Love On Wheels

By BrattyVamp

Summary:

It's fast... it's fun... it's 1978! The most 'not-to-be-taken-seriously-fic' that you'll

ever be tempted to take seriously!

Chapter One ~ School’S out

The hall was loud as hell, and I added to the general noise levels by letting my nearly
empty locker door slap shut with a bang. Bent and wasted notebook papers fluttered to the
floor at my feet, and I didn't bother to pick them up. I wouldn't need the notes. School was
officially out for the summer.

I dodged paper-balls and ignored high-fives while I tried to book it out of the building. No
one was more excited to be out of there, than my older brother Emmett, and his best
friend, Jasper. Both just finished their senior year, and couldn't be counted on to stick
around in the parking lot, waiting for my sorry ass if I wasted time.

I was momentarily hung up by a thin pair of arms that wrapped around my waist and
pulled me toward the girl's bathroom. Putting two hands out against the door frame, I was
able to find traction and look down at the annoying girl that was interrupting my escape
plan.

"What the hell, Stella?" I frowned down at Lauren Mallory. She giggled and chomped on
some noxious-smelling grape gum while grinning up at me.

"Gonna be at the Swandive tonight?" she batted her fucking lashes at me, and I lowered my
arms to disentangle myself from her grip.

"Don't know," I grunted. But I

did

know. The Swandive was the local skating rink, and me

and my crew were there every Friday night.

"Skate with me?" she pouted, trying to look cute.

"I boot solo," I smirked at her before turning away and running down the hall. I was going
to be pissed if those guys left me behind.

Once I hit the outside steps, I was able to slow down to my usual strut. I could see Jasper
and Emmett still leaning against Jasper's Chevelle. The windows were rolled down, and the
sound of Alice Cooper singing 'School's Out' was appropriately blaring in the air around
them. I got lucky that their girlfriends were apparently taking more time than I did, or I'd
be hitching another ride home.

"You're late, you fuck," Emmett frowned at me while pulling a pick through the top of his
hair. He'd been growing out his natural curls into a pretty impressive afro for the past year.
Dad kept bitching at him to get it cut. But I had to admit, it looked damn cool.

"Lauren was on my ass," I shrugged. Jasper frowned sympathetically before giving his
attention to the two girls that strolled up.

"Ladies," he greeted them with a smile. Jasper was smooth like that.

Rosalie Hale, Jasper's little sister and my brother's girlfriend, walked right up to Emmett
and latched on to his face. I grimaced and tried to look away. Not that Rosalie wasn't
fucking gorgeous, because she

was.

She and I were the same age. She was also probably my

same height and weight. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying she's like a porker or anything.
No… she was curvy in every single one of the right places. She could just probably come
close to kicking my ass. She looked a whole lot like Wonder Woman. But with blond hair.
And then, like I couldn't even help it, I started imagining her in that Wonder Woman suit
again. She was hot.

"Cut it out, dick." Emmett growled at me when he saw my eyes on his girlfriend's ass. I
shrugged and reached into the front seat of the Chevelle for the pack of smokes that laid
there. Licking my lip to make the ciggie stick, I turned back to the group.

"Here's my lighter," Alice said. Of the two girls we hung out with, Alice and I actually got
along very well. She tossed me a little pink Bic from her purse, and I flicked it to light up.
Of course, as soon as I did, I was assaulted by a cloud of hairspray. Rosalie took that
moment to start spraying her feathered hair away from her face. I ducked and ran out of
the way. That shit wasn't funny. Ben Cheney had to get a buzz cut this year because he
leaned down too close to the flame when he was lighting a bong, and he torched four
inches of his bangs off his head. Hairspray and lighters don't mix.

"Watch it," I bitched at her. I might not have a cool fro like Emmett, or the wings that
Jasper was able to comb into the sides of his hair. But my hair had finally grown long
enough this year to look decent when I let it hang down over my forehead. I didn't want to
end up with some lame-ass crew cut because of Rosalie's addiction to trying to look like
Farrah Fucking Fawcett.

"Rosie's just trying to look pretty for me," Emmett smiled and patted the drum-tight back-
pocket of Rosalie's jeans. But she shot me an evil smirk that let me know she wouldn't have
minded setting my head on fire.

"Lighter, please." Alice held her hand toward me, palm up. Yeah… like I wanted to steal
that fruity-looking piece of shit. I dropped the Bic in her hand and got Jasper's attention.

"Are we ready to leave, man?"

He was, as usual, checking out the other girls that were littered across the school grounds.
It didn't even matter that Alice was standing right next to him. And she was cute too; little,
with black hair and big blue eyes. And

way

too fucking forgiving. They were really only a

couple when it suited Jasper. She remained faithful… but he refused to commit.

"Yeah. We're audi," Jasper nodded, flipping the butt of his cigarette on the ground beside
him.

Emmett and Rosalie jumped in the back seat, and resumed making out. Alice slid into the
middle of the front seat, between Jasper and me. I rested my elbow out the passenger side
window and glanced around the various groups of people milling around the parking lot.
Everyone seemed to be happy to be celebrating the end of another school year.

"So fucking glad to be out of here," Jasper muttered.

"F'sho." I nodded and tossed my cigarette out the window. As we pulled away, I couldn't
help it when a flash of long brown hair caught my eye. A group of girls were standing near
the curb, waiting for their rides. They weren't the stellas. They weren't the cheerleaders.
These were the smart girls… the yearbook staff and the choir kids. I watched as Mike
Newton, the Captain of the football team, strutted up behind the pretty brunette that I had
my eye on, and grabbed a handful of her ass.

Without missing a beat, the girl turned and smacked him in the arm with her sticker-
covered three-ring binder. She didn't giggle and smile over the attention. She actually
looked like she wished to cause him real harm. It made me smile.

"Guess it's true," Alice murmured beside me. I couldn't be bothered to take my eyes away
from the scene to face her.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Bella and Mike really

did

break up."

I shrugged like it didn't matter. Gossip had it that the two split-up right after prom. Not that
I paid attention to any of that shit.

"He thinks he's such a Cassanova," Alice continued. "He's probably trying to get her back."

"You're trippin," Jasper spoke up. "I don't think those two were ever really a couple at all.
I've seen them out at the Dive, and she barely pays any attention to him."

Alice got quiet. She was probably thinking about what other people thought of her
relationship with Jasper. Unless they were skating, he wasn't the most affectionate guy. I
reached over and threw my arm around her shoulder.

"She's too good for him," I winked. Alice gave me a little smile and leaned into my side.

"Hey Jazz, do me a solid," Emmett called from the back. "Drop me and E off at our place
first? I need to get some shit done before we go out tonight."

"No problem," Jasper nodded. He finally glanced over at Alice and me, and frowned at my
hand on her shoulder.

"Off my woman," he growled. Alice smiled at me again and I raised my eyebrows in her
direction before retracting my arm. We were in front of my house anyway.

"See you guys tonight," I said through the window.

"Seven," Jasper replied. He threw his arm over Alice and pulled her closer to him. Hmm.
Looked like he might have a little jealous streak. Good to know.

Emmett patted down his fro with a huge grin on his face.

"You're wearing a whole tube of lip gloss," I razzed him as we walked inside. "That shit's
gross."

"You're just jealous," Emmett said, wiping the back of his hand over his greasy-looking
mouth. "You need to get yourself a steady woman."

"Lame," I insisted over my shoulder, moving into my room. I shut the door behind me and
tossed my book bag on my bed. The truth was, before this school year, I had been
perfectly happy with a few beers, some bud, and my skates. If I needed a little female
attention, I had no trouble finding some in nearby towns. A girl here or there at a party
kept the edge off, if you know what I mean. But I never messed around with local chicks.
Townies were a pain in the ass that I could do without. I didn't need some clingy girl
sucking up all my free-time and demanding attention constantly. I was fine on my own.

It wasn't until about mid-way through this school year, that I maybe started wondering if
things could be a little different. You know… with the right girl, that is. Someone cool.
Someone special. Someone maybe a little like that brunette I was scoping out in the
parking lot.

I sat heavily on my bed and pulled the yearbook out of my bag. I flipped quickly toward
the back of the alphabetical listing of juniors, and saw the picture I was looking for.

Isabella Swan.

She lived in Forks way before my family moved here. Then her parents got a divorce, and
she left town with her Mom. But she came back, right after the start of this school year. She
was in a couple of my classes. Not that she ever noticed me, sitting in the back or anything.

In fact, I wouldn't really have paid much attention to her, either. She wasn't my usual type.
She was quiet. And she was smart. Her best friend was Angela Weber… an uptight choir
girl who talked Bella into working at the school newspaper with her.

But one day, in English class, she was called to stand in the front of the room to read a
poem she had written for an assignment.

And that shit sorta changed everything.

Her long hair was parted in the middle and held away from her face by two clips with these
sparkly little hearts on them. And I was able to finally get a good look at her face. I don't
know why I hadn't seen it so clearly before. She was

really

pretty. And her

voice

. Her voice

wrapped around those words and carried them all the way to the back of the room. She
recited her poem about taking care of the earth, and she was so passionate about it, that
she actually

moved

me. And I'm not talking just about the boner I suddenly had.

When she finished, I watched her walk down the aisle back to her seat in slow-motion. Her
brown wavy hair bounced on her shoulders as she clutched her notebook in front of her
chest. I swear I was hearing the Carpenters singing in my head. It was ridiculous. But then
she looked up, and her eyes met mine. Her pink lips parted, and she made the strangest
little sound.

Then, without a moment of warning, Isabella Swan tripped over the toe of her Hush
Puppies and fell forward. I watched in horror as her head bounced off the corner of one of
the desks in front of me. She was sprawled out on the floor, and I wanted to stand up and
help her. But God help me, I couldn't. Not without the entire class seeing the hard-on I
had been sporting since she read her poem.

And my stupid hesitation was my undoing. Because Mike fucking Newton got up right
away, and lifted Bella to her feet. She seemed dazed, and let him hold her close to his side.

"I gotcha, girl," he told her. And then in another flutter of activity, he led her out of the
room and away from me, to the nurse's office.

Rumor had it, that's when they started dating.

I closed my yearbook and tossed it to the side, before sighing and lying back against my
bed. Bella never did talk to me after that day. In fact, she blushed and stared at the floor

anytime I was even near her. I couldn't blame her. She was probably pissed that I sat there
like an asshole when she was hurt, and didn't try to help her or anything.

But this summer, things were going to change. And it was all gonna start tonight. At the
skating rink.

**~*~**

Chapter Two ~ Swan DIve

I sat out on the front porch, waiting for Jasper to show while smoking a cigarette. The only
time my parent's allowed smoking in the house was when they had a bunch of their boring
friends over, socializing and having drinks or playing cards while congratulating themselves
on being the fucking star-members of our small town community. I knew my dad didn't
approve of me smoking, but he never really said anything about it, as long as we kept it
outside. And right now, I was trying to suck-up to my dad.

I wanted my car back.

He bought the trans-am for me, for my last birthday. And he took that shit away with no
qualms, whatsoever, when I nearly failed a few of my classes mid-way through the year.

I brought my grades up, like I promised. Now I just had to wait for him to get home so I
could show him my report card. I was tempted to have Jasper drive me out to the hospital,
where my father was working, just to get him to hand those keys over faster. I missed
having my own ride.

Emmett didn't miss his as much. My dad was equally as strict with him concerning the
Corvette that Emmett smashed up when he drove off the road into the fence on the side of
Harry Clearwater's property out off Highway one-ten a couple months ago. Emmett was
forced to work at Rosalie's father's body-shop after school to pay for the repairs to his car

and

to the fence before he could drive again. It didn't seem to bother him at all.

For one thing, to hear him tell the story, he only got in that wreck because Rosalie was
giving him a hummer while he was driving. So he thought it was worth it. Then you have to
consider that he got to hang out with Rosalie everyday at her daddy's shop while he
worked. Not to mention the fact that it was easier to make out with Rosalie in the back of
some car when someone else was doing the driving. Yeah… I could tell Emmett wasn't in a
huge hurry to get his car fixed up.

"Jasper here yet?" Emmett asked, stepping out beside me. He reeked of cologne, but he
looked pretty sharp dressed in his paisley shirt and wide-legged pants. I pushed my chest
out under my own t-shirt and wished for a moment that I had the same shoulder-span as
Emmett. He looked good when he wore dress shirts that showed off his chest. He wore a
thick gold chain with an eagle on it, and unbuttoned his shirt just enough to show off his
jewelry. I didn't think I could pull the look off.

"Does it

look

like he's here?" I asked irritably.

"What's your problem?" Emmett asked. I shook my head and leaned forward to put my
forearms over the railing.

"Nothing," I told him.

"Seriously. What's up?" Emmett pulled his pick from his back pocket and pushed it
through the frizzy curls on his head while he played the part of the concerned older
brother.

I opened my mouth, but Jasper took that moment to pull up at the curb and cut me off
with a loud yell from the car.

"Get a move on, assholes!"

"Never mind. Let's go," I said, hurrying to the Chevelle. One more day. One more day and
I'd have my car back.

Alice and Rosalie were already in their perspective seats, dressed and looking foxy for a
night out. I could see that Rosalie was wearing her typical attire of hot pants and a halter
top. No way was she wearing a bra. I pretended not to notice, for Emmett's sake. That girl
was probably going to cause at least ten skating accidents tonight.

Alice looked sexy in a sequined tube-top and bell bottoms. Jasper wore his typical tight
jeans and a brown suede vest with no shirt beneath it.

"Lose your shirt in the wash?" I gave him hell with a smirk.

"Nah. Just waiting for you to finally give me that one," Jasper razzed me back. He wanted
my Rolling Stones concert t-shirt ever since we saw them live on stage last winter in Seattle.
It wasn't my fault he spent the last half of the concert making out with some groupie by the
backstage door, and missed his chance to buy a shirt.

"Not gonna happen," I shook my head and got into the seat beside Alice. "Come on. Let's
go."

The parking lot outside the Dive was packed, and I felt the familiar buzz of excitement and
adrenaline start to pump through my system with the sound of the disco tunes that wafted
out slowly from inside. As a general rule, I rocked. Hell, everyone did. In the car, nothing
was better than blasting a little Queen, Aerosmith, Frampton, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper…

hell, The Eagles. But it was a widely known fact that you could not beat the BeeGees or
Abba for bootin'. That music just lent itself to the groove necessary for dancing and skating.
I might be wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt… but I could shake my ass to some ELO, and
look good while doing it.

"Let's get down!" Alice squealed, and she and Rosalie linked arms before running into the
front doors of the Dive. Emmett, Jasper, and I opted to slow down to our typical strut. We
cased the joint, and always made an entrance.

"So… gonna find a bunny to skate with tonight?" Jasper looked over at me while he tossed
fifty cents up on the rental counter to get a pair of skates. I winced as Eric Yorkie handed
him some ugly brown rentals with orange wheels and matching stoppers.

"When are you going to stop renting, and just buy your own damn skates?" I asked,
ignoring his question.

"These are fine," Jasper frowned, eyeing the spin of the wheels for balance. In some weird
way, I had a feeling that Jasper rented his skates as a further illustration of his lack of ability
to commit.

I, however, took great pride in lacing up my pristine black skates. Black wheels, black
stoppers, black laces, black leather… my skates fit me perfectly and I fucking loved them.
They were a hell of a lot better than the lame skates that Emmett wore to match Rosalie's.
He was so whipped.

Gloria Gaynor was playing when we made our way out to the rink. It's like the crowd
actually parted to make room for us to skate into the masses of people gliding their way
around the smooth waxed floor. Emmett wasted no time, flipping Rosalie around to skate
backwards in front of him while they did the Hustle. Jasper picked up a grinning Alice, and
deposited her on his shoulders, right away.

Like usual, I skated alone.

I let my wheels carry me around the floor, sliding my feet in half-scissor rolls, and
alternating heel kicks. Once I got enough momentum, I jumped in the air and touched my
toes just to remind everyone at the rink who the best skater around was.

That's right. Edward Cullen. And none of the rink-rats would forget it. I was just that good.

Emmett and Jasper were great skaters. Don't get me wrong. But they worked in teams.
They always had partners. My solo-skating allowed me to concentrate on tricks that set me
apart…made me shine.

And I tried not to feel jealous about the fact that I didn't have a partner to work with.

As if the motion of my body was dictated by my current thoughts, I skated away from the
group and found myself standing at the half-wall divider that separated the skating floor

from the carpeted lounge area around the rink. My hands rested on the carpeted surface,
and I pressed the tops of my legs into the wall while I looked over at the concession stand.

Bella Swan was standing on the counter, with her back to me. Her arms were above her
head while she changed the letters on the menu board above the snack counter. And God
help me, the position had the back of her tiny yellow shorts rising so high, I could almost
make out … yes… she was wearing white panties.

"Whatcha looking at, little bro?" Emmett asked, cruising to a stop behind me. I shrugged
my shoulders, but didn't take my eyes away from Bella's ass. "Hmm. Hot dogs are only
seventy-five cents tonight," Emmett read. "I wonder if Bella Swan likes wieners?"

"Shut up," I scowled and elbowed him in the ribs. He was definitely ruining my yellow-
shorts-observing.

"Give it up," Emmett teased some more. "Sure… she could probably be foxy if someone
helped her with some make-up and stuff. But that girl is nowhere close to your league."

"She doesn't need that shit," I cringed, thinking of the layers of make-up that most girls
wore. I hated the taste and feel of lip gloss.

"Word is, Bella's been going around with James, anyway," Edward warned me. I tore my
eyes away from Bella's ass when the guy in question skated up to the counter. James was a
rink guard here at the Dive, and a major pain in our ass. He thought having a whistle
around his neck made him so fucking cool. He usually skated around, in his too-short
pants, and just tried his best to find a reason to get us all in trouble.

"No way," I frowned and watched as James put a hand up to help Bella down off the
counter. She rested her little fingers in his while she jumped down. As soon as he released
her from his grip, I watched as she wiped the feel of his sweaty palm off on the front of her
shorts. "She wouldn't date that grease-ball."

"He's been telling everyone that he felt her up at the drive-in last weekend."

I frowned a bit harder, and watched the two of them. Bella spoke to James briefly, before
turning back to the service door that would let her behind the counter. James skated back
out to the floor to join the crowd.

"So… are you going to stand here and hump the wall all night while watching her?" Emmett
asked. "Or are you going to skate?"

"I'm skating," I ground out. Just the thought of Bella going on date with James made me feel
aggressive and charged up. I decided to take it out on the floor.

I can't be blamed if my next jump-move was so close to James that he was sent sprawling in
the center of the floor to avoid being kicked in the head.

"Ten-minutes off the floor, Cullen!" James wheezed before blowing his whistle at me. I
flipped him the bird before skating toward the exit.

"I'm getting a smoke," I called out to Jasper. He nodded and pulled Alice's legs from
around his waist, before setting her feet back on the floor and following me out.

During breaks, we always hung out on the side of the building. Chief Swan hated for us to
loiter by the front doors. He was afraid we'd make the place look bad or something, or
make wholesome-families not want to drop their kids off for skating. No one wanted to piss
off the Chief, so we happily took the side-door exit and loitered around by the dumpsters.
It was somehow fitting.

"Saw you get kicked off the floor," Emmett announced when he came outside to join us.
"Pretty awesome split-jump."

"Thanks," I smirked. "I wanted a smoke anyway."

The three of us lit up, and leaned against the building. I tried my best to ignore Lauren
Mallory and her typical followers. They giggled and whispered loudly from the front corner
of the building, just waiting for us to notice them. Obviously, they followed us outside.

"Jessica wants your pole," Emmett laughed. "She's giving you serious 'let me suck-you-off'
eyes.

"Shit's nasty," I grimaced and glanced up to where Emmett was looking. Jessica Stanley,
Lauren's best friend, was indeed, trying to shoot me promises with her eyes while applying
another lacquered layer to her pout with some roller-ball lip gloss. All I could focus on
were the crusty cold-sores in the corner of her mouth.

"Jessica's not bad," Jasper cut in, throwing his arm over mine and Emmett's shoulders while
taking in the view. "I made out with her in ninth grade."

"Now we know where the herpes came from," Emmett laughed. Jasper turned and the two
of them immediately began wrestling and landing light punches to each other's midsections.
I stepped forward to avoid being pulled into their brawl.

"Hey, Cullen!" I recognized the whiney voice that yelled out from near the door, and
turned slowly toward the sound. "You know you aren't supposed to be smoking out here!"

Fucking great. James obviously felt the need to follow me outside, to continue his shit. He
probably hoped to catch us smoking weed, or drinking. My suspicions were confirmed
when he sniffed the air noticeably.

"It's a Marlboro, you turd," I sneered. I had just about had enough of his shit for the
evening.

"Well… you know the Chief doesn't allow smoking back here!"

Yeah, yeah. You get one drunk kid causing one accidental dumpster fire, and we all have
to pay for it.

"I'm done anyway," I said. Grasping the butt of my cigarette between my thumb and first
finger, I took another deliberate drag before pinching it and tossing it towards James.

In slow-motion, James stumbled back to avoid the cherry-red tip that I flicked at him. He
must have forgot he was wearing skates in gravel, and slipped, falling hard on his ass in the
rocks.

I leaned forward with my hands on my knees, laughing. Emmett and Jasper came over
toward me, to see what was so funny. They started laughing too, and James just looked like
he wanted to cry.

"I'm telling the Chief, Cullen!" James spat.

"Telling me what?" We all sobered immediately when the man in question pushed his way
through the side door. Charlie Swan was carrying an armload of boxes, and I moved
forward immediately to take the top couple off the stack.

"Let me give you a hand, Chief," I told him.

"Thanks, son," Charlie said. "I'm just taking these out to my truck."

I didn't ask him what was in the boxes. I just followed him, trying my best to stay in his
good graces. Charlie Swan was the owner of the Swan Dive, and if he liked you, you were
golden.

"You're one of Carlisle's boys. Right?" Charlie asked, looking over at me.

"Yes, sir. Edward," I nodded behind the boxes I carried. "His… er… youngest."

"You're in Bella's grade," Charlie stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, sir," I said again. "We had a couple of classes together."

"She's never said anything bad about you," Charlie mentioned, while putting his load in the
back of his shitty old red truck. I followed his lead and did the same with mine.

"No, sir…" I said.

"Keep it that way," he grunted. I faced him then, and looked him in the eyes while I
nodded once more. "And what was James saying, when I walked out the door?"

"He… uh…" I decided not to lie. "He was reminding me that I shouldn't smoke back here."

Charlie ran his hand up through his hair and squinted toward the building. "Look, Edward.
I know your family. Your dad is a good man. You are good kids. Just… be careful. Yeah?"

I wondered if he'd still think I was good, if he knew that I wanted to get it on with his
daughter?

"Yes sir, Chief," I hurried to suck-up. Charlie's shoulders relaxed, and he actually gave me a
little bit of a smile under that thick moustache he wore.

I wish I could grow a moustache.

Here's the thing about Charlie Swan. He was a decent guy. He used to be the Chief of
Police in this small town. Back when Bella was a baby and he was still married to her
mother. Then, he had the shitty luck of being involved in the town's one and only armed
robbery. Some punk kids decided to hold up the sporting goods store at the edge of town.
Charlie wasn't even technically on duty, but he was there buying some fishing lures or some
shit. When the shooters came in, shit went down badly, and Charlie ended up taking a
bullet in his shoulder.

That scar looked tough when he wore a sleeveless shirt.

Bella's mom hated that he wanted to remain a part of the police force. She left, and took
Bella with her. She claimed the job was more important than his family.

Charlie quit his work with the force, and opened the Swan Dive. He was trying to prove
that he could be a family man. It was too little, too late, and Bella's mom divorced him.

Charlie kept the skating rink. It was his way, we were told, of having something solid for
Bella when she came to visit during the summers. And last year, she officially came to live
in Forks. Since then, she had worked at the Dive, alongside her father…tormenting me in
her tiny, yellow shorts and white work t-shirt.

Charlie Swan loved three things:

He loved being called "Chief." He loved the Swan Dive. And he loved his daughter. If you
didn't fuck with those three things, you were A-OK in his book.

"Thanks for the help, Edward."

"No problem, Chief," I said quickly. "In fact… if there is ever anything you need help with
around here, you just let me know."

Okay. So maybe that last part was over-kill. But I hadn't really expected him to take me up
on the offer. I was just trying to be nice to make up for that whole wanting to hump his
daughter thing. Charlie turned to face me, and ran the fingers of his right hand thoughtfully
over that moustache.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "You know, I think I might take you up on that," Charlie nodded.
"Yeah… I think I will. Can you be here Wednesday afternoon?" he asked. "Around one-
thirty?"

I mentally ran through my summer schedule. Emmett would be working at the shop.
Jasper had some job as a life-guard at the local swimming pool. I would definitely have my

car back by then. And it might be my chance to see Bella, without all of the typical assholes
cramping my style.

"Yeah. I can be here," I smiled.

The Chief actually patted my shoulder before turning to walk back into the building.
Emmett and Jasper had long since gone back inside. I shot James a smug look while I
skated back out on the floor. And I tried not to fall and break my neck when I noticed that
Bella was leaning across the concession counter, eating a hot dog.

Wednesday seemed too far away.

**~*~**



Chapter Three ~Finding a partner

"

Class... Class? Class! SHUT UP!... … … … … Thank you."

I cringed and turned the knob on my stereo until I could no longer hear Sister Mary
Elephant's nasally voice yelling through my speakers. Ever since Emmett got his Big
Bambu eight-track stuck in my stereo, that particular Cheech and Chong routine played on
a loop. I needed to get it out of my car before it made me crazy.

I laid my elbow out my window, and smiled again, just feeling good to be behind the wheel
of my own car once more. And the great thing about summer, was that there were always
places to go and people to see. No one was held down by school schedules and typical
curfews. Didn't even matter that it wasn't a weekend. You could find a party brewing almost
any night of the week.

Which is why I was driving, on a warm Tuesday night, toward a bash my brother told me
about. Two towns over, in an apartment above the Suds-n-Spin, there was said to be plenty
of beer, bud, and broads. Sounded like a good time, and I agreed to meet the rest of the
gang for a little fun.

I knew I was in the right place when I pulled up behind Jasper's Chevelle on the side-street.
I did a quick check of my hair in the side-view mirror, and brushed a little ash that had
fallen from my last cigarette off the semi-sticky iron-on letters that decorated the front of
my t-shirt. I was trying to pump myself up. But as I heard music blaring down from an
open window above me, I couldn't quite work up the enthusiasm I should have had. The

summer had barely begun, and I already felt bored. Maybe the party scene was just played
out.

I considered getting back in my car and driving away, when an empty beer can clanked
noisily on the sidewalk next to me. I looked up, and saw Jasper leaning out the window
above the Laundromat.

"Get your skinny ass up here," he ordered. "There's boobs! Boobs!"

I had no idea what in the hell he was talking about. But my feet automatically carried me in
the direction that promised half-naked women.

Jasper was right. It wasn't even ten o'clock yet, and a few of the girls were already dancing
around the small dark apartment, with no shirts on. I found a place on the couch to get in
on a joint that was being passed back and forth, and slammed a few beers just to catch up
with my friends. In less than an hour, like the

'Stud'

that the glittery letters across my shirt

professed me to be, I had one of the topless chicks on my lap, doing her level best to get
me off by rubbing all over me.

Sounds like a great party, huh?

Except while I was trying to appreciate the good dry-hump I was receiving, I happened to
open my eyes and see my fucking brother across the room in a chair with Rosalie sitting
across his lap. A mostly-naked girl was dancing just to his left… shaking her tits from the left
to the right… and Emmett sat there goofily smiling up at Rosalie while she pushed her nails
through the chest hair that showed in the deep-V of his unbuttoned shirt. He was oblivious
to everything else around him. And he looked, really happy.

I wanted that.

Not

Rosalie

. But I wanted to be so wrapped up in that one perfect person for me, that I

wouldn't even care about some other knockers bouncing around by my head at a party full
of people that I really couldn't give a shit less about.

Suddenly the hot lips that dragged up my neck felt repulsive to me.

"Enough," I slurred a little. I, obviously, had a little too much to drink.

"Let's go in the back," the girl moaned in my ear. I felt her hands grab at the front of my
pants, and I curled my lip. She should be able to tell that I wasn't even hard for her.

"Get off," I insisted, before I stood and dumped her onto the floor.

"Asshole!" The girl screamed at me before standing and stomping off. Jasper must have
seen the whole thing, because he laughed loudly and tossed me a beer.

"There's more to choose from, if that one wasn't to your liking," he lifted his beer in a toast,
and I put the can he gave me on the coffee table.

"Where's Alice?" I asked. Jasper frowned and looked around at the twisting bodies that
were dancing.

"She's around here somewhere," he swayed a little to the side.

"Make sure you let her drive you guys home," I told him. Alice never drank much, and
could be counted on to get everyone home safely when Jasper got too hammered to drive.
"I'm taking off."

"Okay. See ya, man."

I caught Emmett's eye before I made it to the door. He looked a little concerned, but just
lifted his chin in a nod to acknowledge my departure.

The night air did make me feel a little better, and I decided I was probably in decent
enough shape to drive home. I rolled down the windows, and cranked my stereo to keep
me awake as I made it back to Forks. No one could sober a guy up like Sister Mary
Elephant.

~x~

"Are you a fag?"

I was woken up roughly by a pillow crashing into the back of my skull and my brother
asking absurd and loud questions.

"Go away," I mumbled, still laying face-down on my mattress.

"Seriously? Are you a fruit?" Emmett asked, hitting me again. "Are you a big fan of the
Village People, Edward?"

"What the fuck?" I growled and rolled over to face him. Emmett stood above me with a
pillow in hand, and a large smile in place.

"How did you not get tail last night?" he asked, finally dropping his weapon. "Chicks were
throwing themselves at you. And you left the party early?"

"That party was bogue," I grumbled and sat up to rake my fingers through my hair.

"That party was

happening

," Emmett shook his head, arguing with me. "Naked girls were

everywhere. You had one on your lap man. I saw it. So what in the hell made you hit the
road so early?"

I tipped my head from left to right, working out the kinks while I tried to decide how much
I wanted to say to my brother.

"Maybe I've just gotten too old for this shit," I tried to explain.

"You never get too old for sex," Emmett scoffed. "Our parents still do it, man. I know it's
sick. But that's a fact."

"That's not what I meant," I shook my head and felt the sting of bitter beer in the back of
my throat just from thinking about my parents getting it on. "Rosalie and Alice managed to
keep their shirts on at the party last night. Right?" I changed direction.

"Of course," Emmett snorted. "Our girls have class."

"So why is it so weird, that maybe I'd like to find a girl with a little class, too?" I asked
quietly. I was looking down at the sheet that covered my lap. Emmett didn't respond, so I
finally looked up at him. "You started dating Rosalie last year. When you were my age."

"Yeah…"

"So, it's not like you're out fucking any girl that sits on your lap at a party."

"But I've got Rosie," Emmett pointed out. "I don't want no one else."

"And I'm tired of the same old shit," I finally said. "Maybe I don't know exactly what I want
right now. But I know what I

don't

want."

"Well fuck me sideways," Emmett announced and stepped back, grinning. "Is my little
brother actually trying to tell me that he is ready to settle down?"

"I'm saying…" I wasn't quite sure what I was saying. "I'm keeping my options open."

"Alright man. Alright," Emmett finally allowed, backing out of my room. "As long as you
aren't turning queer on me, I guess I ain't got a beef with it."

"Gee, thanks," I muttered. I flopped back down onto my bed after he left, and debated
going back to sleep to get rid of my hang-over. But the alarm clock beside my bed showed
me that it was already past noon. Fuck. I was supposed to be at the Dive in a little over an
hour to help out the Chief. The thought that I might get lucky and run into Bella was the
one thing that propelled me out of bed, and toward a much-needed shower.

By two-thirty, I was seriously wishing I had just stayed at home.

I don't know why the hell I didn't see this coming from a mile away. The Chief had
definitely managed to pull the wool over my eyes. I was standing in the middle of the rink,
wearing a "Swan Dive" t-shirt, watching a bunch of midgets trying their best to stay upright
while skating around me.

Tina, the usual chick who taught skating lessons to the little kids on Tuesday afternoons,
got knocked-up. Apparently, they didn't think it was safe for her to be on wheels while she
had a bun in the oven. So Charlie conned me into taking over her job.

No way.

No way in hell was I going to do this on a regular basis.

I had already run the little rink rats through relays back and forth across the floor. I had
them practice maneuvering around cones, and making T-stops with their skates. I even led
the little shits in doing the limbo and was really fucking thankful that the concession stand
remained dark while I shook my ass with them to the Hokey Pokey. Bella wasn't even
around. It was probably better for my ego that way. But without even a chance of seeing
her, this shit wasn't worth it.

