A/N: As you might've guessed I have a lot of free time on my hands - so here is a new chapter for you. I know you all absolutely loved the last cliffy (haha) so here's for your lovely reviews!

Chapter 11 – The Dance

It was like everything was happening in slow motion. I could hear students outside of the school building, walking to their cars and exchanging goodbyes. The huge clock on the hall wall ticked loudly, the sound echoing through the room. Somewhere on the floor above us someone dropped something, a muted thud running through the ceiling. But all I could see was him as his face drew nearer, only to stop dangerously close to my own.

His green eyes were still open, conflicted emotions running through the orbs. His breath came out in small puffs, ghosting over my face. I could see his stubbles clearly, idly wondering how his jaw would feel beneath my palm. His lips were deep red and tempting, stretched into a thin line as a contemplative look crossed his beautiful features.

Please don't back out now.

Mr. Cullen didn't disappoint, however. Suddenly there was a small change in him. I could still feel his heartbeat under my hand, thumping hard against his chest. His shoulders squared slightly, as if he was preparing himself for the inevitable. His mouth puckered somewhat and I instinctively knew what was coming. I saw his forehead relax, the worry lines that had rested here completely disappearing. He'd made up his mind.

I took a deep, shaking breath, trying not to think about how his hands suddenly tightened on my bare arms. My pulse was racing, blood swimming wildly through my veins, making me feel light-headed. He pulled me forward, and my forehead grazed his chin. I raised my head, looking up at him, afraid to meet his intense gaze but unable to avoid his eyes at the same time. What I saw there made a small tremble rush through my body. Determination. And then he finally leaned down.

The first brush of his lips against mine caused an odd reaction to my body. My heart suddenly swelled with repressed emotions – feelings that were scary and unfamiliar to me. My hands instinctively left his chest, only to settle around his neck, urging him closer still.

The other brush had my lips tingling with need and I sighed dramatically when he drew back slightly. His eyes were fixated on mine, seemingly searching for some sort of answer. I nodded mutely at his silent request, not entirely sure of what he was asking but willing to grant him anything at this moment.

And then he descended once more, this time settling his lips fully on mine. It was just a momentarily press of flesh against flesh but the butterflies in my stomached awakened in full force. I pushed back eagerly but afraid all the same. Another press and my skin burned, making me feel more alive than I'd ever done before.

We were still looking at each other, his gaze revealing nothing but still managing to make me week in the knees. And then his eyes closed as he came back once more. I followed his example, giving into the moment and letting myself go.

As his lips touched mine, he carefully nudged my mouth open, sucking lightly on my bottom lip. I let out a rush of air, my hands finding the hairs at his nape and twirling them around my fingers. When his soft tongue came out to ask for entrance, I eagerly granted it access, whimpering as it came into contact with mine. His hands moved then, circling around my back and pressing me even closer. Something seemed to snap in him then, as if a switch had been turned on, and he was suddenly crashing harder into me, massaging my tongue urgently with his own. I liked this change and told him so by inching my hips forwards. Our sweats rubbed together and he let out a small groan, making sweat pop out on my forehead. It was by far the sexiest sound I had ever heard. His hands inched down, coming to rest on my butt and he forced me impossibly closer. I moaned, sucking hard on his lips. Our breathing became ragged as we devoured each other, and I was rapidly losing touch with reality and our surroundings.

"Bella," he whispered as his hands came up to tangle itself in my hair, pulling softly. I responded eagerly and moaned, too far gone to feel embarrassed by the sounds escaping my throat. Suddenly a door slammed shut somewhere in the locker rooms and we both froze. He quickly stepped away from me, his hands coming up to rub his face. I stood there, panting and feeling blissfully disorientated for a moment before dread consumed me.

What the hell have I done?

Muted footsteps announced that someone was walking around in one of the locker rooms and my gaze swept the hall nervously. We were still alone.

