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 Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing.
Comments: Based loosely on the reality t.v. show Dancing with the Stars.

Thank you, Candy!

I am focusing a lot on this story. I have made up my mind on a lot of things for this story, and I hope you're all looking forward to the next chapters!

May 22nd 2008

Bella POV

Last night was so much fun. Edward and I went out with Alice and Jasper. The dinner was fun and lighthearted. It was so good to get out and spend time with his family. Every time we went out together; I always ended up enjoying myself.

Thankfully, I didn't stay out too long. After dinner, Edward dropped me off at my place. I took a long shower and then talked on the phone with Edward till I fell asleep.

This morning, our call time was at eight a. m. I hated early call times. Edward and I took separate cars and we didn't get to see each other till eight-thirty. Edward was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was sticking up all over the place. It looked liked he had just woken up.

"Hey, sleepy head," I said giving him a kiss on his cheek.

He pulled me closer and blinked a couple of times. "Morning, Bella."

"Long night?" I asked.

"I couldn't sleep," he said.

"So what did you do?"

"I tired to distract myself, but it didn't work. I just couldn't sleep."

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, it was just one of those nights."

He gave me a quick peck on the lips, and then smiled. "I have to go to hair and makeup."

"Yeah, me too," I replied.

We walked to the trailers and went our separate ways. It wasn't until three o'clock when we saw each other again.

All of us were in our costumes again, and we were all milling around backstage. Every results show makes me nervous. Our close knit group becomes smaller and smaller. It was always difficult to say goodbye to a contestant. Of course sometimes I feel guilty, because at the same time I don't want to be eliminated. Edward and I have worked so hard. To be in the semi-finals and then go home would be very sad. We didn't work so hard to make it to this point and then go home. No, we wanted to go all the way. As competitors, we want to win; although personally, I would just be very satisfied if we made it to the finals. Winning would be the icing on the cake.

Everyone got touched up before we went live. Being on a live show can be nerve wracking. There were millions of people watching. Nothing was rehearsed. The producer doesn't take more than one take. There was an element of surprise, anticipation, and awe. Even though this wasn't my first season I still got nervous.

I was sitting backstage with Jessica. We were talking about our upcoming week. If both of us made it to the finals then we would all be going to New York together. After the final results show we'd hop on a red eye and land in the early morning. There would be no time to change out of our hair and make up from the show. We'd be super tired, but super high on adrenaline.

Our conversation was interrupted by going back live. Finally, we began the elimination process. Edward took my hand and gripped it tight. He was nervous too. I squeezed his hand in reassurance and then loped my arm through his.

"Don't be nervous," I whispered.

We took our mark and looked straight ahead. The camera wasn't on us so he answered, "If this is our last time here, then I want you to know that I had the best time here. You are amazing and I'm so glad I met you."

If the camera didn't pan in on us I would have cried. That was one the nicest things someone had ever said to me! When the camera moved, I whispered back, "You're welcome, but we're not going to be eliminated."

Okay, I didn't know that for sure, but I had a feeling we weren't going home yet.

There were only four couples left and in matter of thirty seconds someone else would go home. They announced Jared and Jessica first. Jared did a fist bump in the air and hugged Jessica. Edward called out a 'congratulations' to them and then the next couple was announced.

"Edward and Isabella!"

I was so happy, I practically squealed out loud. Edward didn't say anything. He grabbed my shoulders, spun me around and hugged me fiercely. I could feel how tense he was. He was so nervous tonight and all I wanted to do was make him feel better. I buried my head against his shoulder and gripped him tightly.

"It's okay," I said soothingly. "We made it."

No one really knows this, but being on the show is challenging. Dancing and the live show took a toll on you physical, mental, and emotional self. Sometimes it was really difficult. You're doing something you've never done before. You're in front of the camera with millions of people watching. You're working closely with a total stranger. These things can affect you in positive and negative ways.

After working so hard for so long, it took a toll on Edward tonight. If we were eliminated tonight, I know he would have walked away with dignity. He would been proud in what we accomplished, but the athlete in him wanted to go all the way and win.

This was our final week on the show. We had two new dances to perform. One would be the judges pick and the other would be a freestyle dance. There were no rules for our freestyle. We could pick our own music and we could do lifts and all the illegal moves.

After the show, we did press and then we went backstage to get our dance and music assignment. Edward stood in the back with Jared. I went over to Jessica and offered my congratulations. This was the first time we'd be in the finals together. A producer handed me a cd with a sticky note that read samba. I was surprised by the choice, but it was a good one.

I had no idea what kind of freestyle we were going to do. I needed Edward's input for this one and I was really hoping he had an idea of what he wanted to do. I could throw out some ideas, but this was about him. He needed to go all out and have fun with it.

I went to Edward and flashed the cd in his face.

"We got the Samba," I sang.