I was glancing at my watch and slowing down the long line of kids behind me that had
formed a train when the lights dimmed. The Chief sat in his DJ booth, and announced a
spotlight skate for the final song of the day.

Are you kidding me?

These kids were between the ages of five and ten. What in the hell did

they

need a

spotlight skate for? I skeptically skated to the side wall, and frowned as I watched the little
farts pair up. I actually couldn't believe my eyes. Sure, there were a couple girls that held
hands with other girls. But for the most part, this crew that I gave skating lessons to for the
past hour, all paired up like little couples. I leaned against the wall, frowning at them
skating around and around under the bouncing disco lights.

Story of my life. Everyone had a partner to skate with but me.

And… apparently, the little girl who stood directly across the rink, looking completely
miserable.

I remembered her from our game of limbo. She had on pink tights and had little matching
bows in her curly brown pig-tails. She actually wasn't a bad little skater, already. And
because she was shorter than some of the others, she was able to slide under the stick quite
easily.

I don't know what the hell possessed me. Maybe it's because she really did look so sad
standing there. But I pushed off with my back skate, and glided right on over to where she
stood.

"You know," I said, obviously catching her by surprise when I spoke to her. "I wasn't going
to skate to this song. I didn't think anyone else would be able to keep up with me. Then I
remembered seeing you skate before. What do you think? Will you skate with me?"

I had leaned down while I talked to the little girl, and couldn't help but smile when her big
blue eyes lit up at my proposal. She nodded and grinned, and took my hand eagerly.

And then I was—slowly-- skating around the rink holding hands with an eight-year old.

I couldn't really even find it in me to feel embarrassed about the situation. Not when she
tilted her little chin up and squeezed my hand and got to blow by the rest of the little shits
that had probably made her feel bad for not having a partner to begin with. I spun her a
little in front of me just to help her show off. She giggled, knowing that I wouldn't let her
fall.

"Thanks doll," I said as we came to a stop near the exit. The little kids were streaming out
toward the concession stand, where a large cooler and a stack of paper cone cups had been
placed on the counter for them to get drinks of kool-aid before going home.

I glanced up at the darkened DJ booth, waiting for a glimpse of the Chief so that I could
respectfully tell him I wasn't interested in taking the teaching position permanently. When
he didn't show immediately, I decided to busy myself by skating back out to pick up the
orange traffic cones on the floor, as well as the limbo stick. I turned with my armful of
items, and nearly stumbled when I saw Bella Swan, standing by the half-wall, looking at me.

I froze, like a deer in headlights. She seemed rooted to the spot too. But then her arm
raised up, bent at the elbow, and she fluttered her fingers in a little wave.

I turned to look over my shoulder, convinced she was motioning to someone behind me.
But I was alone on the floor.

Bella blushed a little and looked down, but she didn't move away. I took that as a signal to
skate over toward her.

"Hi," I said when I stopped in front of her.

"Hi," Bella said quietly, before looking up at me. It was like everything around me sort of
disappeared when I finally looked into her big, brown eyes. I had wanted to talk to her for
so long. And here she was. This was my chance.

"Hi," I said again, lamely. Bella giggled.

"Hi," she repeated.

I blinked, breaking the spell I was under, and tried to remember I was supposed to be
cool. I raised one eyebrow and tried to give her my best unaffected look.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well… I…work here," Bella replied, looking confused. "What are

you

doing here?"

"I…"

"Edward works here, now, too." The Chief took that moment to stroll by us. I opened my
mouth, but somehow figured out it might be a really bad idea to turn down the job right at
that moment in time. "I'm trying to get him to take over the beginner's class for Tina."

"Here. Let me help you with that," Bella told me, reaching out to take a few of the things I
held from my arms. I let her take the limbo stick and one of the cones.

"Just show me where to put this stuff," I told her. Bella turned then, and I had to stifle the
groan in my throat when I saw that she was already wearing her little yellow dolphin shorts
for work. My eyes were trained to her ass while she led me to a storage closet.

"Just, put them in here," Bella nodded. I looked away quickly, when she turned so that I
could place the rest of the things in the space she pointed to. I didn't want her to see me
checking her out like some pervert.

"So… um. Bella, right?" Now that I finally had the opportunity to talk with her, I wanted to
prolong the experience. "We had a couple of classes together. English, I think."

I did not get the reaction I hoped for. Bella's cheeks turned pink, and she dropped her
chin to stare at the floor. Shit.

"Yeah. Maybe," she mumbled. Okay. So talking about school obviously made Bella uneasy.
I didn't even think that I might embarrass her by bringing up the class in which she nearly
got a concussion right in front of me. She retaliated by making me feel uncomfortable too.
"I saw you skating with that little girl."

"Oh God… that was," I began.

"Really sweet," she finished. We stood looking at each other, in some sort of awkward
impasse.

"Why aren't you teaching this class for Tina?" I asked. "I mean… if you're around here
anyway."

"I work in the concession stand," Bella shook her head. I skated over toward a bench so I
could sit and take off my skates. Thankfully, Bella followed. I hadn't chased her away with
my lame attempts at conversation just yet.

"Yeah. But you're here now. And the concession stand isn't open…"

"I don't skate." Bella nearly whispered the words while she sat next to me on the bench. I
was a little distracted by her nearness, and not sure I heard her words correctly. "I just came
by to put the punch out for the kids."

"You don't skate? How is that possible?" I asked. "Your dad owns this place."

Now that she mentioned it, I couldn't recall ever seeing Bella in a pair of skates. Outside of
my fantasies, that is. She was always working behind the counter every time I was at the
Dive.

"My Dad named this place the Swan Dive for a reason," Bella breathed out. "I never could
skate. Each time I tried… I took a dive. That's why my nose is so big. I broke it when I was
ten."

Bella stared up at me, and it took real effort to focus my attention on her nose.

"Your nose isn't big," I scoffed. "I'd say… it's just about perfect."

"Not perfect," Bella shook her head. "It's crooked."

"A

little

crooked," I clarified with a grin. "Cute."

"Cute?" she breathed. I felt myself leaning towards her. I never expected the weird pull I
felt.

"Definitely cute," I said quietly.

"So, Cullen," the Chief spoke gruffly from behind us, and we pulled away from each other
at the sound of his voice. I bent to untie my laces, pretending that I hadn't been about to
put the moves on his daughter. "Can I count on you to take over my beginner's class? Every
Wednesday at two."

"Oh, uh… I don't know…" I rose up a little and turned a frown in Bella's direction. The day
certainly turned out better than I had hoped it would. Bella and I were actually on talking
terms, finally.

"You know, Bells," the Chief said. "Edward is just about the best skater I've ever seen on the
floor here. I'll bet he could teach you a few things. It might just be time for you to lace up,
and maybe take a few lessons."

"I don't know." Bella's cheeks were pink again, but she was looking at me from the corner
of her eye.

"I could teach you to skate, Bella," I said quickly.

"It's settled then," Charlie announced happily. "The Dive just got themselves a new skating
instructor."

I didn't say a word. My eyes were locked with Bella's. We sat there, just staring at each
other.

"Well," she finally broke the silence. "I guess I'll be seeing you around, Edward."

"Sure," I nodded stupidly. Bella gave me a small smile and got up from the bench to walk
away. I smirked and finished taking off my skates. Oh yes. I could definitely teach Bella
Swan a thing or two.

But I had a small feeling that I probably had even more to learn, from

her

.

**~*~**

Chapter Four ~ Initiation

"Tell me again why we have to wait for Jasper, when Edward has a perfectly good car sitting
right there," Rosalie pouted and took the top of her lip gloss off with a little popping sound
before applying it to her mouth.

"What the hell is that shit?" I asked, scrunching up my nose.

"It's Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers," Rosalie said, looking at me like I was from another planet
for not already knowing that.

"Well don't put it on by me," I waved her away. "It reeks."

"Emmy likes it," Rosalie batted her eyelashes up at my brother.

"Emmy?" I asked over her head. He responded by flipping me off.

"Edward won't let us ride with him, because his car is allergic to sex."

"If I don't make out with girls in it… I sure as hell am not going to drive your big ass around
so you can."

"That's just weird, Edward," Rosalie huffed. "You have a nice car. You could totally score in
that thing."

"I could," I nodded. "I just don't want to."

I never wanted to bring any of the girls I had messed around with out to my car. It would
be like shitting where you eat. My car was sacred.

"Doesn't matter anyway," Rosalie flipped her hair over her shoulder. "There's Jazz and Alice
now."

I palmed my keys and walked down the steps toward my car. I would have gone earlier, but
we kind of liked to present a united front when went to the Dive. We were a gang. A
group. And we ruled that rink.

"You ready?" I called back to Jasper. He gave me a thumbs up out his car window, and we
were off.

The Swan Dive was hopping. People skated around under the multi-colored lights and got
their groove on. Emmett pulled Rosalie's impressive form to slide through his open legs,
and Jasper leaned down so I could put my hands on his back and launch myself over him
in a split jump. We were hot stuff and in fine form.

"Watch yourself, Cullen," James blew his whistle in a warning. I grabbed my dick and
flipped him off before skating away. He knew I'd never kick anyone while doing a jump.
People knew to stay out of my way.

Even though James hadn't ordered me off the floor yet, I decided not to push my luck and
I skated over to the half-wall. Lauren Mallory had her back to the floor, but was blocking
my view to the concession stand, so I grabbed her by the hips and shuffled her to the side
out of my way.

I guess I must have surprised her when I grabbed her, though the girl was plenty used to
being grabbed, because she screeched out loud and dropped her lollipop on the floor.

"You jerk!" Lauren pouted her sticky lips and rounded on me. "You made me drop my
sucker!"

"I got something for you to suck, instead," Jasper said, coming to a stop beside me. Lauren
offered a giggle that was actually more high-pitched than Barry Gibb who could currently
be heard singing over the skating floor.

"I think Edward is the one that owes me a treat."

"Will you just get out of my way?" I asked, trying again to get her to move.

"Jerk," she hissed again before turning a smile up at Jasper. "Call me," she giggled to him
before shooting me a look like she thought I was going to be jealous or something. I could
care less where he put his dick. I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"Where is your sense of humor, Man?" Jasper asked. "That shit is pure comedy."

"It's a waste of time," I huffed.

"What's wrong with you?" Jasper elbowed me lightly. "If you ask me… you just aint been
laid in too long."

I shrugged. It had been a little over a month, which was pretty long for me. But the truth
was… even at that last party when I decided I'd try to get into the panties of that girl who
was on my lap, I was just going through the motions. I really wasn't into it at all, and it
wasn't worth my time.

"Maybe I just need more of a challenge," I suggested, looking over toward the concession
stand. Jasper laughed and gave me an 'atta boy' before Alice skated around the bend and
grabbed his hips to start making a train around the floor.

I stood there watching Bella scoop popcorn into a little paper bag for one of the rink rats.
We hadn't seen each other since Wednesday, but I thought things had gone pretty well. I
wondered if she would be as friendly with everyone around.

She must have sensed me watching her or something, because as soon as the kid handed
over his money, Bella looked up and her eyes met mine. I refused to look away while she

absently rubbed the two coins between her fingers. And then finally, her lips curved up in a
pretty smile. I smiled back before someone else walked up to the counter and broke our
connection.

I felt like I had just won some huge fucking prize. I knew I could walk over and wink at
Lauren, and she'd be out behind the dumpster with my dick in her mouth in five minutes.
But there was nothing special in that. Anyone could have that.

I had a feeling, not everyone could get one of those smiles from Bella Swan, aimed in their
direction. It was so, so much better.

Yeah. As soon as I admitted that to myself, I pretty much had to admit that it was all over.
Bella Swan owned my ass.

"Want a smoke?" Emmett asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. I nodded and followed
him out the side door.

"What's going on with you and that Swan chick?" Emmett wasted no time interrogating me
as soon as we were outside. "Did I catch you two having a fucking moment?"

"God. Be quiet," I griped. I looked around, hoping no one was in the area to over-hear.

"I'm just saying… if she's the reason that you have been acting all weird lately… you know
you'll have to introduce her to us eventually. Right? I mean… she'll have to be cool with us
too."

"Who will have to be cool with us?" Jasper came outside and grabbed my cigarette to light
the tip of his own.

"Edward has blue-balls for the Chief's daughter," Emmett snickered.

"Shit. Is

that

what all this moping around is about?" Jasper laughed. "You think you got a

chance with that?"

"Got a chance with what?" This time it was James's whiney voice that joined the mix while
he came outside to check up on us.

"Edward's gonna steal your girlfriend," Emmett smirked at him to get him riled up.

"Yeah… that little bunny behind the concession stand that you've been telling everyone that
you…" Jasper started.

"That you, what?" We all froze and looked toward the door. Bella Swan stood in the
doorway, holding a large Slushie cup.

James started sputtering, and I couldn't help but steer the conversation in a way to torment
him.

"James has been telling people you two got hot and heavy at the drive-in," I teased.

"Ew! James! We did not!" Bella frowned. "We've never even been to the drive-in," Bella
insisted, turning her wide eyes up toward Emmett, Jasper, and finally to me.

"We believe you, sugar," Emmett said nicely. "James here just likes to make up stories."

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" James asked with a waspish voice. He was
obviously put out. "This is no crowd for a girl like you to be seen with."

"Considering the lies you've been telling about me, I hardly think my reputation is any of
your business," Bella said snottily. I think I loved her a little more, after hearing her put
James in his place. "And for your information, I came out here to see if Edward would like
a Slushie. On the house, of course," she smiled up at me while sticking her hand forward to
offer me the frosty beverage. I accepted her gift and sucked that cherry red drink through
the straw while looking into her eyes.

"You know that you can't give away free concessions!" James stomped his skate. "Slushies
are only free for employees!"

"Well, Edward is an employee now," Bella shrugged over at him. Emmett and Jasper
looked incredulously at each other before shooting me a look like I was a traitor or
something for not having said anything before.

"Edward works here?" Emmett asked. James ran inside as fast as his skates could carry him,
probably set to find the Chief and ask if there was any truth to Bella's claim.

"I… uh… sorta started just Wednesday," I mumbled.

"What kind of job is Edward doing for you?" Jasper asked, raking his eyes up and down
Bella. Luckily, she didn't notice.

"Oh. He's teaching the beginner's skating class," Bella smiled sweetly. I cringed. "You
should see him with those little kids. He's so sweet…"

"Yep. That's Edward alright. Sweet…" Emmett cooed, imitating her voice.

"Listen, Bella," I put my hand on her forearm and tried to lead her away from the guys. But
Bella was still praising my ability to be Mr. Roger's on the skate floor with the kiddies.

"You should have seen him skating with this one little girl who didn't have a partner for the
spotlight skate... he was like Prince Charming."

Jasper was holding his side because he was laughing so hard. I glared over at my brother
and he sobered immediately.

"Wow. Jasper. Edward had a partner."

"No way. Edward had a partner."

"She was just a little girl…" Bella smiled, not realizing that they were giving me shit.

"But still. Have you EVER seen Edward skate with a partner?" Emmett asked seriously.
Bella's eyes widened at the dropped tone of his voice, and she shook her head solemnly.

"Do you know WHY he never has a partner?" Jasper asked, standing straight and looking
pensive as well.

"Well, no," Bella whispered. "I guess we… didn't really talk about that. We've only just
started…"

Emmett reached out and put his finger across her lips to silent her. I groaned and walked
over to stand against the wall. I knew where this was going.

"Did you ever hear of our Uncle Aro?" Emmett began. "Aro Volturi?" his voice was low and
ominous. Bella shook her head.

"Uncle Aro was he Vending Machine King of the Upper Northwest Coast," Jasper added.
"He supplied all the local pizzarias, pool halls, and skating rinks with arcade games."

"My dad has his own Space Invaders game," Bella offered. "I think another guy owns the
rest."

"Exactly," I Jasper nodded. "And it used to be Aro. Before…"

"Before what?" Bella asked, leaning forward. I just shook my head and lit another cigarette.

"Before the Pinball incident of 1970," Emmett whispered lowly.

"The Pinball incident?" Emmett shushed her again, and I avoided the worried gaze I could
see her send my direction.

"We used to travel around with my Uncle Aro," Emmett said. "We'd pile into the back of
his truck and go with him to empty the coin boxes on his machines, or to move games
from one building to another. That's how Edward got so good at skating. He hung out at all
the rinks while Uncle Aro took care of the arcade machines."

"Oh," Bella breathed.

"But one day… " Jasper bent toward Bella. "One day, when Edward had been practicing a
new trick… he finally got it. He was able to go down in a full split! A full split, on skates
Bella. That's a really big deal to a ten year old boy!"

Bella nodded, entranced by the story.

"Aro was loading in a new Pinball machine on a dolly," Emmett continued. "And Edward
yelled out, 'Look Uncle Aro! Look what I can do!'"

"Aro looked alright," Jasper said darkly. "And he lost his grip on the dolly, because he was
looking at Edward skate and not paying attention to the Pinball Machine he was moving…"

"And the machine fell! And it… it… killed our Uncle Aro!" Emmett moaned and covered
his face with his hands while he finished his last words. Bella gasped.

"And that's why," Jasper nodded and straightened his frame. "That's why… to this day… you
will never, ever see Edward on the floor… doing the splits."

Emmett made a sobbing noise behind his hands, and I shook my head. Other than the
garbled noises Emmett was making, everything was totally silent.

"Wait a minute," Bella finally said skeptically. "You said the story was about why Edward
never skated with partners. Not about why he won't do the full splits!"

"Oh. Shit. I guess we did," Jasper shrugged. "Guess we fucked that one up, huh?" he
laughed over toward Emmett. Both guys started cracking up then. And Bella got red. Not
like a cute little blush on her cheeks. She was red in the face and completely pissed off.
She gave me the dirtiest look I could imagine she was capable of, and forcefully pulled the
side door open to storm inside.

"Nice, guys," I groaned before hurrying in after her.

"Bella! Wait!" I called out. I didn't even care that I was drawing attention to us as I moved
to catch up to her.

"Is that your idea of fun, Edward? Letting your friends laugh at me?"

"What? No… no! I didn't even know that they were going to do that!"

"You sure as hell didn't try to stop them, did you?" Bella yelled. I was a little shocked that
she cussed, and stood there with my mouth hanging open. "I felt sorry for you! I actually
believed that pathetic story! And you just let them humiliate me…"

"No. It's nothing like that," I quickly tried to reassure her. I could see that we were gathering
a crowd. Rosalie and Alice made their way toward where we stood, and I lowered my
voice. "Listen. Those guys are cut-ups. We joke around all the time. And they… well… they
know I

like

you Bella. So that was sort of an initiation. You know… for them to be able to

tell if you were cool enough to hang out with us. Or something."

Bella sneered and stuck her hand on her hip.

"Really Edward? Really? An initiation?"

I nodded. I didn't know how else to explain it. Bella moved forward quickly then, and
slapped the bottom of the cup of red Slushie that I still held, forcing me to spill it down the
front of my white pants.

"How about now?" Bella asked loudly. "Did I pass the test?"

She stomped away from me while I stood there, with freezing cold red syrup dripping
down my legs.

"Oh yeah," Rosalie laughed, giving Alice a high five. "She definitely passes! Bella's in."

~**~**~

Chapter Five ~ Lessons

My body jolted at the sound of my alarm clock ringing shrilly on the table beside my bed. I
groaned and pressed the button on the back to stop the noise. For a moment, I couldn't
even remember why I had set it. It was summer. Shouldn't alarm clocks be illegal or
something?

"Time to wake up, Scrotum," Emmett bellowed from my doorway. I ignored him and
buried my head under my pillow. "You have to take me to Rosie's this morning before you
go to work. I get to pick up the 'Vette today and I promised her I'd take her to the pool.
Jasper's getting us in for free. We're missing prime tanning rays. Get the fuck up!"

I groaned.

Work

. The Swan Dive. After the shit that went down on Friday night, I wasn't

even sure if I had a job anymore.

Hell, I wasn't sure if I

wanted

one.

"Get it in gear, ass-face," Emmett growled. "You know you need extra time to get all prettied
up for Swan. And I aint talking about the one with the moustache."

Bella. I hadn't seen her since she dumped Slushie down the front of my pants and made
me look like a fucked-up extra in the

Carrie

prom scene. Alice assured me that she talked

to her on Saturday, and straightened everything out. But I still wasn't sure if any of it was
worth my hassle.

Still, when I thought about how damn cute she'd been, smiling at me across the crowded
roller-rink, or the way her voice sounded when she read her poetry out loud in English
class…

Yeah. My morning stiffy definitely made his fucking opinion known. She was worth it.

"Get up! Get up… Get up. Get up!"

I heard Emmett close to my head, and peeked from under the pillow only to get an eye-full
that I definitely did

not

need to see. Emmett was mooning me, and slapping a beat on his

ass to go with his wake-up call, like it was a big, hairy set of bongos.

"Ugh! Fuck, Emmett!" I yelled.

"Don't make me lay a gasser, Edward!" he warned with his butt in front of my face. "You
know I will! Get UP!"

"Asshole," I muttered, rolling out the opposite side of my bed while Emmett tugged his
pants back up. At least his obnoxious stunt took care of the boner situation. "Remind me
again why I put up with your shit!"

"Because you are my little brother. And you love me." Emmett blew me a kiss before
turning on his heels in a Travolta-style spin and leaving my room.

An hour later I had shit, showered, and shaved, and dropped Emmett off at the shop.

"Have fun doing the hokey pokey," Emmett laughed and fluttered his fingers in a little
wave. "Say hi to your bunny for me."

I didn't even bother to reply before I drove away. I probably

would

end up skating to the

hokey fucking pokey again. And as far as Bella went… I couldn't promise to say 'hi' to her. I
didn't even know if she'd show up.

By the half-way through the beginner's class, I was convinced she wouldn't.

I let the little kids have a ten minute break to free skate or hit the bathrooms or whatever
the fuck little kids needed to do, and I leaned against the half-wall moodily staring over at
the darkened concession area. Bella was a no-show.

"You've got lady issues," I heard from down near my elbow.

"Say what?" I looked over my folded arms and saw a rink-rat who had skated up to lean
next to me. He mimicked my pose exactly, and looked up at me from under the wide brim
of a baseball cap that had '

Dy-no-Mite!'

stenciled across the front.

"Lady issues," he said with a confident nod. "Think I haven't noticed you staring over there
at the snack shack every five minutes? It's messing up your flow, man. Your splits weren't
even near the floor."

"Were too," I argued, already mildly annoyed by the pint-sized critic.

"You're off your game," he shook his head. "You got a woman on the brain. Is it Miss
Bella?"

"What?" This kid was entirely too cocky. "How do you know Bella?"

"She brings us our kool-aid every week," the boy shrugged. "And you keep looking over
there. So either you're really damn thirsty… or you got a thing for the girl."

"I'm not talking to you about this," I scoffed and looked back up at the smaller children,
shuffling their skates around the floor.

"Don't have to talk. But you should listen," the kid sagely continued. "If you did something
to make the lady mad… you should be extra nice to make it up to her. Tell her she looks
pretty, or smells nice or something. Buy her a present. Chicks dig that stuff."

"You're what? Ten? Why are you acting like you know anything about girls?" I squinted my
eyes while I stared him down.

"Shit, son," the boy tilted his head and rolled his eyes at me. "My Mama's raisin' me right."

"Watch your mouth," I frowned.

"Here's the deal," the boy said, pushing slightly away from the wall to skate a half-crescent
and stand in front of me. "I got a lot of friends here. And we all enjoy our kool-aid. You
know what I'm saying? I strongly suggest you don't do anything to screw up the delivery of
that beverage. Or you'll have to deal with us."

"Wait… what?" I shook my head, surprised by the change in his tone. He sounded… almost
threatening?

"Compliment the girl. Treat her nice. You'll do fine. Good luck, man. Just make sure your
interests don't conflict with mine. You dig me?"

The kid skated off then, and left me standing with my mouth hanging open. If I wasn't
mistaken, I'd just been given a lesson in love by a ten-year old Marlon Brando dressed like
JJ Walker. What in the hell was this world coming to?

I turned my back to the floor and narrowed my eyes when I noticed that sometime during
the exchange, the familiar cooler of orange drink had been deposited on the concession
stand counter, complete with paper cone-cups. I looked left and right, searching for the
person who placed it there. Then I saw a small sliver of white… someone trying to duck
beneath the counter to not be seen.

With a smirk, I left the floor and skated across the carpeted walk-way on silent wheels. I
could clearly see Bella crouched down, trying to remain hidden.

"If you are hiding back there with another slushie, you should know I'm unarmed," I said.
Bella jumped at the sound of my voice and cracked the back of her head on the under-side
of the counter.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed.

"Shit, Bella!" I called out. "I'm sorry!"

Bella stood up and glared at me balefully while rubbing the back of her head. Her hair was
separated in two long ponytails that were gathered just beneath her ears. I had a very strong
urge to wrap my hands around them…

"I didn't think you'd be here today," Bella finally said.

"I didn't think

you'd

be here today," I replied. "You were supposed to start your skating

lessons today."

"I didn't think you'd still want to teach me," Bella shook her head and we stood there,
looking at each other, not saying anything. I wasn't sure if I should apologize again for
Jasper and Emmett being idiots, or if I should wait for her to apologize for ruining my
favorite white pants.

"I like your hair," I blurted out, like a complete moron.

We stood there in silence for just another couple seconds before Bella dropped her chin.
And then… she smiled. My eyebrows lifted in surprise, and I couldn't help but turn my
head, searching for the boy I had just been talking with. He zoomed across the center of
the floor, shooting the duck and giving me a thumbs-up. Apparently, he approved.

"So… did you bring your wheels?" I asked.

Bella's eyes darted around the room nervously, and she bit her lip.

"Yeah…" she whispered.

"Well, let's get you laced up, and on the floor," I smiled. I was just extremely happy that we
seemed to be back on decent terms with one another.

"Listen, Edward," Bella said quietly. "I'm really not sure this is a good idea…"

"What isn't?" I asked, leaning over the counter. "The skating lessons? Or…"

Or what? Or "me?" Is that what I was going to ask? I was sort of focusing on the way she
licked her bottom lip nervously.

"I truly am a danger to everyone in this building," Bella said seriously, with her cheeks
flushing in embarrassment. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Don't be silly," I encouraged.

"I'm a wrecking ball," Bella argued. "Please… I can't."

"What do you do here, between three and four?" I asked quickly. I knew that the Dive
didn't open again until five for public skate.

"I clean a little. Stock. Get things ready for the evening."

"Can you do that now?" I asked. "I mean… if you are really that nervous about skating with
the kids, we could just work after I'm done with them."

"You wouldn't mind?" Bella asked, blinking up at me. "You'd do that, for me?"

Damn. If she kept looking at me like she was, with her big brown eyes all sparkly and
hopeful looking, I think I'd do just about anything for her.

"Of course," I smiled dopily. "I mean… sure. Whatever. No big deal." I tried to shrug and
gave a little cough.

"Okay then," Bella said with a breathy-sounding voice. "I'll just get my work done early. And
then… it's just you and me."

I nodded and skated back out to the floor.

Just her and me.

I liked the sound of that.

The final half of the skating class couldn't have gone more slowly. I found myself rushing
the kids through their refreshments just so I could finally be alone with Bella. And when
the last of the children slipped outside with the promise of "See ya next Wednesday, Mr.
Edward!" I nearly shut the door in his face, in my haste to be done with them all.

"Bella?" I called out across the strangely silent roller rink.

"I'm here," she told me. I followed the sound of her voice to find her sitting on a padded
bench near the floor. Cute blue skates with white racing stripes sat on the bench beside
her.

"Nice wheels," I smiled.

"Thanks," she smiled. "They're kinda old."

"Best that they're worn-in," I nodded. "You won't get blisters that way."

"I didn't say I've worn them much," Bella argued lightly. "I just said I've had them a long
time."

I quickly sat on the bench opposite her, and grabbed her ankle to pull it up into my lap.
Okay, so it was an excuse to touch her. I admit that. I tried not to be distracted by leg…
leg…leg… and more leg as my eyes glanced up to where she sat in front of me.

"Let's get it on," I told her.

"Excuse me?" Bella blinked and looked at me with wide eyes.

"

Them

," I rushed to correct my blunder, feeling hot. "Let's get

them

on."

"Oh… okay," Bella nodded. I pulled her little tennis shoes off and tossed them on the floor.
Bella handed me one of her skates, and I began sliding it onto her foot.

"What are you kids doing out here?" I looked up at the sound of the Chief, who had left
the DJ booth and was walking towards us. I tried not to be nervous. I had his daughter's
foot in my lap. It wasn't like he caught me feeling her up.

But then, shit. I was thinking about feeling her up.

"Edward is giving me skating lessons," Bella explained over me.

"Now?" He asked skeptically. "I thought you'd join the beginner's class."

"We don't have enough insurance," Bella said with a twist of her mouth. I looked between
them as they shared a silent exchange and Charlie nodded.

"Probably the safest bet," he agreed. "But I can't stay around. I have to run errands. I'll just
lock up behind me so you two won't be disturbed."

I concentrated on tying Bella's laces so he wouldn't see me smile.

"Edward?" Charlie addressed me, so I was forced to look at him.

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"The emergency numbers are taped by the phone in the office. You know. If you need
them."

"Dad…" Bella hissed under her breath with red cheeks. I was beginning to worry about what
I had signed up for.

"Good luck, you two," Charlie said before walking away. I noticed that he only looked at
me when he said it.

"Well, alright then," I smiled and Bella lifted her other foot so I could boot it. "Are you
ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she grimaced.

I hopped off my bench after placing her feet on the floor, and stood to offer my hand.
Bella lifted herself up on shaky legs, and I felt like she might break my fingers with the
amount of pressure she used to grip me.

"Easy there, Bionic Woman," I complained lightly. "A little circulation might be nice."

"Sorry," she whispered nervously. I noticed that she took hesitant steps on the carpeted
floor, rather than gliding on her wheels. The carpet gave her enough traction to keep
walking. She stopped before stepping onto the glossy hard skating surface.

"Edward?" She looked up at me.

"Yeah?" I turned toward her, just enjoying getting to stand so close while she held my hand.

"If anything happens to me… or to you… out here, I just want you to know that I had a
really nice time today. And I think it's nice of you to offer to teach me to skate."

She sounded like she was getting ready to head into battle, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Relax, Bella," I shook my head. "It's skating. Not 'Nam. Let's just take a spin around the
floor and have a little fun."

"No. No spinning," Bella shook her head, looking terrified.

"Figure of speech," I grabbed her other hand and started trying to pull her off the carpet,
onto the rink. "No spinning. We'll go slow and easy. Once around the rink. Okay? Trust
me."

"You won't let me hurt myself?"

"Of course not," I shook my head.

"You won't let

me

hurt

you

?"

"I'll try my very best," I chuckled. "Tell you what? I'll do all the work. You just… look into
my eyes. And don't let go. Okay?"

I noticed the barest of nods, and I smiled, coaxing her with my eyes to relax and let me
pull her forward. My feet made the automatic pattern underneath me to propel me
backwards. Bella locked her eyes on mine, locked her fingers in my grasp, and locked her
knees beneath her. I could see her literally trembling as I glided us both out across the
floor.

"Not too fast," Bella requested breathily. I smiled and rubbed my thumbs across the sides
of her hands while I navigated the floor with ease. Skating was easier than walking for me.

"You're doing it," I finally announced. We were about halfway around the rink, and gaining
a little more speed.

"

You're

doing it," Bella said. "I'm just along for the ride."

"You're doing great," I argued. "I'm going to let go of one of your hands. Okay Bella? Just
so I can turn and skate beside you…"

"What? No!" She panicked when I released her, and flung the top part of her body forward
to reach for my hand again. I saw her skates start to slip out from under her, and Bella's
legs automatically flailed to find her footing. I knew right then, that Bella was going down.

As quickly as I could, I spun to hold her up. But then Bella's foot was lodged between
mine, and her stopper got stuck between my wheels. I landed flat on my back with Bella
laid-out fully on top of me. It would have been a dream situation if my head hadn't
bounced painfully off the floor.

"Ooomph," I grunted.

"Oh God! Edward! Edward? Are you alright?" Bella pushed her hands underneath my
head, and was softly searching with her fingertips through my hair, for the lump I could
practically

feel

forming. I winced when she found it.

"No blood," Bella breathed. "Thank God. You won't need stitches."

Actually, I couldn't really think of anything other than the feel of Bella's body pressed
against mine while her fingers cupped and held the back of my head. I raised my hands to
rest lightly on her hips.

"You could have a concussion though," Bella frowned, still assessing me. "Can you say
something? How do you feel?"

