Alexa must have known she had my number because she wore a very satisfied smirk when I pounced on her as soon as class let out. I didn't have much time to get the rest of the story—Edward would be waiting for me at his car—but I couldn't leave without knowing more.

"So, Jake found Edward and Tanya kissing, and…?" I asked as soon as Jessica departed us for her locker.

"Naturally, Jake was furious," Alexa said as we ducked into an empty classroom. "Edward tried to say Tanya had been the one to kiss him, but she denied it. Edward was pissed at Tanya and called her a liar, and he was mad at Jake for believing Tanya over him."

"What about Tanya and Jake? What happened to their friendship?"

I didn't think Alexa's smile could get any bigger, but somehow, it did. "Turned out that she had a thing for Edward all along and flirted with Jake to try making Edward jealous. Jake was hurt that she used him, and she was embarrassed and ashamed."

"If Edward had been encouraging Jake to go after Tanya, but she liked him instead, wouldn't Edward's story seem more likely—that she'd been the one to start the kiss?"

"Maybe," Alexa answered in a way that made me think she also put more faith in Edward's version of the event. "But Tanya swears he made the first move. It's her word against his." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter, really. The damage was done and none of them are friends anymore."

"But don't Tanya and Jake hang out sometimes? I mean, he's friends with Mike and Tyler…"

"They pretty much ignore each other, but it does get weird when just the six of us go out. I mean, there's me and Tyler, Jess and Mike…and them. You'd think they'd have gotten over it by now."

"Ookaay," I mulled, trying to make sense of the lines in the relationship triangle. "I guess Edward and Tanya worked through their differences, though. I mean, you originally said I should ask him to go out with everyone tonight…but, didn't you mention something about Tanya being jealous if Edward and I were…if we…you know…?" My heart started racing just considering the idea. Backstabber or not, I still got butterflies at the thought of him.

"I did?" Alexa's eyes glazed over for a moment, and her forehead crinkled. "I don't know why I would've said that. She told us she doesn't like him anymore. They aren't friends now, but I don't think they hate each other or anything."

"So Tanya's not dating anyone at the moment? What about, um, Edward?"

"She went out with one guy a few times, but he wasn't from Smithsburg. Says she's holding out for 'The One,'" Alexa snickered, then eyed me strangely. "I don't know much about Edward. He's friends with Jasper, who I'm sure you know is the baseball team captain, but other than that, he sticks to himself pretty much and focuses on his grades. Honestly, if he wasn't so gorgeous and rich, he'd be a downright loser, you know?"

No, I certainly did not know. I never liked Alexa in the first place, and the more I spent time with her, the less I thought of her. I mean, her description of Edward—other than the rich, gorgeous bit, of course—wasn't far off from the way I viewed myself. If she saw him as a loser, then what was her opinion of me? I had no desire to find out.

"Sorry, that wasn't cool. There's nothing wrong with doing your own thing," Alexa corrected herself hastily as if reading my mind. "Sometimes my mouth just goes off. Edward's nice enough; I just don't talk to him much, especially after what happened with Tee. But, I'd like to get to know him better…and I bet you would, too—right?" She gave me a playful tap with her fingers.

There was no stopping the flush that spread over my face. I didn't need to answer, my expression did it for me.

"You've totally got a chance, Bella, but you need to be careful. I think Jake likes you, and spending a lot of time with him would ruin your shot with Edward. You should stay away from Jake—he's not good for you. Sit with us at lunch from now on, okay?"

I appreciated any help with Edward I could get but didn't know what to do with her advice. It'd be hard to keep my distance from Jake, especially since…

"Um, well, he sorta already asked me to Homecoming," I mumbled. "I said yes."

"What?" Alexa exploded. "What about Edward? He won't want anything to do with you once he finds out."

He already acts that way, I thought glumly. And Jake's a nice guy. What's that saying about a bird in the hand…?

"It's just a dance, and we're just friends," I said, putting on a determined face. "It's not like we're going out or anything."

"Yeah, well, you gotta be careful who your friends are. If you don't hang with the right people, then…" She shook her head disgustedly. "I don't get you, Bella Swan. We put so much time and effort into giving you a chance to be somebody, and you blow it all on a guy like Jake. Whatever, I gotta bounce." She spun on her heel and walked away.

That was rather unexpected, for sure. If her behavior hadn't been so bizarre, I might have been taken her more seriously, but as it was, I felt like laughing.

Drama.

This was what my dad sent me out here to get involved in? I was supposed to put down the books and come out of my shell to be subjected to teenage hysterics, instead? I didn't understand it at all.

Though, there were definitely positives about my cross-country move, I thought, as my stomach began to do cartwheels on the way out to the school parking lot. There hadn't been any guys that looked like Jake or Edward back in Forks.

Speaking of yum, there he was, leaning up against his sporty Volvo, long legs crossed at the ankles and untamed hair ruffling in the breeze. Automatically, my thighs clenched together, which made walking really damned difficult, especially in the stupid short skirt and tall sandals in which Jessica had dressed me.

