Title: Dance with Me
Rating: T
Summary: A major league baseball player with a bad rep needs to clean his image. He signs on to do a reality dance show. Will he clean his image and have the right kind of chemistry with his partner?
Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer I own nothing.
Comments: Based loosely on the reality t.v. show Dancing with the Stars and because Bella/Edward is my new favorite ship.

Thanks Candy Cullen for beta (ing!)

All I can say is thank you for your reviews and suggestions. Majority rules.

April 26th 2008

Bella's POV

"It just looks really awful. I hate it." I grumbled.

"Tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll get it!" Edward said.

I bit my lip. "You're doing everything wrong! It's horrible."'

"Bella!"

"Edward!" I shouted. "I've shown you the steps thousands of times and you're still not getting it. I don't understand why the Tango is so damn hard for you!"

I had been chastising Edward all day. The Tango is a classic ballroom dance and it's sexy and passionate and Edward wasn't getting it. The steps are wrong his posture is lacking he's not doing it!

"I haven't done a ballroom dance since week four." He argued.

"That doesn't matter! We're more than halfway through the competition and by now you should be light years ahead of everyone. Do you see Jessica's partner? He's fantastic!"

"You can't compare me to him. It's not fair." Edward pouted.

"I can do what I want! I'm the teacher." I snapped back.

"Bella!"

"No, we need a break. Five minutes then I want you doing those steps in front of the mirror till you get it!"

I sat down on the floor and closed my eyes. This week was crucial in the competition. If Edward really wanted to blow everyone's minds and keep the top spot then he really needed to be flawless.

The hard thing about the Tango is that it has very intricate footwork and it's very subtle. The look of the dance should be dramatic and passionate but it can't be forced.

"Are you OK?"

"Yes. I'm just a little frustrated with you." I said.

"I see. What can I do to make you less frustrated?" He said as he rubbed circles against my neck.

"That helps." I said trying to suppress a smile.

"I'm glad. Anything else you need me to do?"

"Just try your hardest for me?"

"I will."

Twenty minutes later I came to the conclusion that Edward will never be a professional ballroom dancer, but it's ok. He's doing his best and that is all I can ask of him. He may not be getting the steps right now but his character is totally right on the mark.

We were in hold and I told Edward to look down at our feet.

"You have to do this." I said demonstrating the steps.

"That's a lot of intricate footwork." Edward mused aloud.

"Damn straight. We need to one up the rest of the competition. And we need to blow the judges minds away. And in order to do that you need to do your very best. I know you can do it Edward. I wouldn't give you such tough choreography if I didn't think you could pull it off."

For the next couple of hours I have Edward do the steps by himself. I let him watch himself in the mirror and then I pick at his frame, make fun of his footwork, and tell him he's only going to get a four. Edward knows I'm teasing and he knows that I'm trying to make amends for being so hard on him earlier.

I will admit that the choreography I put together for him is more on the Argentine Tango side. I didn't add lifts but there is a lot of fancy footwork and little flicks and kicks. In one of the sequences our legs and ankles are entwined together. It's kind of like we're teasing each other only not verbally with cute and romantic words, but with our hot and fancy leg action.

By the time I'm satisfied with his work on the Tango I move forward to the Mambo. It's a pretty fun dance and this is when I start to pull out the fun tricks.

One trick we will do is a pretty standard one. I bend backwards while still standing and Edward kicks over my torso. Of course he has a hand supporting my back just in case I don't fall. I'm pleased to say the first time I tired that with him he delivered. Another trick I wanted to do was a flip over his back. It was pretty risky move but I was confident that we could pull it off.

One of the things that has changed this week is the fact that Edward treats me differently. He has always treated me with respect and as a friend but something between us changed. Perhaps it was the fact that we both gave in and decided to try and make things work between us in a non-platonic way. Now, Edward puts extra effort into making me smile and he's always so attentive and doting. It's really sweet and I can't help but smile when he acts so sweet while I pick on him when we're rehearsing.

Tonight after practice he wants to take me on the whole standard movie and dinner thing. I suppose because we spend so much time together that we're kind off past the awkward dating-getting-to-know you stuff. Now, we can just go out and it's no big deal. Unless of course you count the many hounding and intrusive paparazzi . They have always taken an interest in Edward and now it is just something that we deal with. I guess that's the price for meeting on a reality show. Go figure.

After practice we each go to our separate cars and Edward promises me he'll get me at eight.

When I got back to my apartment I ran the shower so I could take away the rehearsal practice stench and try to resemble a young woman for our date.

I choose a pair of jeans and a purple tank top and completed it with a white cardigan. I slipped on my flats and tied my hair in a ponytail and then added mascara and gloss. Edward has seen me all glammed up in hair and makeup and full on dancing costumes and he's seen me sweaty and gross. I didn't feel the need to impress him with my good looks or lack thereof. I checked my phone and found a text from him. He was on his way and would be here within ten minutes.