I felt him staring at me and met his gaze, my insides quivering at what I saw there. He looked completely shocked, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. I felt the same way.

The door to the girls' locker room opened and out stepped Angela, her eyes instantly landing on me.

"Bella!" She called, running over to us. She looked panic-stricken as she drew near and I frowned at her.

"Hey, uh," I muttered bewildered and ran a hand through my hair, hoping my blush wouldn't give away what had just taken place between the Coach and me. Angela didn't seem to pay much attention to either of us as he waved her arms wildly around and exclaimed:

"Someone's trashed your car, Bella!"

I frowned in confusing, still feeling a bit dazzled from the kiss.

"Wait, what?"

"It's a wreck! I mean, I guess it's till drivable, but there are eggs and toilet paper and mud and…" Angela stopped to take a deep breath, staring at me with distress.

My eyes widened in realization. The three of us acted at once, rushing through the hall and through the locker rooms. I took the steps leading up to the ground floor two at a time and Angela ran before me and out of the main entrance. A flock of students were gathered around the spot where I'd parked my car but at Mr. Cullen's demand they let us trough. The sight that met us was shocking. There stood my old truck, completely covered from roof to tires in all sorts of things. Angela hadn't been exaggerating – there were wet toilet paper clinging to metallic surface, along with smeared mud and crushed eggs. I stared bewildered at my car, noticing that a single word had been scribbled across the windshield. The word "SLUT" was visible to every onlookers and I took a huge gulp of air. It looked like it had been written with a permanent marker.

"Christ," I heard the Coach mutter under his breath as he stood next to me before his hand landed on my shoulder. I didn't know if it was meant as a comforting gesture, but it worked somewhat – just enough for me to clear my head.

"Who would do such a thing?" I asked to no one in particular.

"I don't know," Angela replied, her eyes full of sympathetic tears as she looked at me.

"Bella, call your father. Now," Mr. Cullen ordered in my ear. I realized that my cell phone was still with the rest of my belongings in the locker room and told him so.

"Here, use mine," Angela urged, thrusting her Nokia into my hand. I quickly dialed Charlie's number.

"Let me talk to him," The Coach said then, snatching the phone away from me as I waited for my father to pick up. I didn't bother argue with him, knowing that he knew how to explain this situation to Charlie better than I did.

More teachers began to settle in among the students, each of them wearing looks of shock and distaste. The principle – Mr. Jackson – ushered the onlookers away. Soon only Angela and I were the only students left.

"Do you have any idea who would do this to you?" Mr. Jackson asked as he came up to stand beside me. Mr. Cullen had drifted a few feet away, talking hurriedly into the phone.

"No," I shook my head, feeling the seriousness of the situation creep up on me.

"It's all right Bella. We'll figure out who did this eventually," Angela said as she laid a comforting arm around my shoulders. I leaned into her side and sniffed, feeling my eyes moisten.

"Chief Swan is on his way," Mr. Cullen said then, suddenly standing next to us again.

Mr. Jackson nodded curtly as he studied my old truck.

We waited in silence, each one of us just eyeing the disaster in front of us. I bit my bottom lip and sighed, knowing that Charlie would do everything in his power to catch whoever was behind this. Who was stupid enough to mess with the Chief police's daughter anyway?

Soon Charlie's cruiser came into sight, along with two other police cars trailing behind. I cringed. This would be blown way out of proportion, I just knew it.

"Bella?" Charlie called once he got of the car and he jogged towards us. When his eyes landed on my truck however, he took a sharp intake of breath.

"Chief Swan," Mr. Jackson greeted seriously, shaking Charlie's hand, "Would you and your daughter come to my office, please?"

"Yes, of course," he nodded, "hey," he said then, turning towards his colleagues who were inspecting the wreck closely, "be sure not to touch anything before you've gotten pictures of it,"

They nodded as one of them pulled out a camera, immediately getting to work.