When Edward noticed my approach, he straightened and hurried to the passenger side door. I gawked in surprise when he held it open for me, then squeaked out a "thank you" as I maneuvered myself into the soft leather seat (another thing made almost impossible in my clothing).

Gorgeous, intelligent, and chivalrously well-mannered? I dressed a mental image of Emmett in horse armor and sent him off to Ye Olde Edwardland.

I surveyed the vehicle's interior in an attempt to calm myself as Edward returned to the driver's side. It was black with creamy beige inserts on the seats, inner steering wheel, and door panels—a classy, yet youthful study in contrasts. It was shallow of me to get excited over the attractiveness of his car, and yet, I did. So much for calming down.

When Edward slid into his seat, he brought with him a breeze of his perfection-scented air. I tried to be inconspicuous as I breathed in the heady scent, but my body's involuntary reaction betrayed me. I crossed my arms across my chest and tried not to squirm, all the while internally berating myself. I would not be a slave to my raging hormones!

I glanced over at Edward, who was sitting there looking at me with a downturned mouth. His intense stare made me even more uncomfortable, but in a much less pleasant way.

"Hey," I said nervously, my voice taking on a strange whispery growl.

"Hello, Bella," he replied in a slightly formal tone. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

I wanted to reach out and grab the breathily uttered words the instant they left my mouth. I cringed and turned my face away from him, hoping that they didn't sound to him as dorky and eager as they did to me. I wouldn't even consider the blatant double entendre in them.

There was silence from Edward's side of the car, so I didn't have a single clue as to what was going through his head. I wanted to bang my own against the windshield, but I doubted he'd appreciate the abuse to his vehicle.

The engine purred to life, and I continued to stare outside as we pulled out of the parking space. The quiet was oppressive, so I wracked my brain for a conversation starter.

"Nice car."

"Thanks."

More silence.

"Does it, uh, have a big engine?"

Something halfway between a snort and bark reverberated inside the cabin. "Big enough, I suppose. It gets the job done."

Was that amusement in his voice? Great, he was laughing at my idiocy.

Shut up, Bella. Just shut up.

"You seem to handle it well."

Oh, god. What is wrong with me?

"I take it out quite a bit. I've had plenty of experience with the stick."

Yes, he was definitely making fun of me.

I clamped down on my lower lip to keep from opening my mouth again and angled my whole body toward the passenger door to further hide my mortified expression. In fact, I was half tempted to throw myself out of it.

Edward didn't say anything further, and amidst my humiliation, I felt some annoyance. It seemed he enjoyed hearing me make a fool of myself and wasn't helping to ease the situation. I began to wonder if he was also the kind of person who didn't care about hurting his so-called friends.

An audible sigh of relief escaped me when his house appeared in sight. I didn't have high hopes for our project session, but I figured it couldn't be any worse than the drive.

His car continued rolling past the attached two-car garage and followed the driveway around the side of the house to a separate building with three garage doors. The middle stall opened, and he pulled inside.

To the right was some sort of metal contraption that looked like a poster bed for cars. On the left sat an older, but incredibly gorgeous black sports car so sleek-looking that I wanted to pet it. Or rub all over it.

I wasn't about to ask Edward what make and model it was, however. I'd already revealed my woeful knowledge of vehicles. I'd just wait until I got home and look it up like I had the rest of his family's cars.

As I said, stalker.

Surprisingly enough, Edward volunteered the information when he saw my eyes caressing the vehicle's curved lines.

"1965 Aston Martin DB5, a James Bond car," he told me. "My grandpa bought it as a wreck when my dad was a kid, and they spent years restoring it together. It's Dad's baby, and the thing is worth more than our house." He scoffed playfully. "I think if the garage was burning down and this car and I were trapped inside, he'd rescue it first."

I allowed myself a careful laugh and decided to take a chance on speaking. "What's that?" I pointed to the metal object beside me.

"It's a car lift. Dad said he would save money by doing most of the maintenance on our cars, but the truth is that he loves working on anything with a motor. I always tell him that if he ever loses his doctor's license, he can become a mechanic. He says 'people guts, cars guts, it's all good.'"

This time, my laughter rang out. Edward seemed much more relaxed now that he was home, and that, in turn, caused some of my tension to dissolve. "He sounds like a funny man, your dad."

"He certainly thinks so, but mostly he's just funny…looking."

I shook my head and groaned at his attempt at humor. His dad was anything but funny-looking. "Like father, like son, I suppose."

Edward gaped at me as if in shock, and for a moment, I was terrified that I had offended him with my joking comment. I was about to launch into a profuse apology when a wide grin spread over his face.

"Nice." He nodded at me and opened his door to exit the car. I grabbed my backpack and followed suit.

When we stepped out of the garage, there was a loud whinny and the thunder of hooves. The powerful, chocolate brown beauty that was Emmett raced up to the fence line and executed a quick sliding stop just before he collided with the rails. Behind him trailed a well-fed black pony whose short legs made a valiant, but futile effort to keep up with those of his pasturemate.

