Lollipops

Chapter 24: Our Anniversary

I continue to feed her bites of food even though she keeps telling me she can feed herself. As I feed her I marvel at how beautiful Bella is. With her wavy messy bedhead curls and her swollen ruby red lips, she looks like an absolute angel. "Colton can I have the strawberries now," she asks, a pleading note in her voice. "Of course Sweetheart." As soon as she bites into the desert she grins and bounces up and down like a little kid. I'm pretty sure she loves them almost as much as she loves lollipops. When she finishes the last berry she presses a long kiss to my lips but before I can respond she pulls away and hops out of bed. "Wait woah where are you going, I wasn't finished," I say, reaching out for her. "Colton we've been cuddling in bed for almost two hours, it's almost noon!" "Ok fine, let's get ready. Also before you ask, my prosthetic is waterproof so I can go swimming so you don't have to worry about that.

"Oh I know," she replies with a chuckle.

"Ok Baby, go get ready."

When she comes out of the bathroom I smile, she looks absolutely adorable. She's wearing a white bikini with different colored butterflies, along with a sheer white coverup and some white wedges to match. Her hair is down in its natural waves and she doesn't have any make-up on except some mascara and some lip balm. I quickly change into some swim trunks and brush my teeth while Bella fixes her hair and grabs some shoes. After I finished getting ready, I packed a bag with sunscreen, towels, I also grabbed Lord of the Flies for me, and The Notebook for Bella since those are the books we're reading right now. Finally, I grab Inkspell which is the second book in the Inkheart trilogy since Bella got me hooked.   

"Are you ready to go, Baby," I ask?

"Yeah, you look great," she says, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug.

"Thanks so do you but do you really have to wear heels?"

"Hey you're a giant and I'm a dwarf so if you want me to hug you I'm going to have to wear heels."

"Or I could just do this," I say before I scoop her up and settle her on my hip. Then I pick up the bag in my other hand and head for the door. Bella lets out an adorable giggle and kisses my cheek.

"Hi Becky, bye Becky," Bella calls with a wave as we walk out the door.

I carry her out to the garage and when I open the door Bella grins. "You got your car back," she says excitedly.

"Yeah, I figured since we're planning on staying here I asked Jordan to help me bring it over."

"I love this car!"'

I chuckle and set Bella down in the passenger seat, then I climb in the driver's side and start her up, sighing happily when it purrs to life. We roll our windows down and crank up the radio. I hold Bella's hand while I drive with the other. Bella hums along to songs on the radio with a beautiful smile on her face. I haven't felt this light and carefree in a long time. For the first time in forever, I feel totally and completely happy. After driving for about an hour we arrive at our destination. "Colton where are we," Bella asks?

"It's a lake I used to come to all the time with my mom when I was a kid," I replied.

"It's so beautiful," she says with a grin, staring out at the wharf and crystal clear blue water that's surrounded by tall green trees.

"I'm so glad you like it, I drove up here the other day and it's exactly the same as it was when I was a kid. So are you ready to go for a swim?"

"Of course I am," she yells. Then she takes off her shoes and cover-up and sprints down the wharf, before jumping into the lake. I laugh loudly and pull off my shirt and jump in right after her. "This feels so good," Bella sighs floating on her back.