Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, or any of it's' characters.

BPOV

I was stunned. Absolutely, completely, embarrassingly stunned. The weird thing was, I couldn't figure out why I was stunned. I mean, you see attractive people everywhere. They're out and about, milling around other attractive people, doing their thing. But not once had I seen a person so heart achingly beautiful that my brain stopped working. I imagine this is what it felt like to be a man, panting after some skank who says things like "I guess my biggest problem is that I'm just too flexible". Yeah right. Most likely her biggest problem is figuring out which parolee is her baby daddy.

My eyes scanned the man in front of me. I moved from his rich, green eyes to the crooked smile that graced his mouth. His strong jaw was covered in a hint of stubble, from not shaving, that led to his neck. He was tall, over 6 feet tall for sure. As my eyes took in the length of his toned body they stopped on his unruly mess of auburn hair at the top of his head. My fingers itched to run through it and I actually had to clench my fist to stop myself.

The object who sent me spiraling into my stupor looked at my quizzically. I noticed that his hand was outstretched as if waiting for me to shake it. Were his lips moving?

Oh God, his lips!

They were full and pouty, arched into a perfect Cupid's bow. The bottom one was a bit fuller than the top one, perfect for nibbling. My heart started pumping in my chest and I had to keep reminding myself that mounting random strangers was not okay. He noticed my eyes locked on his mouth and his crooked smile shifted into a devious smirk.

My gosh! What in the world is wrong with me?

Apparently, I had reached the point where it was no longer acceptable to be staring unabashedly at someone, and was now bordering on being either creepy or mentally inept. I decided to reign in my hormones and attempt to play it cool.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that. What did you say?" I shook my head attempting to pull myself from my daze.

He chuckled softly at my display. "Oh nothing important. I was just introducing myself. I'm Edward." He extended his hand to me once again and I did the same.

"Bella," I responded casually. I pointed to where Alice and Rosalie where standing. "Shorty over there is Alice. And that's Rosalie." He smiled cordially at them and then shifted his attention back to me.

"Well, nice to meet you Bella. I see you've already met my oldest brother, Emmett." He gestured to Emmett, who was still standing by Rose. "I apologize in advance."

Alice looked confused. "For what?" she inquired of Edward.

"For Emmett," he said as if it were self-explanatory.

Emmett grabbed Edward in a headlock. "Now don't be hatin' on your big bro! You don't have to be jealous just cause I'm Mom's favorite." He razzed the hair on Edward's head.

Edward scoffed. "Mom's favorite? Please! If by favorite you mean source of shame for the whole Cullen family then yes, your Mom's favorite," he replied with a cheeky grin.

Emmett laughed and moved his arm so it was no longer locking Edward's head, but just resting on his shoulders. "You're right Eddie boy." Edward grimaced at the nickname and Emmett continued. "I have been the cause for the majority of Mom's gray hairs." Emmett beamed with pride at his statement. As if he had done his duty as a son by seriously stressing out his mom to the max.

Boys.

Edward freed himself from his brother and walked over to me. "So Bella, what brings you here? Are you an archaeology major? Or is this," he gestured to the conference with his hands, "more of a hobby?"

"Um, I'm actually majoring in anthropological archaeology at Sacramento State. Me and my friends," I pointed at Alice and Rose who were now on the other side of the room with Emmett, "are actually looking for a dig we might be interested in over the summer. I hear you are as well?"

Edward nodded. "Yeah me, Emmett, and Jasper are trying to find something for the summer. We're actually here though because our dad's giving a lecture. Most likely we won't end up at any of the digs listed here. My dad gets calls from colleagues all the time about digs, so we'll probably end up doing that. More low key." He stated nonchalantly.

"That's got to be convenient. I mean, all these digs sound great but most don't fit into the time frame we're looking for, or are field schools. We don't want to listen to school lectures and earn units, we just want to be part of a dig team. Plus, it'll be hard for the three of us to go somewhere together." I was sort of jealous that he had the opportunity to get such great experience so easily while me, Alice, and Rose had to fight to find something that would work for us. Oh well, that's what happens when your father is a famous archaeologist.

"What's your number?" he asked suddenly while pulling out his phone.

I looked at him confused. "Huh?" I probably looked a little annoyed too. He didn't even bother acting like he was at least paying attention to what I was saying. I turned away from him annoyed and started walking back over to Alice and Rosalie.

God, boys never listen once a girl opens her mouth to speak!

"That's not true. My mom thinks I'm a great listener." His velvety voice said from behind me.

Oops! I must have mumbled that thought under my breath. "Oh really?"

He shot me that crooked smile. "Yes really. I was thinking that when my dad finds a dig that we might be interested in, I could contact you about joining us. So, what's your number? Or e-mail address, if you prefer." Ah, he actually was listening. He just had a "man" moment. That's what Alice, Rose, and I call them. Whenever you tell a man something that's on your mind they go into "must solve problem!" mode. As the words are coming out of your mouth, the man you are speaking to is already forming ways to resolve your issue so it's no longer a problem. Females will try and sort out the emotion you are trying to convey or ask prompting questions, but a man will just find a way to take care of the problem.

"Oh, um, yeah I guess I could give you my number then." Edward handed me his phone and I saved my number into his contacts.

"Thanks Edward. That's really thoughtful." I gave a bright smile that I hoped conveyed my gratitude as I handed him back his phone. As he took his phone from my hand he glanced at my face and I thought I heard his breath catch. I must be imagining things.

