EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

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“Bella, love, you okay?”

“Hmm?” 

“You alright? Maybe you should get a drink.”

I swear I’m going to give this girl a valium any minute, even though I think I’m the one who needs it more than her.

“I’m okay, seriously. It’s just the take-off and landing that freaks me out a little.” She’s squeezing my hand within an inch of its life. 

“Are you sure it’s just the flight that’s freaking you out?” I could think of a few different things that could be making her a bit anxious. 

For one, we’re moving to Chicago. No big deal to me; it’s my home and be close to my family. And I left New York on my own terms; after two years with the Red Bulls, I had become a free agent and just recently got picked up by the Chicago Fire. It was a decision I didn’t reach on my own. Bella, for one, would have killed me. And secondly, I had no desire to do anything about my future if she wasn’t part of the process.

Bella was actually really excited about Chicago. After the whole James fiasco, she got a little tired of the crazy assignments the paper would send her on, but they never offered her a writer’s position. Rosie had tried to get her a promotion, but budget cuts were the excuse, as always. 

Bella, however, had taken it in stride and when she heard about Chicago, she used it as an opportunity to find another job. After a few trips back and forth with interviews left and right, she’s now head of the online department at the Tribune, and although she’s all gung-ho about it, I know she has to be nervous.

All the anxiousness could also be coming from the realization that she’s moving away from all her friends. Rosie is staying behind, as is Emmett. The Red Bulls offered him an extended contract and a hefty paycheck, and after Bella and I had taken the plunge and moved in together, Emmett was struck by the Commitment Bug and asked Rosie to marry him. They’re getting hitched next summer.

Alice decided to move to North Carolina with Jasper. They did the long distance thing after he left, but a year ago he asked her to come back with him. She jumped at the chance for a fresh start and will be opening a children’s clothing boutique in a few weeks. 

There is one thing that’s got me anxious though, and it’s currently burning a whole in my jacket pocket. 

“Well, no... yes... I don’t know,” Bella replies nervously.

Does she sense something is up? I have to admit, she’s pretty good at reading me. 

“Which one is it? Talk to me, maybe you’ll feel better if you just air out your concerns.” I speak calmly, masking my inner meltdown of nerves.

She chuckles lightly, shaking her head. “It’s nothing. I’m just being being a dork.” 

“Do you think we’re doing the right thing?” She asks suddenly after a long pause.

“What do you mean?”

“Chicago. Do you think we’re doing the right thing? I mean, it’s a big move, close to your parents, basically starting over...” she trails off.

“Um, you’re just now starting to doubt our decision? You know, after buying a house together there and getting jobs? You couldn’t voice your concerns earlier?” I tease her. I know she’s sure of us, I’m just messing with her.

She chuckles lightly, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

“No, silly. I guess you’re right. I don’t know why I’m suddenly so nervous. it’s almost like I can sense something big’s going to happen. But don’t mind me,” she dismisses, linking her arm through mine and snuggling her cheek against my shoulder. I can’t help but freak out a bit just thinking that Bella can sense something’s up. 

“I’m totally sure about us, you know that. I love you more than anything. And the house,” she sighs, “it’s just perfect.”

Do I have the balls to go through with this? I’d tried doing the whole traditional get-down-on-one-knee shit, and I chickened out at the last minute. It just didn’t seem right. Bella isn’t the type to want a by-the-book proposal, so I need to get my shit straight and think on my toes. I finally decide to just keep the damn thing in my pocket until the moment feels right.

Which brings me to our current situation.

Thirty-five thousand feet in the air, and my palms are sweating. Would she hate me if I did this in public, on a plane, in limbo between our old life and new one? I’m on the verge of an internal mental breakdown until I feel Bella’s hand drift underneath our shared blanket. I turn my head slightly to see her sly expression. She wants to play.

“What are you doing, baby?” I whisper against her ear. Her eyes close at the sensation of my warm breath on her skin. I feel her hand press gentle pressure on my thigh as it moves higher toward the fly on my jeans. 

“Oh, nothing, dear,” she coos against my neck. The sensation sends an electrical current right to my dick. It’s even more excited when I feel Bella’s hand slowly lower the zipper of my jeans. Her warm fingers seek out my hardened length, and when my breath catches I spare a glimpse at her to see her face is completely calm. She’s not even looking my way. 

The evil woman.

Her hand suddenly circles my cock and squeezes lightly and I struggle to stay coherent as she starts to slowly pump up and down. I turn my head to bury myself in her hair and breathe erratically. All Bella seems to be doing is looking at her magazine, flipping the pages with her free hand. Her head turns slightly in my direction without looking directly at me.

“Shh. This is no place to get rowdy. You wouldn’t want to disturb the other passengers, would you?” She whispers. Oh, I’m going to kill her.

I try desperately to limit my movements, my hips wanting to push towards her hand to create more friction. My face is still buried in her hair, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. I can’t help but let out a low moan that I pray to God no one can hear. Her hand doesn’t stop but only gets faster, tighter. It won’t be too long now.

“Oh, fuck, Bella...” I whisper against her.

“Shhh,” she says again as she finally turns towards my face, capturing my open mouth in a searing kiss, drowning out the sounds of my ecstasy as I come in her hand.

When the pulsing stops, our kiss slows to small brushes and pecks. Bella smirks smugly. 

“You okay there, Masen?”

“Mmmm.” I grunt, my eyes closed, trying to regain my composure. 

“Hand me a napkin?” She asks sweetly. I hand over a cocktail napkin and it disappears under the blanket. Her hand tucks me in before reappearing as if nothing ever happened.