"I'm feeling pretty damn good at the moment," I told her, squeezing her hips a little since
she hadn't tried to move off me yet. She seemed to notice then that she was completely
pinning me to the ground. But she didn't get up.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Her face was close enough, that I could feel her breath on my
chin. I licked my lips.

"Don't be," I grinned up at her. "This isn't so bad. Right?"

Bella opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud pounding on the
side door.

"My dad!" Bella rolled until she was on her butt, sitting beside me. My body missed hers
immediately. "He must have forgot his keys or something."

"Hold on," I said, quickly hopping up. I moved behind Bella and stuck my hands under
her arms to hoist her up. It didn't escape my attention that I was almost feeling the sides of
her boobs. That was neat.

"Get me to the carpet?" Bella asked. "I can walk from there."

"No problem."

With my hands firmly wedged in her armpits, I propelled her forward. Once we got to the
carpeted lounge area, I dropped one hand to Bella's waist and kept it there. Surely the
Chief couldn't oppose. I mean, I was just to be sure she wouldn't fall or anything. She
rocked up onto her stoppers and did an awkward sort of tip-toe style walk with me by her
side to the side door.

"I thought you wouldn't be back until…"

I frowned darkly when instead of the Chief, Mike Newton and one of the dorky jocks he
hung out with pushed through the door.

"Bella? What's going on here?" Mike asked, with his eyes zeroing in on the hand that I had
curled around Bella's hip. My fingers automatically flexed, tightening my grip.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked instead.

"It's hot," Mike said absently, finally looking up at her face. "We thought we'd come by and
see if we could score a couple free pops."

"The concession stand isn't open," Bella folded her arms and frowned. "You and Steve will
just have to go get a coke somewhere else. And we talked about this, Michael. You

know

I

can't let anyone in when Charlie isn't around."

"What in the hell is

he

doing here?" Mike asked then, raising his hand to point at me.

"I work here," I hurried to inform him. I didn't really care if he had the wrong idea about
me and Bella, but I had a feeling that

she

might.

"Edward is giving me skating lessons," Bella shrugged, and I thought I felt her shift her
weight a little closer to my side. The motion made me smile. It had the opposite effect on
Mike.

"Bet that's not

all

he's teaching you," the guy named Steve snickered. Mike's whole face

started getting red at the comment.

"Don't be rude," Bella snapped at him. "I'm sorry, Edward." She said this with her face to
the side, and I patted her hip lightly.

"Sure," Mike snarled then. "Apologize to

him

. I'm the one who came all the way over here

to see you, only to be embarrassed in front of my friend. Is that how it's going to be, Bella?
We're barely broken up… and you're already all over the first guy who pays you any
attention…"

"I think you should leave," I said, stepping forward aggressively. I didn't relinquish my hold
on Bella, but I did start to pull her slightly behind my body. I didn't like the turn of
conversation, and felt a really surprising need to protect her from Mike's nasty attitude.

"Back off," Mike said threateningly, stepping toward me. "Enjoying my sloppy seconds,
Cullen?"

My free hand clenched, and I seriously considered punching him in the mouth. I hadn't
been in a good fight for a while.

"Michael! Stop it!" Bella ordered. "Get out."

"You heard the lady," I curled my lip. "She has asked you to leave. And believe me, fucker,
I'd enjoy throwing your ass out if she asked me to."

"I'd like to see you try," Mike hissed. I was about to do just that when the Chief walked in
the door behind us.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "Bells?"

"Michael and Steven were just leaving," Bella told him while giving Mike a death-look. I'd
seen that look before, just before I was doused with slushie. That wild-cat had a temper.

"Well… get goin' then," Charlie tipped his chin toward the door in a signal for them to
leave. Mike gave me one more look before turning to go.

Bella started to slump, and I helped her sit on a bench. Without a word, I lowered my
hands to start removing her skates.

"You know I don't like you having friends here, when I'm not around," Charlie scolded
Bella.

"Dad… I

know

," Bella groaned. "And, I'm not sure if Michael can be called that anymore."

Bella's voice shook a little, and I could tell she was upset.

"Ah. You know, honey," Charlie stopped in front of us and rubbed a weary hand across the
back of his neck. "Some boys just don't take the 'let's be friends' thing very easily. He's still
just a little hurt. Give him time."

"I don't want to talk about this now," Bella said. I kept my head bowed while I removed her
skates, pretending to be invisible during their private conversation. When I finished, Bella
picked them up and walked away on socked feet.

"Thanks for being here, Edward," Charlie said then. "I heard you handling those guys.
Maybe I haven't given you enough to do around here. I could set you up with a whistle,
and maybe you could work some hours doing security or something."

I cringed, imagining having to share duties with James.

"No thanks, Chief," I shook my head. "I think the skating class is about all I really have time
for this summer."

"Speaking of," Charlie began. "How did your lessons go?"

I looked over to the office door, where Bella had disappeared.

"Bella's a challenge," I smirked, thinking of the way she had fallen on top of me. "But I
think by the end of our time on the floor, things were definitely moving in the right
direction."

~**~**~

Chapter six ~ Sweet Advice

I would be lying if I said that the shit that went down with Mike Newton didn't bother me.
Bella and I didn't have a chance to talk before I left the rink on Wednesday. And so on
Friday, I was looking forward to seeing her. But when I showed up with my crew for a
Friday night boogie session, Bella was nowhere around.

"Hey, Chief," I called out, skating over to the DJ booth where Charlie was spinning records.
"Where's Bella tonight?"

Charlie shrugged while stacking a few more album sleeves next to the turn table to add to
the rotation.

"She took the night off. She was invited to a party."

I skated back to the floor with a frown on my face. A

party?

Bella Swan was invited to a

party. First of all… I didn't even know that she liked to party. And second… why the hell
wasn't

I

invited? Me and the gang

always

heard about any sort of a shin-dig that was

happening in the area. I wondered who Bella was hanging out with. Then I wondered what
they were doing. I didn't like the thought of Bella in some dark room somewhere with loud
music, and grass, and booze, and horny guys trying out their pick up lines. The more I
thought about it, the worse my mood became. Eventually, I just gave up and decided to go
home early.

The next day, I had both of my car doors open as I laid across my front seat and tried to
pry the stereo out of my dashboard.

"Dad isn't going to buy you a new sound system," Emmett scolded. He stood in the door
leading from the garage to the house, watching me while drinking a can of beer.

"I have a job," I grunted and kept working. "I'll pay for a new stereo myself."

"Why don't you give it up for a while, and come inside? Jasper and I are going to fire up
the Odyssey…"

"No thanks," I wiped the sweat from my brow with the back of my arm. "I'm not really in
the mood for Pong right now."

I worked the metal box loose from its casing, and then blinked up at Emmett who had
moved to lean over my door and peer in at me.

"What's really going on, Edward?" Emmett asked. I paused for a minute and took a deep
breath. Emmett didn't look like he was going to drop it, so I wiped my hands off on a rag
and sat up.

"It's Bella Swan," I finally admitted. "But I'm sure you don't want to hear about it. Since you
said she is 'out of my league' and all."

"You're still letting that bother you?" Emmett scoffed. "Hell, Edward. I didn't mean it like
she's too good for you or something. You're just very different from each other. You don't
play in the same ballparks. You know?"

"It's becoming glaringly obvious," I said while tightening my fists around the rag in my
hands. I was still pissed at the way Mike Newton taunted me about enjoying his 'sloppy
seconds.'

"So she dated a Jock, and hangs out with smart kids. That doesn't mean she couldn't like

you

too."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Emmett dubiously.

"Do you guys have pliers out here?" Jasper asked, walking through the garage door with his
fly down. I bent to reach into the tool box by my feet, and tossed him the small tool he

requested. With a wince, I watched as Jasper clamped the pliers onto the top of his zipper
and used them to carefully pull the metal teeth together, fastening the front of his pants.

"I get that tight pants are cool and all," I spoke to Jasper. "But I don't know how you breathe
in those nut-huggers."

"Breathing is a small luxury to give up, when you are getting lots of ass," Jasper shrugged.
"Chicks dig my designer jeans."

I shook my head and went back to work on my stereo.

"What are you doing under there anyway?" Jasper asked.

"Got Emmett's eight-track stuck in my stereo, playing on a loop," I spoke a little more
loudly so he could hear me from my new position. "You can only listen to so much Cheech
and Chong."

"Bullshit," Jasper said immediately. "You can

never

listen to too much Cheech and Chong.

What kind of drugs are you

on

, anyway?"

"He's just taking his sexual frustrations out on his car," Emmett decided to add to the
conversation. "He's got blue-balls for the Chief's daughter, and doesn't think she likes him
back."

"Jesus, Emmett," I groaned and pulled the box from my dash. "Announce that shit to the
fucking planet."

"Hey!" Jasper moved to stand next to Emmett, sounding insulted. "Who the hell am I,
now? Some random fucking dead-beat on the street?"

"That's not what I meant." I sighed and started cutting the wires that hung from the space in
which my stereo once sat. "She's just different. That's all."

"You're Edward fucking Cullen," Jasper said then. "You can get any girl you want. Bella
Swan is no exception. You just gotta change up your moves a little bit, for a girl like that."

"What do you mean?" I asked, crawling out of the car with my stereo in hand. I walked to
the counter on the side wall, and placed it there before turning my attention back to the
guys. Emmett and Jasper moved to stand with me.

"First of all, you gotta ask the girl out on a date or something. Get her away from the Dive.
You can't put the moves on her when her daddy could step into your game at any minute."

"Some girls have like, date rules, too," Emmett supplied. "You know… like they'll make you
take them out on three or four dates before you can touch their titties."

"Really?" I asked. "Girls have rules like that?"

"Fuck if I know," Jasper laughed. "That's too much work for me. I just go for the easy ones!"

"Don't you ever get tempted to just settle down?" I asked, frowning over at Jasper. "I mean…
Alice is a cool chick. One of the coolest…"

"Alice knows the way I operate." Jasper's smile faded quickly, and he stood up straight. "I
gotta go. I'll see you guys later."

Jasper's fast departure was a pretty good indication that my questioning pissed him off. We
watched as Jasper left the garage, before Emmett hit me kinda hard in the arm.

"What the fuck did you have to go and bring up Alice, for?" Emmett bitched. "You know
that's a sore subject for him!"

"She doesn't deserve that," I cringed and rubbed the spot where Emmett just punched me.
"That girl's in love with him. And sometimes he acts like he doesn't even care."

"He cares," Emmett moved across the garage to close my car doors. "It's just the only way
he knows how."

"Well excuse me, if I don't want to take love advice from 'Mr. Sticks-it-in-anything.'" I
muttered. "This thing with Bella… It's not about that, man."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know , Edward." Emmett sighed and came back to hand me his beer in
apology. I took a long drink and handed it back to him.

"For what it's worth, Jasper was right," Emmett told me. "You need to see Bella away from
the rink. You know. Get her alone somewhere and see how that goes."

"I can try," I nodded. A plan was already rolling around in my head.

Emmett slapped me on the back as an end to the conversation and turned back to the
house. "Are you sure you don't want to come in and play Pong?"

"Nah," I shook my head. "I got somewhere to be. But thanks."

"Good luck," Emmett told me before he disappeared inside.

~78~

I definitely felt like a creepo, sitting outside the Swan Dive later that afternoon, watching
the side door. But my undercover detective efforts paid off when I saw Bella appear,
pulling two heavy-looking bags of trash with her. I jumped from my car and jogged over to
where she worked, waiting for her to throw the garbage in the dumpster before making my
presence known.

"Hey there, Bella," I called out. She spun with a short screech and I reached out
automatically to steady her before she could fall.

"Jiminy Cricket!" Bella exclaimed with her hand on her heart. "You scared the stuffing out
of me!"

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to," I shook my head. Slowly, I let my hands fall from her waist.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked, tipping her head to the side. She wasn't dressed
for work yet, and her hair cascaded over the shoulders of a little blue t-shirt she wore above
a white mini-skirt. I thought her yellow shorts were dangerous, but that mini-skirt might just
be the death of me. I licked my lips and swallowed hard.

"I… was looking for you," I said in a rush.

"Well? You found me." Bella smiled a little and waited for me to get to the point.

"I wanted to see if maybe you wanted to get out of here for a while," I explained. "You
know, before work. I thought you might like to go down to the Twisty-Freeze for a
milkshake or something."

The Twisty-Freeze was a few blocks away. It was a fun little hang-out in the summer. It was
no more than an air-conditioned shack, really. Tyler Crowley's parents owned it, and
everyone went there to buy ice cream treats. Well… some of us kinda went there to sit on
the benches outside and check out the hard-nipples of the waitresses that handed the ice
cream to the customers through the little cut-out windows on the side of the building. Like
I said, they kept it

cold

in there.

When I realized the direction my thoughts had strayed, I started feeling guilty for thinking
of other girl's nipples while I was trying to ask Bella for a semi-date. And unconsciously, my
eyes went right down the front of her blue t-shirt to

her

chest. I shoved my hands in my

pockets to pull my jeans away from my body a little, and rocked back on my heels.

"So, anyway," I stammered. "I just thought it might be nice to go together. To get ice cream.
Or something." I realized I was still talking to her rack, so I looked up to meet her eyes
again.

"Sure, Edward. " Bella nodded and smiled. "Let me just go tell my dad I'm leaving. I'll be
right back."

Wow

.

I leaned against the wall and watched as Bella skipped inside. Maybe Emmett was right.
That hadn't been so hard. While she was gone, I day dreamed of the next place I'd ask
Bella out to on a

real

date. Maybe the drive-in…

"Are you ready?" Bella asked, joining me once more. I stood to walk beside her, and led us
away from the skating rink. It would have been faster to drive, but the Twisty-Freeze was
close enough for a walk. And I wanted more time with Bella.

We walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before I spoke.

"So… I heard you went to a party last night," I started. "I didn't know you partied."

Bella turned her chin slightly and raised one of her eyebrows.

"There's plenty you don't know about me," she said.

"Who'd you go with?" I asked. I hated that I sounded jealous or something. But I can't
deny, I wanted to know my competition.

"I went by myself." Bella narrowed her eyes, and looked like she was contemplating telling
me more. Finally she sighed a little and shrugged. "It probably wasn't the kind of party you
are thinking of, Edward. Do you know my friend Angela? Weber?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I think so."

"It was her birthday," Bella filled me in. "She had a slumber party. Girl's only."

"Oh yeah?" Well

that

sounded interesting, and I smirked. Bella moved her body to nudge

my arm with hers.

"She's leaving to spend the summer in Upstate New York with her Grandmother. So she
wanted to have a party for her birthday before she left."

"And what did you girls do, at your sleep-over?" I continued to grin while fishing for
information. Mainly, I was relieved to know that Bella wasn't at a party with some guy. But
details about an all-girls sleep-over had definite boner-possibilities. Bella was on to me.

"You mean after we had a pillow fight in our panties and practiced making-out with one
another?"

I widened my eyes and looked over at her, shocked that she seemed to be reading my
thoughts. Bella laughed.

"It wasn't as perverted as you might hope," she giggled. "We painted each other's fingernails.
And we drank a few beers that Angela swiped from her old man's fishing cooler. And… we
talked about boys."

Bella's cheeks were pink, and I sorta wanted to continue my interrogation to find out what
'boys' she talked about. But she changed the subject quickly.

"Don't you love summer?" Bella asked, tipping her face up to the sun. She looked so
incredibly pretty with her hair shining sort of reddish in the sun. I reached out and touched
a piece of it before I could even help myself. She didn't notice, so I didn't feel like such a
weirdo as I let my hand fall back to my side.

"Anything to get me out of school," I replied.

Bella turned to look at me. "You don't really like school." It wasn't a question.

"And you do?" I asked.

"Sure," she shrugged. "It gives me something to do."

"I'd rather do just about anything else," I shrugged.

We walked quietly for a while longer. It didn't feel awkward that we weren't talking. In fact,
it was peaceful and nice. Some chicks talked way too much. It reminded me again, how

special Bella seemed to be. She was just different, and I liked it. Suddenly I was struck by
the very strong urge to reach down, and hold her hand.

The problem with that was that hand-holding was the usual boyfriend/girlfriend type of
gesture that I always avoided. Edward Cullen, was not a typical, pansy, hand-holder. Sure…
I'd held Bella's hand when I gave her skating lessons. But that was sort of expected. I had
no idea how to go about doing it in a situation like this one. Should I put my hand over
hers? Or under? Should I sort of just wrap my fingers around her whole hand? Or should
I try to hook our fingers together? So many options. What if I fucked up? What if I went
for her hand and then sort of just hit it away or something on accident? God… then my
hands started sweating. What if she felt my sweaty hand and it was a complete turn-off?

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Bella asked.

"I want to hold your hand," I admitted. Bella smiled sweetly and turned her palm up for me
to place mine against it. Easy. I don't know what I was worried about. They fit together and
she didn't even wince when she felt how damp mine was.

"You are a surprising person," Bella murmured.

"How do you mean?" I asked, swinging our arms casually between us like I did this shit
every day. I was getting the hang of it.

"Well… you have such a reputation," Bella said while blushing. "I mean… you date a lot of
girls. And sometimes… you act very shy with me."

"I don't," I argued, pulling her to a stop just across the corner from our destination. Bella
turned until she faced me, but didn't let go of my hand. "That's just it, Bella. I don't

date

a

lot of girls. I don't

date.

Period. Other girls… hell. I don't hold their hands, Bella."

She frowned a little and then turned away to lead me across the street.

I worried that I had just made things really weird as we walked up to the window to place
our orders.

"Get anything you'd like," I told Bella, trying to smooth things over. "My treat."

"I can pay for my own ice cream, Edward," Bella looked down.

"But then this wouldn't feel like much of a date. Would it?" Bella looked up at me, and I
could see the surprise on her face. I really couldn't be more clear with my intentions. She
bit her lip and nodded. It was her chance to shoot me down.

"Well in that case, I'll have a vanilla cone," Bella said softly. That was an acceptance, if ever
I'd heard one.

"A vanilla cone," I spoke to the guy that leaned out the window. "And a chocolate shake."
For a moment, I was glad that a guy was working. That was, until, I saw the way he checked
Bella's legs out before turning back inside to prepare our ice cream. What the hell was

wrong with him? Couldn't he see that we were holding hands? That was a clear sign for
him to back-the-fuck up and not stare at my girl!

He even smiled at her when he handed her the ice cream cone. I took my shake moodily
and slapped my money on the counter before pulling Bella away.

"You don't want to sit and eat our ice cream?" Bella asked, nodding toward the picnic
benches.

"Not really," I grumbled. "I don't want to sit there and watch that guy checking you out."

"He was checking me out?" Bella opened her eyes open wide and glanced back over her
shoulder toward the Twisty-Freeze. "That's kind of a reversal of sorts," she giggled.

"What's so funny about that?" I asked.

"Usually that place is full of guys on the benches checking out the girls

inside

the building.

Not

guys

inside

, checking out the girls on the benches."

"You know about that?" I asked, taking a drink of my milkshake and looking down at her.
Bella's little tongue darted out to lick her melting ice-cream cone and she nodded.

"Of course I know about that," she shrugged. "I went out with Michael for most of this last
year. He and his buddies call that place the 'Nipsy-Freeze'."

"Oh."

We walked for a while, and I tried not to stare at the way she licked her ice-cream.

"What happened between you two, anyway?" I asked. Bella tripped a little when her toe
caught an uneven crack in the sidewalk. I tightened my hold on her hand, and didn't let her
pitch forward. Bella smiled up at me gratefully, before she answered.

"It just wasn't there," she shrugged. "I don't know how else to explain it. And… it sort of
makes me feel like an awful person. But he started talking more and more lately about… I
don't know. Like, the future and stuff. I realized that he was way more serious about me,
than I was about him. And I didn't want to lead him on."

"The future?" I prompted her to continue.

"He started talking about picking out colleges together," Bella shivered, and I wasn't sure if
it was from her ice cream or from her thoughts. "I'm

seventeen

," Bella said. "I'm not sure I'll

want to stay in Forks. Heck. I thought I might take a year off after high school and travel a
bit. Back-pack across Europe or something. I'm not ready to start talking about where I
want to buy a house… and how many kids I want to have."

"Mike wasn't the right guy for you," I nodded.

"Nope. He really wasn't. But I had hoped to at least part on good terms."

Bella dropped my hand as we started making our way back across the Swan Dive parking
lot.

"So… you're working tonight," I mentioned.

"Are you and your friends coming up here?"

"I don't know what they're doing," I shrugged. "We haven't really made plans yet."

"Well, stop by and see me, if you do," Bella smiled.

"Will do," I smiled back.

"Thanks for the ice cream. And the date," Bella said quickly. I opened my mouth to tell her
that it wasn't much of a date, but stopped when she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and
placed a small kiss on my cheek.

I was stunned by the sweet smell of vanilla ice cream, and by the brief touch of her cold
lips on my warm skin.

"See ya," she grinned before going into the building.

I was still smiling like a goofball as I walked out to my car.

~**~**~

Chapter seven ~ The real deal

It wasn't hard to convince the others to hang out at the Dive that night. Nothing else was
going on. We made a party of it by drinking some beers and lighting up out in the parking
lot before going inside. We didn't have enough to fuck us up while skating. I mean, that
would have been stupid. But we all sported a healthy buzz when we walked through the
doors.

And, of course, I was already feeling really good just over the thought of seeing Bella.

My buzz waned significantly, when the first thing I saw was that jerk-off Mike Newton,
leaning over the concession stand counter. Bella was so busy chatting with him, that she
didn't even notice when we walked in. And hell…

everyone

noticed when we walked in.

"Didn't you say that you and Bella had a date today?" Jasper asked, leaning toward me. I
gritted my teeth and nodded, not removing my eyes from the back of Newton's baseball
jersey. "Well… you better wrap that shit up and fast. Looks like Newton isn't going to give
up so easily."

I shrugged like I didn't care, and continued to glare over at the two of them every time I
made my way around the rink. On my fourth lap, Bella finally noticed me and raised her
arm to wave. Mike looked annoyed when he turned his head to see who had caught her
attention. His look further soured when he saw it was me.

That

reaction brought a smirk to

my face, and I skated off the floor to go join them.

"Hey there Bella," I smiled. "Looking foxy tonight."

"Oh." Bella looked confused for a second and then gave me a tiny smile. "Gee, thanks.
Edward."

"Hello Michael," I continued to grin, addressing him with the formal name Bella seemed to
prefer using. "Skating tonight?" I'd love to see him try. He might be a hot-shot jock at the
high school. But I knew I'd make him look like a fool trying to out-skate me on the floor.
He probably knew it too.

"No, not tonight," Mike shook his head. "I was just stopping by. See you around, Bella."

I leaned with one elbow on the counter while I watched him take off.

"What was that all about?" Bella turned once he was gone.

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head and seemed like she would say more, but Alice and Rose took that
moment to skate up to the counter.

"Hi Bella," Alice chirped cutely. "I like your visor."

Bella tugged self-consciously at the clear yellow plastic visor she wore across her forehead.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "My dad wants us to try them out. As part of the uniform."

"Does that mean Edward will have to wear a sun-visor?" Rosalie laughed out loud.

"Fuck no," I exclaimed. Bella's cheeks turned pink and she pulled the head-band off her
head before smoothing her hair down with her hand. "I mean… it looked cute on you, and
all." She didn't look convinced. Alice saved me from the awkward moment by ordering a
coke.

"See you later," she smiled before the pair of them skated off.

"I wasn't sure you'd make it out here tonight," Bella said when we were alone.

"Is that why Mike was here?" I asked. Bella frowned at me, and I shrugged. Okay. So the
whole jealousy thing was definitely making me sound like an ass. But I still wanted her
answer.

"Michael surprised me," Bella explained. "He stopped by to apologize for the way he acted
the other day."

"I'll bet," I mumbled.

"I'm not sure I like your attitude," Bella said then, standing to cross her arms over her chest.
"Michael is actually a pretty nice guy, if you'd just give him a chance."

"I think that's what he wants," I said, leaning over the counter. "Another chance. With

you

."

Bella looked at me for a minute before stepping closer and putting both of her hands over
mine on top of the counter. I relaxed at her touch, and she smiled softly.

"It's too bad for him, I've decided to take a chance on someone else," Bella said quietly.
The corner of my mouth pulled up into a smile at her words, and I stared into her eyes
until she blushed.

"When do you get a break?" I asked.

"Um… in about thirty minutes," Bella replied, looking at the large Coca-Cola clock that
adorned the wall.

"Take your break outside? With me?" I asked.

"Sure," Bella nodded. "I'll meet you then."

I reluctantly pulled my hands from beneath hers, and went back out to join the others on
the floor. Emmett hit me with a solid high-five when I caught up with the gang, and I spun
around to skate backwards in front of them, feeling cocky. Bella was taking a chance on
me. At least… I guessed that was what she meant when she told me that shit. And it felt
good. Really damn good.

I kept myself busy doing tricks on the floor until I saw Eric come over to relieve Bella
behind the counter of the concession area. As inconspicuously as I could, I left the throng
of skaters and made my way to the side exit. I didn't want to announce my intentions,
because I didn't really feel like sharing Bella's company with anyone. I stepped outside
right after she did.

"You're a really good skater, Edward," Bella turned and smiled at me.

"Yeah. I know," I nodded and tried to catch my breath. I had been getting down in there.
Bella wrinkled her nose a little at my comment, and I laughed, trying to let her know that I
was mostly joking. Mostly. Because come on now… I

knew

I was a great skater.

"It makes me a little intimidated, to get lessons from you," Bella said quietly. "I'm so bad…"

"You just need the right teacher," I grinned and moved closer to her. "Trust me, Bella.
You're in good hands."

"

Very

good hands," I heard a voice purr behind me. I rolled my eyes when I felt a hand

slide across my back, and turned to see Lauren and Jessica had followed me outside.

"Like you'd know, Stella," I muttered. "Come on Bella. Let's go sit in my car."

Bella nodded and ignored the two girls we walked past, as I took her hand and started
pulling her across the parking lot to where I had parked the trans-am. I flinched when I
thought of the damage I might do to my wheels on the gravel, but my immediate goal was
to get Bella alone, and the hell away from the tramps that seemed like they were going to
make it their mission to make Bella uncomfortable.

"Sorry about that," I said quietly as I opened the passenger side door for Bella to get in. I
closed the door and made my way around the car to get in behind the wheel. It wasn't until
I shut my door and turned to look at Bella, that I realized I actually had a girl in my car.
And I wasn't freaking out. I wasn't having a panic attack. In fact, I felt pretty damn good. So
I smiled and laughed.

"What's so funny?" Bella asked.

"I'm stronger than I thought," I shook my head and felt my ego boost up a couple more
notches.

"I am not even going to pretend to know what you are talking about," Bella smiled. "So…"

"So." I draped one arm over the space between us, and my hand laid against her headrest.

"What are they staring at?" Bella asked with a frown causing a crease to form between her
eyebrows. I turned my eyes toward the building, and saw that Jessica and Lauren were
openly staring at the two of us sitting in my car.

"They're jealous girls," I shrugged. "It's kind of widely known that I don't have chicks in my
car. So they are wondering what you're doing here."

"Girls aren't allowed in your car?" Bella asked, sounding puzzled.

"Well… Rosalie and Alice have been in here. And my Mom. But that's about it."

"Why?" Bella turned a little in her seat to face me, and waited for my answer.

"Uh…" I wasn't even sure how to explain it. "You know how I said earlier, that I don't date. I
don't hold hands."

"Yeah."

"Well… my car is sacred," I stated. "It's like, personal. And I've not met any girls that I want
to share anything personal with."

"You invited

me

," Bella pointed out.

"Yeah, well I held your hand, too," I smirked. "And now those girls are trying to figure out
how you got on the fast track to the Edward Cullen express."

"The what?" Bella asked.

"They've been trying to catch me for years," I shrugged one shoulder. "They're just trying to
figure this out."

"Well,

I'm

not trying to ride the Edward Cullen

anything

," Bella said, sitting back against my

door and folding her arms. I recognized this already, as Bella's stance when she was feeling
irritated.

"No?" I asked, honestly curious.

"No." She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips a little. "Why did you ask me to come sit
in your car, Edward?"

"Well… uh. Because I wanted to talk." And maybe because I was hoping I'd see just a little
action. But Bella was sitting just about as far away from me in my car as she could get.

"And yet, you are saying surprisingly little," Bella raised one eyebrow.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked. "I'm all yours." I tried to use a little charm to get
her to lighten up, but Bella remained where she sat, staring at me like she was seeing right
through my bullshit. It unnerved me. And really, I was also starting to feel really self-
conscious about the group of people that had moved outside to join Jessica and Lauren. I
felt like we were in a fish bowl. Edward Cullen had a chick in his car, and from where they
stood, I was striking out big-time.

"I want to know you," Bella finally allowed. "I feel like I'm always telling you about myself.
But I don't know anything about

you

."

"Everyone knows me," I scoffed, feeling a little uncomfortable. I hadn't gained the
reputation for being one of the coolest damn people in town for nothing.

"I mean… I want to know the

real

you."

I reached behind me, to grab a beer that was left-over from earlier. Popping the top, I
quickly chugged about half of the can to soothe my nerves and gather a little liquid-
confidence.

"What you see, is what you get." I finally said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
With a cocky tilt of my head, I pushed the can forward to offer her a drink. "It is what it tiz,
baby."

Bella actually scowled at me.

"Don't call me 'baby'," she said lowly. And then she was twisting and reaching for the door
handle. I didn't really understand what I had done to piss her off enough to make her want
to leave. But I reached forward in a hurry and grabbed her arm.

"Bella!" I said quickly. "Bella. I'm sorry. Bella. Don't leave."

She paused for a moment. It was all I needed to continue my apology.

"Shit. I don't know what I'm doing here," I breathed out in a rush. "Help me out a little.
Please? I'll try. Okay?"

Bella slowly turned her body to face me once more, and tucked her leg up underneath her.

"Do you really mean it?" Bella asked. "Because I want to get to know the guy that skated
with that little girl. The guy who bought me a vanilla cone and took a walk with me. Not
this… 'Edward Cullen Love Train' or whatever the hell it was that you just called yourself.
Who are you, really?"

"I'm just me," I shook my head. It was time to man up. Obviously, Bella was not going to be
dazzled by my typical swagger. But if I wanted something different, I was going to have to
be willing to try to… well…

be

different. "Ask me anything."

"Okay." Bella tapped her finger on her bottom lip while she thought, and I tried like hell to
ignore the fact that we had an audience. "I want to know why you are willing to give skate
lessons to kids instead of hanging out with your friends every day. I want to know your
hobbies, or talents. And I really don't want to hear you brag that you can roll a joint with
one hand." Bella put her palm up. "And I want you to tell me at least one thing about
yourself that you find embarrassing to admit."

"You want me to embarrass myself?"

"You've seen me skate," Bella smirked. "Do this, and I might consider us even."

I clenched my fingers around the steering wheel and frowned. She was asking me to prove
myself as someone that she wanted to take a chance on. If this was what it took…

"I'm teaching the skating lessons because I was trying to get in good with your dad," I
admitted. "Because I wanted to get to know you." I looked at her from the corner of my eye
and saw that she seemed to be relaxing. "My days are usually free, because Jasper works at
the city-pool and he lets our crew in to swim for free. But I don't really like water since I
nearly drowned down at LaPush beach over Fourth of July weekend when I was thirteen.
But they don't really know that I'm still freaked out. So I just tell them that I sunburn too
easily. Which isn't a lie. I just don't like to hang out down there."

"Go on," Bella encouraged with a small smile. I took a deep breath.

"I actually

can

roll a joint with one hand," I chuckled. "But I'm not sure how you guessed

that. I'm good at skating. You already knew that too. I've also been taking piano lessons
since I was five. My mom likes me to play for everyone at Christmas time. I guess I'm
pretty good at that. But it's dorky."

"I don't think it's dorky…" Bella breathed.

"And I'm good at math." I said quickly.

"Math?"

"Yeah. Anything with numbers, really," I shrugged. "I wasn't lying when I said that I don't
like school. But I don't have to work hard at math. It's easy for me. And I like it. But I'm
not like, in the Calculus Club or anything spazzy like that. And so yeah… that's about it."

My cheeks felt hot after my confession, and I turned to look at Bella. Needless to say, I
didn't even realize that Bella had shifted in her seat to sit up on her knees until I felt her
arms wrap around my neck and felt her mouth pressed tightly against mine.

It only took me a second to catch on. Bella Swan was kissing me. I hurried to push my
hands into the back of her hair, and tip her face up so I could kiss her properly.