Emmett tossed his head once, then stood perfectly still with his ears pricked forward as he stared us down with eager, but determined eyes. I could almost see a thought bubble above his head that showed a basket of apples or bunches of carrots.

The little pony, on the other hand, made it perfectly clear what he wanted. He poked his delicate, but hairy muzzle between the fence boards and stamped his hooves in impatience.

"Take it easy, AJ," Edward chuckled as he climbed over the fence. I noticed there was a perfectly serviceable gate about twenty feet away but didn't really question his motives. I was too busy staring at the way his calf muscles bunched when he pushed himself off the boards.

"I'm gonna run to the barn and grab these guys a treat. It's sort of our routine, and AJ will be really pissed if I break it. It'll just be a couple minutes."

"Uh, sure. Take your time." I walked over to a nearby shade tree and sat on the grass beneath it.

After two quick running steps, Edward launched his right leg in the air and settled gracefully astride Emmett's back. The horse didn't twitch a muscle until Edward leaned to the side, and then the pair whirled around and sped off to the barn, which was situated about fifty yards away. AJ trip-trapped after them as fast as he could manage.

As the group neared the barn, Edward performed a flying dismount and landed on his feet. Emmett slid to another stop, and AJ joined him to wait for Edward's reappearance from inside the barn.

I wondered if their normal "routine" was indeed the scene playing out for me or if Edward had added a display of showmanship for my benefit. Either way, I had no complaints about witnessing it.

He came out of the barn holding two shallow black pans and set one in front of each equine. After departing pats on their shoulders, he walked back to my location.

"Shall we?" he asked, climbing out of the pasture.

I rose and followed him to the house. When we reached the garage, Edward punched a number into a keypad, which caused the door to rise. He was about to open the house door when he stopped short.

"Damn," he muttered.

"What?"

"I forgot again." He looked down at his shirt and shorts, which were now dusty and covered in horse hair. "I'm supposed to keep extra clothes in the garage because Mom hates it when I track dirt and stuff all over the house." He gave me a lopsided grin. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Uh, it's not going to bother me." I shrugged. I couldn't understand why he thought I'd care if he made his mom mad.

"Cool."

Then he began stripping.

I was extremely glad that he was facing away from me so he didn't see the slack-jawed expression I sported when he whipped his shirt over his head. He also missed the way my eyes bugged out of my head when he kicked off his loafers and opened up his shorts. And I promised to never again curse my luck when he didn't notice my silent panting as he pulled those same shorts down over his deliciously firm buttocks and stepped out of the leg holes. The Fates ladies had a heart, after all.

Or a healthy libido.

"Okay, let's go," he said, tossing his clothes into a basket by the garage steps and turning the handle to the house door.

Keeping pace behind Edward, I felt like Templeton at the Fair. I had been presented with a veritable smorgasbord, and I didn't know upon what my eyes should feast first—the lean muscles of his back sliding under skin, the way his narrow waist tapered into the hem of his boxers, what suggestion of what lie under those boxers…decisions, decisions!

It occurred to me that if a random guy was so unashamedly leering at me in the same way I was at Edward, I'd want to slap said male and label him a crude perv. Such double standards I had. Of course, if it were Edward doing the leering, I wouldn't mind a bit.

"…at home, and I'll be right back." Edward pointed to the kitchen table.

Apparently, I'd gotten lost in Edwardland again.

I guessed that I was supposed to wait for him while he put on some clothes. Sighing at his rather unfortunate, but socially correct, decision, I laid my bag on the table and pulled out the sheet containing my half of the review problems, a mechanical pencil, ruler, and a graphing calculator. I always liked to check my hand-plotted answers against technology.

I heard footsteps descending the stairs and turned toward the kitchen doorway. Thankfully, I was able to keep my expression neutral when Edward came in the room. He wore low-hanging mesh basketball shorts but was still shirtless.

"The tee I want to wear is in the dryer, and it's not done yet. I'm gonna have a snack before we get started. My mom made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast—you want one? Something to drink?"

I met his eyes briefly and then shifted my gaze to the safety of the problem sheet. "Sounds good. And water, please."

"Sure."

I figured I would go over my work from class while I was waiting for Edward to join me. He opened cabinets and clanged around in the kitchen for a few minutes, and then a plate appeared over my shoulder.

Deliberately focusing on my paper, I took the dish from his hand and placed it on the table.

"Here's your water."

"Thanks."

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the glass nearing me. Again, without turning away from the assignment, I reached behind me to accept the beverage and curled my fingers around it.

Except that it wasn't smooth glass I touched.

No, what I grabbed was warm and fleshy and covered in fabric.

Oh. My. God.


Special thanks to Peyton23 for sharing her embarrassing high school moment and inspiring the above disaster. Fortunately(?), no contact was made in her story. )


I am SO sorry for being slow to respond to reviews. It takes me forever to type on my phone, and that's the only reliable internet I have at the moment. I really, truly appreciate those that take the time to drop a line or two!