I take her hand in mine, kissing her knuckles. “How did I get so lucky?”

Bella laughs lightly, but doesn’t respond. The rest of the flight is spent in and out of sleep.

~*~*~*~EtS~*~*~*~

The cab drops us off in front of our new home just after five.

During one of our trips to visit my folks and for Bella to do the last round of interviews, we looked high and low for a house that would suit our needs. We wanted something close to the city, but still far away enough to be considered the suburbs. Neither Bella nor I actually voiced it, but I think starting a family in the future was a big factor in choosing this particular property. With my mother’s help, the family realtor pinned down a great two-story brownstone in an upscale part of town.

There’s a park down the street and a nice sized yard in the back. The rooms are huge with a spectacular stone fireplace in the great room. The large windows let in a lot of natural light, and when Bella saw it, she knew it was the place. We knew.

Bella sighs deeply, dropping her bags near the foyer and flops down on our sofa. Leave it to my mother to take care of the decor.

“Ugh, it’s so good to finally be home,” Bella exclaims.

“Home.” I smile, flopping down right next to her. 

“Did you call your mom and let her know we’re here?”

“Yep, sent her a text a little while ago,” I say, turning to wrap my arms around her, nuzzling her neck. She sighs blissfully.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m desperate to get all the airplane gunk off of me, so I’m heading to bathroom for a shower. Care to join me?” Bella squeezes my arm, kissing my forehead.

“Don’t mind if I do,” I reply, wiggling my eyebrows. My nerves are slowly creeping back. I decided to nix the in-flight proposal and wait until we were home. Now we are, and I have no idea how to do this. In the shower?

No, you dumbass. You can be more romantic than that.

After our very interesting shower, we order some pizza and snuggle on the couch to watch some TV. The ring is in the pocket of my pajama pants and it’s practically yelling at me to do it already. 

“Hey, are you alright? You’ve been acting all weird since the flight. What’s going on in that brain of yours?” Bella asks, brushing strands of hair from my face. 

“Nothing’s wrong,” I respond taking her hand and kissing her palm. “I’m just kind of overwhelmed that we actually did it, we’re here. You’re here with me. I’m really happy. Just happy,” I ramble. Bella smiles, caressing my jaw.

“Yeah, we did. I’m happy too... really happy,” she giggles at the silliness of our words.

And just then, a moment of clarity takes place. The perfect moment doesn’t have to be made, it doesn’t have to be planned... it just happens. And it’s happening now.

She looks beautiful, even in an old ratty tee shirt, sweat pants.

“Um, Bella?”

“Mmm?” She mumbles fumbling with the remote control. She doesn’t notice I’m moving to kneel in front of her. When she finally does, she looks confused.

“Edward? What are you doing?”

I gently take the remote control from her hand and place it on the side table. She follows my movements with wide eyes. 

“You know I love you,” I start.

Her brow creases as she swallows loudly. Could she be figuring this out already?

“And I know you and I would’ve never moved here and bought this place to make a life with each other if we didn’t believe it was forever.”

Bella suddenly moves her hand to cover her mouth, eyes big and shining.

“Isabella Marie Swan, you are everything I want, everything I need. Will you marry me?” I declare as I open the small velvet box the platinum set solitaire diamond.

Then, there is... silence.

I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but she’s just sitting there, staring at me. No reaction.

“Um, Bella? Could you help me out here? Please?” If she doesn’t say anything soon, I’m going to have an anxiety attack... and maybe crawl under a rock. My heart is racing.

More silence. 

I think she’s in shock.

I have to think fast to save this entire fucked-up situation, so I scramble as I stand.

“Bella, look, forget I said anything... I understand if you’re not...”

“Yes.”

I’m not sure if I heard right. It was hardly a whisper. It’s enough to freeze my movements. I look down at her.

“What?” I whisper back. Her face is wet with two lines of tears. She grabs my hand to pull me back down. I comply because my body’s like jelly now.

When I’m eye-level with her again, I see her smile at me, tears still flowing.

“Yes, Edward. Yes,” Bella responds, nodding her head repeatedly. 

“Yes? Yes, you’ll marry me?”

Her smile grows impossibly wider and I feel like my heart is going to explode. 

I kiss her. Hard. She laughs against my lips. I finally pull away long enough to pull out the ring and place it on her finger. 

“Oh my God, Edward. It’s perfect. So beautiful,” she marvels, staring at the diamond.

But all I can do it stare at her.

“Meh. It’s alright. What I’m looking at is much more beautiful.”

She looks up at me... and rolls her eyes.

That’s my girl.

“You’re a cornball,” she says wiping the tears and snot from her face.

“Yeah, but I’m cute. So I can get away with it.” I give her my cocky smirk.

She laughs.

“There’s The Smirk again. I thought you might have retired it.”

“Nah. Just saving it for the right time,” I say, sitting next to her on the couch.

She wraps her arms around my neck, hugging tightly. It’s the best feeling in the world.

“I love you. I can’t wait to be your wife,” she mumbles against my neck. It brings another smile to my face. 

My wife.

I get to call her my wife.

“I love you so much, Bella.”

“I get to call you my husband,” she says, pulling away to look at me. He eyes are bright and beautiful.

“My thoughts exactly.”

Bella stands, pulling me up with her.

“Let’s go celebrate.” There’s a naughty gleam in her eyes.

I suddenly have a burst of energy as my inner caveman comes out to play. I grab her legs and throw her over my shoulder, earning giggles, cries, yelps and an ass grope.

And I get to call her my wife.

Life is good.

-THE END-