She tasted like beer. Oh wait- that was

me

. Well… she tasted really freaking sweet. And her

lips felt better than I imagined they could. Without all that gunky lip gloss sliding around,
her lips were just soft and smooth and melted right into mine. I wanted more, and opened
my mouth to try to get a little tongue. But Bella pulled away just as I nibbled on her bottom
lip, and her hands slid down to lay flat against my chest.

"Was it the math stuff? Or just school in general?" I asked, feeling more out of breath than
I had been when I was skating. "Because I also learned how to make a really awesome bird
house in woodshop."

"Edward? Shut up," Bella told me before her lips met mine again. This time she didn't
resist when I touched my tongue to her top lip. She tentatively swept the tip of her tongue
against my own. And it didn't matter that we were in the parking lot in front of the Swan
Dive, or that half of the skating rink was probably taking bets on if Edward Cullen was
going to go all the way with the Chief's daughter. Nothing else existed outside of the two of
us. It was magic. I couldn't even believe I was thinking it… but kissing Bella Swan was better
than skating.

Then I did something that surprised even me. I let my hands drift from Bella's hair, and
wrapped them around her fingers that were still against my chest. Reluctantly, I placed
closed kisses on her lips once more. And even though I had a raging erection for the girl, I
ignored that shit and closed my eyes.

"I should get you back inside," I told her.

"My break is probably over," Bella said, sounding as breathless as me.

I licked my lips and released her hands, but only until I opened her car door for her, and
helped her to stand. Then I kept a good hold, and held her hand all the way back to the
building. Only a few stragglers hung around to witness it. But it didn't matter to me.

"So…" Bella turned to look at me before we entered the building.

"So." The exchange was becoming familiar. And I didn't think either of us was in any frame
of mind to try to define what had just happened between us.

"I guess you and your friends will probably be leaving soon?"

"Probably," I nodded, and reached my free hand to twirl the end of a piece of her hair
around my finger.

"I guess I'll see you Wednesday, then?"

"I was thinking about that," I said. "Since my afternoons are free anyway… I wondered if you
might want to practice a little more than once a week."

"I could probably use it," Bella smirked. "I'm really horrible."

"Monday?" I asked.

"Noon?"

"So early?" I look at her with my eyebrow raised.

"Well… my dad usually doesn't come in until one. So we'd have the place to ourselves…"

"Noon it is," I smiled.

~**~**~

Chapter eight ~ Stop the music

It was odd, pulling up to the Dive so early on Monday. But I walked around to where Bella
said she would leave the side door propped open for me, and made my way into the dim
and eerily quiet building.

"Bella?" I called out.

"Just lacing up," Bella said, sitting up straight on the bench so I could see her. "I figured I'd
save us a little time, if I was already ready to go."

Not that I minded lacing her into her cute little skates. I liked having her ankles in my
hands. But

that

particular line of thought made me start considering other situations that

might call for me having her ankles in my hands, and I had to shake myself out of it quick.

"Hi," I smiled, slipping down to sit beside her on the bench. My skates were draped over
my shoulder, and so I quickly pulled off my tennis shoes and started getting ready to skate
as well. "I was thinking," I said toward the floor as I bent at the waist. "Maybe we should try
to skate with no music. I mean… the less distractions the better."

"Yeah, right," Bella snorted. I looked up at her, amused by the sound.

"Something funny with that suggestion?" I asked.

"Please Edward. The music is the least of my distractions when you're around."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I quirked an eyebrow and pulled on my second skate.

"You're just…" she waved her hand in an up and down motion in front of my body and
shook her head. "distracting." Bella smiled. "Any chance I could get you to wear a bag over
your head or something?"

"What is this?" I laughed. "The Gong Show?"

"Just a suggestion," Bella shrugged and then laughed.

"Are you ready?" I smirked. I knew I was sexy. I mean, come on. But it made me feel good
to know that Bella kinda thought so too.

"As I'll ever be." Bella tentatively grabbed my hand, and let me pull her to her feet. Once
more, she stepped cautiously on the carpeted floor, and paused when we got to the smooth
surface of the rink.

"Try not to think about it," I cautioned her. "Just… relax and don't worry."

"I'm not sure I can," Bella frowned, staring at the floor. "How can I

not

think about it? I

mean… all I can think about is falling. And breaking something. My ankle… my arm…
YOUR ankle…"

"You need to think of something more pleasant," I smiled.

"I'm not sure I can…"

I nudged my stopper on the floor to glide until the front of my body touched hers, and I
put one finger under her chin to tilt her worried face up to mine. Before Bella could react
in any way, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers.

It was slow and sweet, and completely perfect. And almost as soon as it started, I pulled
away. I didn't want Bella to get the wrong idea. Sure… I hoped to be able to kiss her
intensely and often. But this wasn't about that. I really did want to help her get over her fear
of skating.

The kiss seemed to have worked. Bella sighed and smiled up at me, with a dazed sort of
look in her eyes.

"Better?" I asked quietly.

"Distraction," she accused with a grin.

I winked and pulled her behind me onto the floor.

The building seemed like a totally different environment without the strobe lights, loud
music, and crowd. It was peaceful. And Bella let me situate us so that I could skate with
her beside me. My arm was wrapped around her hip, holding her upright while I instructed
her to mimic the motion of my feet. I didn't do anything fancy. I wasn't showing off. I used

minimal movements to propel us in an easy pace around the floor, and I felt Bella relax
more and more.

"Do you trust me?" I asked, after we had been skating for a while.

"Uh… yes?" Bella made it sound like a question. I slid my arm from around her waist, and
grabbed for her hand instead.

"Easy…" I coaxed her into lessening the death-grip she had on my fingers. "Now lean a little
toward me, while we go around the bend."

"No… Edward… I can't…"

Bella looked like Bambi, trying to walk on the ice. Her long legs skipped and skidded
beneath her, and I shot my hands out to grab her around the hips. Somehow, I managed to
yank her upright before she crashed to the floor. Bella's body trembled in front of me,
from anxiety over her near accident. Her breathing was erratic, and I just held her until she
calmed again.

"Ready for a break?" I asked. Bella nodded. I kept both hands on her hips, and pushed her
in front of me until we stood next to the half-wall. Bella put one hand on the rough
carpeted surface to steady herself, while I did a little spin and glided up in front of her.

"You saved me," Bella whispered.

"No," I shook my head. "Bella? You saved me."

From a summer of boredom. From the same old, same old. From Lauren and Jessica and
any other Stella that didn't make me feel at all like I felt when I was with the girl who stood
on shaky legs in front of me. Hell… she was saving me from

myself

.

Bella seemed to have her own understanding about what I was trying to say. In a bold
move, she let go of the wall and slid forward a little until she could clutch the material of
my t-shirt in her hands. And then she tugged me down to kiss her again.

This time, Bella initiated things. And she did the opposite of relax me. I might have
groaned a little, and I put my arms around her, pulling her more tightly against my chest. I
didn't even care that she could probably feel me getting hard while I shoved myself against
her. If we were going to keep doing things like this, she'd have to get used to the way I
reacted to it.

"You are so sexy," I moaned against Bella's mouth. I twisted my hands in the back of her
hair and tipped her back a little so I could place kisses down her throat. I was trying to
figure out exactly where to best place a hickey when Bella suddenly dropped to her knees
in front of me.

I hadn't expected that. At all.

My hands were still in her hair, and she was on her knees in front of me. And my boner
was pretty much right in her face.

"God… Bella!" I shouted out.

"Bella, what?" Came a voice from near the door. My eyes shot open, and I felt Bella's
fingers clutch into my thighs. I saw the Chief walk through the dimly lit room, until he
stood about fifteen feet away on the other side of the divider wall. Bella must have heard
him come in, before I did.

"Um…"I licked my lips and tried to pretend that I hadn't just mistakenly thought his
daughter was going to put her mouth around my dick. He had no idea she was hiding
below the wall.

"God… Bella," I stumbled. "Break my finger next time!" I stupidly held up my middle
finger. It looked like I was flipping him off, and Charlie Swan looked at me like I'd gone
out of my mind. "I mean…" I shoved my hand back down to my side. "She skated over my
finger. I think she went to go find me some ice. Or something…"

"Oh." Charlie still stared at me like he was trying to determine if I was on drugs. I just
smiled and shrugged. Bella pinched my leg, and I winced.

"Well… get some ice on that," Charlie finally said. "It looks like you're in pain."

"Just a little," I mumbled. Charlie nodded again and went to close himself behind the office
door.

"That was close," Bella whispered while she used my shirt to pull herself back up to her
feet.

"I nearly had a heart attack," I agreed, turning her to help her toward the exit. "I had no idea
we had been skating so long."

"The hour went fast," Bella nodded.

"I take it…" I said as I lowered her to the bench, "that you don't want your dad to know
about us."

Bella looked over at me for a moment, with her eyebrows lowered before she spoke.

"Honestly, Edward.

I

don't even know about us."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Bella just shrugged as we took off our skates.

"I don't usually act this way," Bella told me. "There's obviously

something

going on here.

But I'm confused. And I don't know what this all means to

you

. "

I licked my lips and ran my fingers through my hair, wishing like hell I had a cigarette. Was
Bella asking me to declare my intentions with her, or some shit? Did she expect me to

like… become exclusive with her? I liked her. She was all I could think about. But was I
ready for all of that? Was

she?

"Wait a minute." Bella held her palm up to silence me, just as I opened my mouth to
speak. "Don't say anything false right now," she implored. "I don't want you to say anything
just because it's something you think I want to hear. I want you to always be truthful with
me."

"I'm confused right now, too," I admitted softly. Instead of looking disappointed or pissed
off, Bella's features relaxed a little and she reached over to squeeze my hand.

"See? That wasn't so hard. Right?"

"This truth thing might be easier than I thought," I grinned and squeezed her fingers in
return.

We dropped our hands to finish putting our shoes back on, and rose to our feet to stand at
the same time. Even though Bella was totally being cool, and not pushing the issue, I felt
like I needed to assure her that I didn't intend to leave her hanging indefinitely.

"Can I have just a little time to think about things?" I asked, turning to face her.

"I probably need that too," Bella nodded. Somehow, instead of feeling relieved by her
admission, it worried me. What if she took a little time to decide that she didn't want to
spend time with me, after all? That I wasn't worth taking a chance on? Bella might have
seen the anxiety on my face, because she offered me a small smile and stood up on tiptoes
to give me another of her sweet kisses on my cheek.

"Are you coming by later?" she asked. I shook my head.

"I doubt it. Not really sure what we're all doing. But I'll call you, if that's okay?"

"Sure," Bella grinned. "I have my own phone in my room. Let me give you my number."

Bella hurriedly scribbled down her digits on a scratchy brown napkin from the concession
stand counter. I made sure I could read it, before folding the paper and putting it in my
back pocket.

"Alright," I told her. "I'll talk to you later."

The sunlight outside made me scrunch my face up and reach for the sunglasses I had in
my glove box. For about the millionth time, I wished that I had some music in my car to
help drown out my inner thoughts. Maybe I'd talk to dad about loaning me enough money
to get the stereo replaced, and then I could pay him back with my Swan Dive wages over
the summer. That seemed like pretty safe territory to focus my thoughts on while I drove
out to the public pool.

Instead of walking in through the changing rooms that stood on either side of the main
entrance, I walked around the side of the facility until I spotted my friends through the

cyclone fencing. With the fingers of one hand hooked through the diamond pattern in
front of me, I stuck the thumb and first finger of my other hand into my mouth and
whistled loudly to get their attention. It worked. Emmett looked up from where he rubbed
lotion on Rosalie's back, and smiled widely in my direction. Of course, he waved for me to
come inside. I shook my head and watched as he called to the others. Even Jasper got
down from his life-guard stand to walk over to where I stood.

"What's shakin'?" Emmett asked as they approached. I tried not to let my eyes drift over the
girl's bikinis too long. But damn… just because they were friends, didn't mean I couldn't
appreciate a good thing when it stood right in front of my face.

"Just seeing what we're doing tonight," I shrugged. Jasper pushed his palm down the center
of his chest toward his stomach, pushing away a trickle of sweat. It was freaking hot outside,
and I kinda wished I didn't hate swimming so much. I could have stood to jump in the cool
water.

"I'm up for anything," Alice grinned at me.

"Wanna hang out at the Meadow?" Rosalie asked.

"If we do… I don't want to turn it into a party," I made a face. "I'm not in the mood to hang
out with a bunch of assholes tonight. Copacetic?"

"I'm cool with that," Emmett shrugged. "I'll get us some beer."

Emmett was the only one of us that always managed to be able to buy beer at the old
fishing and bait shop near the reservation. Jasper claimed that he could too, but I suspected
that he used connections to score us alcohol.

"I have some place to be," Jasper shook his head. I watched as Alice's cheery expression
dropped slightly. No one else might have noticed, but I knew it bothered the shit out of
her.

"You can ride with me, Alice," I smiled. "We'll have fun."

She smiled up at me again, and it was Jasper's turn to frown.

"Well, yeah…" he added. "I might not be that late. So maybe I'll meet up with you guys out
there."

Jasper wasn't fooling a damn person. He had plans to do other shit, with God knew who
else. But he wanted

me

to know that there was a chance he'd be showing up. Just to keep

me honest.

"I'll swing by to get you at eight," I told her, ignoring Jasper's surliness. His fucking loss if he
wanted to pass up time with Alice. She was a great girl. And she looked like a total sex-pot
in that bikini. Emmett tilted his chin up in dismissal before grabbing Rosalie's hand and

leading her back toward the pool. Jasper walked with them, and Alice waited until he
turned before mouthing a 'thank you' to me, and following the group.

Whatever awkwardness I assumed Jasper's absence from the Meadow would create wasn't
there once we all started drinking and having a good time. Cold beer sprayed out from the
tiny hole I punctured near the base of my can with a ball-point pen.

"1…2…3!" Alice called out before lifting her own can up to her mouth, and popping the top.
We both shot-gunned our beers, and Alice actually finished first. She tossed the can to the
side, gave a loud burp, and fell back onto the blanket we were sitting on.

I laughed and lied back beside her.

"I love this place," Alice breathed. I nodded, staring up at the stars above us. I found the
Meadow when I was on a hike with my Dad and Emmett a few years before. It kinda
became our place to party or be alone or whatever, once we got cars and could drive up the
over-grown and deeply rutted track that wound off the main road. And since it was
technically at the far edge of the property that my father owned… everyone knew to stay the
fuck away unless they were invited. Right now, Emmett was using it to get laid. I was pretty
sure Rosalie and he walked off to find a place to get it on. I had never used the Meadow
for that particular purpose. But I knew for a fact, the others did.

As if she was reading my mind, Alice sighed loudly.

"Where do you suppose Jasper is?" She asked. I pressed my lips together and frowned.
The stars were a little blurry, and danced over my head. It was a good indication that I was
happily buzzed. This conversation would probably bring me down.

"He's probably off trying to score us some grass," I told her. It was possible.

"I'll bet he's with a girl," Alice said softly. I held back a groan, and rolled to my hip. With
one bent arm holding up the side of my head, I looked over at her. Alice looked
vulnerable and sad as she stared up at the sky above us.

"Alice…" I began.

"Don't make excuses for him," Alice stopped me. "I'm not stupid, ya know."

"Yeah. I know," I said. She turned onto her hip then, and mimicked my pose.

"Do you?" She asked earnestly. "Do you know? Because… sometimes I think you all must
wonder if I'm the biggest idiot on the planet for putting up with this stuff."

"You love him," I smiled softly.

"I'm not sure how long I can do it," Alice whispered. "How long… I can wait for him to
figure it all out."

She rolled onto her back again after her confession, and I did the same. The silence
between us, for once, felt a little tense. So I tried to lighten the mood.

"Why, do you suppose," I asked, "did you and I never try it out?"

"Like… being a couple?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. You're awesome. I'm awesome. We could have been awesome together."

"Weird, huh?" Alice laughed. "You'd think it would be so obvious."

"And yet… everything about it is wrong," I laughed with her.

She giggled too, but then the sound changed. I heard her sniffle, and realized that she was
actually crying.

"Hey…" I said, rolling toward her and pulling her against my chest. It was an automatic
gesture. Alice curled against me.

"I don't feel very awesome," Alice said brokenly against my shirt. She didn't sob and
blubber in some overly dramatic way. She quietly accepted my comfort and let me rub
slow circles on her back. It killed me that she felt sad. Jasper was like my brother. But I
really wanted to kick his ass, for making this girl cry. Why was it so hard for him to see,
that they were meant to be together?

Alice pulled away and wiped her face, when we heard the tell-tale rumble of the Chevelle
driving into the Meadow.

"He came," Alice gave me a watery smile. I looked over at her with my eyebrows drawn. It
didn't matter what he had been up to. Or what excuses he made up for not being earlier.
He was here now, and that's all that mattered to her.

Alice got up from our blanket and jogged over to his car as he stepped out. I watched
Jasper lower his face to kiss Alice on the forehead before reaching back into his car and
producing a six pack.

"Hey Edward. Brought some more beer," Jasper grinned over at me. He already looked
partied out, but I shrugged and accepted a can he offered.

By the time we finished one more drink, I definitely started to feel like the third wheel.
Neither Jasper nor Alice argued when I said I was going to take off. And even though
Jasper was being a complete ignoramus, and really didn't deserve her… I figured I didn't
want to crash on Alice's rare opportunity to just spend some quality time with her man.

"Leave the blanket, huh Edward?" Jasper asked over his shoulder. Alice was sitting across
his lap, and I shook my head. Their relationship was pretty fucked up. But it was theirs.

"Yeah. Catch you two later," I nodded before getting in my car to go home.

It wasn't a long drive back to my house, and I thought of Jasper and Alice the entire time.
If Jasper wasn't careful, he was going to lose that girl. He needed to just pull his head out of
his ass, and realize what he had right in front of him.

I pulled my jeans off at the foot of my bed, and grinned when I retrieved the soft brown
napkin that was shoved in the back pocket. Once situated to sit up against my headboard, I
reached for the phone beside my bed and let my finger pull each number Bella had written
for me, around the dial.

She answered on the first ring, and it made me smile.

"Miss me?" I chuckled into the phone.

"Don't flatter yourself," Bella said, though her tone sounded teasing. "I just didn't want my
dad to get mad. It

is

almost midnight, you know."

"Sorry," I said quietly, as though the Chief could hear me over the phone. "I wasn't really
paying attention to the time."

"It's okay," Bella said. "I was still up. Did you have fun tonight?"

"It was alright," I told her while pulling my blankets up over my legs. "We just had a few
beers up at the Meadow."

"The Meadow?" Bella asked.

"It's a cool place. I'll have to take you up there sometime," I told her. And just then, it
clicked. I wanted to take Bella to the Meadow. I never wanted to make her cry, with my
indecisive bullshit. And I certainly didn't want to risk losing her because I was too scared to
admit to my feelings.

"Hey Bella?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"You know… what we were talking about today? About me maybe needing some time to
figure things out?"

"Yes…"

"I don't want time," I said plainly. "I want

you

."

"Are you drunk?" Bella asked skeptically. I started laughing.

"No. Not at all," I shook my head. "I just… did some thinking tonight. And this isn't exactly
the way I imagined doing this. But… I sorta wondered if you'd like to be my girlfriend." My
face was scrunched up, and my eyes were pressed closed tightly. My heart felt like it could
beat out of my chest while I waited for the words that would change everything for me.

"I think… I'd like that, Edward."

"Yeah?" I couldn't keep the relief from my voice. My cheeks actually hurt, from me smiling
so widely.

"Are you sure?" Bella asked. "I mean…"

"I'm sure," I cut her off. I was sure it wouldn't be easy. I was sure people would freak out. I
was sure that I'd probably screw up and piss Bella off. I was sure of a lot of things. But
most of all, I was sure that I wanted to try.

~**~**~

Chapter nine ~ Problems and an easy fix

On Tuesday morning, I was awake before Emmett could give me one of his obnoxious
wake-up calls. Dressed in a nice shirt and my best corduroys, I tried to sneak out of the
house unnoticed. I looked like I was going for a job interview or some shit, and I really
wasn't in the mood to be questioned. Hell.

If

I was going for a job interview somewhere, I

might have been less nervous. But the fact was… I was going to go talk to the Chief about
dating his daughter.

I wanted to do this right.

As I suspected, I saw Charlie Swan's old red truck in front of the skating rink. I sat in my
car, and bit the skin on the side of my thumb nervously while I cased the joint. I couldn't
imagine that Bella would be there so early in the day. But I kinda hoped she was still at
home. If this went badly, I didn't really want an audience.

Just as I finally worked up the nerve to walk up to the doors, the man I was looking for
came into view, balancing three boxes on his arms.

"Morning, Chief," I greeted him. He looked surprised to see me there, but allowed me to
take one of the boxes from his arms. "Taking these out to your truck, again?" I asked.

"Yeah," Charlie grunted. "What's got you out so early there, Edward? I thought most of you
kids liked to sleep until at least noon when school bells didn't force you out of bed."

"Sometimes," I chuckled. No sense in denying it. "I actually… erm… wanted to talk to you
about something this morning."

Charlie and I placed the boxes we held in the back of his truck, and then he turned to sit
on the lowered edge of his tailgate.

"Well? Let's hear it." The chief crossed his arms over his chest, and waited for me to speak.
I cleared my throat and sort of rocked back and forth from foot to foot. Charlie noticed my
aggravated movement, and frowned before scratching the side of his moustache. "Thinking
about quitting the beginning class?" Charlie guessed inaccurately. "I know it's not a lot of
excitement. But for what it's worth… I think those kids have really taken to you."

"No, sir," I shook my head. "The class is fine." The job was actually pretty lame. But I had
my reasons for staying; one of which was to prove to the Chief that I was the kind of guy
who could be counted on. "I actually wanted to talk to you about your daughter."

"Bella?" Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked surprised. I bit back the urge to ask if he
had some other daughter that I wasn't aware of. At the last minute, I decided that it would
be a better idea to stifle my smart-ass tendencies.

"Yes, sir." I nodded.

"Look, Edward," Charlie sighed. "She's just a little unsure on her feet. I'm sure she didn't
mean to roll over your finger. I'll pay for any doctor's fees you might have…"

"My finger? Oh! No… that. That's fine. Nothing to worry about." I shook my head.

"Well, if you don't want to continue with her lessons, I'll understand," Charlie nodded.

"No. Chief… the lessons are fine. It was just… actually… I just wanted to ask… um. I wanted
to ask for your permission to date Bella, sir." I cringed over the way the words tumbled out
of my mouth.

Charlie didn't say a word. In fact, I'm not sure he even took a breath. He just stared at me
with a steely expression. And finally, when I felt I couldn't take the silence another
second… his moustache twitched.

Charlie's eyes closed and he tipped his head back before letting loose a loud laugh. I
couldn't imagine what he found so funny in my suggestion, but I nervously held my ground
and waited for him to control himself.

"Well… shit," Charlie finally said, looking at me once more. "You sure got one over on me,
Edward." Charlie sounded amused. At least he wasn't pissed. I relaxed a little.

"I'm not sure I understand," I admitted.

"Edward… I didn't think you liked girls."

"Come again?" I asked, blinking wide.

"I thought you were a homosexual," Charlie shrugged. "I've seen plenty of pretty girls
chasing you around Edward. But you never seem to be interested in any of them. I just had
a feeling that you… you know…" Charlie fluttered his fingers in a delicate little motion in
front of me.

"I'm not queer!" I finally stated. "I just don't usually date girls around here. I guess… I'm
picky."

"Well, I guess that's a compliment to my daughter, then," Charlie nodded but looked at me
seriously once more. "Do you really think I would have pressed my daughter into spending
time with you… if I had known this was a possibility?"

I felt my hopes fall a little, and I straightened my shoulders.

"I care about your daughter. And… she likes me too. I'd like to spend more time with her.
But I don't want to go behind your back." I would, if I had to. Charlie probably heard that
in my voice.

"And you want me to believe that you aren't like the rest of the shiftless, stoner, lay-abouts
that hang around here?"

"Maybe I used to be," I shrugged. "But not anymore."

"What's changed that?" Charlie asked.

"Your daughter, sir."

Charlie stared me down for a moment while rubbing his moustache again.

"Alright, Edward," Charlie finally nodded. "I like you. And I don't think you're bullshitting
me. But you better know, I'll have my eye on you."

"Yes, sir," I took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to grin.

"I might not be on the force anymore, but I still own a gun. Don't give me a reason to do
any off-season hunting. You understand?"

"Perfectly," I nodded.

Charlie turned and grumbled under his breath while he walked back into his building.
Once I was alone, I did a fist-pump in the air and hurried back out to my trans-am. The
sun was shining, my t-tops were out… and for once, I didn't even mind that my car had no
stereo. Life didn't get much better.

Later that night, I rolled into the Swan Dive to spend a little time with Bella. I could tell
she was surprised to see me by the shocked look on her face when I walked through the
door. Me and my friends didn't hang out that often through the week. But tonight was
special. Tonight, I planned to let everyone know that Bella Swan and I were an item.

"I heard you talked to my Dad," Bella smiled, leaning over the counter. I grinned and
leaned over to meet her in the middle. Our fingers tangled between us.

"I wanted to do the honorable thing," I winked at her. Most of my thoughts concerning
Bella couldn't really fall into the honorable category,

especially

when she bent over the

concession counter in those little yellow shorts. But I was trying to turn over a new leaf.

"I had to have a

sex

talk with him," Bella cringed. "Can you imagine how embarrassing that

was? Who doesn't know about birth control?" She shook her head and blushed prettily.
"You could have warned me."

"I wanted to surprise you," I grinned. "Sorry about the sex talk."

"No you aren't," she laughed and put her hand on my shoulder to playfully push me away.
"Go. Skate with your friends. I'll come find you during my break."

"Sure thing," I smiled and turned. She was right. Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice had
just walked through the doors. I skated over to them.

"Hey guys. Thanks for coming out," I said.

"What are you? The fucking welcoming committee?" Emmett scowled at me. "What's with
all the polite bullshit?"

"He's just put-out that you didn't let us know what all of this is about," Rosalie said, putting a
hand on Emmett's chest.

"Seriously, Edward," Alice spoke up. "What's with all the mystery? What's the surprise you
said you've got for us?"

I rubbed my palms together and looked anxiously around the group.

"I just… I wanted to let you all know that… I asked Bella to be like, my girlfriend. Officially.
So… she's gonna be around a lot. And I want you all to you know, be cool with her and
everything."

Alice squealed and threw her arms around my neck enthusiastically. Rosalie grinned like I
finally got something right, and Emmett moved to slap me on the back. Jasper was the only
one who acted like he didn't give a shit. I ignored whatever he was mumbling under his
breath about being tied down.

"I don't want to make a big deal of things," I warned them. "I just wanted to have you guys
come up here so she'd have a chance to hang out with all of us."

"Sounds groovy to me," Emmett smiled.

"Dynomite!" Alice grinned.

Jasper muttered something again, and received a slap from Rosalie.

"Kiss my grits, Jasper!" Rosalie huffed. "Just because Edward and Emmett aren't afraid to
commit…" Alice's face fell, and Rosalie instantly stopped what she was saying. "I'm sorry
Ali."

"No big deal," Alice shrugged, though it was obvious she wasn't happy. "Let's just skate." She
pushed her feet forward to follow the direction that Jasper had led onto the floor.

"Don't let him bring you down," Emmett said supportively. "He's just a little bummed out
that he's the only one still playing his cards loose. He feels like he's losing his partner in
crime."

Emmett tugged Rosalie's hand to pull her out onto the floor with him. I hoped a few turns
around under the lights would loosen them all back up before Bella took her break.

Fortunately for me, it's kind of hard to stay in a pissed off mood when A Taste of Honey is
prompting you to Boogie Oogie Oogie. We came off the floor a little breathless, and in
much better spirits after having gotten down to that tune. I smiled when I saw Bella leave
the concession stand area and walk over to us. She looked nervous about approaching the
group, so I smiled and pulled her down to sit across my legs.

"Hi," I breathed. I was a little sweaty, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Hi," she smiled back.

"Oh… you two are the sweetest," Alice giggled.

"Almost gives me a cavity," Rosalie complained. I could tell by the look on her face that she
was just playing.

"So… you guys all know Bella," I spoke up.

"Yeah. How's it going?" Emmett looked down from where he towered over us. "By the
way… sorry about that whole Uncle Aro story and stuff."

"We just like to goof around," Jasper added, straddling the bench to sit behind Alice. I was
surprised that he joined in the conversation, and sent him a thankful nod.

"That's okay," Bella shrugged. "I'm sorry for over-reacting. It's just that… I took it kinda
personally because a really good friend of my family actually did lose the use of his legs in
an accident very similar to the one you all described. He's in a wheelchair now… and he'll
never walk again."

"Oh… shit." Emmett looked mortified, and even Jasper looked shame-faced. "We're really
sorry, Bella. We had no idea!"

Bella had a far-away, haunted look on her face while she drew us all in with her words.
"And… when you said the stuff you did… all I could think about was the sound of his
screams. And his poor children that have to take care of him now… And the blood. Oh
God… the

blood!

"

Bella pushed her face into my neck, and I rubbed her back and thought about how
absolutely perfect she was for me, while she shook and made soft noises.

"Get her some tissue or something!" Emmett called out. "Jasper… get her water. Damn
Bella… I'm sorry. We're assholes. We didn't mean to upset you again…"

I snorted at his frantic reaction, and Bella lifted her face to reveal that she had been giggling
against me the entire time.

"I'm just kidding!" Bella laughed, pointing at my brother. "You should see your face!"

"Damn!" Emmett complained. Jasper just sat there with his mouth hanging open. I laughed
with Bella and Rosalie nodded her approval.

"Girl's got spunk." Emmett sounded almost in awe.

"The next time you two decide to mess with me, I'll throw something heavier than slushies,"
Bella warned.

"You got it," Jasper grinned.

"Oooh. I love this song!" Alice started to sway on the bench when the Commodores took
over the skate floor.

"You should skate while you can," Bella mumbled. "After this summer, the Swan Dive
might close its doors."

"Ha ha!" Emmett bellowed. "You're a cut-up Swan! But you're not fooling us twice."

Bella's crestfallen face had me frowning in her direction. I tipped her chin up with one
finger so I could look in her eyes.

"You aren't joking. Are you?" I asked. Bella shook her head solemnly.

"I'm… not really supposed to tell anyone," she said quietly. "I've noticed that my dad has
been packing up a lot of extra supplies around here recently, and taking them to sell at the
weekly auction over in Port Angeles."

"So

that's

why he's always loading up all those boxes," I breathed in understanding.

"Yeah. Today I saw him packing up some of the older records. And I finally asked him
what was going on."

"What

is

going on?" Rosalie asked with a concerned voice.

"He said that we aren't making enough money to stay afloat," Bella shrugged. "He's thinking
about only opening on the weekends. And maybe… maybe shutting down for good in the
fall."

"He can't do that!" Emmett said loudly. "I mean… what about Family Nights? And … and…
the little shits skating lessons that Edward teaches and stuff? People love this place. It's
like… home."

"Nothing is definite yet," Bella smiled softly up at him, trying to calm my big oaf of a
brother down. "Right now, I think he's just focusing on trying to drum up some more
business. To excite people again. You know?"

Alice had been sitting on the bench, silently gnawing on her bottom lip. With a determined
little nod of her head, she stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"Alice?" I asked.

"I'll be right back," she informed us. We all watched as Alice skated her way over to the DJ
booth.

"What is she doing?" Jasper asked.

"I hope she isn't telling my dad that I told you guys," Bella said worriedly. In a minute, the
song changed, and Charlie Swan came walking out behind Alice. He barely glanced at the
way his daughter sat on my lap. I was glad we'd already had a talk about her and me dating.

"So… Alice said that you kids wanted to discuss something with me?" Charlie asked.

"Well… it's really more my idea than anyone elses," Alice shrugged and grinned. "But I was
just sitting here thinking about how much fun we always have at the Swan Dive. But how
much

more

fun we could have, if we were to liven things up a little. And since you are the

owner of this place, I thought I'd see what you thought about that."

Bella breathed a sigh of relief against me, when she realized that Alice wasn't giving her
secret away.

"What idea would that be?" Charlie asked.

"A skating competition!" Alice declared.

"Between who?" Charlie scoffed. "Everyone knows that you kids are the best skaters in
town."

"Well… we should include other towns then!" Alice smiled sweetly. "If you advertised the
competition in nearby towns- pool halls and arcades and such- I bet people would come
from all around to compete."

"Hmmm," Charlie rubbed the back of his neck.

"Think about it," Alice continued. "Make the prize something that doesn't really take
anything out of your pocket. Like… a year of free skate rentals or membership fees or
something. I'll bet a lot of people will sign up. And even more people would pay for tickets
to the event, just to watch it all go down!"