He cleared his throat and shook his head before making eye contact with me. "Your welcome Bella. Hopefully Carlisle will have something good for us soon. When he does, I'll let you know."

"Edward quit chattin' up the foxy lady and let's go! Jasper's meeting us outside!" I heard Emmett's voice bellow from across the room. Of course, this caused people to look around and a light blush to dawn my cheeks.

Edward too looked a little embarrassed, but mostly just irritated. "I'm coming Gigantor! Give me a second!" he bellowed back. Great, now people definitely knew who Emmett was yelling at.

Edward looked at me and grinned. "It was so nice meeting you Bella. Talk to you soon?" Gosh, his voice is just so smooth and seductive. And he isn't even saying sexy things! I'm sure he's just one of those people who could read the phonebook out loud and make it sound like erotic poetry. Damn this man for getting me flustered!

"Um, o-okay, y-yeah. Yes. Definitely talk to you soon." Really, how many times can I stutter over my words and say synonyms for 'yes' in one reply? Ugh, I seriously have zero game.

He shot me one last smile as he took off after Emmett. I tried to control my breathing as Alice and Rosalie joined me.

"Wow, struggle much Bella?" Rosalie shot at me through her giggles.

I groaned and hung my head in embarrassment. "I know, I know. But, God, did you see that guy? I seriously was about to surrender my 'V' card to him. And if he wouldn't willingly take it, then I'd chuck it at him!"

Alice snorted with her laughter. Then she got a calculating look on her face as if she was thinking something over, and then shook it off. "Well, he would have made a fine choice Bella!"

"And you know the rule, Bella…" Rose started while looking at me.

"Never bet against Alice!" we finished together. And honestly, it was true. Alice has always had this annoying habit of being right. Rose and I always joke about her being psychic, but Alice just laughs it off and says she has excellent intuition. Either way, when Alice gets an idea, feeling, or hunch- roll with it!

We decided we were done roaming the conference center for the day and went back up to the hotel room to rest before going out on the town later tonight.

"So, what did Studly McStudster and you talk about?" Rose asked as we were getting on to the elevator in our hotel.

"Studly McStudster? That sounds like a character from Bob the Builder." I couldn't help but laugh while I pictured a cartoon Studly McStudster teaching children the proper way to build the frame of a house.

"Don't change the subject Bella. Seriously, did you guys hit it off?"

"I guess so. Nothing romantic happened or anything," I sighed. "But he did offer to contact us to set us up with a dig site. I guess his dad gets people calling him about digs that they'd like him to be involved in all the time. So he said if he found anything he'd give me a call."

"That's great Bella!" Alice squeaked. Then she turned to Rosalie. "Didn't Emmett mention something like that to you?"

"Yeah he did," Rose replied while nodding her head. "He said Carlisle's been keeping an eye out for them for some cool archaeological sites and he'd keep us 'in the know' about it."

When we got to our hotel room I flopped onto the bed facedown. I was absolutely exhausted. This weekend had been a long weekend, but it was almost over. Hopefully Edward will call in the next few weeks about a dig site so I can stop stressing over finding something.

Have you ever had a moment where you felt like even though it wasn't a huge deal, you still felt like it was going to have a major impact on your life? Well that's the feeling that was building up in my stomach. I don't know how or why, but I do know that coming to this conference is about to change our lives. Whether it's the dig site we're going to end up at, or meeting Emmett and Edward, I have no clue. But I definitely feel like the next chapter in my life is about to start.

Just as I was dosing off I heard my phone vibrate. I drowsily reached for my phone and slid it open to read the text message. It was from an unknown number.

Bella - Carlisle's old colleague contacted him about a dig site on a small island off the coast of Maine. Come play in the dirt with me? –Edward

I reread the message a couple of times before I realized what it meant. Oh my gosh! We had a dig site! And not just any dig site. It's a dig site set up by the Carlisle Cullen, the best archaeologist of the 21st century.

I shot off the bed and squealed loudly. "Alice! Rose! Oh my God! We're going to Maine!"

Alice was sitting on the balcony attached to our room, reading a magazine. When she heard my voice she sprinted back inside. "What are you talking about Bella?"

I tossed my phone to her so she could read the message. She joined me in my squealing.

"What the heck are you guys doing?" Rose yelled while turning off the shower.

"Rose! Get your cute butt in here!" Alice yelled at the bathroom door.

Moments later the bathroom door opened, followed by a billow of steam. Rose came in wearing her sweats and her hair rapped up in a towel. "So what's with the girlish squeals?"

"Look!" Alice shoved my phone in Rose's face. Rosalie's eyes widened and a huge smile lit her face.

"We have a dig site?" she asked me excitedly.

"It would appear we do!"

The three of us did a little victory dance before I texted Edward back telling him we'd love to be a part of the dig. He said he'd call me later in the week with details and dates.

Wow, I'm going be spending my summer excavating history with my friends. I'm actually going to be a part of discovering history.

Then another thought hit me.

I'm going to be spending my summer excavating history with my friends. On a small island. With Edward.

I looked at Edward's first text again.

Come play in the dirt with me?

Oh, I'll play in the dirt with you, all right!

Yep, things were about to get interesting.


A/N: Would you play in the dirt with Edward?

Review!

So, how would you feel about a little Edward point of view next chapter? hmm?

I ask again.... Epic Fail?

-rj