Charlie placed a hand on my back, steering me after Mr. Jackson as we crossed the lot. Just as I was about to enter the teacher's office however, I turned my head to the side, only to find Mr. Cullen stare thoughtfully at me. He disappeared out of sight as I entered the building.

***

The car was shipped off to the local automobile shop that afternoon. Although it looked to be in the same old shape despite being covered in all sorts of things, Mr. Jackson and Charlie didn't want to take any chances. They were afraid someone might've meddled with the tiers or the brakes and I was too stressed out to argue with them. My beloved car wouldn't be returning for a while it seemed.

After discussing the day's events at the teacher's office, where Mr. Jackson repeatedly asked me if I had any idea of who would do such a thing, Charlie and I drove home in the cruiser. I kept telling them both that I had no enemies in school but judging from their looks they didn't believe me for one sec. The old incident with Lauren Mallory was brought to the surface again, with Mr. Jackson concluding that – for the moment – she was the main suspect. I actually fought for her case, saying that although she had behaved badly in the past, it didn't mean that she had some personal vendetta against me. Obviously both Mr. Jackson and Charlie disagreed.

Dinner was a quiet event in the Swan's household that evening, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. What was uncommon though, was the concerned and worried looks Charlie kept sending my way every few minutes. Eventually I'd had enough and set my knife and fork down, staring determinedly at him.

"What?" He asked through a mouthful of food.

"Can you please stop looking at me like I'm going to break into hysterics at any given moment?" I scolded unhappily.

"Sorry Bells," Charlie said, taking a sip of water, "I'm just worried about you,"

My face softened and I smiled.

"I know you are, but believe me – I'm fine. Sure I was shocked at first but I've had time to adjust this now. I just want my car back and for this to be over with," I concluded.

"We have to solve this case," Charlie said sternly, "no one wrecks my daughter's car and gets away with it,"

"Please dad. I don't want any special favors just because I'm the Chief's daughter," I pleaded.

Charlie nodded in understanding, "I promise I'll treat this incident like any other case. My job is to catch criminals but also to be objective should I cross paths with someone I know. I'll be totally professional about this,"

"Thank you," I said, heaving a sigh of relief.

We finished our meal in usual silence, and I actually managed to fool myself onto thinking that this evening was no different from the others we'd shared. Of course that only lasted for a moment, because the suddenly the phone rang. It had been going off all afternoon and so far I'd talked to Angela, Mike, Tyler and even Eric, all of them offering their comfort and sympathy. This time however, nothing could have prepared me for who was greeting me on the other end of the line.

"Swan residence," I said absentmindedly as I fingered a lock of my hair.

"Hello Miss Swan," came a velvet reply and my heartbeat instantly increased.

"Mr. Cullen," I stated, low enough so that Charlie wouldn't overhear. It was little chance of that happening anyway as he was totally engrossed in the TV at the moment.

I leaned back against the hallway wall, as was my habit.

"How are you?" He asked, sounding tentative.

"I'm all right," I sighed, "still a bit shocked of course, but it's wearing off,"

I knew he was referring to the incident in the parking lot and not what had happened in the gym hall. Just thinking about what had taken place during our tutoring session had me blushing.

"Good," he muttered, "do you have any idea who could've done this?"

"No," I replied tiredly, "Mr. Jackson thinks that Lauren Mallory could be behind it though,"

"Is she still giving you trouble?" He suddenly snapped.

"No," I rushed, "I mean, not as much,"

I remembered Lauren's sly comment in the locker room last Wednesday, but since then she'd left me alone. And for that I was very grateful.

"You remember what I told you right? I want you to go straight to me if she's giving you a hard time,"

"Yeah, I remember," I said.

The line went silent for a while and when the Coach spoke again, he sounded hesitant.

"Are you alone?"

I gulped heavily, sneaking a peak into the living room. No chance of Charlie eavesdropping, I concluded, as I saw him chuckle merrily at some program he was watching.