Edward was prompt and punctual and when he greeted me at the door he had this big smile on his face. I felt a little self conscious because he was staring at me up and down! I'm normally used to being looked at since I've been on the show but when Edward checks me out it brings a blush to my cheeks and butterflies to my stomach.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked with a slight smirk.

"A little" I admitted.

He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "You look beautiful. But that's not surprising."

I smiled at him. "Thank you. You don't look bad yourself."

I locked up and then Edward led me to his silver Volvo and we were off. Our first destination was Sushi Dan's. They have, hands down, the best Sushi in Los Angeles. I'm addicted to their crunchy tuna rolls. Edward is partial to the sashimi.

The drive was quiet and oddly, it was perfect. Edward and I are so wrapped up with the show and rehearsals and we're surrounded with lots of noise and hordes of people in our faces with cameras. It's nice to just enjoy the quiet silence in each other's company. But just because we were silent doesn't mean that we didn't communicate. We would often steal glances at each other. He'd catch me looking at him and I'd catch him doing the same. And every time we caught each other's gazes we'd just smile.

Dinner was a nice affair. We were seated in a little table by a window. The lighting was dim and there were a couple of television screens. It was showing one of the pro basketball games. Edward ordered our food and then we fell into an easy conversation. He talked about the ending of the show. If we were to get into the finals then we'd have another week of press to do. If we won we'd have to jet across to New York and go on the talk shows and media outlets. Also, the studio was thinking about having the professional dancers go on tour again.

Edward revealed to me tonight that he's gotten some offers from a couple of baseball teams. He and Jasper would need to go over the options and if he did choose a team he'd be very busy during the summer.

I realized right then, that we would be separated after the show is over. I guess I didn't realize how good we have it now. We meet through the show and we basically spend 24/7 with each other. It's easy now because we're both working together but what happens if we get kicked off? I'll stay in Los Angeles because it's my home now and I work here. But Edward has the potential to go anywhere. Yeah, he lives in Los Angeles now but if he chose a team he could be moving. Where does that leave us? Oh my gosh! Am I thinking long term with him?

I look across from me and see his beautiful green eyes. He's so adorable now. He's munching on one of the California rolls and he has this smile on his face. Yeah. I guess I am thinking long term with this guy.

"Hey are you ok?" Edward asked me waving his hand in my face to get my attention.

"Yeah. Just daydreaming."

His eyes twinkled. "About me?"

"Maybe." I replied coyly.

"I hope it was something good."

"I was just thinking about us." I admitted.

"What about us?"

"That I'd like to see you long term." I have no idea why the heck I said that. I know guys can be commitment-phobes so why did I just say that?!?

"I'm thinking I want you long term too." He replied.

That surprised me.

"You are?"

"Of course I am." He simply said. And I didn't answer back because that was everything I needed to hear for now.

***

April 30th 2008

Edward's POV

"Showtime!" The stage director announced.

Bella bounced back on her heels and waited patiently to be called. This past week has been crazy for both of us. Bella was really cracking the whip on me and she wanted nothing short of my very best.

I knew squat about the dances we were assigned but Bella explained to me what kind of dances they are and what I should do to portray the right essence and character of the dance.

The Tango was a challenge for me. I hadn't done a ballroom dance in weeks and Bella said it didn't matter. No excuses.

Our choreography was difficult. She put in a lot of footwork and it was hard to control my upper body and stay in hold while being light and fancy on my feet. The Mambo was a different story. It was more of a fun part type of dance. We had some tricks we were attempting to pull off and I have to say I was nervous. Its one thing to practice it in rehearsal but it's a whole different thing to actually perform it on live television. If I didn't time it just right and if I hesitated then Bella could I fall or we'd both end up choking.

We were the third couple to perform and when it was our turn I did my usual pre-show ritual. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and then blocked everyone and everything out and focused on Bella. She gave me a wink and then the music started.

I did better than I thought I would. I wasn't even thinking of doing the steps and I wasn't counting either. When I'm out there with Bella it's like my body is on autopilot and Bella and I just dance.

Bella congratulated me. "You did so good!" I smiled at her and gave her a little squeeze. We went to get our critiques from the panel of judges and we got mixed reviews. While they liked our performance for its entertainment value they were left hot and cold with the type of Tango we did. One said it was more like an Argentine Tango rather than the standard ballroom one and even though I didn't quite understand what all the fuss was about the look on Bella's face said it all for me. She was sad.

We went to the back to get our scores and they weren't very low considering the mixed reviews we got. But Bella said she was happy with my work and that's all that mattered to me.

