DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight or Dirty Dancing. I just don't want all of you to skip through this until you get to the part where Edward comes back. Yeah, I know we all did that the first time.

Dirty Dancing in the Twilight

Chapter Nine

Vacation is over, and whether I like it or not, I will have to leave this place soon. I have absolutely no desire to watch the end of the season show. Then again, I have no desire to do much of anything. But I'll do it for Alice. She's excited because Jasper is in charge of the music. Well, he's in charge of playing the music Mike selected.

Leah offers to do my hair, but I'm just not in the mood. They probably wouldn't let me in wearing sweats and a t-shirt, so I let Alice choose a dress for me. Plus, I know how much she loves to play dress up and she always picks something beautiful. I actually feel a little better once I'm wearing the pretty dress, so I let her put on a tiny bit of make-up.

I choose the seat in the corner, farthest from the stage. Tanya Denali is sitting alone in the front row with an empty seat beside her. I hate her for what she did to Edward, but I find myself almost feeling sorry for her. Even though she's married, I would bet she's as lonely as I am.

Alice knows I'm happy to have her here, but she also knows I'm really not in the mood for girl time tonight. It's just too depressing because Edward should be up on that stage right now. She sits with me for a few minutes and then goes up behind the curtain with Jasper. I see her peek out at me every few minutes – probably to make sure I haven't gone back to our room to sulk.

I'm almost startled to realize that I haven't really heard a single song even though the show seems to be almost over. Leah joins all the other performers on stage to sing the finale. These are not the hired dancers and entertainers. These are campers who think they have talent. If I wasn't so sad, I would be laughing.

Royce walks by, and Charlie gets up to talk to him. I'm not really paying attention until I hear Royce say, "I wanted to thank you for your help with the Rosalie situation. I guess we've all gotten into messes like these."

"What?" Charlie asks. Even without being able to see his face, I know Charlie is putting the pieces together in his head. I can practically sense the moment he admits it to himself.

Royce must sense it too because his face drops and he starts stammering, "I thought Baby told you. Look, I'm not sure. I mean, Rosalie said so, but, you know, with girls like that, they're liable to pin it on any guy around."

Charlie says something to him then comes back to the table. He has a distant, distressed look in his eyes. He's not used to misreading people, and he's been doing it a lot lately.

Suddenly, Edward is standing in front of me. I blink to make sure it's not my imagination, but I know it's not because I actually feel alive for the first time in weeks. I'm so happy and surprised to see him that I can barely breathe, but it occurs to me that it's the first time he's said my real name. It sounds even more beautiful coming out of his mouth.

"Nobody puts Bella in a corner," he says, reaching for my hand. "Come on."

The instant our fingers touch, I feel whole. It's like there had never been any hole in my chest. I'm perfect – not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place. All is right in the world.

"I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore," he whispers in my ear.

"Then don't," I answer.

Edward leads me up onto the stage and hands his iPod to Jasper. Alice beams at us, then taps her temple and gives me a knowing look.

Everyone falls silent as Edward walks out onto the stage. "Sorry about the disruption, folks, but I always do the last dance of the season. This year, somebody told me not to. So I'm going to do my kind of dancing with a great partner, who is not only a terrific dancer, but somebody who has taught me that there are people willing to stand up for other people no matter what it costs them. Somebody who's taught me about the kind of person I want to be. Miss Bella Swan."

Instantly, I recognize the song Edward chose, and I love it. It was playing in his room the first night I was there. We've danced to it before in the studio, but never in front of anyone. Of course, we haven't danced in front of anyone since our performance at The Port Angeles Resort.

The crowd whistles and cheers as the lights dim and Edward steps up behind me and wraps my arm around his neck. He kisses my nose, and then we start dancing. I'm nervous at first, but once I look into his beautiful green eyes, everyone else just fades away. It's like we're back in the studio, just the two of us. It feels so right to be back in his arms.

Without even realizing it, we both stop dancing for a moment. We're pressed together, breathing hard, staring into each other's eyes. Cheering and clapping breaks us out of our daze. Edward spins me around and pulls me back into his arms, and I throw my head back and laugh. Yes, this is where I belong.

I can hear Alice cheering above the noise of the crowd. Even though she never met Edward, she knows this is exactly what I needed. That little psychic even chose the perfect swirly dancing dress for me tonight.

Edward places another kiss on my nose, whispers "Breathe, Bella," then jumps off the stage. All the other dancers start moving up the aisle with him, and it's obvious they've practiced these moves. Edward stops a few feet from the stage and stares at me. I see the question in his eyes and nod slightly, so two guys lift me down to the aisle. Edward smiles at me encouragingly, and I run to him. I trust him completely. Our first lift is flawless.

Soon, everyone is dancing around us. Employees are dancing with campers, friends are dancing with each other. People are shoving chairs out of the way and having a blast. If I wasn't so focused on Edward, I would see that Tanya Denali is the only one who doesn't look happy.

As Edward and I are walking through the crowd to go get some fresh air, Charlie stops us and looks at Edward. "I know you weren't the one who got Rosalie in trouble."

Edward doesn't know where this is leading. "Yeah..."

"When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong," Charlie admits. That's as close to an apology as Charlie will ever get. Then he looks at me wistfully and says, "You looked wonderful out there, Bella." I hug him. I've never loved my dad more than at that moment.

When Edward and I start dancing again, he looks into my eyes like he's seeing right into my soul and sings along quietly, "Now, I've had the time of my life. I've never felt this way before. Yes, I swear it's the truth. And I owe it all to you."