Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

Bonus chapter 5: Honeymoon part 1

Regardless of the atypical guests, all the standard traditions were kept. When the music started, Emmett pulled me into his arms for the customary first dance; I went willingly, despite my dislike of dancing —especially in front of an audience—just happy to have him holding me. Surprisingly, like many physical endeavours as a vampire, dancing was extremely easy. I was surprised how fluid my movements were, despite only ever attending one high school dance in my freshman year. But Emmett did all the work, and I twirled effortlessly under the glow of a canopy of lights and the bright flashes from the cameras.

"You look-" He murmured in my ear, stuttering over the words.

"Thank you," I said, smiling. I knew what he meant. For the first time in a while, I truely felt beautiful.

The music changed and Carlisle tapped Emmett's shoulder. Esme and Emmett danced flawlessly, spinning around like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Carlisle and I danced gracefully, his centuries of practice overshadowing my lack of experience.

It highly entertaining when Alice and Emmett danced. She was a skilled dancer, but even with 4 inch heels, the almost sixteen inch difference in their heights made dancing together somewhat amusing. After about a minute, I saw Emmett's growing frustration manifest as he gripped her waist and lifted her to a more comfortable height so he wouldn't have to bend over, much to Alice's annoyance.

It seemed like I danced with everyone; Edward, Jasper, Carlisle, and Eleazar.

"May I?" Emmett said, stepping in. Eleazar smiled and left to dance with Carmen. He seemed relaxed now as he pulled me to him.

"I could get used to this," I murmured.

"You like dancing?" He questioned, slightly confused. I made it clear that when I was still human, dancing was something that I just couldn't seem to grasp. Why bother learning an entire sequence of complex steps when I could run straight down a track? Something about the combination of choreography and flexibility seemed foreign to me, but now, as a vampire, was effortless.

"No, just this. Never having to leave you. It's something that even now is hard for me to get use to."

"We have a while," he replied, thrilled at the truth in that. In high spirits, he leaned over to kiss me and once again, Alice flashed the camera in our direction.

"So beautiful," he said as we slowly swayed with the music.

"It's the makeup, I'm finally pretty now."

He scoffed, taking a step back to stare directly into my eyes, "You've always taken my breath away."

After an hour, we took a break from dancing.

"Eleanor!" Kate called. I smiled as she came over.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier but you look spectacular!" She gushed.

"Thank you! So do you! To be honest, I'm not very comfortable in dresses."

"Same! I prefer wearing t shirts and jeans." We laughed in unison.

"This is sort of off topic but Emmett told me you can run an electric current on your skin. Can I... feel it?" I asked curiously.

She chuckled, "Are you sure? I've been told it hurts, a lot!" I nodded. I wanted to test the limits of my so called 'mental curtain'.

Kate laid her palm out flat, "When you're ready." I braced myself and gently pressed her hand. It definitely wasn't a pleasant sensation, sort of like rubbing a bruise.

"Woah. That's incredible! That move should have about shocked your arm off. You didn't feel anything just now?"

"Sort of. It definitely wasn't pleasant but I can handle it."

"I better tell Eleazar, he'd like to know." Kate excused herself.

Two arms gently wrapped around me from behind. I turned my head to meet Emmett's golden eyes. His big, strong arms seemed very protective when they enveloped me. The world around me melted away as I squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end. I smiled and laid my head against his chest. His arms tightened, pulling me even closer to him.

"I love you," Emmett hummed in my ear.

I gazed up at his eyes and whispered back, "I love you too."

It was dawn when Alice pulled me out of the reception and upstairs to get changed. I couldn't believe I spent all night dancing and talking to the Denalis but Emmett and I had a plane to catch.

With Esme's help, she quickly had me out of my wedding dress and into a pair of sturdy-looking pair of jeans, canvas shoes, and a button-down shirt made of the thick weave that backpackers used for long trips. Esme removed the pins out of my hair and let it fall loose down my back, wavy from the braids.

Emmett was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I took his outstretched hand and our small wedding party applauded when he kissed me on the doorstep. Then he rushed me to the car as the rice storm began. Emmett shielded me from the rice while I climbed in, and then he was in. As the car pulled out from the driveway, I waved out the window, mouthing "I love you" to the front door, where my extended family waved back.

"Ready?" Emmett asked, squeezing my hand.

I leant my head against his arm. "Ready," I replied him. He kissed my hair.

———

"New York?" I asked, raising my eyebrows when we reached the gate in Manchester, New Hampshire.

"Just a stop along the way," Emmett said with a grin.

"I've never been to New York."

"We have plenty of time to visit, but not today," he assured. As we flew closer and closer to JFK, I tried to figure out our honeymoon destination. The outfits Emmett and I were wearing didn't give much away, however our luggage, those 70L packs you wear when you go hiking, were suspicious.

Everyone seemed to know where we were going except me. They were all exceptionally cautious not to talk about when I was home. Hopefully we weren't going somewhere tropical. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy those places, I just was never a fan of vacations where you go to a beachfront resort and sit by the water everyday for hours tanning in the sun. And now that I was a vampire, it seemed even more illogical.

"London?" I asked later.

"Another stop over."

"You know I can just check the boarding pass right?"

"Yeah, but I want it to be a surprise for as long as possible," he said with a wink.

Of course, Emmett couldn't keep it a secret for much longer when we arrived in London.

"Nairobi? That's where we're going!" I exclaimed when the airline issued us our boarding passes. He grinned.

"You're taking me to Africa!" I said in disbelief.

"No we are going to Africa," he replied, accentuating the 'we'.