"Bella," I said trailing after her to the quick change area, "what's the matter?" She turned and looked at me over her shoulder, "I'm sorry they didn't like the choreography."

"Oh Bella!" I said. "It's ok. It's not your fault. This is a reality television show and we're here to have fun and to try to please all of the judges but sometimes we can't please everyone. It's not a big deal to me if they don't like it. The only person I want to please is you."

"Edward." Bella replied with a huge grin, "of course I'm happy with your progress. I think you did very well."

"Then that's all that matters."

We changed into our Mambo outfits and I couldn't help it; I had to touch her. Bella was wearing an orange two piece. She had on a bedazzled bustier and she had on little straps. Her whole back was almost bare and I stood behind her, we were waiting for our turn and I lightly trailed my fingers down her body glittered back. I felt her back stiffen and then relax. I could see she was breathing a bit more heavily and I took pride in the fact that it was me that was making her react like this. Her back was smooth and my fingers were slowly trailing their way down.

She looked at me and stuck out her tongue in teasing. I continued to caress her back and then a loud voice said, "We're back Live in 3, 2, 1" I withdrew my hand and Bella huffed in annoyance. I shook my head at her but gave her shoulder a little squeeze. "We can finish this later." I lightly whispered to her.

Before we knew it was our turn for the Latin round. Our Mambo music was a fast and fun number. We had "Pump It" by the Blacked Eyed Peas.

I really liked this dance because it was more like the type of dancing you would do in a club. Of course we did have the technique in there but Bella loosened up and she went for a fun performance. I just hoped we could pull off everything in the performance.

Our dance was so much fun. Bella and I totally nailed our tricks and the crowd was clapping and cheering loudly. Screw the judges. These people liked it and so did Bella.

We braced ourselves for the judge's comments and to our utter surprise they liked it! They praised Bella for her inventive choreography and complimented me on my ability to trust Bella so completely. They also commented that our pairing was one of the best in the show's history. That said a lot to me because Bella is a seasoned pro on the show. She's had a small handful of partners so I was extremely pleased.

After the show ended we went to the press line as usual and we were happy that the reporters were raving about our Mambo performance. They expressed their kind sentiments and I was proud that Bella got her well deserved praise for her choreography. People think it's the star that makes the performance but I disagree. I don't know anything about dance it's all Bella. She's the dancer, the coach, the teacher, the choreographer. She's the most important thing in this show. Without her and her inventive and creative mind we'd be nowhere. I'm just lucky to have been assigned such a wonderful dance partner.

We were walking back to our trailers and once again Bella and I were going out to dinner. It had become a post show ritual for us. Bella loved that diner so much. I would have liked to take her out and wow her but Bella was not that type of girl. She's so unpretentious and down to earth. The diner was her favorite since she'd been in Los Angeles and now it was our place. I liked that. We had a place.

Bella met me in front of our trailers and when she stepped out I checked her out. She was wearing low rise jeans and an ACDC t-shirt. Her curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her ultra made up face was lightened. I suspect she removed some of the heavy eye makeup.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey there. Are you ready to go?"

"Oh yes! I need my milkshake fix." She gushed.

I decided to play around with her. "What? You don't need an Edward fix?"

"Oh." She paused, "Well, I don't know. Do you need a Bella fix?"

"All the time." I said as I lowered my head and gave her a kiss.

She smiled against my lips and then kissed me back. "I want my milkshake."

I laughed. "Alright then. We best be going."

Thirty minutes later Bella and I were sitting in a booth. She ordered her usual cheeseburger and fries with a banana milkshake this time. I ordered the same except I opted for a chocolate milkshake.

Bella was swirling her fry into a pool of Ranch dressing and she looked so happy. I marveled that the simplest thing such as junk food and milkshakes could make Bella happy. She was the most normal, beautiful, funny, competitive, and nicest girl I'd ever dated. Yeah. I totally lucked out with her.

"What are you looking at?" Bella whispered urgently to me.

"You." I said simply.

She blushed. I'd never tire of seeing her blush. It was Bella's trademark.

"What?" I questioned. "Can't I admire my girlfriend?"

Bella's face changed. She went from happy to alarmed in zero to sixty seconds.

"Girlfriend?" She asked tentatively.

"Well, yeah. That's what we are, aren't we?" I said cautiously. I was sure we were on the same page…

"If that's what you want." She replied.

"Is that what you want?" I countered.

"I want you forever." She said softly. It was so soft I almost didn't catch it.

I took her hand in mine and looked straight into her eyes. "I said I wanted you long term. I think it's safe to say I want you forever too."

For those of you who keep up with the US version of DWTS, what did you think? I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

So, I ended the chapter on a fluffy term. But we'll pick up th drama soon.

Till next time.

Tina