"You could have different categories," Jasper added, catching on to Alice's enthusiasm.
"Single skaters… pairs… Let people sign up. Hell, I'll bet you'd get a bunch more people
here during the week, just coming in to practice for it."

"You kids might really be onto something," Charlie grinned widely. "Hell… if it went well,
we could make it an annual thing!"

I smiled widely toward Bella.

"And of course, all of you kids would sign up for it, right?" Charlie asked.

"You can count on us, Chief," I told him.

And he could. Rosalie worked on art work for the fliers. And Emmett and Jasper drove to
nearby towns to deliver the colorful posters that advertised the competition.

We all hung out at the Swan Dive almost every night. We were using the time to practice.
But of course, since our cars were in the parking lot, we brought in a whole lot more kids
who usually only hung out on the weekends. Everyone wanted to be where we were.

I didn't complain about the extra time I got to spend with Bella. She worked most nights,
while I worked on my stunts on the floor. And when she had her breaks, she spent them
hanging out with me and the crew. I always stayed until the Dive closed, and then Bella and
I spent the happiest moments of my whole day, wrapped around each other out in the
parking lot.

I loved sitting Bella up on the hood of my car. She'd wrap her arms and legs around me,
and I'd stand between her knees while we made out like crazy. It was always just a little
sweeter when stragglers hung out in the parking lot and got to see how into each other we
were. James usually stopped to gawk. I took great pleasure in kissing Bella a little harder
and flipping him off behind her back.

Still, there was always the danger that her father would walk out the doors at any time. That
possibility kept me on my toes and kept things reasonably cool between me and Bella.
Pretty much.

Okay. Not really.

I groped her as much as I thought I could get away with. And she had taken to grinding up
against me in ways that I never failed to recreate in my mind later when I was alone in my
bed… or the shower… or even once in the living room. But in my defense, no one was
home and I had been watching Charlie's Angels on television.

Bella kinda reminded me of Jaclyn Smith, with her long, brown hair and sassy attitude. She
was smart and sexy and yeah… I kinda made a mess on one of mom's throw-pillows. But it
was nothing a little Wisk couldn't fix. I mean, hell. If that stuff could get rid of ring around
the collar, it could get rid of anything.

I was skating. I was making-out regularly with my girl. And I almost had enough money to
replace my car stereo. It was shaping up to be one of the best summers of my life.

I should have figured things were going too smoothly.

~**~**~

Chapter ten ~ beware of wolves

We all took the skating showcase seriously… until we saw how the list of our competitors
was shaping up. Several couples and individual skaters from nearby towns came to put
their names on the list. The prize was a trophy, and free skating fees (skates included) for a
year. Lots of people were interested. But few, we knew, could even come close to skating
as well as we could. So we might have relaxed just a

little

on our strict practice regime.

Like that Friday night, when we spent the first thirty minutes of our scheduled rink time
out in the parking lot, drinking beers.

The parking lot was packed and we parked as we typically did, in the back row. Emmett
cranked Queen loudly from his corvette, with the windows rolled down. We stood in a
loose circle between our cars, and finished the road beers we had packed for the trip. I
nearly spilled my drink, however, when loud bass drowned out Emmett's stereo and a
spray of gravel kicked up white, chalky dust around us.

"What the fuck?" I yelled over the sound of screeching tires and Bad Company. As the
smoke cleared, I could see that two other shitty cars followed behind the first El Camino
that came dangerously close to chipping my paint-job with his sideways slide into the Swan
Dive parking lot. "I'm gonna beat someone's ass!"

"Easy, Edward," Emmett said, walking toward me and putting a restraining hand on my
shoulder. He frowned over at the large group of teens that got out of the vehicles and
slapped each other high-fives before walking toward the skating rink doors.

"Who is that?" Jasper asked under his breath, sliding up behind us.

"

What

is that?" Rosalie asked in a hushed voice.

"Trouble," Alice murmured. "Let's go."

We didn't want to tail them too closely, so we gave them a few minutes to get indoors. I
frowned, and worried about what this new group of kids were doing at

our

hang-out spot. It

was too dark outside to see much more than the fact that they all wore matching satin
jackets.

They were a gang.

On

our

turf.

Emmett , Jasper and I threw the doors open. I could feel the tension crack around me; the
three of us were edgy and looking to start something.

"Shit," Emmett narrowed his eyes and looked across the room. My face twisted when I
followed the direction of his stare. One of the new kids was leaning over the concession

stand counter. It was easy to notice him there, with his black satin jacket. I saw red when I
saw him reach over the counter and tug Bella's ponytail.

"No way is that punk coming into MY rink, and flirting with MY chick," I growled lowly.
"Back me up."

"You girls go pick us out some records," Emmett instructed Alice and Rosalie. It was his
way of keeping the Chief busy, as well as keeping the girls out of harm's way.

I stomped forward with Emmett and Jasper at my flanks. The closer I got, the more easily I
could see the gold-stitched design on the back of the bastard's jacket.

It was a wolf.

"Are you lost?" I asked loudly, grabbing the kid by the shoulder and spinning him around. I
might have been a little freaked out when he stood. In his skates, he must have been seven-
foot tall. He towered over me. But I knew I had Jasper and Emmett standing behind me,
so I kept my mouth running. "Maybe you're a little dumb too," I said. "If you think you can
come in here and touch my girl."

"Easy," the guy chuckled and pushed his palms out in my direction. "Bella? Do you know
these clowns?"

I gnashed my teeth together and stepped toward him.

"Don't start shit in here, Edward," Emmett warned quietly. "You know how the Chief feels
about fighting."

"Jacob… these are my friends," Bella spoke up. My eyes darted over to her, and she smiled
nervously.

"Guys? This is Jacob. He's… and old family friend. My dad and his dad fish together.
Jacob? This is my boyfriend… Edward." I relaxed a little hearing her give me a proper title
in introductions. "Edward's brother Emmett, and their friend, Jasper."

None of us did that fake, polite, hand-shake thing that our parents used to force us into
after church on Sundays when we ran into business acquaintances and neighbors who knew
us well enough to realize our little-gentlemen routine was crap.

"Me and my friends decided to sign up for your little skating contest," Jacob gave us a cocky
smile. "We have a pretty great team. You might have heard of us. We're the Wolfpack."

The Wolfpack. Shit. I actually

had

heard of them. They had two couples that skated for

their team. And at least one single skater that was notorious for picking up trophies from
Clallam Bay to Seattle.

"The Wolfpack, huh?" Jasper smirked. "Never heard of you."

Emmett nudged him in the side and they both chuckled.

"I thought you guys skated up at the rink in Port Angeles," I said.

"Charlie was telling my Dad about the skating extravaganza he's got brewing up here," Jacob
shrugged. "I figured one more trophy wouldn't hurt anything."

"Dream on," I glared.

"We'll see," Jacob laughed.

"Edward's the best skater I've ever seen," Bella offered supportively. I loosened up
considerably, and smiled gratefully in her direction.

"Well then, he shouldn't mind a little competition," Jacob shrugged. "Sit back. I'll give you
guys a little sample. Consider it a gift. People usually pay to see this shit."

I sent him a dirty look before he skated off toward the floor. Jasper, Emmett and I all
turned on our heels and watched the action on the floor.

The first couple skated by. A tall man with short buzzed hair held a pretty girl in a split
position over his head.

"That's Sam and Emily," Bella said from behind us. "They're really good."

"Rosalie's split is better," Emmett sneered. I refrained from making a dirty comment. We
watched as another couple skated by. They were so fluid, they moved like they were one
person.

"That's Seth and Leah," Bella explained. "They're brother and sister. They've been skating
together, all their lives."

I pressed my lips together when I watched Jacob give a little wave from the floor before he
did a standing back-tuck and landed on his skates again. James darted around the center of
the floor, nervously shifting his eyes between the strangers in the matching jackets. His
whistle was between his lips, like he really wanted to blow it. But he lacked the sack to
actually do it.

"Fuck," Emmett whispered.

"I can do that," I scoffed. Emmett and Jasper both swiveled their heads to look at me, but
neither disputed my claim. I wasn't sure if I could or not. Neither were they. But I'd be
damned if I would let that guy take my trophy away from me.

Sam, the obvious leader of their group, made a weird noise that, what I guessed, was
supposed to sound like some sort of wolf-call. To me, it just sounded like someone skated
over his nuts. But the strange noise was effective in calling all of his gang off the floor. We
watched while they removed their skates.

"See ya, Bells," Jacob grinned while tossing his boots over his shoulder and heading for the
door. The smug bastard actually

winked

at me before he left. Jasper narrowed his eyes and

nodded once at Emmett, before following them out the door. He probably wanted to keep
an eye on them, and make sure they left without causing any more shit.

"I don't like him," I said lowly. My entire body felt tense. But then I felt soft arms sneak
under my elbows and wrap around my waist. I turned toward Bella and accepted the hug
she gave me. It was rare that she offered public affection while she was working, but she
had come from behind the counter just to hold me. My girl was amazing.

"Take a break?" I breathed in the smell of her hair.

"Yeah. Let's go outside," Bella nodded against my chest.

Bella and I walked out the side door together. I still felt keyed up, and shrugged away from
her to kick some rocks. Feeling frustrated, I slapped my hand across my pockets searching
for my lighter while I brought a smoke up to my lips.

"Edward? You really don't have a reason to be nervous…" Bella sighed. I arched one
eyebrow and looked at her in exasperation.

"Are you fucking kidding me, with this?" I asked loudly. "What do I have to be nervous
about? Have you

seen

me skate?" I snorted loudly and lit my cigarette while Bella frowned.

"I'm just saying…"

"Well, don't," I cut her off. Too late, I realized my error. Bella's eyes narrowed and I
swallowed hard.

"No…

you

'don't', Edward!" Bella said fiercely. "You're the one that looks like you're upset.

I'm just trying to be nice. You don't get to take your moodiness out on me!"

I looked around at the people who were loitering nearby, worried that someone might be
close enough to hear our exchange. Not that I didn't completely deserve to have Bella
putting me in my place.

"Damn it. Honey… I'm sorry. Alright?"

Bella could tell I really did feel remorse for talking to her like that, and nodded her
acceptance of my apology. I quickly dropped my cigarette on the ground to snuff beneath
my shoe, and moved forward to wrap my arms around her. I gently swayed her side to
side, and glared at the kids around us who wanted us to make our personal fucking
business their source of entertainment for the night.

The only two people who didn't seem to be paying attention were Jasper and some girl that
he leaned over at the side of the building.

I was grateful that Jasper had my back inside with the Wolfpack. But that didn't make me
any more receptive to seeing him flirt with some girl who was not Alice. I narrowed my
eyes when I saw him hook one finger into the top of the girl's tube top, pulling it slightly
away from her body so that he could better look down her cleavage.

I shouldn't have been surprised by the events that happened next. I mean, we had been
sitting on a powder keg all night, just waiting for that final spark to light the fuse. Something
was bound to explode. That something, was Alice.

I had to step aside when the door pushed open. I saw Alice before Jasper did, and tried to
block him from her view. I didn't move fast enough. Alice took one good look at the way
Jasper leaned way too close to the Stella that he was putting the moves on. His finger was
still hooked in her shirt, and his face was near her ear while he whispered whatever the
fuck Jasper told girls to make them believe they were special.

I'm not sure how Alice did it. She didn't even make a sound. In fact, no one did. Maybe it
was the silence that fell over all of us. Or it was the radio-active death look she was shooting
in his direction. But Jasper realized that something was majorly wrong, and looked up to
where she stood.

As soon as Alice had his attention, she turned right back around on her skates and stormed
back inside.

"Ah… shit. Alice? ALICE!" Jasper yelled her name and went tearing in after her. Bella bit
her lip and looked up at me.

"Come on," I told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her after me. Things were going to
get ugly. Jasper and Alice had stopped in front of the concession area, and I could hear
Alice yelling already.

"Jasper Christopher Whitlock!" Alice yelled. "How COULD you!"

"I wasn't doing nothin'!" Jasper yelled back.

"Yeah. It sure LOOKED like nothing!" Alice screamed. "I TOLD you! I WARNED you
Jasper! I'm not… putting up with this from you… ANYMORE!"

I felt a smaller form push past me in the crowd that was forming, and thought to late to try
to keep her from the fray.

"Jasper? Who in the hell is THIS chick?" The Stella from outside had entered the circle
where Alice and Jasper stood, arguing.

"Who am I? Who are YOU?" Alice asked the girl with an anger I felt she totally deserved.

"I'm Kathy," the girl shrugged. "And if YOU can't keep your man satisfied, then maybe you
should…"

Kathy didn't get to finish her sentence. Faster than anyone could stop her, Alice skated
forward and launched herself at the trashy-looking disco dancer. She was like a spider-
monkey, scratching and biting and hitting the girl.

There are few things that happen in a teen's life, that truly mark his transition from boy to
man. Witnessing an honest to God cat-fight is one of them. Even better? A cat-fight that

somehow involves naked women. And that night, we were treated to both. Somehow,
Alice's flurry of vicious hits had caused the sparkly tube-top that Kathy wore, to resemble
more of a belt than a shirt. I blame the distraction of jiggling tits for the reason that it took
me so long to move and try to break it up.

Rosalie yelled from the sidelines, and I saw Emmett moving forward. I left the nude girl to
him, and I shot forward to grab Alice around the waist. After a little tugging, we got the girls
to separate. I felt a small surge of satisfaction when I watched the other girl struggling to
pull her shirt up. Alice definitely came out ahead in this fight.

"What in the hell is going on out here?" A deep voice thundered. I cringed and looked up
to where Charlie Swan had busted through the crowd. He scowled at all of us, as he tried
to figure out what happened.

"That

whore

jumped me!" Kathy pointed her finger at Alice and yelled her accusation

shrilly.

"Shut UP, Slut!" Alice snarled. "Or I'll punch your lights out!"

"ENOUGH!" Charlie bellowed. "Alice? Were you fighting?"

"She asked for it," Alice snorted.

"God. I hate to do this, kiddo," Charlie said after running both hands over his face. "Alice?
You're banned."

"WHAT?" We all shouted at nearly the same time.

"Same rule for anyone who fights. One month. You can't skate here."

"It was WORTH it," Alice huffed, glaring at Kathy again.

"I don't know who you are," Charlie waved his hand toward the other girl. "But the same
goes for you. Go on. Get on out of here."

When Kathy turned with her friends to leave, I finally felt it was safe to loosen my hold on
Alice.

"Dad…" Bella pled. "It really wasn't her fault…"

"She does the crime, she does the time," Charlie muttered tiredly.

"Alice," Jasper finally stepped forward again. "Nothing happened. We were talking. That's
all. Don't you think you over-reacted a little?"

Alice took a deep breath and looked up at him. After a minute, she spoke.

"She didn't deserve that," Alice shook her head, speaking of the girl that just had her ass
kicked.

"No. She didn't," Jasper said.

"But YOU did!" Alice pulled her skate back and kicked Jasper as hard as she could in the
shin.

That innocent looking white skate, with the big pink pom-pom on the toe, brought that
man to the ground.

"Sit on it, Jasper!" Alice yelled down at him. "You stay away from me! I'm finished. Do you
hear me? FINISHED!"

Alice's voice broke then, and she turned and skated to the exit.

"Go get her," Bella nudged me. "Take her home, Edward."

"I'll call you later,"

I hurried after Alice while Emmett helped Jasper off the floor.

"Whoa there, Alice!" I called out. She stomped clumsily across the parking lot, still wearing
her skates. "Alice? Wait up." She was pissed at the world, and totally ignoring me as she
made her way out to the road. "Fuck," I muttered under my breath.

I got in my car and started it up. Maybe she needed to blow off a little steam. Maybe she
needed a few minutes alone. But I sure as hell wasn't going to let her trudge across town in
her skating get-up. I followed behind her at a crawl, giving her the space she desired. And a
few blocks down the road, when she finally stopped and her shoulders slumped forward, I
pulled up beside her and spoke out the window.

"Get in."

Alice turned and got into my car without argument. She stared blankly ahead, as I drove
the rest of the way to her house. It felt a little weird that she was so quiet. I expected a lot of
yelling, cursing, or crying. But she didn't make a sound.

"Alice?" I asked, as I pulled up in front of her dark house. "Are you alright?"

She turned her large, curiously dry eyes up to look at me.

"I will be," she breathed. Something in her expression let me know, that she was right. And
maybe it was the lack of tears and dramatics… but that signaled something else to me,
entirely. Alice was done. Seriously, just done. She wasn't going to waste any more emotions
on Jasper.

"I don't have my shoes," Alice murmured.

"Rosalie will bring them," I assured her.

"I don't want to make things weird for you guys," Alice winced a little then. It was the only
show of emotion that she allowed to pass her features. "I love you guys. I don't want…
things to be weird… just because Jasper and I aren't together anymore."

"We love you too," I promised. "And we would never let that happen. You and Jasper…
well… you're both like family. We'll figure it all out."

"I'm not taking him back," Alice squared her shoulders. "It's not enough for me, anymore."

"I just want you to be happy," I told her, reaching over to rub her shoulder. Alice smiled
and put her hand on top of mine.

"I'm happy, right now," she said softly.

We sat like that for a moment before I cleared my throat and looked up at her house.

"Everyone asleep?" I asked.

"Mom and Dad are out of town," Alice told me. "They drove down the coast to visit some
family members. Do you want to come in for a while?"

I glanced down at where her fingers still lightly rested on top of mine.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," I said. It was late, and I had promised to call Bella.

"Please?" Alice pled softly. "I… don't want to be alone right now."

I really couldn't refuse her.

Being with Alice was always so relaxed and easy. She had been through a lot. And when
she looked up at me with those big blue eyes, I couldn't deny her the little bit of comfort
that she was looking for. So I followed her inside, and we shared a really fat joint. We were
completely stoned and mellow… and we just let things follow their natural course.

"Mmm," I groaned. "This is… the best."

"Mmm-hmm," Alice moaned and licked her lips.

"What in the hell is going on here?"

We both froze in our movement and turned our heads to look at Rosalie who stood in the
doorway with Alice's shoes in hand, staring down at both of us. We hadn't even heard her
walk in.

"Root Beer Float," I grunted, and took another giant spoonful of the foamy treat. Alice
leaned forward and took a drink from the straw.

"It's better because my mom makes the ice cream fresh," Alice sighed.

"Looks like you two cleaned out the entire kitchen," Rosalie twisted her lips and looked
around. It was true. We had the mad munchies after lighting up, and before the root beer
float, we had shared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a bag of chips, half a jar of pickles,
and a package of Oreo cookies.

"If you are done making pigs of yourselves…" Rosalie began.

"Here… you finish this," I stood and spun the kitchen chair that I was sitting on back
around for Rosalie to take my place. "Is Emmett here?"

"He just dropped me off," Rosalie smiled. "I'm going to stay the night. Groovy?"

"Sounds good to me," Alice shrugged.

"I'm going to take off then," I said, patting my full stomach. "I'll catch you girls on the flip
side."

"Good night, Edward," Alice stood and wrapped her arms around me. "And thanks."

"No problem, Ali," I hugged her back and then moved to the door. She seemed to be
doing well. I did my best, but she probably could use a little girl-time. I nodded at Rosalie
over my shoulder before leaving. I could tell that she thought I had done well, too.

I completely lost track of time while I had been in Alice's house, and worried that it might
be too late to call Bella when I got home. On a whim, I turned down the street that would
take me past her house. If it looked like everyone was asleep, I'd just call her in the
morning.

Luck had it, that Bella's bedroom light was lit brilliantly above the short roof that jutted out
over the front of their house. I grinned when I saw her shadowy form move behind the
golden shade. To be on the safe side, I parked on the street two houses down, and then
made my way back up toward the Swan's house on foot.

Skating is my forte. Other than that, I've never been too athletically inclined. But I
eyeballed the tree that grew near the side of the house, and gauged my chances of being
able to climb that fucker while still looking cool. After I jumped once, and lost my hold on
the bottom branch, I decided 'cool' probably wasn't going to happen. I kicked off my shoes
and socks, so I could use my bare feet for a better grip. Then I looked up and down the
dark street to make sure I didn't have an audience, and tackled the job of climbing that
tree. I slid, I hugged the branches with my arms and legs in ways that made me truly fear
ever being able to have children, and I nearly fell more than once. I was breathing heavy
and sweating when I was finally able to touch down on the little roof-area outside Bella's
bedroom window. But I felt strangely satisfied that I had done it.

Her window was open only about three inches. I could hear Debby Boone playing softly
on the radio from within. I tapped on the glass and lowered my face to the open space.

"Bella," I whispered loudly. "Bella!"

The shade pulled to the side so quickly, that I jumped. But then I smiled up at Bella's
shocked face.

"Edward?" Bella whispered back and looked nervously over her shoulder. "What are you
doing out there?"

"Let me in," I whispered, hooking my fingers under the bottom of her window to push it
up.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed. Bella dropped to her knees so that her mouth was near the
bottom of the window so that she didn't have to speak so loudly. "My father will kill you, if
he finds you in my room!"

"Well… then come out," I shrugged. I wanted to talk to her. If she wanted to sneak out the
front door… that was fine with me.

Bella gave one more glance over her shoulder and then nodded. She started to pull the
window up, and I thought that she had changed her mind about inviting me in. But then I
stepped back when I saw her stick one long, bare leg out of her window.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm coming out," Bella grunted a little while she contorted her body through the window. I
probably should have helped her out, but I was a little distracted by the fact that she only
wore a short, white, summer nightgown. And presently, it had ridden up high enough in
back as she struggled to get outside, that her glorious ass was peeking out just a little
beneath the ruffled hem… White panties. God, I loved them.

"I thought you'd use the door," I laughed lightly when Bella turned around and adjusted her
clothing.

"Oh." She blinked as though that option hadn't occurred to her, and then shrugged her
shoulders under the delicate little straps of the nightie she wore. "This is okay, though.
Right?"

I nodded, and she turned to pull her window most of the way down, to better keep the
sound of our voices from reaching her father's ears.

"So?" Bella asked. I glanced at the scratchy looking surface that we stood on, and cringed,
thinking of her trying to sit down in what she was wearing. Quickly, I pulled my t-shirt up
over my head and laid it down for her to have a more comfortable place to sit.

"Thank you," she smiled and lowered herself to sit with her back just beneath her bedroom
window. I sat beside her, and placed my arms over my bent knees.

"How is Jasper?" I asked.

"Emmett had to drive him out to the hospital for x-rays," Bella said quietly. "They think
Alice might have fractured his bone, or something. His leg was really swollen."

"Man," I sighed and pushed my fingers through my hair.

"How is Alice?" Bella asked.

"Rose is with her now. She's… going to be alright, I think," I said.

I looked up at the sky, happy that the usual clouds had departed to afford us a wonderful
view of the stars.

"I thought it might be too late to call," I told her. "But I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to
talk to you."

Bella reached over and grabbed my hand. I smiled, still so surprised and happy to have the
feelings that her simple touch provided. She looked like an angel or something, all dressed
in gauzy white, under the moonlight. And the new and mature Edward wasn't thinking
about how to smooth-talk her into taking me inside her room. I was happy just holding her
hand.

Well… okay. She showed more leg than any angel would. And I could almost

kinda

make

out the shape of her boobs under that thin nightgown she wore. But I was

mostly

just

happy to be holding her hand.

"Tonight was weird," Bella finally said, running her thumb across the side of my hand. I
nodded.

"I just… wanted to let you know," I said in nearly a whisper. "That you aren't ever going to
have to worry about something like this happening with us. I wouldn't do that to you."

Bella looked up to meet my eyes, and I frowned at the hesitation I saw there. It was like…
she didn't believe me.

"What?" I asked sharply, as she bit her lip. Bella shook her head and released my hand.
Drawing her knees up, she pulled her nightgown down to cover them, and twisted the
fabric between her finger tips.

"I'm not like Jasper," I argued, feeling irritated by her unspoken accusation.

"I know…" Bella finally whispered. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

"People talk, Edward." Bella finally looked up at me, and I hated the trepidation I saw in
her eyes. "I've heard about girls you've…

messed around

with. You know. In other towns

and stuff."

I frowned and looked away, studying the leaves on the tree I had scaled to reach the roof.

"It's not like that. Not for me. Not anymore," I said, not looking at her. I felt like I was
being judged, and I didn't like it.

"How…" Bella sighed and reached for my hand again. I closed my eyes when I felt her
fingers tug on mine, trying to draw my attention back to her. "How can I be sure that you
won't get bored with me?"

I whipped my head around in her direction, and looked at her again in surprise.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "Bella? I could

never

be bored with you. I haven't been

spending time with any other girls. I

won't

be. You are everything to me.

Everything

. Do

you believe that?"

Bella nodded and bit her lip, looking down again. I quickly reached across and cupped my
hand under her hair at the back of her neck, tilting her face up. And then I was on my
knees beside her, pressing our lips together.

"Believe it," I groaned against her mouth. I still felt her worry. I still felt her hesitation. I
kissed her again and grabbed her other hand, to hold over my heart. "

Believe

in

me

." Bella

was tense for a moment, before I felt her take a deep shuddering breath. And then her
fingers curled against the spot on my chest and I felt her nod. I swallowed her acceptance
and kissed her until we were both breathless. Tongues and teeth, and her sweet, pouty lips.
I kept my hand in her hair and the other holding her palm to my chest. Otherwise I might
have been tempted to shove the thin material of her nightgown aside for my hands and
mouth to properly explore. As it was, it was already twisted between us, and I was doing my
best not to lay her down and shove myself against her while I licked at the skin under her
ear.

"I want you to take me in your room," I panted against the side of her neck.

"I do too…" Bella whispered. We both struggled for breath for another minute before I
reluctantly pulled myself away and smiled down at her.

"So it's probably a good time for me to leave." Man. I must have had the strength of Captain
America to make such an offer.

Bella smoothed down her nightie and gave me a shy smile in return.

"Probably," she whispered.

I stood up, and quietly pushed her window open for her. Bella stood too, and handed me
my t-shirt. I pulled it over my head quickly enough to actually act like a gentleman and help
her get back in her room safely. When Bella was back inside, she leaned back out the
window to kiss me one more time.

"I meant what I said," I told her, looking into her eyes while resting my hand against the
chipped paint on the outside of her window ledge. "There's no one else for me."

"For me either," Bella whispered. I stuck my head in her window to kiss her one more time
before smiling and turning to make my way back down the tree.

I was beyond thankful that she pulled down her shade before witnessing my decidedly un-
cool trip back down.

~**~**~

Chapter Eleven ~ Drive-in revelations

The next night, Bella and I leaned against the carpeted-half wall chatting with Emmett and
Rosalie. Jasper sat on one of the benches with his leg propped up in a cast in front of him,
moodily hanging his arm off one of his crutches. It felt weird to not have Alice in our
group. Jasper's cast was going to be a constant reminder of why.

"So what was so important, that we all had to meet?" I asked Emmett. Jasper scowled and
watched the skaters blur by.

"We need to talk about the skating competition," Emmett said. Rosalie nodded and sat on
his knee. Bella folded her arms in front of her, and listened quietly.

"Our team is fucked up," Emmett continued. "Alice won't be back here for a month. And
Jasper here… he's off his feet for six to eight weeks. Maybe longer."

"We're down a pair," I murmured, trying to keep my voice steady. Jasper didn't need me
laying the blame on him. He was acting surly enough.

"We can't skate against the Wolfpack unless the teams are even," Rosalie explained. "They
have two pairs and one single skater.

We

need two pairs, and one single skater."

"Any ideas on replacements?" I asked. No one immediately answered.

"James isn't a bad skater…" Bella offered quietly. "Maybe James and Lauren?"

Jasper snorted loudly and Rosalie looked at Bella like she had suddenly grown an extra
head.

"Maybe Alice and I could…" I began.

"Alice isn't skating with another guy," Jasper quickly shot down my suggestion. "If you want
to skate with a partner so damn bad… why don't you skate with your own?"

I looked over at Bella, and she blushed and looked down.

"He's right," Rosalie sighed. "Even if you and Alice

did

want to put together a routine… she

can't skate here for a month. That would give you hardly any time to practice at all."

"Well maybe we'll just have to back out of the competition," Emmett said. Jasper groaned
out loud and put his face in his hands. I knew he was pissed about his leg, and likely
messed up in the head about what had happened with Alice. But his attitude was beginning
to piss me off. He had brought it all on, himself.

"What the fuck is your problem, man?" I asked. "So we lose a trophy, and free rentals for
your non-skate-owning self. It's not that big a deal."

"It's a big deal," Jasper gritted his teeth and stood up shakily with one arm supported by a
crutch. "There is a hell of a lot more riding on this than

that

."

"Well why don't you enlighten us, then," Emmett growled, standing also. Jasper glared at
both of us for another minute before closing his eyes and sitting with a sigh.

"I bet… I bet the fucking pink slip to the Chevelle. Alright?"

"You did

what?"

Rosalie shrieked. Jasper groaned and shook his head.

"I followed the Wolfpack out to the parking lot," he explained. " I was afraid they'd try to
key our cars or something. And that leader of theirs… Sam? I guess. He made some
comment about me having a nice car. And I told him his was shitty. And then… you
know… he brought up the idea of placing a wager on the skating competition. So I took
him up on it."

"You bet your

fucking car?"

I asked incredulously. Apparently there was no end to his

stupidity that night.

"I was drunk!" Jasper yelled. "And damn it. You guys KNOW we are better than their gang.
It would have been an easy win!"

"WOULD have been," Rosalie huffed and crossed her arms. "But then you screwed that
up. Didn't you?"

We all got quiet and Jasper dropped his head.

"I fucked up. Come on guys. I know I did. But… I need your help. I can't lose my car.
Please."

I looked at the way he slumped there, broken, and knew that he was talking about losing a
lot more than just his car. I could hear it in his voice, and read it in the haunted look in his
eyes. I moved to sit next to him on the bench.

"We'll… come up with something," I vowed. "We'll win this thing, Jasper. We'll work it out."

"I don't see how… without another pair of skaters," Rosalie still refused to back down. I
looked up at Emmett to see him staring at Bella oddly.

"Jasper might have been on to something," Emmett said.

"Onto what?" Rosalie questioned.

"Why

couldn't

Edward skate with Bella?"

Bella's eyebrows nearly shot off her forehead. Her mouth hung open in a way that truly
aided her comical expression. I tried not to upset her by laughing.

"I… I can barely skate," Bella whispered.

It was true. Bella had been doing much better during our skating lessons. She could make
it around the rink without falling. But for her to enter a skating competition? Ridiculous.

"I'll bet you could be really good with your feet in the air," Jasper said, staring at her now
too. I punched him in the arm.

"What the fuck?" I snarled. Jasper rubbed his arm and looked over at me.

"I didn't mean anything bad by that!" he complained. "But look at her. Sure… she's got long
legs and stuff. But she's pretty small. I'll bet you could lift her easily. Keep her feet off the
floor, and concentrate on the lifts… and you'll be okay. You'll be doing most of the work
out there. And if anyone could make a partner look good, it would be

you

Edward!"

"Oh God." Bella clamped her hand over her mouth and ran toward the ladies room.
Rosalie followed her.

I cringed and moved to stand beside Emmett. "She's so scared of the idea that she's
barfing," I frowned.

"Make her un-scared," Emmett said. "I think this is our only chance."

"Do you really think it could work?" I asked.

"We can teach you the lifts," Jasper said. "Please Edward."

I frowned and toed my stopper into the carpet. I'd only ever skated alone. I wasn't even
sure if I could learn everything I needed to know to be able to throw Bella around out
there, safely.

But for my friends, I was willing to try.

Rosalie led Bella back out to our group. She was pale and shaky looking.

"Are you alright?" I asked, hurrying over to her side.

"We have to do this, don't we?" I looked up at Rosalie, and she confirmed with a little nod
that she had talked to Bella in their absence.

"I think we should give it a try," I replied honestly. "But you know that you aren't obligated.
I won't force you…"

"Okay," Bella exhaled. "We'll try. Just… try."

"Thank you!" Jasper hobbled over and wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulder. She
cringed a little under the weight of his arm.

"If you lose your car, it won't be my fault," Bella warned him sternly.

"Bella, you've got so much spunk… I don't see how we can fail," he happily replied.

But I could definitely see how failure could be possible. Because for the next two weeks,
Emmett had us working our asses off.

I was up at five a.m. with him, running laps on the high school track and weight training out
in our garage. Bella didn't weigh much, but I definitely needed to be stronger than I was, to
be lifting and holding her weight in strange positions while we traveled around the skating
floor.

And speaking of positions…

I was afraid I might actually die of sexual frustration.

Rosalie kept dressing Bella in these little skating numbers that she swore were good for
practice.