"Yes," I said.

I could hear Mr. Cullen sigh and I remembered his breath fanning over my face. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, feeling my own breathing pick up at the memory.

"About what happened today…" He started.

"With my car?" I asked hopefully, not really wanting to discuss what had transpired between the two of us in the gym hall.

"No," he huffed impatiently, "before that,"

"Oh," was all I could muster as I waited for him to go on.

When he didn't though, I worried my bottom lip and slid down to sit on the floor, preparing myself for the worst.

"Bella," he finally said, and I closed my eyes as he uttered my name. He made it sound so beautiful.

"Yes?"

"If what we did got out… I could lose my job,"

I frowned, "I wasn't going to tell anyone,"

"No?"

"No!" I snapped, feeling truly offended now.

"I'm sorry, I just…" He sighed, "This job is all I have. I can't risk it,"

I could understand that, but it still didn't lessen my anger.

"Don't worry about it," I replied curtly.

"And I'm sorry Bella. I shouldn't have… done that,"

"What, kissed me?" I asked.

I could hear his sharp intake of breath and smiled smugly. So he wasn't as unaffected by the kiss as he seemed.

"Yes," he replied, "I shouldn't have kissed you,"

"But you did," I pointed out stubbornly.

"I did," he agreed quietly.

"Why?" I asked insecurely. It had been troubling my mind all day since it'd happened – why had a gorgeous man like Edward Cullen chose to kiss a plain-looking, clumsy girl like me?

Maybe because you basically threw yourself at him.

I silenced the voice in my head and waited for his reply.

"Because I wanted to," he admitted dejectedly, "and I've wanted to for a while now,"

I felt my cheeks burn at his admission.

"But it was wrong of me to do so," he suddenly said, sounding more confident now.

"So, what? You take it back?" I asked incredulously.

"This isn't kinder garden, Bella!" He snapped, "I know I can't take it back. But I can ask you to forget about it,"

"Just like that, huh?" I asked angrily, feeling treacherous tears pool in my eyes.

"I never meant to hurt you," he whispered.

"Well you've officially failed big time,"

"Bella…"

"No, don't "Bella" me! I'm Miss Swan, remember? Your student. And you're right. We should forget all about it," I said, anger surging through my body like fire. I felt betrayed and alone and so misunderstood. How on earth could I think that that kiss actually meant something to him? How could I be so stupid?

"That's exactly my point," he replied, clearly losing his patience, "you are my student. This isn't right!

"Of course it isn't," I replied curtly.

"We agree then?" He sneered.

"Yes, we agree!" I nearly shouted.

"Fine!"

"Great!"

And with that I hung up. Still reeling from Mr. Cullen's hurtful rejection I quickly dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?" A male voice at the other end asked.

"Mike?" I said.

"Bella, is that you?"

"Yeah,"

"What's up?" He asked excitedly, and I could tell that he was beaming.

"I was wondering if your offer still stands. About taking me to the dance?"

"Sure!" He replied gladly.

"Well I've been thinking and I would love to go with you," I said on a smile. This felt so wrong but good at the same time.

"Great! We're going to have so much fun Bella,"

"But no dancing right?"

Mike chuckled, "No dancing,"

***

It was the DD-day - the "dreadful dance" day – and I was eyeing my reflection in the full-length mirror in Angela's bedroom. The blue, satin dress clung to my body like a second skin and I felt truly uncomfortable. Angela gushed and awed over how "beautiful" I looked – of course – so I let her have her fun. She did my hair and makeup –which basically meant straightening my locks and putting on some pretty heavy eye shadow. In the end though, I couldn't muster up the courage to complain. She was really excited about tonight.

As soon as I told her that Mike would be taking me to the dance, she arranged for all four of us to drive together. Mike and Ben would be here to pick us up any minute now and I was struggling with my shoes as I walked around the room. Heels were definitely not my thing.