He looked down at me and smiled. "Cool."

"Hey, Jared," I said.

"Hi, Bella."

"You and Jess have fun this week, okay?"

"We will thanks. Try not to crack the whip too hard on Edward."

I giggled. "I will try."

"See you, man," Edward said. He took my hand and we left to got back to our trailers.

As I was changing into my jeans, I thought about doing something nice for Edward. We made it to the finals, which called for a celebration, didn't it? I know we probably needed to get into the studio and get a head start, but a couple of hours of fun wouldn't hurt us. I pulled my shirt over my head and then took my hair piece out. I was brushing my hair out when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, girl! Congratulations on making it to the finals!"

"Thanks, Rose!"

"Emmett and I were watching it just now. We are so proud of you guys!"

"Did you talk to Edward already?"

"Emmett is speaking to now on his phone."

"Oh, good. So umm, do you any ideas for our freestyle?"

"You don't?"

"I haven't been thinking about it," I admitted.

"Didn't want to jinx your chances, huh?" she teased.

"I really need to brainstorm with Edward. Our freestyle has to be amazing."

"I'm sure you'll come up with something great."

"Thank you."

"We're coming out there in a few days," she said. "We'll be there to see you guys in the finals!"

"Okay," I replied. "Let's go out? You, me and Alice?"

"Absolutely. Listen I gotta go now, but we'll see you."

After we hung up, I put away my cell and then left my trailer. I closed the door behind me, and spotted Edward waiting patiently. He was wearing a pair of black track pants and a white t-shirt. He looked so casual but so hot. What was it about men and their workout clothes?

He walked over to me and placed a soft kiss to my lips.

"Ready to Samba?"

Okay, any teacher would have been thrilled to hear him say that. He was so dedicated and motivated. I loved that about him. But we made it to the finals! We needed to pat ourselves on the back and say good job!

"You want to rehearse?"

"Well, yeah," he replied. "We're in the finals. We have to work extra hard this week. We've got two new dances. I want to make sure I prepare in the best way possible so that when we go out there to dance, I know I did my absolute best. Win or lose, I want to go out there prepared and confident in my work."

He was too darn cute for his own good. He really wanted to give 110% to this. I was touched and very impressed. Alright, if he wanted to go back to the studio then we'd go.

"Okay," I said agreeing with him. "Let's go rehearse. But first we need to celebrate."

"What?"

An hour later, we were sitting in the studio with chocolate and marshmallow cupcakes. It was our little celebratory dessert. I had to celebrate one way or another, and cupcakes were perfect.

"I'm so out of shape" he whined. Edward licked up the marshmallow centre and I had to look away. He was being very sexy and he wasn't even trying.

"What do you mean, out of shape?"

"I haven't really exercised or practiced. All I do is dance."

"Dancing is working out. You work on your core and your muscles."

"Yeah, but I'm a baseball player, honey. I'm kind of sports specific."

"So you're out of shape?"

"Yea," he laughed. "This cupcake isn't helping either."

"I'm not hearing any complaints," I remarked.

"No," he shaked his head. "I love the cupcakes, but once I get back in the gym I'm going to get my butt kicked. Emmett and I have plans to workout over the summer and he's bragging that he'll beat me in weight lifting."

Boys. I internally rolled my eyes.

We ate a couple cupcakes and decided to save the rest. I pushed them to the side and then began stretching. Edward was next to me. He was bending forwards, touching his toes. I looked at him and asked if he had any ideas for our freestyle. He didn't.

I was getting frustrated with our freestyle already! These choreography blocks were starting to piss me off.

"Let's just start with our Samba," I said beckoning Edward to the middle of the studio.

I put our music on. Our song was "You've Got the Love" by Florence and the Machine. The music wasn't your typical Samba but it had some possibilities. It was a fun song. Very positive and I was beginning to form a sort of theme for the routine.

I began by giving Edward a refresher on our last Samba. That routine was sexy and difficult. It was very good, but for this one it would be completely new with a different feel and tone.

I showed Edward the bouncy steps. He remembered and I was happy that he wasn't learning this from scratch. He was familiar with the dance. Sort of.

For this routine I was thinking of having a lot of eye connection sequences; stuff where we'd be dancing facing each other. To spice things up I wanted to have series of Samba rolls and maybe a trick. I knew Edward was iffy on tricks, but this was the finals, we had to put on a great show.

I had a third of the routine choreographed. Not bad for our first night rehearsals. Edward was exhausted and truth be told, so was I. The stress of the show and waiting around all day made us weary. We needed a goodnight's sleep.

"See you tomorrow at nine?" he asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Sounds great," I replied.

We stood by the door and just before he opened the door I tapped his arm.

"Yeah?"

I smiled and reached on my tip-toes to kiss him. I pulled his head towards mine and kissed him deeply.