"If she feels pretty, she'll fly," Rosalie argued. I agreed that she looked great. But it was
nearly impossible for me to contain my raging hard-ons for the girl. Emmett had me
constantly grabbing her inner-thighs to hoist her up over my head. Or picking her up, to
wrap her legs around my waist. Bella was a good sport. If my brother wasn't

right there

spotting her for every move, it's hard to say how well I would have handled it. As it was, I
was whacking off at least twice a day. It was becoming actual torture.

I was fine with taking things nice and slow with Bella. But it was becoming hard when it was
constantly in my face.

And yes. I mean,

literally

, in. my.

face

.

Emmett stood in front of us. Bella adjusted the little skirt she wore over a shiny blue
leotard. And Rosalie wrote notes on a paper nearby.

"What you need to do," Emmett instructed her, "Is put your hands on the floor like you are
going to do a handstand. When you kick your legs up… Edward here is going to throw
them over his shoulders. Then your arms go out and Edward leans back to spin you
both…"

I was totally lost after he mentioned the part about me putting her legs over my shoulders.
The hair that had escaped Bella's pony-tail was sticking wetly to her face and the sides of
her neck. Her cheeks were pink with exertion, and her chest was heaving. And that,
combined with the fact that I was about to have her muffin about six inches from my face
sent me into a hormonal rage.

"Argh!" I threw my hands in the air, and stormed away from them all, punching the wall by
the door on my way out.

I made it about half-way through my cigarette before Emmett came outside.

"You know… you really should cut back on those while…"

Emmett stopped the words when I glared at him.

"Fine," he said instead. "Wanna tell me what the hell that was, back there?" Emmett asked,
jerking his thumb over his shoulder. I shrugged and licked my bottom lip.

"It's just…" I kicked the gravel and dropped my cigarette on the ground. "It's killing me to be
touching Bella all the time," I admitted. "Without… you know…

actually

touching her."

"I don't get where you're coming from." Emmett lowered his brows in confusion. I stared
up at him, refusing to blink or say anything more specific until he figured that shit out on
his own.

"Ohhhh!" Emmett's eyes went wide. "You don't say."

"I

do

say," I nodded solemnly.

"Well. Holy shit. You really

have

changed," Emmett said with wonder. I groaned and

leaned my head back against the wall.

"Just… give me a break on the whole 'wrap your legs around Edward's head' today. Okay
man?" I asked. "I just… need a break."

"You're right. You do," Emmett nodded. He clapped my shoulder in understanding and
turned me in front of him to walk back into the building. Rosalie and Bella sat on the half-
wall. Bella had a worried look on her face, and jumped down immediately to walk over to
me.

"Edward. I'm sorry that this is taking so long," she said. "I know I'm slow… but I'm trying my
best."

Emmett snorted at her words, obviously placing them in the context of our conversation
from outside.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled and shook my head, reaching to push some stray hairs
behind her ear. "You're doing great. I'm just tired."

"We all could use a break," Emmett nodded then. "I say no more practice for today."

"But I thought that tonight…" Bella began to argue.

"Edward was just saying that he'd like the night off. To take you to a movie," Emmett smiled
over at me. "I could use a night off too. We've all been working hard. Let's just take a night
off to recoup. Huh? We'll get back to this tomorrow."

"If you're sure…" Bella said worriedly.

"I'm sure," I told her, reaching to take her hand. "I'd like a little time with you. Outside the
rink. If that's okay?"

"Sure. That's okay." Bella smiled up at me, and I felt worlds better.

~78~

Bella and I sat as close as my bucket seats would allow, in the back row at the drive-in. I
hadn't really been paying attention to the movie. It was some new horror flick directed by
Wes Craven. My thoughts had been to get Bella to the show-and you know- take care of
her if she got too scared. An arm around the shoulders… maybe a gentle touch on her leg…
I had been totally preoccupied by the thought of having her alone. If the movie was scary
enough, maybe she'd end up in my lap.

And then, well… we'd just take it from there.

The only problem was; Bella wasn't scared. Not even a little bit.

The prerequisite blonde girl was screaming in every other scene, and Bella laughed like a
maniac. She actually brushed tears from her eyes at one point, and imitated the scary dude
in the movie.

"I'll be back fer ya later, girlie," Bella ground out with a deep-sounding accent. She sounded
enough like the guy in the movie to actually creep

me

out a little. I huffed, defeated. The

psychotic, cannibal criminals in the movie amused Bella to no end, and made zero impact
on my plans to cop a feel.

"Do you want some popcorn or something?" I finally asked in frustration. God knows, I
didn't have anything else she might be interested in.

Bella's gaze sobered as she looked over at me.

"Um. Okay. Sure." She tried to smile a little, and reached for her purse down by her feet.
Somehow the strap got hung up on her heel, and she ended up dumping half of the
contents onto my floor board. Of course, my eyes skipped over her little wallet and mirror,
and comb… and zoned right in on the birth control pills that she palmed quickly and
shoved into her purse. My teeth ground together and I opened my car door with more
force than necessary.

I walked quickly to her side of the car, but she had already opened the door and was
hurrying out to stand in front of me.

"Edward?" Bella asked. "What is wrong with you? You've been acting weird all day."

"I don't know," I shook my head, feeling bad about the lie. But the truth would only make
me sound like a selfish prick. So that wouldn't do.

"Are you stressed about the competition?" Bella asked, moving close enough so that we
practically touched. Her nearness calmed me, like always, and I wrapped my arms around
her with a sigh. With no space left between us, I hugged her to my chest and kissed the top
of her head.

"Yes. A little," I said. "And I'm sorry for being in such a bad mood. Let's get some snacks,
and just start over. Alright?"

"Alright," Bella nodded. We parted just enough to I could take her hand and lead her into
the concession building, but I groaned as soon as we walked in and I saw Mike Newton
standing at the counter, paying for a strawberry milkshake. I was not in the mood for his
bullshit.

"Hello Bella. You look beautiful," Mike slurred a little, making it obvious that he had been
drinking. "Cullen," he sneered at me.

"Michael," I rolled my eyes as I returned his greeting.

"Why don't you buy me some candy?" Bella asked, looking up at me. "I need to use the
little girl's room."

"Sure," I smiled down at her, and she favored me with a kiss right in front of Mike, that

did

make me feel marginally better. That was, until she walked out of the room and Mike
turned to glare at me.

"Buy her junior mints," Mike said, teetering a little. "It makes her kisses taste sweet. I should
know."

"Fuck off," I told him, moving to check out the candy under the display case. I was in no
mood for his shit. And while Bella sincerely seemed fine with ignoring my past mistakes
with other girls, I still found it very hard to not think about how Mike accused me of
enjoying his 'sloppy seconds.' As Mike left, I purposely avoided the chocolate-covered mint
candies, and opted for red licorice instead. Bella joined me at the cashier's station, and we
walked back out to my car in silence.

"Weird seeing Michael here," Bella tried to start up conversation. I helped her back into
the car and sighed, because Mike Newton was the last fucking thing I felt like talking about.

"He wants you back, you know," I told Bella, handing her licorice as I slid back into my
seat. Bella sucked on the end of the waxy red candy for a minute, looking lost in thought.

"Well, he can't have me," she shrugged.

"He's always rubbing it in my face, that he dated you first." I frowned and made Mike's
implications seem more polite than they were.

"Edward? Can I tell you a secret?" Bella said, turning in her seat to face me. Her back was
to my door, and I nodded.

"You can tell me anything," I said sincerely.

"Michael has always been jealous of you." Bella stated. I scrunched up my face in
confusion. I mean, yeah. Half the guys in town were jealous of me. I was great-looking and
a really fantastic skater. Plus, my parents had money and my car was boss. But I wasn't
entirely sure why Mike Newton was jealous of me.

"Why do you think so?" I asked.

"I

know

so," Bella laughed a little. Even in the dark, I could tell her cheeks were pink.

"Do you remember how we had English class together?" Bella asked.

"Of course I do," I told her. That was the class in which Bella read her poem to the class. It
was when I first really noticed her.

"Well… near the end of the semester, Mike asked to borrow my notes. But I had forgotten
that I sort of doodled in the margins of one of the papers."

"Okay…" I wanted her to go on.

"He was really, really mad," Bella said quietly. "Because…" she took a deep breath and sort
of rushed the next words out. "Hesawthat IhadwrittenE.C on mypaper and sortof drew a
littleheartaroundit."

I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of her words.

"Wait. You… drew…

my

initials?" I asked, trying to sort it out.

"I had such a crush on you," Bella breathed. "And Mike was really mad. So I told him E.C
stood for E.E Cummings. And that I was really into his poetry. But I don't think Mike ever
believed that."

"Wow," I said. "Do you even know any E. E Cummings?" I felt a little high just because she
admitted to liking me back then.

"A little," Bella smiled softly.

"Can you recite some?"

"No way," Bella shook her head. "I've embarrassed myself enough for one night!"

"You did not," I scoffed. "I guess you didn't know it. But I liked you, too," I told her.

"You're just lying to make me feel better!" Bella laughed.

"No. Really. You read a poem you wrote. And that pretty much did it for me."

"You like poetry?"

"I like

you

reading poetry," I specified.

"Honestly?"

"Recite some Cummings and find out," I teased. Bella blushed prettily and looked up the
roof of my car while she tried to recall words. The people on the large screen continued
screaming, and so I turned down the knob on the drive-in speaker.

"Okay," Bella exhaled. "How about…

May I feel said he. I'll squeal said she. Just once said

he. It's fun, said she."

I laughed in surprise that I actually knew the poem she was reciting, and leaned forward
with excited intent.

"

May I touch, said he"

I murmured the next line, leaning toward her.

"

How much, said she,"

Bella's voice sounded shaky and I lifted the corner of my mouth in a

crooked smile.

"

A lot said he,"

I nearly growled.

"

Why not said she,"

Bella whispered. And then I practically dove across the space between

us to get to her.

God Bless E. E. Cummings for giving me the green light I sorely needed. Bella pushed her
hands into my hair and tugged hard, just as eager to be against me, as I was to be with her.
My knee wedged down between the seats as I pushed Bella against the door and attacked
her mouth with mine.

"May I touch?" I asked against her lips, repeating the lines from the poem. "Oh God Bella.
Please…"

"Yes!" Bella let go of my hair long enough to reach for my hands. And then in a move that
totally shocked me, she lifted my palms up to press against her boobs. I'd never actually
gotten that far with Bella, for all of our previous groping and making out. I thought I might
die just from the feel of her in my hands.

"You're so pretty," I groaned, feeling her weight in my palms and squeezing her softly. Bella
moaned and returned her fingers to my hair.

"I love your hands," Bella whispered into our kiss. It made me touch her a little more
aggressively, and press the front of my jeans against her leg. The friction felt fantastic, so I
decided to rub a little there until she told me to stop.

Only she didn't tell me to stop.

Instead, I was stopped by the loud sound of something hitting my windshield.

I looked up through my lust-filled haze to see smears of thick, pink goo running down the
front of my car.

"Mother fucker!" I yelled, jumping away from Bella. I opened my door in a flash and
charged over to where Mike Newton stood after having thrown his milkshake at the front
of my car.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing, Newton?" I yelled, grabbing him by the collar
and pulling him toward me. Bella was fast on my heels.

"Edward! Don't… don't do anything stupid!"

"You two looked like you could use some cooling off!" Mike yelled. "I was doing you a
favor!"

Bella had moved to wrap both hands around my bicep, trying to pull me off of him.

"I'm going to do

you

a favor, right now," I said through gritted teeth. "Walk the fuck away,

Newton. Don't say another word. Not to me. Especially not to her. You got that?"

I forced myself to let go of his shirt and step back. Bella didn't want me to fight, and Mike
had definitely had too much to drink.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief when I allowed her to turn me and we started to walk away.
It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. I had been on edge all day. Being
interrupted like we just were, was the icing on the cake.

"She was mine, first!" Mike called out. I stopped in my tracks and my spine stiffened. Bella
let go of my arm, and took a step back. I turned to go back toward Mike, but Bella beat me
to him.

"

Mine?

" Bella asked incredulously. "Did you really just use the word

'mine'

while referring

to

me?"

Mike sputtered nonsensically and threw his hands out to his sides while Bella

yelled at him. "I am

no one's

possession, Michael Newton!" Mike didn't even see it coming

when she pulled back her tiny fist and let him have it. I blinked in shock, myself, as Mike
landed hard on his ass in the gravel with blood pumping from his nose.

"Damn," I whispered in awe.

"Think the Chief wouldn't teach me how to throw a punch?" Bella asked, shaking her hand.

"I'm thankful all I got was a slushie thrown at me!" I laughed. "Come on, Rocky. Let's go get
some ice on those knuckles."

Bella sat on her front porch with a washcloth full of ice resting on her hand, while I used
the hose from the side of her house to spray the sticky pink milkshake from my paint job.

"Do you think we have a chance of winning?" She asked after a while. I knew she was
talking about the competition, and I thought about it before answering.

"I think if we keep practicing like we have been… we have a shot," I told her.

"And if we don't?" Bella asked.

I dropped the hose to splash down on the ground by my feet.

"If we don't… then at least we had a lot of fun learning to do all of this together. Right?" I
asked. Bella gave me a huge smile and moved to turn the water off. I rolled up the hose
and walked up to join her.

"We're really going to do this?" She asked, looking up at me. I smiled down at her, and
brushed her hair over her shoulders. It was amazing how just a little confirmation about her

feelings for me, changed my whole outlook. I didn't even feel like a raging sex-fiend for
once. Well… not entirely, anyway.

"Yeah. We really are," I smiled. "So… I guess I should get going. Emmett will have me up at
five again, running."

"I'll see you in the morning, Edward," Bella smiled.

"In the morning," I said, kissing her lightly. "Oh? And Bella?"

"Yes?" she asked.

"Thanks for the poetry."

~**~**~

Chapter twelve ~ When I needed you

Maybe it was the fact that I felt a whole lot more secure about Bella's feelings for me, after I
watched her punch Mike's face in. Or maybe it was that I actually became too busy
focusing on the upcoming competition to think with my dick for once. But after our date to
the drive-in, I cooled off considerably. I was able to spend time with Bella, without acting
like a complete sex-fiend. It made our practice sessions more productive. And damn if it
didn't also seem to give us time to actually talk and help us get to know each other better,
too. Who would have thought? Don't get me wrong. It's not like I wasn't dying to get her
tits in my hands again. In fact, when I was alone, it was pretty much all I could think about.
But I didn't let that stuff distract me so much when we were together. I was focused.

Emmett had some compassion, and started taking it easier on me. Sure… we still worked
on lifts. But he wisely broke our practice time up by throwing in dance moves that were
sure to help me get a little space and work my aggressions out in different ways. It was
totally hot to see Rosalie press her hips behind Bella to help demonstrate the grinding
movements that they wanted her to adopt for a certain dance sequence. But actually- I
think that effected Emmett more than it did me. He wiped his forehead and tried not to
stare. It was okay. I got it. It was sexy.

Jasper had been right. Bella was better with her skates in the air. I tossed that girl around,
and enjoyed the benefits that the work-out had on my upper-body. I was looking f-i-n-e.
And the simple dance steps we worked into the mix were enough in transitions to make me
think that we might actually have a shot at helping Rosalie and Emmett win this thing. But
while Bella had definitely helped to boost my confidence, I could tell that she was still

majorly unsure- of herself, and maybe even us. We simply couldn't progress any further
unless she was more comfortable. With that in mind, I decided it was high time that we
took a break to build Bella up. It was time to show-off my girl.

On Friday night, I spent more time than I typically did getting dressed. I pulled on my
favorite Rolling Stones t-shirt. Bella liked me in it, and I wanted to look great for her. This
was her night. My jeans were tight, and had just the right flare at the bottom. They'd look
perfect with my skates. I considered borrowing jewelry from Emmett. A gold chain would
look nice. But then I glanced at the clock and realized how late I was. It was very important
for me, to get to the Dive while the crowd was at its largest. I wanted an audience.

I strolled into the joint, and automatically waved over to Bella who worked behind the
counter. She grinned and winked in my direction before I made my way through the
unusually large crowd toward where Emmett and Rosalie sat propped against the half-wall.

"What's going on here tonight?" I asked.

"Rosalie kind of spread the word that we were going to have a party out at the Meadow
later," Emmett filled me in. "A bunch of these people are just hanging out until we decide
to lead the way."

"A party?" I asked, raising my eyes at her. Rosalie shrugged.

"Sure," she said. "I wanted to hang out with Alice. And Emmett wanted to hang out with
Jasper. If we have a lot of people around, they won't feel so awkward being in the same
place together."

It sucked that our best friends still weren't speaking. Well… I had a sneaking suspicion that
Jasper had tried to contact Alice. But she wasn't having it.

"Sounds good," I nodded. "I'm down. But I want time to hang out here first. There's
something I need to do."

Emmett bumped his fist against mine, already aware of my plans. I pushed my way back
through the groups of people milling around, until I stood at the skate rental counter.

"Yorkie?" I called out. Eric stopped spraying disinfectant into the ratty, used-skates and
turned. He looked genuinely shocked to see me addressing him.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"How hard would it be for you to man the rentals

and

the concession stand for a bit, huh?"

I asked.

"Umm… not hard," he shook his head. "Most people already have their skates by now. And
I guess I could leave a sign here. You know, if anyone new came in. They could find me
over there. Why?"

"Bella wants to skate tonight," I smiled, and leaned over the counter like I was confiding in
him. "I want to surprise her with a little fun for once. She works too hard, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Of course," Eric nodded, eager to please me. "But it's a Friday night and we're pretty
busy…"

"Come on," I grinned again. "I'm sure if you could do me this favor… I could pay you back
with a beer or something at the Meadow later?"

Eric's face lit up. I knew that dork hadn't been invited to the party. Who would have asked
him? But if allowing him to hang out with us for a while was all it cost me… it would be
worth it.

Eric put a sign up, directing customers to the concession area for rentals, and then followed
behind me while I walked over to get Bella.

"Hello beautiful," I said, reaching out to pull the end of Bella's ponytail. She smiled and
looked curiously between Yorkie and me.

"What's going on?" she asked. Eric didn't answer; he just moved to walk behind the
counter.

"You're off work," I tilted the corner of my mouth up in a grin. "Eric here has agreed to
relieve you for a while. You and I are going to skate."

"What?" Bella looked alarmed and nervously glanced up over my shoulder toward the
bustling skate floor. "I'm not so sure that's a good…"

"I am," I cut her off. "Bella? We've been practicing our asses off. And… you've gotten really
good. I think that all that is missing is a little success to boost your confidence. If you can
get out there, and skate with me in front of all these people, you won't be so nervous."

"If you think so…"

"I do," I insisted. "Now let's get laced up and show these people how we get down!"

"Get down," Bella muttered wryly while coming around the counter. "That's what I'm afraid
of."

"Silly girl," I teased and grabbed her hand. "It will be just like practice. Just like when it's
only you and me. I won't let you fall."

"Alright," Bella nodded and bit her lip. I led the way over to a bench, and we both put on
our skates.

"Ready?" I asked Bella. She took a deep breath and stared at the blur of bodies on the floor
once more before nodding and standing next to me.

"Let's do this," she said.

I waited for a space between skaters before I pushed off and pulled Bella behind me into
the action. She locked her knees initially, and wobbled at my right. I could tell she was
scared, so I moved behind her, and put my hands on her hips.

"Relax," I whispered in her ear. "It's just you and me."

I swayed my hips back and forth to the beat of the music, and smiled when I felt Bella
begin to follow my lead. We skated around the floor, just getting a feel for the tunes and
the other skaters around us. Bella felt more and more sure with every pass. "Good," I
nodded and kissed her just under the ear. "Now… we're gonna have a little fun. Just like our
routine. Okay?"

"Okay." Her voice trembled a little, but I felt her hand as she crossed her arm in front of
her waist to reach for my fingers. As soon as I had a grip on her, I spun her away from me.
Her body twisted to the end of my reach, and she put her weight on the side of her skates,
leaning out until her extended fingers touched the floor beside her. A quick tug had her
back upright, and wrapped around my leg. Bella seemed breathless with her hand on my
chest. Her cheeks were flushed and she grinned up at me.

"Feels good, huh?" And I wasn't talking about the heat of her pressing against my thigh. I
was talking about all of the people who noticed our first flashy move, and had stopped to
stare. Bella giggled and nodded.

"Let's dance," I smiled.

Bella and I did a few more controlled movements. We did the bump, and we did the cha-
cha.

"Want to try a lift?" I asked.

"A small one," Bella allowed. I grinned and let go of Bella to skate ahead of her. Spreading
my legs into a wide arch, I reached between my thighs for Bella's extended hands. And
with a criss-crossed pattern, I grabbed her arms firmly and she ducked while I pulled her
between my feet. As soon as she popped up on the other side, I turned her, and Bella
hopped up to sit with her legs around my waist. Her hands locked behind my neck, and I
laughed while I leaned back and whirled us both in a fast spin.

The shrill chirping sound of the floor whistle made us both stop laughing, and I slowed our
motion until Bella could slide down my body to stand again.

"No tricks on the floor during free-skate, Cullen!" James yelled while he blew his whistle
again. Like I didn't hear it the first time.

"God, he's so stunned," I muttered under my breath.

"Let me," Bella said quietly. I watched as she started to skate toward James, pulling the back
edge of her shorts down. Several guys near the wall were gawking, and I couldn't be sure if
they were checking out the way her little yellow shorts had ridden up while she was

wrapped around my waist, or if they were impressed by our sexy skating moves. I shot
them dirty looks, just in case.

James look agitated as he skated back and forth. Bella talked animatedly, with her hands
flashing around between them. James scowled and held his whistle between his teeth,
looking up at me before huffing and skating to the other end of the floor. Bella smiled,
turned with her hands on her hips, and skated back to me.

"What's the skinny?" I asked gruffly.

"I was just asking James, if he would mind locking up for me tonight," Bella smiled up at
me.

"Locking up?"

"My Dad has plans," Bella explained with a shrug. "And since I heard there is this really
great party happening later, I kind of thought it might be fun to get out of here early, and
spend some time with my boyfriend."

"Oh… you did, did you?" I smiled.

"Uh-huh." Bella nodded and I took her hand. "You don't mind. Do you?"

"Far Out. That's pretty much the best news I've heard all week."

The atmosphere on the skate floor changed then. The room went dark, except for the slow
white light being bounced off the disco ball that hung from the center of the ceiling. I got a
lump in my throat when I heard the familiar notes of Leo Sayer's

When I Need You

start

up for a couple's skate. Emmett and Rosalie blurred by, already wrapped up in each other.
And it occurred to me; I, Edward Cullen, finally had a partner to skate with.

"No more of the routine," I said with a low voice. I pulled Bella by the hips until she was
flush against me. "Skate with me, Bella? Just us."

"Just us," she agreed.

When I need you

I just close my eyes and I'm with you

And all that I so wanna give you

It's only a heartbeat away…

Bella rested her cheek on my chest, and the front of our legs pressed together as I twisted
our fingers at our sides and moved my feet in a sliding motion to push us slowly around the
floor. I took a minute to lift my head and take in the jealous and curious stares of the
people who watched us, feeling my chest swell with pride to be skating with such a beautiful
girl, to a beautiful song, on a beautiful summer night… yeah. I was thinking the word

'beautiful'

a lot. But so what? It

was

. It really was.

When the song ended, I held my stopper to the floor until we slowed. And then I put a
finger under Bella's chin and tipped her face up so that I could kiss her. Yeah- I knew we
had an audience. And for some… this action concreted the rumors that were already going
around. Bella Swan and Edward Cullen were a real fucking couple. Let them talk. Let
them stare.

The sound of the whistle nearly blew my eardrum, and I turned my head with great
annoyance when Bella's mouth was startled under mine. She blushed but narrowed her
eyes over toward James for the interruption.

"No public displays of affection!" James yelled across the floor, only bring more attention to
us. I started to pull away, but Bella's fingers tightened on my own.

"Then maybe it's time to go some place more private!" she replied loudly. That's my girl!

"Time to head to the Meadow," I called out. Half of the room cheered and started moving
for the doors. They had been waiting for the signal. This was it.

If anyone had missed Bella and me skating together, they certainly didn't miss the way that
we arrived at the head of the party out on my father's property. I was the King, in my
element. And Bella was the foxy Queen at my side. I smiled smugly as I held Bella's hand
and greeted other people with nods, high-fives, or grins. Together we were the center of
attention until Jasper's Chevelle rumbled into the open grass beside my car. Emmett ,
Rosalie, and Jasper piled out of the vehicle and took their places as part of the reigning
court over the event.

"What it is, What it is," I said as Jasper and I slid our right hands together at the fingers
before pulling away to snap.

"Is she here?" Jasper asked. I knew he was talking about Alice, and nudged my chin to
indicate that she was standing with a group of girls over by the beer coolers. Jasper's eyes
followed the motion, and he nodded but didn't move toward her. He was trying to give her
space. In fact, he kept his distance all night. Even when Emmett blasted the stereo in his
car, inspiring all of the girls to get down and boogie there in the open area in front of our
cars… Jasper leaned up against the Chevelle and watched her surreptitiously over his beer.
He didn't seem to have eyes for any other bunny at the party. That shit gave me hope.

As for Bella… she was cool as hell to party with. It was the first time we had been out
together, with a large group of kids our age. But she wasn't clingy or weird. She danced with
Alice and gave me plenty of room to hang out with the guys. Even when Lauren and Jessica
started circling like vultures, Bella didn't do that jealous-girl shit. She smiled at me from a
distance and shrugged, trusting me to treat her right. It felt really fucking great. So great,
that I grinned while I grabbed a second beer from the cooler, completely ignoring the two
glossed-up Stellas that were vying for my attention, and I walked straight over to the only
girl at the party that I had even a bit of desire for.

Bella didn't complain when I lowered myself to sit cross-legged on the grass, and pulled her
down to sit on my lap.

"Having fun?" I asked her, handing her a beer.

"This party is decent," Bella grinned.

"You were too far away," I grumbled, moving her hair aside so I could nuzzle my nose and
lips into her neck. I didn't even care if it would earn me the title of being whipped. I didn't
leave her for the rest of the night. We sat by the fire and drank a few beers… getting toasty
and buzzed but not stupid. And Bella shocked the hell out of me when she took a couple
drags off a doobie that was passed around.

"You alright?" I asked against her ear, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind.

"Perfect," she mumbled. I kissed her neck again, because I agreed.

And then because everyone was drunk, or high, or both… the guys started in dancing too.
We alternated between the fast dance-tunes and the slow make-out music that played on
the radio. Bella and I practiced a couple of moves that we planned to put in our skating
routine. But mostly we just held on to each other, and swayed back and forth when the
music slowed down. Eventually the night started winding down, the beer and bud
disappeared, and people started to leave. Me and my crew moved over to our cars. I lifted
Bella to sit on the hood of my trans-am while Emmett, and Jasper leaned against the front
of the Chevelle. Jasper was busy eyeing the last group of party-goers to leave with Alice in
tow.

"I'm tired," he stated plainly. Obviously when his reason for coming to the party left, he was
ready to call it a night too. Emmett nodded and Rosalie sighed before moving toward the
car door. Since Jasper wasn't able to drive yet, Emmett was the chauffer.

"Guess we're gonna book it," Emmett told me. "You kids okay out here?"

"Yeah," I nodded. Bella was kicked back on my hood, and we were both finishing our
drinks.

"Don't do anything we wouldn't do," Rosalie snickered as she lowered herself into the back
of Jasper's car. I rolled my eyes. Bella just shrugged and brought her can up to her lips. I
smirked, realizing that she didn't seem like she was in any more of a hurry to leave than I
was.

When the Jasper's tail lights disappeared down the rutted track we drove in on, I slid up on
the hood to get closer to Bella and rolled on to my hip to face her. The music was gone,
and the air around us was filled with the wonderful summer sounds of crickets chirping in
its place.

"Did I totally blow your curfew?" I asked. Bella laid her empty beer can sideways on the
hood of the car, and flexed her fingers to release it. We both watched as it rolled and
bounced off the edge of the hood to land on the ground somewhere below.

"Nope," she said. "Charlie has a date tonight. He probably won't even come home."

"So…" I smiled and put my hand out on her hip.

"So…" she breathed back at me. And the next thing I knew, I had her pressed against the
windshield of the trans-am while we kissed each other senseless. Bella tasted like beer, and
mary jane, and something sweet and very

girl

… something distinctly

Bella

, that I could not

get enough of. I pressed my lips against hers and she shivered and pulled my hair to hold
me closer. It was insane how good I felt, finally being able to kiss this girl. And

touch

this

girl. As if my hands had a mind of their own in proving that exact thought… I roamed them
right up from her hips until I cupped both of her boobs in my hands.

"You're perfect," I groaned, because she fit just right. And I could feel everything through
that thin work t-shirt she wore, so I knew she was having fun too.

But even though her body signals were definitely telling me one thing… Bella pulled away
from my kisses. Her sudden resistance was telling me something completely different.

"Is everything alright?" I asked. Even as buzzed as I was, I remembered my manners
enough to lower my hands to circle around her ribcage while I asked. It might not have
seemed as sincere a question if I still had a handful of boobs while I asked it.

"Yeah," Bella nodded, and bit her lip. "I just feel… kinda exposed out in the open like this."

I looked around us with a relieved chuckle before sliding my hands back up to palm her
chest through her shirt.

"We're all alone out here," I nuzzled against her neck and bit her earlobe. "No one will see."

"I still feel… weird," Bella complained. I raised my head to look at her.

"Would you rather get in the car?"

Bella nodded and I slid off that hood faster than greased lightning. Before her feet even hit
the grass, I had the side door open for her, and the seat tilted up. Hood of the car…
backseat. The location didn't matter as long as Bella wasn't ready to shut me down for the
night.

As Bella climbed into the back of my car, I stared at her ass in those little yellow shorts and
pulled my t-shirt up over my head. It was fucking hot outside, and it would only be worse
in the car, even with the windows rolled down. Then I slid in beside her, closed the door
behind us, and tossed my shirt over onto the front seat. And if I thought I was going to
have to start over from scratch, I was happily mistaken. In a flash, Bella threw one of her
legs over me and straddled my lap. Her hands were on my bare chest, and I grabbed that

ass I had been dreaming about. With her concern for privacy somewhat more appeased,
we were right back to where we left off, making out like crazy.

God… no one could kiss like Bella. She had those full lips that I just loved to suck on. And
the way she moved her tongue against mine made me insane with wanting her. And fuck.
Her work shorts had played a starring role in most of my jerking-off sessions for weeks.
And tonight, she wasn't even stopping my fingers from pushing up under the edge of
material to stroke the bottom of her ass. In fact, she jumped forward a little and
satisfactorily rubbed herself right against the rock-hard bulge in my pants.

"So good," I murmured against her mouth. "So sweet."

My words encouraged her, because she spun off my lap to lie against the back seat, pulling
me down with her. I settled happily between her legs as she parted them. This was new,
and I took it as a definite signal to go forward. I pressed my hips up into her, and was
rewarded by a low, throaty moan. It was the hottest thing I had ever heard. It wasn't the
fake, exaggerated, high-pitched sex-sounds that so many girls seemed to have in their
arsenal for trying to turn a guy on. It was real, and eager, and I nearly creamed my jeans
just knowing that I was responsible for making her sound that way. I wanted to hear it
again. I wanted to hear more. But somehow, some tiny voice of reason started yelling in a
really loud way, in the back of my mind. This was farther than Bella and I had ever gone.
And it would be a really dickhead move of me to take advantage of the situation, unless I
knew for a fact that Bella was thinking clearly. It was an entirely new thing for me, to even
worry about that shit. But with Bella, it was important.

"Bella?" I gasped, trying to pull back a little so that I could look at her face. "Baby? Look at
me."

Bella opened her eyes and I stared at how fucking pretty she was with the moonlight
pouring through my back window.

"Edward? Why are you stopping?" she asked breathlessly.

"I… I need to…be sure…" I licked my lips and groaned when she wiggled her hips against
me again. "Are you drunk?" I asked in a rush.

Bella giggled and then put her hands on my cheeks.

"No," she breathed. "Its okay, Edward. I

want

you to touch me." That was all the

confirmation I needed.

I shifted just a little to the side, so that I could get my hand between us. I watched for cues
that I should stop, but Bella just closed her eyes and arched her neck back when my fingers
traced the tiny little center panel of her shorts.

"Can I…?" I hesitated at the edge of the yellow material and smiled when Bella swallowed
hard and nodded. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were a brilliant pink when I let my

fingers visit the promised land. God… she was so soft. And hot. And damp. And I groaned
and pressed my face into her neck to kiss her while my hand explored down below.