"What do you think?" Angela beamed as she exited the bathroom, posing in front of me. She was wearing a trap-less black dress that ended mid-thigh.

"Hot!" I exclaimed, noticing that she'd replaced her glasses with contacts for the evening. She really did look exceptionally good.

"Thank you!" She giggled, running over to the mirror to check her makeup once again.

A loud honking coming from outside and alerted us to the boys' presence. We quickly walked into the hallway and threw on our coats, saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weber on the way.

"Have fun girls!" Mrs. Weber called happily from the kitchen.

"Will do mom!" Angela promised and winked at me. I snickered and followed her out the door, before jumping into Ben's old Volvo.

"Wow Arizona!" Mike exclaimed astonished once he looked me over. I smiled at him.

"You look beautiful," Ben told Angela sweetly and I could see her blush as she took her place next to him in the front seat.

The guys looked great as well, wearing simple, black suits. Mike's hair was in its usual spikes, making me roll my eyes a little. It was clear he wasn't a person who liked to venture too far out of his comfort zone, despite of the occasion.

The dance was to be held at school, in the gym hall. I hadn't been in there since my last tutoring lesson with Mr. Cullen and I hoped that it wouldn't bring forth unwanted memories. When we arrived the parking lot was nearly full but we managed to find a spot. Juniors were walking around chatting amongst themselves and we followed a group of people inside the school and down to the hall. It was nicely decorated with balloons and small, round tables wearing colored table cloths. They were adorning the side of the hall however, leaving a huge space to be used as a dance floor. Music blared through the room and students were already grinding against each other, making me cringe embarrassedly. Even Angela looked uncomfortable for a moment. We made our way through the crowd and towards a table that held beverages. Mike hurriedly poured me a glass of punch, which I accepted gratefully. I took a small sip and spluttered, eyeing the dark liquid skeptically.

"This is not punch," I muttered to Angela.

She snickered, "I guess someone took the liberty of spiking it up a little,"

I frowned and promptly set the glass aside. I was not used to alcohol and there was no way that I was going to indulge in a first experience during a school dance. Mike didn't seem to have such qualms however as he greedily gulped down the liquid in his glass and refilled it immediately. Oh he was going to be so much fun tonight, I thought wryly.

We made our way to another table and sat down, watching as the disco lights swept over the dancing crowd. Angela and Ben were soon on their feet again however, as a slow song came on. I smirked. Any excuse to be close to another.

I sighed wistfully and stared distastefully at Mike as he finished his third glass.

"Want to dance?" He yelled over the music, offering me his hand.

I rolled my eyes, "I told you Mike – no dancing,"

"Aw, that's right," he grinned and nodded dumbly.

We sat there for a moment, looking at the other students. My shoes were killing me and I took them off, nursing my feet.

"Here, let me," Mike suddenly offered, hoisting my leg into his lap and rubbing my toes. The act seemed intimate to me and I looked around to make sure that no one was watching us. But of course someone was and it was the last person I ever wanted to see tonight.

Mr. Cullen was clearly one of the teachers who'd volunteered to watch over the students for the night, and he was currently standing by the beverages table, staring at me.

I narrowed my eyes and swiftly looked away.

He was wearing a suit, just like the rest of the male inhabitants of the room, but no one could quite pull off the look as good as he. Just the small moment I'd gazed at him turned my insides to mush. I hated myself for being so weak around him.

"I'm going to dance," Mike suddenly declared, standing up and pushing my foot away.

"Ok?" I asked perplexed.

I noticed that he was swaying a little as he stood and I inwardly groaned. Of course my date would be the one to get drunk off his ass.

He left me without a word however, grabbing some random girl and dragging her out onto the floor. The unfamiliar girl didn't seem to mind as she beamed up at him. Well he was one of the most popular guys in school after all.

I sat at the table alone, starting to regret my decision to come to this dance in the first place. I stood out against the setting feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Miss Swan," an all too familiar voice suddenly said.