"That's your congratulatory kiss," I said winking at him. I yawned and he laughed.

"Thank you," he replied. "You're tired."

"So are you."

***

May 24th 2008

Yesterday was hell. I came in the studio cranky and with less sleep than I needed. I had tossed and turned in frustration because I was trying so desperately to come up with some choreography for our freestyle. The freestyle could make or break you on the show. If you deliver a crappy freestyle you could lose. It didn't matter if you had a better score throughout the competition; the freestyle round was the last thing viewers saw. You need to leave a great impression on the viewers in order to win.

Yesterday's rehearsal started out as a disaster. I snapped at Edward, I was frustrated with myself, I had a bad morning.

When we broke for lunch, I still didn't have our freestyle down. The pressure was on, and I was crumbling. Edward tried to help. He wasn't very creative, but he suggested doing a medley of dances. His overall idea was to showcase how far he'd come. He really did transform into a dancer. He had rhythm and he could really move. We danced very well together. I liked his idea. We could do lifts and maybe play around with the costuming. Now the only thing to do was pick the right song.

We had the Samba down. Now we were just perfecting the routine and focusing on the details. Our freestyle was still not choreographed because I had no song!

Today, I was flipping through a song book and I had the radio on. I figured that if I heard a contemporary song then maybe I could ask the producers to get the rights, or I'd see if we already had them.

Edward was practicing his Samba steps in front of the mirror and the camera was on him at the moment.

The radio was on KIIS. It was the 'hit station' around here. I had a couple of songs n my mind, but they weren't good enough. I didn't feel like choreographing to Jennifer Lopez. I was about to give up when I heard it. It was the perfect song for us. It was contemporary and up beat. It had a flirty Cha Cha vibe. I could see myself choreographing a bunch of Latin dances and maybe even some ballroom. Suddenly it was all coming together.

The cameraman broke for lunch. He packed away our mics and I arranged for him to come back for our night rehearsals. As soon as he left, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my stomach.

"Feeling better?" Edward asked as he kissed my cheek.

He was sweet. I nearly melted.

"Yes, much better."

"Good," he said tucking my hair behind my ear and gently tracing my earlobe with his index finger. "I don't like it when you're mad." He pressed a soft kiss to my neck and gave me a gentle squeeze on my hip.

I knew I had to speak at some point. Edward was making it hard for me to form a coherent sentence. He was being so sweet to me. He hugged me and buried his head against my neck.

"Today is a good day," he murmured.

Finally, I responded, "Why?"

"Because you're not angry. You're much calmer and I like it."

I laughed as he trailed his left hand along my ribcage. I was sure he was trying to be flirty, but that was a ticklish spot for me.

"Stop," I squealed. "It tickles."

"It does?" he said in wonderment.

Oh great. He's going to tickle me now.

"I have something to tell you!"

"What is it?" he asked momentarily distracted.

"I found our song."

"You did?" he asked pulling his head away from my neck. He craned his head over and looked at me.

"Yeah, I just heard it on the radio. I think we can make it work."

"What song is it?"

"Don't Stop The Music."

He frowned. "Is it new? I don't think I've heard of it."

"It's by Rihanna," I said.

"Never mind," he replied smiling.

Yeah, I had a feeling he wouldn't object to Rihanna.

"So," I sad turning around to face him. "You ready to freestyle?"

"Of course."

"Good."

"Hey, umm, Bella?"

"Yes, umm Edward?"

"Don't tease," he mock scolded. "It isn't polite."

I smiled and rolled my eyes at him. "Sorry, continue."

"Would you like to go to a movie?"

I thought I heard him wrong.

"What?"

He sighed. "You want to want to watch a movie with me? There's this thing called the Last Remaining Seats in Hollywood. Every Wednesday they show old Hollywood films in the old theatres."

"Babe, its Thursday. We missed the showing."

"I'm talking about next Wednesday."

Duh. I knew that.

"Oh!" I said in surprise.

"I thought it could be fun. Maybe you'd enjoy it," he said looking at me with an innocent expression.

"Yeah, I'll go with you! I'm excited. It sounds very cool."

"Cool," he repeated.

"So you're taking me on a date huh?" I couldn't help but tease him. It was cute that he wanted to date me. I already considered us 'together' but it was always nice to have some romance.

"You're not going to let this go, will you?"

"No."

He smiled, but walked away from me. "Yes, I want to take you out on a proper date. Can we please go to lunch now?"

"Fine," I relented. "But when we get back, prepare to get you butt kicked!"

I tried thinking of songs that were contemporary and young, but also had a Latin feel to it. Rhianna's "Don't Stop the Music" seemed fit.

Also, lindsiloolabell made a very beautiful banner for this story. Go to my profile for the link! My profile also has the list of songs Edward and Bella danced to.

Thanks for reading!

Till next time.

Tina