"Edward…" Bella breathed when I pushed a finger inside her. She was trembling a little,
which made me feel really damn good.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked against her throat.

"No…"

"Lift your shirt up," I instructed. I figured if she didn't have a problem with me fingering
her, she shouldn't be shy about letting me see her boobs. Bella hesitated only a second,
before lifting her shirt up enough to expose her tits to me.

"You're so foxy," I breathed before attacking her chest with my mouth. And Bella liked that
shit. She pushed her hands into my hair to hold me in place, and I did my best to add
another finger to the mix down below. Her hips moved in time to my motions, but that
didn't help a whole lot. She was really damn tight.

"Do you… wanna do it?" Bella breathed under me. I froze for a second, because I couldn't
believe she laid it out there like that. I hadn't even considered that we might be going all the
way tonight. But hell yeah, I wanted to do it.

"Hell yeah, I want to do it!" I repeated my inner excitement, looking up so I could see her
face. "Do you?"

"Yeah. I… think so," she whispered, looking shy. I hurried to make sure that her 'I think so'
would turn into an 'I

know

so' by kissing her the best way I knew how. We were certainly

cramped for space in the back of my car, but I let her hands work on the front snap and
zipper of my pants and groaned when the back of her fingers came in contact with my dick.
I had wanted her for too damn long, and felt damn-near ready to explode.

"Should we," Bella began trying to shift to a more comfortable position beneath me.

"Here… let me…" I breathed, trying to find purchase on the floorboard with my one leg that
wasn't stuck in the back of my car seat.

"Can you…" Bella twisted because her hair was caught under my elbow, so I rearranged my
arms and put my hands on her face to hold her still while we kissed again. And then before
I knew it, her hand grabbed my dick and I was pushing her shorts over to the side and
shoving my hips forward.

"Edward… I …

really

like you," Bella said with a raspy whisper.

"I really like you too," I promised, grunting a little because I was

so

close. We were both

breathing heavy and sweaty, and rubbing together. And then the tip was in, and I closed my
eyes and gripped the top of my backseat, trying to maneuver us both to where we needed
to be.

"Ow…" Bella hissed. And I furrowed my brow. Not a good sound.

"Here," I panted, trying to make her more comfortable. I grabbed her leg under the knee
and pulled it up so that her foot could go between the front seats. And that position
seemed to work a lot better because I slid at least halfway in.

Holy hell,

but she felt good. I

clenched my teeth together, trying not to come already.

"Ow!" Bella said more loudly this time. "Ow… ow… Ow! Edward."

"What?" I rasped down at her. I know we were cramped back there and everything… but I
was doing my best to make her comfortable. I was already on the brink of blowing my load,
only half-way in… and Bella was wincing and shifting around underneath me. "I can't… what
are you…"

"It hurts," she whimpered. My lust-filled brain was totally confused. Because from where I
stood, things felt really damn good and everything was coming together like it should. I
mean, sure she was tight and all. I mean like… really tight. But I wasn't built like John
Holmes or anything. I was pretty sure my dick was a generously-average size. And I made
sure she had been ready.

Bella shifted her hips and winced again, and suddenly it hit me like a big mack truck.

Bella was a virgin.

A fucking virgin.

Blame it on the beers… or just my ridiculously frustrated teen-hormones. Hell, blame it on
the heavy petting and the fantasies I'd harbored about this girl since the middle of the
school year. Blame it on the way she put her hands on my chest and tilted her hips up in
an effort to make it feel better for herself. I don't know. But all of a sudden I was shooting
my load like a thirteen-year old kid with his dick in his hand, looking at his first Cheryl
Tiegs poster.

Yeah. Grunting, groaning, shaking… orgasm face in place. Half-way in. Or hell… maybe a

little

more since she had been wiggling around so much. How fucking embarrassing.

I collapsed down on her still partially exposed chest and hid my face on her shoulder,
trying to get my breath back and figure out what the hell had just happened.

"Are you… are you done?" she asked in a small voice below me.

"Yeah," I panted against her t-shirt, feeling as humiliated as all hell.

"Can you… get off of me?"

I pushed myself into a sitting position and pulled my pants up from where they hung
around my calves, while Bella moved to sit beside me. Her hands were pressed palm to
palm like in prayer, held in place between her knees. Her head was bowed low enough so
that her hair shielded her face from my view. She was still fully dressed, for Christ's sake.

"Are you… okay?" I asked, pulling my hand through my hair. "Hell Bella… I didn't know."

"I need something to clean up with," she said quietly, still hiding her face from me. I licked
my lips and reached over the seat to grab my t-shirt. Without a word, I handed it to her.

She hesitated, and so I took my cue to give her a little privacy. I reached up again to open
the car door, and I got out of the backseat. I briefly wondered if my favorite t-shirt was
going to be ruined now. But then it occurred to me that it might even have some blood on
it, and I felt like a complete and total asshole. Feeling ashamed, I pressed a cigarette to my
lips and leaned back against the side of the car while I lit up.

By the time I had finished about half of my cigarette, I heard Bella get out of the car. But
then, without a word, she got in the front seat. That was my signal to take her the fuck
home. I crushed my cigarette on the ground under my foot, and silently got in the car.

I really wished my radio fucking worked. It was a very long drive back in to town, with
neither of us talking. I was stone-sober and my mind was going into over-drive trying to
figure out what the hell I should be saying to fix this. When we pulled up in front of Bella's
house, she turned to reach for the door handle. But I stopped her with my hand on her
wrist.

"Bella, I'm sorry," I finally blurted. "I didn't mean to hurt you. And I know that was really
shitty… and if I had known that you'd never…"

"Don't tell your friends, okay?" Bella asked in a weak voice. And then she sniffled. Fuck…
she was crying.

"What?" I asked, incredulously.

"Don't tell your friends. Or you know… your brother. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

I had been worried that she'd be the one to tell everyone what a lousy minute-man lay I
was. Yet

she

was acting like she was the one that had anything to feel ashamed for!

"I won't," I swore. "Hey… look at me."

She shook her head and continued looking down.

"Please Bella," I insisted. "Look at me. Come on."

Bella finally shifted her chin and looked up at me from under teary eyelashes.

"I wasn't lying," I said softly, looking into her eyes. "I like you. A lot. Maybe… maybe even

more

. You're… well hell. You're my chick. This was special to me. It's no one's business.

This is about

us

. No one else."

"I'm sorry it was so horrible," Bella sobbed out. And then we met in the middle with our
arms around each other. She was crying on my shoulder and I was brushing her hair back
and making shushing noises that just felt like the right ones to make.

"You didn't make anything horrible," I promised. "In case you didn't notice Bella… I wasn't
exactly able to keep my cool, ya know? You're perfect. Amazing even. "

Bella pressed her wet cheek on my bare chest and started making those little hiccupping
sounds that let me know she was done crying and just trying to get herself back together. So
I continued.

"I just wish I had known, honey. I mean… you're on the pill. So I thought, you know, you
and Mike…"

"That was something my Mom wanted me to do, before I came to live with my dad," Bella
explained. "She didn't want me to have to be uncomfortable, bringing it up to Charlie. You
know… if I ever wanted to …"

"I get it. It's just… if I had known, I could have done better than in the back of my car. I
would have done things…

right

." I wasn't trying to lay any blame on her. I didn't want her to

feel worse. I just wanted her to know that I

did

think it was a big deal. Worth more than

the way things went down.

"I didn't want you to stop," Bella shook her head. "I wanted to do it. I just didn't know it was
going to be like that."

"It gets better," I told her. "I promise."

"So… you're not breaking up with me?" She looked up at me, and asked that ridiculous
question with such sincerity, that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Break up with you?" I asked. "Are you kidding me?"

I leaned down and slowly kissed her because she let me. And when I raised my head, I
rubbed the tip of our noses together and smiled.

"I can't break up with you. We have a skating competition in less than a month. You're
stuck with me at least until then."

"At least," Bella gave me a little smile, showing me that she knew I was teasing.

"Are we okay?" I asked, feeling nervous about her answer.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're okay," Bella nodded. "Good night, Edward."

"Goodnight Bella."

I kept an eye on her until she made it into the house, and then pulled away from her drive.

~**~**~

Chapter thirteen ~ a different party

"Ungh!"

"Ooomph."

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. My chest rose and fell rapidly while I
sucked in harsh breaths.

"Are you okay?" I asked, pushing my sweaty bangs away from my face to look over at Bella.
She was breathing as heavily as I was, and even looked a bit stunned.

"I… think so," she winced a little. "Just… give me a minute. Okay?"

"Yeah…"

"This is never going to work," she finally whined a little, and I pushed myself to sit up.

"We'll get it," I promised. "It's… just going to take some more time."

"You don't have more time," Emmett scolded with his arms folded across his chest. "You
guys need to get these lifts down. We've only got another week until the competition. Now
get your asses up, and let's try it again."

I groaned and stood up, before offering a hand to help Bella to her feet as well. She
wobbled, unbalanced on the flooring beneath us. That was part of the problem. Emmett
and Rosalie had dumped just about every available furniture cushion off our basement
davenport set onto the floor, to give us padding in case we fell while working on our most
difficult lifts. But it was harder than hell to even stand on, let alone trying to do it while
holding Bella's weight above my head on locked arms.

"This time, grab your ankles to help hold the split position," Alice instructed. She had come
over to help with the finer details of our practice session.

"I'll try," Bella mumbled. I took a deep breath and bent down to get a grip under Bella's
arms. Emmett's hands at her waist helped me to hoist her up high. Once my elbows were
locked, Bella reached down and grabbed her calves. It was a fucking beautiful sight to
behold. Until my ankle twisted beneath me on the stupid cushion I stood on, and we went
tumbling again. This time, the side of Bella's foot hit me in the temple, and I swore and
clutched my head, literally seeing stars.

"Oh my God. Edward? I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Bella crawled over to me, and I tried to
rub that shit off. It hurt like a bitch, but I didn't want to look like a wimp.

"I'm ace. Don't worry about it," I grunted.

"Maybe we should call it a day," Rosalie suggested. "We don't have much time to get ready
for the party anyway."

I ignored Emmett's outstretched hand and got up on my own. Bella and I had both taken a
beating, falling no less than ten times today.

"Good idea," I nodded.

My parents were having one of their get-togethers that afternoon. It was a backyard
barbeque, disguised as a graduation party for Emmett. Really it was an excuse for my
father's friends and colleagues to mill around the lawn, drinking martinis and sharing
golfing stories while also bragging about how their offspring were going to follow in their
footsteps and someday take over the world. Or at least our small, rainy corner of it.

Bella had agreed to come to the party with me, as my date. It would be the first time I
would introduce her to my parents. The importance of that, didn't escape my attention. I
had never brought a girl home before. Doing so, would be pretty much announcing her
place as an important, and permanent, fixture in my life.

But who was I kidding? Bella

was

important… and I

wanted

her to be permanent

.

While I

tried my damndest to keep things relaxed and mellow between us ever since our night
together out at the Meadow, all of those scary and possessive thoughts that I worried I
probably

shouldn't

be having yet, kept buzzing around my brain. I didn't say anything,

because I didn't want to scare her off. But I couldn't help imagining like… the

future

and

stuff… with Bella at my side. I kept my feelings to myself, because I knew that shit bothered
her when she was with Mike. Still, she meant the world to me, and I was starting to use
those words like 'forever' and shit in my head when I thought about her.

"Can I use your bathroom?" Bella asked. I nodded and reached for her hand to lead her
upstairs. Since Bella had agreed on working in an extra practice session before the party,
we had planned for her to get ready at the house. Rosalie only had to get dressed, since she
didn't spend time getting dropped on her ass all morning. And Alice planned to stick
around to help both girls with their hair and make-up.

"You can use anything you need in here," I said, flipping on the light. "There's a clean
towel… and some shampoo…"

"Thanks," Bella smiled and stepped closer to me. I sighed and wrapped my arms around
her, pulling her against the damp front of my shirt before placing a slow, sweet kiss on her
lips. When I pulled away, she put her hands on either side of my face and tilted my head
down so that she could lightly kiss my sore temple.

"Sorry about kicking you," Bella whispered.

"I'm fine," I smiled. My head still hurt a little, but her attention made me feel much better.
"Now, hurry," I told her. "I'll have to get a shower when you're done." And probably jerk
off. But that went without saying. Bella nodded and turned to start the water, while I shut
the door quietly behind me. Already my mind was wandering to a place further down the
road, when she and I might have our own place. And maybe we'd be sharing that shower

right now. And

there

I went again, imagining things that I had

no

business thinking of. His

and hers towels? What the fuck.

"You would have had that lift, if you were in skates," Emmett told me. I looked up to see
him talking from my bedroom doorway while buttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing in my room?"

"Rosalie has turned mine into a fucking beauty parlor or some shit," Emmett shrugged.
"They're primping in there. Which is fine, because she'll look gorgeous when she's done.
But I don't want to smell like a goddamn girl all night, what with their powders and
perfumes and shit all flying around."

"Ah." I nodded and walked into my room to sit on the edge of my bed. Emmett leaned
against my dresser and looked at me.

"You and Bella are looking good."

"Thanks. The routine is coming together nicely," I agreed.

"I'm not talking about skating," my brother shook his head. "I mean… together. You're
looking good together. Something's changed."

I twisted my hands and shrugged. There was no way I was going to talk to him about what
had gone down between us. I promised Bella, and that shit was personal. While I never
had a problem talking about sex with Emmett before, he seemed to know that everything
was different this time, and never pressed the issue.

"Mom and Dad are gonna love her," he told me instead.

"I hope so," I nodded.

"Because

you

do." Emmett didn't make it a question. I nervously glanced at the open door

to see if we had an audience. I could still hear the shower running, and the quiet voices of
Rosalie and Alice chattering from down the hall.

I just shrugged, as much as confirming his statement. It's not like I had said that shit out
loud yet- not even to myself. But I sure had been thinking a lot along those lines lately.
Emmett grinned and nodded like he understood.

"I remember when I first brought Rosalie over to meet the folks," he smiled. "Mom hated
her."

"She just didn't think Rosalie was good enough for you," I argued. "What with her Dad
being a grease-monkey and all."

"She might be hard on Bella, too," Emmett warned. "And it's worse, cuz you're the baby."

"I don't really care what they think," I shrugged.

"Mom and Dad are sometimes full of shit," Emmett nodded solemnly. "They care way too
much about what other people think. But when it comes right down to it… they just want to
see us happy. And when they see how happy that girl makes you… nothing else will matter."

"Thanks, man," I smiled. I heard the bathroom door open then, and moved my head so
that I could catch a glimpse of Bella, wrapped in a towel, hurrying toward the girls in
Emmett's room.

"That's the stuff of fantasies," Emmett said, looking over his shoulder. I knew he was talking
about all three girls, doing God knows what behind his closed bedroom door.

"It's the only time my girl better be naked in your room, fucker," I laughed and swung my
pillow at his face. Emmett chuckled and left me to get ready for my shower.

A half hour later, I stood outside on the lawn wearing some itchy powder-blue slacks and a
nice, button up shirt. I tugged nervously at the points of my collar and opened another
button to deepen the V on my chest. It was humid, and would likely rain. I was already
sweating, waiting for the girls to come outside. My parents had finally showed up, from
whatever the hell they had been doing all morning to prepare for this shin-dig. And I was
getting anxious while I watched them greet their guests.

"Hey, man," I heard Jasper come up behind me on his crutches. We slapped each other
some skin and then turned to survey the lawn.

"Thanks for coming," I told him. Our parent's parties weren't known for being a lot of fun.
But at least they allowed us to have our gang on the invitation list.

"Wouldn't miss it," Jasper shrugged. He whistled lowly through his teeth while looking over
my shoulder, and I turned to see what had nabbed his attention so thoroughly.

Rosalie, Alice, and Bella walked in a united line from the backdoor of my house. It didn't
take a genius to realize that Jasper was rendered mute by the cute little green sundress than
Alice wore. But I was a little too preoccupied by the sight of Bella to give him shit about it.

Those girls had somehow put big, bouncy curls in Bella's hair, which she wore down and
fastened back on both sides with those sparkly little heart clips that I had first noticed in
our English class. But her dress… nearly brought me to my knees. It was bright blue, with a
flouncy sort of ruffle that rested across her chest and the top of her arms, leaving her
shoulders completely bare. The skirt swirled and skimmed around her knees, and I was
pretty sure I'd never seen a girl look so beautiful.

"Bella…" I gulped when she finally stood in front of me. "You look… um… well, you are…
uh…" Yeah. Not my smoothest moment.

"You too," Bella whispered, smoothing her hand down the front of my silky shirt. I smiled
and grabbed her fingers, pulling them away only far enough to bend and place a kiss on her
palm. Bella grinned and tightened her hand around mine.

Emmett moved to throw an arm over Rosalie's tanned shoulders, and I noticed with
satisfaction that Alice and Jasper remained a part of our loose-circle without seeming too
uncomfortable.

"Ready to meet my folks?" I asked Bella. Her fingers tightened a little in mine, but that was
the only indication she gave about being nervous. I stared at the delicate rise of her collar-
bones as she pushed her chin up and her shoulders back.

"Yes," she nodded. I grinned and pulled her toward the buffet line where my parents were
still greeting their guests. Mom saw us first, and ended a conversation she was having while
placing her hand on Dad's arm. He looked up expectantly, and eyed the two of us as we
moved to join them.

"Mom. Dad," I smiled and moved to put my arm around Bella's waist. "I'd like you to meet
Bella Swan."

"Charlie's daughter?" My father asked with his eyebrow raised. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Bella breathed.

"Your mother and I went to school together," my mom smiled a little. "How is Renee?"

"Fine, I suppose," Bella shrugged. "Busy seeing the world from the cab of a semi," she
smiled.

"She… is married to … a

truck driver?"

My mother asked with something akin to terror on

her face. Bella tilted her head, un-phased. I knew that her step-father actually owned his
own trucking company. But Bella didn't really place much emphasis on his salary.

"She's very happy," Bella nodded.

"Good. That's good," my dad chimed in. My mom sipped her drink, obviously disagreeing.

Emmett and Rosalie walked up to join our group, and I listened as my brother received
congratulations from those in the vicinity. I handed Bella a glass of lemonade with a wink,
and smiled politely while Emmett discussed his college plans. My father was obviously
proud of at least one of his sons wanting to follow his footsteps into a career in the medical
field. Though Emmett's goals were centered more on sports medicine, my parents liked
the idea of having another doctor in the family.

"And what about you, Edward?" I recognized the woman who asked, as a member of the
administration at the hospital where my father worked. I shrugged and sipped my drink,
wishing I'd have had a chance to spike it.

"You all don't have much time to decide," my mother glanced around at each of us. "You'll
be graduating next year. You need to have your plans in place."

"Rosie's moving to Seattle to be with me after she graduates," Emmett said, reaching down
to kiss Rosalie on the cheek. My parents were already aware of her plan to be a business

major. She had been helping to run the office at her dad's shop for years already. They
planned to keep the business in the family.

"And what about you, Bella?" my mother asked. "What are your plans for the future? Lord
knows- Edward can't seem to make up

his

mind."

I cringed a little and frowned down at the grass. It's not like Bella and I had discussed any
of this yet. When last she mentioned it, she told me she was thinking of travelling a bit after
high school. It seemed that my mother was insinuating that Bella would follow me… like
Rosalie was following Emmett.

"I haven't decided on a school yet, either," Bella shook her head. "I'm kind of leaning
toward a career in teaching though." My head popped up at this new revelation, and I
looked at Bella intently.

"Teaching?" my father asked.

"Mmm-hmm," Bella nodded. "I really like poetry. Perhaps I could teach English?"

"I think you'd be a wonderful teacher," I told her truthfully. Bella glanced up at me and
blushed prettily. My head was spinning with all sorts of new possibilities. Bella could go to
school just about anywhere she wanted, for a degree like that.

"Poetry?" My mother asked, sounding actually interested for once. "Do you have any
favorites?"

"I'm fond of E.E. Cummings," Bella grinned. I snorted and nearly choked on my drink.

"I think you kids have entertained us old people, long enough," my father announced then.
He was graciously dismissing us from further interrogation, and I grinned my thanks as I
pulled at Bella's waist to lead her away from their group.

"Breathe, Bella," I whispered into her ear when we finally stepped far enough away to speak
privately. She exhaled a shaky breath and looked relieved to be out of the line of fire.

"Cummings?" I smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Were you trying to kill me, back there?"

Bella giggled and pushed her hair back.

"It was the first poet that came to mind," she dimpled. "Your mom is scary!"

"I'm pretty sure you won her over," I smiled and tilted my head toward a little bench swing
that hung in a frame near the garden. Bella nodded, and we sat side by side. I used my feet
to push us back and forth a little while we looked out at the party in front of us.

"Do you want this?" Bella asked. I looked out in front of us for a moment.

"Some of it," I replied truthfully. "Though I'd rather be surrounded by my friends, than co-
workers I'm busy trying to impress. It gets tiring, always putting on a show."

"Hmm." Bella nodded and continued to contemplate the well-dressed company on our
lawn.

"You don't want to be a doctor," Bella said. "Not like Emmett. Not like your dad."

"No," I said. "The money is nice. I mean… our dad has given us a good life and everything.
I just…"

"What?" Bella asked, turning her head to look at me. We hadn't really talked about this
kind of stuff before. I felt like we were taking a very important step.

"He works all the time," I shrugged. "I'd like to do something I enjoy. But I'd want more
time for a family. I think…

your

dad had the right idea in that way. Do something you love.

And… you know. Make time for the people who matter."

"Well, for what it's worth…" Bella reached down to take my hand between both of hers. "I
think you can do anything you set your mind to, Edward."

"When I'm with you… I think so too," I confided. She tipped her head back so that I could
kiss her then, and I enjoyed a few minutes of heaven before we were interrupted by the rest
of our crew.

"Brutal," Emmett huffed as he lowered himself to sit in the grass. He promptly pulled a
flask from his pocket, and took a long drink. Not wanting to dirty her dress, Rosalie sat
gingerly across his lap. Alice sat neatly on her knees, while Jasper leaned with his crutches
against the nearby tree. The soft strains of Tom Jones could be heard above the hum of
conversations and laughter drifting from the party.

"God. Can you imagine when we're all old like this, and having our own barbeques?"
Rosalie asked.

"We'll be playing better music," Jasper laughed. Alice smiled a little while running her
fingers through the soft tips of the grass. Bella just leaned into my side. It was like an
automatic agreement and understanding, that we would all, somehow, remain in each
other's lives, after this summer… after high school. At that moment, everything felt right in
the world.

~**~**~

Chapter fourteen ~ Practice makes perfect

The sun was just starting to set when the adults had officially had enough to drink, to not
notice us sneaking away from their party. "Catch you all later," Emmett grinned, leading
Rosalie inside by the hand. I waited for Bella to retrieve her bag, and then the rest of us
walked out front to pile into my car. Alice and Jasper sat quietly, not touching, in the back
seat. At least they weren't fighting. I dropped Jasper off first, and then did a pass by Alice's
place to let her out before heading over to Bella's.

"Long day," I stretched my arm over the space between us to twirl a little bit of her hair
around my fingers.

"It was a nice day," she nodded.

"The party was lame," I scrunched up my nose. "You don't have to be nice."

"The party

was

lame," Bella nodded. "I still had a nice time. I like hanging out with you,

Edward."

"Good to know," I grinned. Because I wasn't planning on going anywhere, for a long time. "I
liked having you there."

Bella smiled and turned her attention out my side window until we pulled up in front of
her house.

"Do you want to come in, and maybe watch television or something for a while?" Bella
asked. I smiled, because I was hoping she'd ask. I really didn't feel like going back home
right away.

"Will you get in trouble with your dad?" I asked. "Having me in while he's at work?"

"The Chief doesn't have to know," Bella smirked. "Come on, chicken."

I twisted the keys out of my ignition and shoved my hands in my pockets while following
her up the walk. Once inside, Bella kicked off her little sandals by the door, and led the
way on silent, bare feet.

"This is our living room," Bella said, beginning her tour. "The dining room… dad's office…
the kitchen. Do you want a coca-cola?"

"Got a beer?" I asked. Bella frowned.

"Dad probably would notice if one was missing."

"Pop it is, then," I said. Bella nodded and pulled a can from the refrigerator for me. I
opened it and took a drink while looking around. Her house was small, but tidy. There
wasn't a lot of stuff lying around, to give me any insight about the girl who lived there. "Can
I see your room?" I asked.

"Ummm… yeah. Sure," Bella shrugged. "It's a little messy though." I studied the sway of her
dress on the back of her legs while Bella led the way upstairs. "Dad's room," she pointed at

a closed door, finishing her duties as tour guide. "Bathroom," she indicated with a tilt of her
head. "

My

room." She opened the door wide, and stood aside so that I could enter the

small space before her.

"This is nice," I smiled, looking around.

"Thanks," Bella said. I walked a few steps in, eyeing the items that sat on the top of her
dresser. A brush, some elastic she used to tie her hair back… a bottle of lotion. I carefully
put my drink down and picked up the small container to sniff at it tentatively. It didn't
really have much of a smell, so I smiled and put it back down.

"Your friends," I grinned, looking up at the pictures that were stuck under the edge of her
mirror. I recognized a few black and white snap shots that had been included in the year
book.

"

Some

of them," Bella murmured. I met her eyes in the mirror and smiled. My fingers

grazed the soft strings of the pom-pom that hung in the corner, and then I turned to check
out the rest of her room.

"Donny and Marie?" I asked, walking to look more closely at a poster that was tacked to the
wall near her bed. "And… it's autographed?"

"My dad gave that to me," Bella shrugged. "They were at some convention in Seattle that he
went to."

"Ah," I nodded. She had a purple scarf draped over the top of her lamp on the table by her
bed, casting the room in a warm glow. A worn paper-back book rested there as well. I
didn't walk into her closet, but I did frown at the poster displayed on the inside of the open
door.

"Who's this doofus?" I asked with a frown, tapping the glossy paper with the back of my
fingernails. Bella stepped up beside me.

"That's Leif Garrett," she said, sounding breathy all of a sudden. I shot a glance down at
her, and noticed her cheeks were pink as she looked up at the cheesy-looking pin-up boy.

"He looks like a chick," I said, with my lip curled.

"Shut up…

he'ssocute

," Bella rushed the words out, and I was torn between wanting to rip

the poster down and laughing at her reaction. I settled, instead, on closing her closet door.

"Yeah well… I don't want 'lover boy' staring at me," I said. Bella nodded in an embarrassed
way, and stepped back into the center of the room, twisting her hands behind her back.

"So… that's it," Bella said quietly. "Not much else to see."

"I like it," I nodded. "It

feels

like you."

"Thanks," Bella replied again. She fidgeted with the flouncy part of her dress that hung off
her shoulders for a moment, before straightening her back and smiling up at me. "There
is… one more thing I'd like to show you," Bella said.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked.

"Want to sit down for a minute?" Her eyes darted to her small bed, and I grinned and sat
obediently on the side of it. Bella turned toward a small desk that sat in the corner of her
room, and started rummaging through the papers and books that rested there. I waited
patiently until she turned with a ragged looking steno-pad in her hands and a proud "a-ha"
on her lips.

"Your notebook?" I lifted my eyebrow while I looked at her.

"English notes," Bella said quietly, hugging the book to her chest. "But there are a couple of
my poems in here too. You said you liked the one I read in class…"

"I did," I nodded enthusiastically, suddenly itching to get that paper out of her hands and
into my own. I wanted to see what other wonderful words she had written inside. "By the
way...why didn't you ever tell me that you were thinking of becoming a teacher?" I asked
then, with my thoughts pulled to our earlier conversation.

"You never really asked," Bella shrugged, still holding the notebook. "About college… or
anything."

"Yeah well…" I rubbed my hand nervously across the back of my neck and looked at the
floor. "I know you didn't like it when Mike brought up that sort of stuff. So… you know. I
didn't want to freak you out."

"Well…

you're

not Michael," Bella argued softly.

"Thank God for that!" I laughed. Bella giggled a little too, and I toed the carpet under my
feet. "So… anyway. It's not that I didn't care to ask," I explained. "I just didn't want to bring
up stuff that you weren't ready to think about. I… didn't want to send you running."

"I wouldn't run," Bella said quietly. I looked up at her and she blushed prettily.

"Can I see your notes now?" I asked. Bella nodded and walked over to sit beside me on the
bed. She bit her lip when she handed that notebook over, and I smiled my thanks.

My fingers skimmed lightly over the pressed marks her pen left on the paper, while I
flipped through the pages of her scribbled thoughts. She doodled a lot in class. Bella read
silently over my shoulder. I slowed down when I got to the poem I recognized as the one
she read in class, and soaked up the words once again in my mind.

"And look.

This

is what I wanted you to see," Bella said, reaching over me to turn a few

more pages. There, in the top corner, were the initials E.C written with a little heart
surrounding them.

"That's me," I smiled, tracing the design.

"You don't know how long I've waited for you," Bella said softly. I turned my face then, and
had to swallow hard when I saw the depth of her feelings displayed in her wide, brown
eyes. It was all there…laid bare for me to see. It was the then, and the now… and even the
future that she hadn't wanted to consider before. Because Mike Newton wasn't the right guy
for her. But

I

was.

I gently reached up to cup the side of her face, and drew her to me. The notebook slid off
my lap and onto the floor when she sighed into my kiss. And it wasn't frantic, or messy, or
any of the things that sometimes makes kissing a whole lotta fun. But I was pretty sure it
was, at that point, the most important kiss of my life.

"Edward?" Bella asked against my mouth.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"I want to try it again."

She didn't need to spell that shit out. I knew what '

It'

she was referring to… and I really

wanted to try it again, too. So our kiss changed then, to resemble something more like the
frantic, messy, fun kind. I gripped the side of her hip and tried to pull her closer to me.
But our bodies were twisted at a weird angle while we sat side by side, so I huffed in
irritation and moved to shift my body on the bed. But then I was kind of pulling her skirt
with my knee, and the material of her dress made a little tearing sound that caused us both
to pause and frown down with worry.

"My dress," Bella breathed.

"Needs to come off," I growled. Because as pretty as it was… and as beautiful as she looked
in it… I really just wanted to get that girl naked. Bella nodded and I said some sort of inner
prayer of thanks that she wasn't hesitating when I stood up and pulled her with me.

I had space to move, and breath, and take my time. And damn, if it wasn't

so

much better

than the fumbling moments we spent in the backseat of my trans-am. I kissed her again,
and pulled my mouth down her neck and across the bare shoulders that I had been dying
to get my lips on, all day. Her skin was smooth and white… not the summer-kissed color
that Alice and Rosalie wore from hanging out at the pool every day. But it was prettier
because she matched

me

. I kissed the back of her neck while I slowly worked down the

zipper on the back of her dress, and then I smiled in happiness when I watched the
material slip down, down, onto the floor at her feet. Bella stood in front of me, wearing
only a tiny pair of panties.

"You're beautiful," I murmured, walking back around to face her. Bella had lifted her arms
to cross over her chest shyly. But I couldn't complain about her covering her boobs. My
eyes had zoned in on the little letters that decorated the front of her underwear. '

Saturday'

was scrolled in pink stitching across the white cotton, and my mouth went dry. Suddenly
my heart was pounding in my chest to match a beat that went along to the Bay City Rollers
chanting in my head.

S-A-T U R- D A Y- Night! S-A-T U R- D A Y- Night!

"Edward?" I gulped and pulled my eyes up to meet hers again. "Are you… going to get
undressed too?"

I nodded rapidly like a fool, and started tearing at the buttons of my shirt. Then it dawned
on me that Bella might feel self-conscious just standing there in her underwear…

S-A-T U R…

…Damn it. I needed to focus. Yeah right. Like I was saying… I didn't want Bella to be
uncomfortable and maybe start to get nervous, so I pulled her to me and started kissing her
again. And then her fingers were pushing my shirt off my shoulders… and my fingers
groped at her chest. Then we both moaned, and Bella went for the button at the top of my
slacks. Before I knew it, I was standing in the middle of her bedroom wearing only my own
tight little black underwear and some white socks pulled ridiculously high up my calves.

"Shit," I swore, feeling like a jerk. Bella giggled while I bent at the waist and started hopping
around, trying to pull my socks off. I was out of breath by the time I finally succeeded, and
looked up through my mop of hair to see Bella smiling widely at me. I growled playfully
and lunged, tackling her onto the bed behind us.

So the first time we tried it, in the back of my car… things didn't work out so great.