I looked up and saw the Coach standing next to me, his eyes fixated on my still form.

"May I sit down?" He asked, motioning towards Mike's vacant seat.

I nodded mutely and he placed himself on the plastic chair.

"Having fun?" He asked then, smirking knowingly.

His mood confused me and I shrugged non-cosmetically, showing him that even if he was over what had happened between us, I was not.

"Guess not," he muttered then, resting his arm on the table and leaning closer to me.

"You look amazing,"

I perked up in my seat and huffed, looking down myself.

"Thanks," I said curtly.

"You know, blue is my favorite color," he mused out loud.

Remembering that it was Angela who'd suggested I start wearing blue around him in the first place, I wasn't that surprised.

"Bella," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "at least look at me,"

I let my eyes wander over to where he sat, meeting his gaze. It was as intense as ever, clouds of mysterious thoughts swimming beneath the surface.

"I didn't handle this very well," he said, motioning towards the two of us.

I knew he was referring to our phone conversation. My shoulders sagged and I exhaled heavily, "Neither did I,"

"Still, it's my job to be responsible," he pointed out.

"Why?"

"I'm older," he simply stated.

"So?" I asked perplexed.

"So I should know better than to lose my head like… like I did the other day," he said on nearly a whisper. I actually had to lean closer to hear him better.

"Just because you're older doesn't mean that you're more capable than me to make decisions," I said.

"Doesn't it?" He said, acting surprised.

"No," I snapped, "it doesn't,"

"Very well," he nodded, an unreadable expression entering his face. As I stared he got up and leaned down to mutter in my ear,

"Meet me in the girls' locker room in ten minutes,"

And with that, he was gone.

My whole body was shaking as I stared after his retreating back and I took a moment to collect my emotions. I was quickly snapped out of my Cullen induced bubble however as I was suddenly dragged on my feet.

"Hey!" I yelled as Mike dragged me onto the dance floor.

I was still missing one shoe so I had no choice but to limp after him, unable to break away from a grip.

"Just one dance," he pleaded as a quiet song came on and he clutched me to his chest. I was rigid and uncomfortable in his arms as he swayed us back and forth.

"Really Mike, I don't want to," I hissed with determination.

"One dance won't hurt you," he urged pathetically. I could feel the liquor on his breath as he pressed his cheek to mine and I cringed.

I gave up in resisting and waited impatiently for the song to end, praying that his hands on my back wouldn't venture lower. Of course they did and I jumped.

"Skittish are we?" He snickered.

"Let me go," I complained, trying to break away.

"Not a chance," he sighed dreamily, letting his hand glide through my hair, "I'm never letting you go, Bella,"

I rolled my eyes at the cheesy comment.

It was then, while Mike was holding on to me as if his life depended on it, his hands raking through my strands, that I realized how different it felt from when I'd been in Mr. Cullen's arms. I remembered how my heart had fluttered excitedly at the feel of his lips on mine, how dazzled I'd been as he'd stroked my back. I also remembered how excitedly my body had responded the moment the Coach grabbed my butt and pressed me even closer – something I'd never experienced before. This realization struck me hard and I nearly gasped in surprise. It was while dancing with Mike that I slowly came to the conclusion that my feelings for Mr. Cullen suddenly went deeper than a silly infatuation. And that was very, very dangerous.

Finally the song ended and I broke away from Mike's arms.

"Thanks for the dance," I scoffed irritably, limping away from him and back towards my previous table. My shoe laid on the ground, waiting for me, and I put it on. I didn't know how much time had passed but I guessed my ten minutes were out.

I made my way through the Juniors on my way across the hall, eventually finding myself in front of the door leading in to the girls' locker room. Taking a deep breath and steadying myself, I went inside.

The room was completely empty except for the male figure sitting on one of the benches. He was hunched over, resting his head in his hands. He looked so vulnerable that I wanted to go straight over to him and chase all of his worries away, but chose to stay put instead, my nerves preventing me from acting out my urge.

