all over. My lips were fuller than usual from kissing. I even seemed to be standing straighter. Orgasms were apparently very good for my constitution.

I finished drying off and started grabbing the change of clothes that had brought Edward into the bathroom in the first place. That fiend! I sorted through the pile again. Sandals. Shirt. Skirt. Bra. Sandals. Shirt. Skirt. Bra. Apparently I'm skipping panties altogether this time!

Fine.

I pulled on the gauzy knee-length black skirt and the sheer white bra and white v-neck t-shirt. The t-shirt was a good thing, because the mark Edward made on my shoulder did not fall exactly where a tank top strap would sit. I rubbed my fingers over the mark. I was thrilled beyond words that he marked me without my asking him to do so. But I feared Alice's reaction - this mark was not well positioned in terms of my wedding dress. Surely it would fade within the next two weeks, though.

Sliding on my new black sandals, I walked out to the master bedroom and found a headband in my purse. I pushed my hair back off my face, noticing my new ring catching the light as my hand moved. I smiled as I admired it, and then hugged it to my chest as if the ring was Edward himself. How unlike me. I guessed we both were changing in response to the other.

I finished up everything I needed to do in the bathroom, finding myself now somewhat glad that my period seemed to be lasting slightly longer than usual, and made my way out to meet Edward in the living room. Curiously he wasn't there yet.

"Edward?" I called out several moments later.

Almost instantly he appeared from some distant part of the villa.

I was going to ask him where he disappeared to but then he kissed me so thoroughly that I nearly forgot my name. He pulled back with a warm smile. "Ready?"

"Mmmhmm."

He grabbed my hand and led me out the front door. His car was waiting immediately outside.

Several minutes later we found a parking spot in Victoria's downtown. I was thrilled for once that it was overcast, because the city was filled with urban gardens and a long promenade ran beside the harbor. We browsed all afternoon, being led only by things that caught our interests. Victoria was a charming city with an Old World feel - right down to its London-style double-decker buses. The British history of the city led us into a conversation about traveling. Despite his long life, Edward hadn't traveled nearly as much as I might have expected. Together we began brainstorming a travel itinerary for our future. We agreed immediately on England, Ireland, and France. He persuaded me easily on the idea of Greece and Egypt. We both agreed that Italy had a significant amount of interest from a tourist-perspective but that it was probably better to avoid that country.

We encountered an ice cream shop where I stopped to use the bathroom and grab a bottle of water. The ice cream smelled so good, however, that I gave in to my desire to get a small cone. There were so many flavors that it was hard to decide, but I finally picked pink mint chip and we continued walking while I ate my treat.

I swear I didn't do it on purpose. It was ice cream for goodness sake. It required the use of the tongue to eat. But after a few minutes of eating and trying to keep up with the melting drips on the warm day, I became acutely aware of Edward's...fascination with my...snack. At first I was embarrassed. I was sure I looked silly repeatedly licking the cone and turning it to find the next drip to scoop up. But then a drip got away from me and landed on my wrist, and I quickly licked it off. I heard Edward groan next to me. When I looked over at him, I stopped in my tracks. His eyes were visibly darker. His reaction flustered me and I bit my lip as another drip landed on the back of my hand. Realizing I had been neglecting my ice cream I turned to it and licked it quickly several times. I wiped the spot of ice cream off my hand with my finger and sucked it into my mouth. When I heard the low growl rumble in Edward's chest, the embarrassment slipped away and I smiled into my next lick, taking a long slow continuous stroke around the whole cone.