Our second time trying it, was wild. Bella and I laughed our way through most of it, feeling
more comfortable with ourselves and with each other. We kissed, and made-out, and
rolled around like crazy, causing her lamp to crash on the floor. I think that was my leg.
But it might have been one of hers. I dove under the covers, and came back up with her

Saturday

panties as my trophy. She didn't know it… but I planned on keeping those. And

then her legs were spread around me, and our hips were pressing closer… and I tried to be
gentler this time, and give her the time she needed to get used to my body. But Bella
grabbed my ass and pulled me to her faster than I thought I would have to go. And then…
it was perfect and hot, and I actually made it all the way

in

that time so I was in heaven.

There was a lot of grunting and groaning (mostly on my part) and panting and moaning (on
hers)… and kissing and sucking… and weirdly awkward movement until we sort of fell into
sync with each other. And then it was better than anything, ever felt before. Every muscle in
my body seemed to lock up with the force of my orgasm. And Bella sweetly kissed my
shoulder and pulled her fingers up and down my back while I shuddered and trembled on
top of her.

Afterward, she curled up against the side of my damp chest, and I let my fingers play lazily
in her hair. We didn't talk a lot. We were both content to just be together, while our

thoughts took us in a million different directions. And when the moon finally offered
enough light through her bedroom window, I turned to look at her. Bella smiled up at me
in the hazy-blue darkness and traced my bottom lip with her finger. So I kissed the tip of it.
And then I leaned over to kiss her again. Bella sighed and slid under me. And then, like
magnets, we fell into the pull that brought our bodies together again.

The third time we tried it… we made love.

I held Bella's face between my hands, and kissed her softly, over and over. I pulled at her
lips with mine, and swallowed her sighs. I was worried that she'd likely be sore… it wasn't
like she'd done this a lot, and I had been pretty rough with her earlier. So I kept our hips
close together and mostly just ground myself into her. But I must have been doing
something right with that… because Bella tilted her hips up to bring me deeper, and she
started making these really awesome little sounds that she couldn't seem to help. So I did it
harder. And she grabbed me harder. And I pressed a little higher. And she made more of
those sounds. And then it was like a miracle or something when I felt Bella start to shake
beneath me. She dug her flat finger-nails into my hips really hard and squeezed her eyes
shut. Her mouth popped open in the prettiest little circle, and her air rushed out just
before she arched her back and said my name in a broken whisper. I felt her tightening all
around me, and I hurried to reach my own end. Not like I had to try hard. I had just given
Bella Swan her first orgasm… and that was enough to send me over the edge on my own.

Try to top

that

, Leif Garrett

!

I held Bella close to me, and swallowed hard. I listened as her breathing evened out. Her
body relaxed, and she fell asleep with her hand curled over my heart. I picked up her
hand, and brought it to my lips tenderly, kissing her fingertips before placing it back on my
chest. And then I was really fucking glad to know that she was asleep, because I felt a
couple completely unexpected and un-fucking-explainable tears make their way out of the
side of my eye and run down toward my ear. I used the back of my hand to roughly wipe
the evidence away, and I laid there in the dark just feeling everything all at once.

People will always say, that when you are a kid, you never really know what you want. But
I'll argue about that until the day I die. Because maybe I was only eighteen. And maybe I
was just riding the high of having two really awesome orgasms with a beautiful, naked girl
sleeping against me. But right there and then… I

knew

that Bella was all I'd ever want, for

the rest of my life.

I tried my best not to wake her, when I slid out of her bed. I wasn't sure what time it was,
but I knew I had to get the fuck out of dodge before the Chief closed the Dive down for
the night, and made his way home. I dressed silently, and watched Bella shift under the
covers I had pulled up over her. I felt sort of bad, sneaking out while she was asleep. But
hey- I wore that girl out. It didn't seem right to wake her.

My eyes landed on the notebook that I had dropped on the floor, and I bent to retrieve it.
After locating a pen on her desk, I smiled and flipped to an empty sheet of paper at the
back. Larger than what she doodled in class, I wrote Bella's initials in the center of the
page, and drew a large heart around them. Then I propped the book up on her bedside
table, dropped the pen, and quietly made my way out.

Hopefully she'd understand the message when she woke.

She was in my heart, too. And I had been waiting for her… for just as long.

~**~**~

Chapter fifteen ~ The Skate Off

On the morning of the competition, Charlie had the doors unlocked early for my crew.
Since he wasn't sitting in the judging booth that night, it was okay for him to play favorites.
He let us practice as much and as often as we needed.

"Don't worry," Emmett said. He shut his own car door and frowned at my expression. "We
got this. We've been working our asses off. Today is just a run-through to see how all of
our routines work together."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," I nodded. But I didn't know. We had finally broke down and asked
James to stand in as the single skater on our team. It pissed me off, to no end. I figured the
dipshit would just as soon strangle me with my skate laces, than ever help me out. But I
underestimated his resolve to impress Bella at any cost. All she had to do was bat her long
eyelashes at him, and ask nicely. Hell, the guy probably would have laid down on train
tracks for her.

Bella was sitting beside James on a bench, and looked up with relief the moment we
walked in.

"Thank God," Bella breathed, as she skated over to me and kissed me lightly in greeting. "If
I had to hear anymore about how Luke Skywalker is superior to Han Solo, I was going to
die."

"Death by Star Wars," I muttered with a grin against her lips.

"Hey Chief!" Emmett greeted Bella's father loudly, and I took that cue as a reminder to step
away from Bella instead of lingering with my mouth against hers.

"Hey there, kids," Charlie called back. "I've got the music ready to go. We'll run through
this as soon as you're ready."

"I'm here," Jasper called out from the door. We all nodded our greetings as he hobbled up
to us on his crutches. "Let's do this."

Jasper took his place on the half-wall, watching our routines with a practiced eye. He had a
lot riding on our performance, but was genuinely helpful, offering suggestions like "lock
your arms," and "hold your right leg higher." He was able to see what we could not, and had
kept himself a valuable part of the team. I cringed while James ran through his solo skate.
He couldn't hold a candle to anything I might have done out there, and we all knew it. But
at least we would be allowed to compete. And Jasper, wisely, didn't critique what James had
put together. Beggars can't be choosers.

Bella and I ran through our routine more smoothly than ever. Since our relationship
shifted the night of my parent's party, our routine had started coming together more easily
than I ever imagined it could. It was like Bella trusted me more. And I worked hard not to
let her down. Our entire number had more lifts than double-footwork. But all in all, it
looked really great. When we came off the floor, I saw Charlie wipe the back of his hand
under his eye.

"You… look beautiful out there Bells," Charlie said, wrapping her in a hug. He
contemplated me over her shoulder for a moment before giving me a nod of approval and
twitch of his moustache (which I now understood, was a grin.) I nodded back and took
Bella's hand to lead her over to Jasper's last minute coaching.

"Rosalie," Jasper instructed, "don't skate ahead of Emmett when you start doing hip thrusts.
You need to keep him in your peripheral… because he's almost always just a little ahead of
the beat. But if you match your hips to his, it won't look so obvious."

Rosalie nodded and Emmett shrugged, taking the suggestion to heart, instead of being
insulted.

"James," Jasper said, "Just… uh. Just do your best out there."

"Got it," James nodded.

"Edward?" Jasper looked up. "You guys are doing really good. Like… better than I thought
you guys would do, if I'm being honest. So… get some rest today so you can keep your
frame tight tonight. You've got to get her flying. It's looking good. Lookin' real good."

Bella wrapped her arms around my middle, and we both accepted his compliment.

"Listen, guys," Jasper finally said. "I know that I've put way more pressure on all of you, than
there ever needed to be. It's my fault that I let my mouth over-ride my ass. And if this
doesn't go well tonight, well… I just want you to know that I won't blame any of you. If I
lose the Chevelle… it's

my

fault. My fault for making such a stupid side bet. And it's my

fault that our team isn't what it used to be. I'll own that. I don't want you to worry about it. I
want you all just to go out, and be as boss as you can."

"Thanks, man." Emmett voiced appreciation for all of us, and we moved to the exit to go
our separate ways until we had to return for the competition later. I planned to take it easy,
and rest as advised. Bella planned to spend time with Rose, getting last minute adjustments
made to their skating costumes.

"I'll catch your act later," I told Bella, kissing her one more time by the door before I left.

"See you," she told me.

~78~

"Later" turned out to be exactly six hours later, out in the parking lot of the Swan Dive.
Emmett, Jasper and I stood outside, seriously debating the benefits of maybe toking just a
little to mellow our nerves. I smiled up at the doors when I saw Bella leave the building,
walking over to us. She still wore street clothes, but her hair had been styled so that it fell
around her shoulders in giant, bouncing waves and curls that reminded me of how she
wore it at my parent's party. And she wore a blue and silver braided headband across her
forehead that I knew would match our costumes. She looked like a dream. But a blasting
noise barreling forward from the road turned my head toward the opposite direction. The
Wolfpack screamed into the parking lot in a cloud of dust and rusty fenders.

"Whitlock," Sam sneered as he got out of his vehicle in the next aisle over. "Careful where
you're leaning. Your ass is on

my

car."

Jasper narrowed his eyes and spared a quick glance to the shiny hood of the Chevelle
behind him before turning back to Sam.

"Oh yeah?" Jasper shrugged. "Well…

you're

standing on my

dick,

bro. Yeah. I'm a big boy.

Need proof? Ask your Mama."

Sam gritted his teeth and made like he was going to come our way, but Emmett and I
immediately met shoulders in front of our incapacitated friend and Sam's buddies grabbed
his arms.

"Save it for the floor," Jacob snarled.

"Yeah, save it for the floor," Bella shouted over as she finally reached us. I put my arm
around her shoulder and pulled her into my side, keeping my eyes on the other skating
team in front of us. "I'd hate for the Chief to have to disqualify either of our teams for
fighting."

"

Our

teams?" Jacob asked. "Oh… no. Bella? You

can't

be serious!" A wide smile pulled

across his features when he figured out the meaning of her words. Bella narrowed her eyes
and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You got a problem with that, Jacob Black?"

"No! No problem at all," Jacob snickered. "You just might as well hand over that pink slip
now. And that trophy is

mine

."

I could tell by the rigid set of Bella's shoulders that she would just

love

to tear Black a new

one. But she stayed on the high-road and flipped her hair over her shoulder before looking
up at me with a confident smile.

"Let's go," she whispered.

I allowed her to lead me toward the building, but not before giving Jacob a smug look over
her shoulder. It was so obvious that he wanted what I had. He could take the trophy, and
he could cram it right up his ass. I was already the winner here, and he knew it.

Inside, the place was bustling. I had never seen so many people packed into the Swan
Dive. Seasoned skaters, rink rats… whole families came to watch the spectacle, just as we
promised. Charlie strutted around looking pleased as punch. We found Rosalie and James
waiting for us by the half-wall. Bella let Rose pull her away, and I turned to the guys, set to
use the men's room to change into our own costumes. When we emerged, I knew that we
were a fucking sight to be seen. The girls had done a great job getting our costumes put
together so that we complimented each other. Rose and Emmett would look awesome in
red and gold. Bella and I were to be dressed as their cool counter-parts in blue and silver.
James dressed in black, which is exactly what I would have done, if I had remained the
single skater for our team. I grinned, realizing that I was actually happy to have a reason for
the shiny silver shirt that was pulled tight across my chest.

My jaw dropped when I saw the girls walking toward us. Okay… so I should maybe make
that singular.

Girl

.

Woman. Lady.

Rosalie swung her hips as she walked beside Bella, but I

only had eyes for my girlfriend. Bella's costume was little more than an electric blue dance-
leotard that was held over her shoulders with tiny silver-sequin straps. Silver fringe swayed
across her hips and played against the top of her thighs. My fingers itched to pull through
it… to bury my face against it… to…

"Edward?" Bella stood in front of me. "Are you alright?"

I realized I was breathing hard and my eyes were bugging out of my skull at the way her
boobs were displayed in the top of her costume. I probably looked like I was having an
attack or something. And I needed to calm the fuck down… because my own tight blue
pants really didn't leave room for the wood I was on the verge of sporting.

"You look beautiful," I told her. "Perfect."

I watched as Bella's face pulled into an angelic smile before she turned and rested her back
against my chest so that we could watch the beginning of the competition on the floor.

First the rink rats from the beginner's class took the floor. They weren't there to compete.
They were the warm-up… showing off their newly learned skills. I was proud of the little
shits as I watched them make their way around the floor. When my mini-love-guru skated
by me, wearing a t-shirt that proudly stated '

Up your nose with a rubber hose,'

he gave me a

theatrical wink and thumbs up before sliding down into the splits and pulling himself back
up to a fast spin. I was gonna have to watch that one. He'd seriously be giving me a run for
my money in a few years.

"What's with the winking?" Bella asked me over her shoulder. I kissed the tip of her nose
and then looked back out to the floor.

"I never have any idea what that kid is up to," I replied honestly.

All together, seven skating pairs (including the two from our team and two from the
Wolfpack) and ten single skaters had signed up for the skate-off. Jasper's side-bet would be
won by the highest combined scores from our two teams. The competition was underway.
Bella shuffled her skates nervously below her, and I felt the adrenaline start to amp
through my body as Emmett and Rosalie held hands and made their way out to the floor
for their number.

I smiled widely when all the lights went off. Then a single red spinning bulb started pulsing
its light around the room when a loud siren started wailing. Emmett and Rosalie had
chosen to skate to

Fire

by the Ohio Players. And as soon as the music started, the lights

came back up and Rose and Emmett were in motion.

They were fucking amazing. They blurred past the crowd in their red and gold costumes,
showing off flashy dance moves that were as fly and hip as anything the Soul Train dancers
could have thrown down. And their lifts were truly impressive. At one point, Emmett held
Rosalie high above his head, with his hands planted in the middle of her chest and
stomach. He proceeded to spin her helicopter-style. She actually went airborne a couple of
times, only to be caught again by the firm placement of his palms. I knew that shit would
probably leave bruises, but it looked aces. And Rosalie was tough as hell. They ended the
performance with her sitting on one of his shoulders. Both of their arms were thrown up
high as they breathed heavily and smiled like an Ultra Brite toothpaste ad. I pushed two
fingers between my teeth to whistle loudly while Bella clapped her hands excitedly. The
entire crowd loved their number. Emmett lowered Rosalie to the floor and together they
skated toward the concession stand to get some water.

"They were… wow." Bella said.

"I know," I nodded. I was at a loss for words, too. We'd been practicing for so long, but I
had no idea they were really going to be

that

good. Their performance actually helped me

to loosen up a little. I knew that their score would likely give Bella and me a little more
breathing room, with ours.

With Rosalie and Emmett standing beside us once more, we watched as the first team from
the Wolfpack skated. Leah and Seth were really good. It wasn't nearly as sexy as Emmett
and Rosalie's number. But come on… they were brother and sister. That shit would have
been gross. Seth couldn't hold Leah up in the great lifts that Emmett and Rosalie were able
to pull off. But their timing was impeccable and we all had to nod and give the applause
where it was due when they finished. We might have stood a chance, but it definitely was
not going to be a walk in the park.

A few more couples took their turn before Bella and I were called out to the floor. I took a
deep breath and looked over at her with the practiced smile on my face. She didn't return
the look. In fact, she kinda looked like she was going to barf.

"Bella?" I asked through my teeth.

"I'm…. I'm…" Bella stuttered and blinked a few times. I grabbed both of her hands and
turned her toward me, ignoring the crowd for a moment. Lowering my head until our
foreheads touched, I spoke to only her.

"It's just us," I whispered soothingly. "Just the way we practiced. You can do this.

We

can do

this."

"I

know,"

Bella said with a small voice. "I just… I don't want to disappoint you."

I opened my eyes and forced her chin up with the tip of my finger until I could look
directly into hers.

"That's never gonna happen," I vowed. "Bella… you could go out there and do the Hokey
Pokey… and I'd follow you, baby. I'll follow you anywhere.

Any

way. You hear me? You

could

never

disappoint me."

"The Hokey Pokey?" Bella giggled.

"I've gotten really good at it," I teased with a nod. And it was true. I really had.

"Okay Edward. I'm ready," Bella said. We both plastered the smiles on our faces and
skated out to our starting point on the floor. Bella turned and pressed her back against
mine as the music started.

Together, we had chosen to skate to

Get down tonight

by K.C and the Sunshine band. We

wanted something lively and fun that would entertain the crowd while we tried to wow
them. I linked my fingers with Bella's and bent forward at the waist so that her body could
lay down over mine. She kicked her feet up over her head and ended up in front of me
with a huge grin on her face just as it was time for us to start shaking our asses.

'Do a little

dance… make a little love…'

Bella's fringe shimmied and shined while we synchronized our hip movements to the beat.
But just as the band sang its first

'get down tonight,'

Bella nearly did just that. I watched with

alarm as her skate started to slide from underneath her. The floor work was still the

hardest for her. But as I promised, I refused to let my girl fall. I quickly spun out and
wrapped my arm around her waist. With a lean and a spin, I pulled her feet off the floor to
fly in front of me in a full circle. It ended up looking like we planned that move. Bella
smiled at me gratefully, and I put her feet back on the floor to continue our choreography.

Our routine, from that moment forward, went by without a hitch. Bella ducked between
my legs and went into a split before I pushed my hands under her arms and pulled her
back to a standing position. I had her over my head, wrapped around my waist… smiling
and skating and having the time of her life. Our final lift and show-stopper required me to
pick Bella up in front of me, and hold her high enough so that she could bend backward
over my shoulder. Her head rested between my shoulder blades as she kicked one leg up
in a beautiful, long, split position. I held onto her other leg for dear life, and spun us both
so quickly that even I got a bit dizzy. My head was buzzing when I stopped and slid her
body back down the front of mine. I could only hear our breathing, and Bella looked up at
me with red cheeks and a fine layer of sweat covering her face and chest. Amazement,
excitement, and something else shone in the warm brown depths of her eyes.

"Bella…" I blinked and tried to find enough air in my lungs to get the words out that I was
dying to say. "Bella… I lo…"

Bella stopped me with a grin and a finger against my lips.

"I know," she smiled. "Me too."

I leaned down then, and kissed her in front of everyone. It only took a second for me to
realize that the buzzing sound was the crowd cheering for us. Their excitement was nothing
against my own. Bella Swan loved me.

S-A-T-U-R…D-A-Y Night! S-A-T-U-R…D-A-Y Night!

I was convinced that my over-excited libido was already fantasizing about the way we could
celebrate alone together, until I saw our friends waving us frantically off the floor. The
music was already playing for the next couple to begin. They had chosen to skate to the
Bay City Rollers. Too bad that song would always be remembered as

'Bella's Most

Awesome Underwear Song'

in my mind. Bella and I rushed off the floor to watch the rest

of their number. When they were finished, Sam and Emily from the Wolfpack skated to
finish the couples segment of the competition.

I wish I could say they sucked. But the truth was, their routine was comparable in style,
flash, and ability to what Rosalie and Emmett had done. I bit on the side of my thumb and
glanced up at the judges booth. It looked like it really might come down to the single
skaters, and they were being cued to roll next.

The four of us skated over to form a loose circle around James. So far, we had tried really
hard to keep pressure off of him. Emmett and I tried our best not to act like dicks, since he
was doing us a favor and all. But as I watched him lace up his skates, I had a really strong

urge to grab him by the collar, lift him to his feet, and shake the seriousness of the situation
into his greasy ponytail.

"So… uh… don't be nervous," I offered as a suggestion with a mild warning attached. "Your
routine holds a lot of weight."

"We appreciate you doing this," Emmett threw in, to balance things out.

"I'm not doing this for you," James muttered, looking up past me. I saw that Bella had
turned around to speak to someone that had come up behind her. James eyes were locked
on her ass, prettily displayed under silver fringe. The urge to slap him was strong. Instead, I
side-stepped until I blocked his view and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well… uh… whatever your motivation is. Just keep

that

in mind," Emmett grimaced. I

squinted my eyes. I wasn't so sure I wanted James to keep my girlfriend's ass in his head. A
couple of skaters had already blown by while we had been in a huddle. The single skaters
had shorter routines. We all left James to finish getting ready, and took our place by the
wall to watch as Jacob Black got in position to skate to his number.

"What a lame-o," Bella whispered in front of me. Jacob wore really tight pants and no shirt.
"He's trying to show off his chest to distract from the fact that he's really not even that
talented."

It made me feel better to hear her say that. Because the guy really did have a muscled-up
body that I was pretty sure I'd never be able to achieve. I sucked in my own stomach and
tried to push my chest out behind her, anyway. I wish I had bigger pecs.

His music started, and I snorted to see that Bella was right. Jacob was good. There was no
doubt about that. But if I had still been the single skater for our team, no way would he
stand a chance of showing me up. He threw in like three back-flips. But he was pretty
much a one-trick pony. He skated the floor easily, but his size made him slow. He relied a
lot on flashing a huge smile, and tightening up his stomach muscles while he pointed at the
crowd and thrust his hips. He knew how to get the little girls squealing. That was a fact. But
his footwork wasn't all that impressive. I just hoped the judges could see through all the
smoke and mirrors.

"This shouldn't be too hard, after-all," I said, turning to look back at James. He stood on his
skates, gingerly rolling them back and forth beneath him while staring at the carpeted floor
below.

"What's wrong?" Emmett asked.

"There's something wrong with my wheels," James whined. "They… they aren't loose. It
feels like I rolled through something…"

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked with a panicked voice. "Where did you skate with
them last?"

"Here!" James insisted. "Today. For practice. And I left them behind the counter while we
were gone."

"Let me see," Bella said. She dropped down to her knees and picked up one of his feet to
spin the wheel with her finger. "They're all gooey," Bella frowned. "Sticky…"

I dropped to my knees next to her to inspect the damage. Sure enough, the grease around
the bearings looked grainy and thick. I spun one of the back wheels quickly, and we both
watched in amazement as pink powder sprinkled down from the base of his skate to the
carpet.

"What is

that?"

I asked.

Charlie walked by with a clipboard and told James to take the floor.

"One minute, Chief," I heard Emmett stall above us. Bella put her fingers to the powdery
substance and lifted it towards her face. I watched as she sniffed at it delicately and then she
turned confused eyes up in my direction.

"Edward?" She looked really confused. "I… I

think

we've been sabotaged. I mean… I

might

be wrong. But this actually looks and smells like… koolaid!"

I shot to my feet like a bullet and started looking for the little rink-rat that was immediately
on my number one suspect list. I found him alright. He strolled toward us with a shit-eating
grin on his face… proudly holding on to Alice's hand.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jasper asked. He came into the group at about the same time
that Alice and the skate-ruining midget joined us.

"My skates were compromised!" James snarled. "I can't skate with these. They're messed
up!"

"Ooh… that's too bad," Alice clicked her tongue and put her hand on his shoulder.

"That

is

too bad," sneered a voice from beside us. We all turned as the Wolfpack members

decided to join the party. "Guess you'll be out one set of scores, when we tally them up."

"I'll skate again," I twisted to face Jacob. I could beat him while skating on one leg.

"No can do, kid," Charlie said. "You already entered as part of a team. Can't enter again as a
single-skater. I'm sorry."

"I guess it's up to

me

then," Alice chimed in. We all spun again to look at her. "What?" She

asked, throwing out her hands. "My month is up. Technically I can skate here now. And I
might not be part of a couple anymore," she kept her eyes away from Jasper, "but I

am

still

part of this team."

"She doesn't even have a routine," James shouted. "She hasn't practiced with us or anything!"

"Let her skate," Jasper said then. Our heads all turned toward his steady and loud voice.
"She'll be fine. Great, even. She's always been the better part of us."

Alice looked up at him then, and we knew that Jasper's compliment extended beyond
skating.

"Alright then," I dusted my hands off on the front of my pants. "Let's do it."

"She doesn't even have a matching costume!" James made one last half-hearted attempt to
stay a member of our team. But Alice immediately pulled her trench-coat off to reveal a
small, sparkly, white dance costume beneath. She looked like she was covered in
diamonds.

"Why do I have a feeling this was a set-up?" Bella whispered against my shoulder. I looked
beyond her to the rink-rat and remembered his exaggerated wink and thumbs-up from
earlier in the night.

"Because you're smart," I told her, kissing the top of her head. "Come on. Let's see how this
plays out."

We all skated back to the wall while Alice made her way onto the floor.

"Are you nervous she'll screw you over?" Emmett asked Jasper. I looked up at the way his
eyes were trained on the tiny girl in the middle of that big floor.

"She's above that," Jasper said. He looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. He
looked at her, like Emmett looked at Rose. Like I looked at Bella. Like a man in love.

It didn't even matter that the song she chose was by an all-girl funk band called Isis. It
didn't matter that the lyrics proudly proclaimed that all she ever wanted was to 'be alone
and free.' The song was about female empowerment. Jasper stared at her like he heard
bluebirds singing above his fucking head. And Alice skated like the ballsiest chick I had
ever seen.

Alice wiped the floor with Jacob's stupid back flips when she did a couple of her own. She
threw in some front walk-overs and an aerial cartwheel for good measure.

"Years of gymnastics," Jasper said breathlessly. "She's really bendy."

Whereas Jacob was large and slower on the floor, Alice was light, and graceful, and really
fucking fast. She looked like some swirling, sparkling, snowflake acid-trip out there. It was
cool. I had never seen Alice skate like that. None of us had. Somewhere in her time away…
her time on her own… she had become better and stronger. She amazed us all. And
apparently, she amazed everyone else too. People screamed and cheered when she ended
her routine in the splits in the middle of the floor.

Sam walked up to Jasper, and handed him the pink slip to his El Camino, before the
judges even had to say anything. I grabbed Bella around the waist and lifted her in a happy

spin. Emmett and Rosalie made out like crazy. And Jasper pressed the ownership paper
into Charlie's hand without taking his eyes off the girl who had just saved his ass.

"Add this to tonight's sales," Jasper told him. "Sell it at auction. Hell. I don't care. I don't
want it."

"You kids did good. You did real good," Charlie beamed proudly. "Free membership and
skate rentals for a year!"

"I'm buying my own boots," Jasper announced. I didn't miss the way that Alice glanced up
from under her lashes at his words. Her cheeks were pink, and I had a feeling that it wasn't
just from the awesome show she had just put on.

Later, after going home to shower and put some normal clothes on, I made my way back
over to Bella's place. The tree was a little easier to climb, on my second attempt. And when
I tapped on her bedroom window, this time, she invited me inside.

"Dad is out celebrating," Bella rolled her eyes while I slid head-first through her little
window. I ended up in a weird heap on her floor below the foot of her bed, and tried to
look like less of a dork as I pulled myself up to my feet.

"So… tonight was something else, huh?" I asked.

"Something else," Bella nodded and sat on the edge of her bed. I walked over and sat
beside her.

"You were really hot stuff tonight," I told her. "Beautiful."

"Thanks, Edward. I

felt

beautiful… skating with

you."

"Not that you have any room staying in that beginners class," I chuckled. "But maybe we
could keep skating together? Intermediate lessons?"

"I'd like that." Bella nodded. "But it's not like we have a routine to work on anymore. I
mean… now that the competition is over…"

I stopped her with a kiss.

"My solo-skating days are over, Bella," I told her. "We're a pair. From here on out."

"Are you sure?" Her forehead crinkled in a really cute and concerned way. "I know how
proud you've always been… to be the best skater on the floor."

"I'm proud to be with

you

," I insisted.

Bella nodded and my eyes were drawn over her shoulder to a little purple picture frame
that stood up on her bedside table. I reached past Bella to grab it.

"Where did you get this?" I asked, running my finger over the glass. Someone had snapped
a picture of our entire gang, sitting and laughing together at my parent's barbeque.

"Your mother gave it to me," Bella shrugged. "I was kinda surprised. I didn't even think she
liked me."

"This is awesome," I said with a smile. Bella and I sat together on that little swing. Rosalie
sat on Emmett's lap, with his arms wrapped around her. Jasper and Alice were apart in the
picture, but still their bodies were angled so that they faced one another. We were all
captured young, happy, and carefree.

"It won't always be like this, you know," I said, narrowing my eyes at the picture. "We won't
be kids forever."

"But we'll always have this summer to remember," Bella said quietly, leaning over to kiss my
shoulder.

"Best to make the memories, while we can," I smirked. I put the picture back on the table
while Bella leaned back on her bed, pulling me down with her.

"Right on," Bella smiled.

~**~**~

Chapter sixteen ~ Epilogue

I walked in the front door of my apartment, pulling my tie loose from around my neck,
and dropped my briefcase on the table next to the door. I hated coming home so late, but
it was tax season. I sort of had to expect that, when I decided to go into accounting.

"Bella?" I called out.

"Shh…" Bella came out of the bedroom wearing a large Hyper-Color t-shirt over a pair of
spandex shorts. "I just got Amy to go to sleep."

"How'd you girls do today?" I asked, walking over to put my arm around Bella so that I
could steal a kiss.

"It was fun," she smiled. "But you really need to see this. I couldn't get her to take her skates
off before bed. She's sleeping in them."

"Maybe her dad will have better luck," I grinned. I let Bella pull me by the hand. Together
we crept into our darkened bedroom. The slice of light from the doorway illuminated the
four year old little girl sleeping on top of our covers. She looked like an angel, from the top
of her blonde head down to the fisher-price inline skates that she just got for her birthday.

"Perfect," I smiled down at her.

"Come on," Bella tilted her head toward the door, and we both crept out quietly.

"Did she like skating?" I asked once the door was shut again and could help muffle our
voices.

"She had a ball," Bella nodded. "I told her we might have to take her up to Papa Charlie's to
skate sometime soon."

"He'll love that," I grinned. The Chief had managed to keep the Swan Dive open for
weekends, even after all of these years.

"Oh… and look what I got out of storage today!" Bella sat on the couch and opened a box
that was resting on our coffee table, next to a stack of papers she had been grading earlier
in the evening. I sat beside her and looked inside. The box was filled with treasures from
our last year of high school and beyond. Notebooks full of poetry… year books. I lifted out
one of my old black skates.

"And look at this," Bella smiled. She opened a photo album across her bare knees, and I
sat close to look down at the pictures with her.

"Oh my God. Look at my hair!" I groaned. I pushed my hand up and over my close-
cropped hair and smiled at the younger image of me.

"I know. Me too!" Bella giggled. "My hair was so flat! And look at that visor!"

I laughed and checked out the picture of Bella, dressed in the work clothes she wore to the
Dive.

"I used to fantasize about those shorts," I said.

"They might be in this box too," she told me. I shrugged out of my suit jacket and rolled the
sleeves up on my shirt while Bella continued to poke around inside the box. "A-ha!" she
announced proudly, pulling a small piece of yellow fabric from under the papers and
trinkets inside.

I grabbed the shorts from her and shoved them partially under my leg on the couch.

"You are

so

wearing those for me later," I growled. Bella giggled and I leaned forward to

capture her lips with mine. But we were interrupted by a knock at the front door.

"I'll only wear them later if

you

get the door," Bella bargained. "I'm beat."

"Yeah, yeah," I told her. I still got up and went to the door. I'd do just about anything to get
her to wear those shorts for me.

I grinned widely as I opened the door and saw Jasper standing in front of me.

"How's it going, man?" I asked with a smile. We pressed our palms together and pulled our
hands back in a snap; a grip that we'd shared since our teen years.

"It's going," Jasper ran a tired hand over his face.

"How's Alice?"

"She's doing great," Jasper smiled then. "And the twins are… perfect. How did Amy do for
you?"

"She's asleep in our room," Bella said, joining us. "We had a fun day. But she can't wait to
see her new sisters."

"Thanks for watching her," Jasper said. He walked past me to go retrieve his daughter. I
could hardly believe that he and Alice already had three kids. Three

girls

. Served him right

to be the only man in the house.

"Anytime," I promised as Jasper carried the sleeping bundle back out with him. He nodded
his thanks once more, and left to take his oldest daughter home.

"Precious," Bella murmured as I closed the door behind them.

"Are you ready for that?" I asked, leaning back against the door.

"What?" Bella asked. "

Twins?"

"All of it," I said. "Babies… house in the suburbs."

We waited until we were both finished with college before we got married. Oddly enough,
we hadn't really discussed having kids yet. With Rosalie and Emmett expecting their first
child in a couple of months… Bella and I were the last members of our gang to take that
leap.

"The house in the suburbs might be nice," Bella tapped her chin and started walking back
toward the living room. "But I don't think I'll stand a chance of getting back into

these

once

I get pregnant."

Bella held up the little yellow shorts and stretched the waist band between her fingers.

"Maybe you could put them on now, then," I smirked. "And we'll just see what happens."

"Oh… I

know

what will happen," Bella giggled. "Should I put on some music? I think I saw

a Bay City Rollers record in that box…"

"Bella!" I growled and jumped at her. She squealed, turned, and ran toward the bedroom
with me chasing after her.

A few months later, the shorts didn't fit anymore.

Yeah. I was still

that

good.

~**~**~

- THE END -