I hesitantly cleared my throat, making him aware of my presence. He looked up then and stared at me. His eyes roamed over my shaking body and I worried my bottom lip nervously.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," he smiled weakly.

I chuckled, the sound loud in the empty room. I tentatively closed the space between us and sat down next to him.

A small while passed by with neither of speaking. Suddenly he turned towards me, his eyes dark.

"I thought you didn't like Mike Newton,"

Oh so he'd noticed that, had he? I smiled a little at this realization.

"He's a good friend," I shrugged.

"You seemed more than just friendly out there," he said, motioning towards the hall. I frowned in confusion.

"I expected that, with your lack of coordination, you wouldn't be the dancing type,"

Had he seen me dance with Mike? But hadn't he been in here since he'd left me at the table?

Clearly not.

"He wants more," I admitted.

"Oh," he nodded, looking straight ahead.

"I don't," I said then.

"You don't?"

"No,"

He chuckled darkly, "I shouldn't be so relieved to hear you say that,"

I lowered my gaze and wrung my hands together nervously. I was interrupted however, when he placed his large hand over my own, stilling my movements.

"What's going on?" I wondered out loud, my voice barely a whisper.

"I don't know," was his defeated reply.

Silently I felt his hand close over mine and I took a deep breath. I opened up my palm as an invitation and he accepted without hesitance, intertwining his fingers with mine. Our hands were resting on my lap and I stroked his warm skin carefully, feeling my heartbeat speed up.

We sat there for several minutes, our hands clutched together, not looking at one another.

"This is so wrong," Mr. Cullen muttered after a while.

"I know," I gulped.

He met my eyes then, his expression troubled.

"Tell me what you think," he pleaded.

I didn't know what to say to that so I simply squeezed his hand and whispered, "Don't let go,"

His mouth pulled into a half-smile and my gaze followed the motion. Then I met his eyes again in a silent question. I didn't have to wait for a reply though because suddenly his mouth came crashing onto mine, consuming all of my senses. I willingly parted my lips for him and his tongue delved into my mouth frantically. I shuddered as his hands came up to tug at my hair and without thinking I pulled him over me as I laid down on the bench. This was wrong and too much and too soon – yet I couldn't care less.

He groaned lustfully as he settled on top of me, making my lower belly tingle.

"Bella," he whispered, just like he'd done that day when we'd first started this – whatever this was – and I whimpered in reply.

"We can't. Not here. Someone might come in and see us any minute," he said, but continued to suck on my bottom lip, seemingly as reluctant to let go as I was.

My breath hitched audibly as his knee came to rest between my thighs, my dress pooling around my waist. And I panicked because this was as far as I'd ever gone and we were in a public place and we simply didn't know each other well enough. As if he could feel the tension immobilizing my body, the Coach stopped his attack on my lips and rested his forehead against mine.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't apologize, I was in on it too," I smiled mischievously. He grinned at me then, taking my hand and pulling me up with him. We sat next to each other once more and I tried to smooth down my hair a bit as he did the same to his. It was futile, his hair stuck up in every direction possible.

"I don't think I'll be able to stay away from you any longer," he admitted then, his face strangely vulnerable as he looked at me.

I felt my heart clench, "Then don't,"

He shook his head and sighed, "You make it sound so easy,"

"But it's not," I stated.

"It's really not," he chuckled, "a lot is at stake here – for both of us,"

I still didn't understand what this man could see in little, old me but I decided not to voice these thoughts. It just wasn't the right time, but at least I now knew that Mr. Cullen must feel something for me. A kiss like that didn't just mean nothing.

We didn't speak as we got to our feet and headed towards the hall. The right words wouldn't come and I couldn't really figure out what to say to him anyway. We parted ways with smiles and a nod of our heads, Mr. Cullen wandering off to make his rounds and me heading for Mike once again.