Title: Dance with Me
Rating: M
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.

Big thank you to Riss-uscma and flutetenorsaxplayer2008 for their work on editing, reading, and encouraging me.

Umm, we have some mild sexual content. There I warned you. Oh and, it's not that explicit. In fact I would say it's not explicit at all, but it does deserve the new M rating.

May 30th 2008

Bella POV

The day was going to be long. Our schedule was insane; if it wasn't for Alice and Jasper I'm sure I would have collapsed by now. They were so supportive and attentive. Edward was very lucky to have them so close.

After Edward and I freshened up, we met Alice and Jasper out front. The black SUV was waiting to take us to our next set of interviews. As Edward and I walked out, Alice handed us some Starbucks.

"You can thank Edward," she said.

I looked at him, "I don't understand."

"I had the driver get us a little pick-me-up," he explained as he opened the door and gestured for us to get in.

I hopped in the car, careful not to spill my latte. Once we were all seated, the car began to merge into the New York traffic. The driver swiftly maneuvered us into the right lane. We hit some traffic, and I welcomed it because it allowed me some time to close my eyes. Even though I slept on the plane, I was still tired. My body felt like it was back on California time, and my head was slowly getting used to the New York time I rested my head against the leather seat and held the coffee on my lap. I was falling asleep and when I felt someone take the cup away from me, I shifted to get a little more comfortable. By the time I woke up, we arrived at the Entertainment Weekly office. Edward and I had an interview and photo op.

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked as he guided me with his hand on the small of my back.

We were walking down yet another hallway. Alice was leading us and Jasper was out front on the phone. He was going over our schedule for the next two days.

"Tired but I'll manage. Where's my coffee?"

"Here," he said handing me my semi-warm latte.

"Thanks," I said taking a big gulp.

We arrived at a little office space in the back. There was a set of three chairs, and when I sat down Alice took my coffee from me. Edward sat to my left. He ran a hand through his hair and heaved a long sigh. He was tired too. If we hadn't won, I'd almost feel sorry for us. Winning made the fatigue worth it, but it was still an inconvenience.

Edward yawned, which caused me to yawn. I elbowed him the ribs.

"What?"

"Stop yawning! I'm already tired… don't do that!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "And on top being tired, you're also cranky."

"Shut up," I muttered.

Before Edward could retaliate, Alice handed me my coffee. "Stop it."

I knew she was talking to both of us.

A few minutes later, the editor of the magazine arrived. She was a tall woman with blonde hair. After she introduced herself, she sat down with us and began the interview.

"So, how you two holding up? Tired? Sleepy? High?"

I laughed out loud at her last word.

"Bella?"

"All of the above," I answered. "We wrapped up the show and then took a red eye. We haven't gotten much sleep."

"It's good though," Edward cut in. "It's like we're having one big party."

The interview ran smoothly. It was lighthearted and we had fun with it. The good thing about interviews was that if gave us little boosts of energy. Coupled with the caffeine, I was starting to feel better.

We took a few pictures and then Alice led us back to the SUV. We had one more stop before lunch. When we got back in the SUV, Jasper handed us some sunglasses. Edward looked at them and then looked at Jasper.

"You have tired eyes."

I grabbed one of the pairs and adjusted it over my eyes. Our drive was pretty short; we arrived in front of big corporate looking building. I wasn't sure where we were. As it turned out, we were going for another sit down interview. It took about an hour, but when we were finally done, we went back into the SUV and headed to lunch.

We arrived at a place called Isabella's. I almost laughed out loud.

"Are you serious?" I asked the three of them.

Jasper and Alice were trying to stifle their laughter, whereas Edward had the decency to look sheepish.

"I thought you might like it…" he said giving me a small smile.

We walked into the restaurant hand in hand. Edward and I were extremely tired, but we were loving every minute of this hectic and roller coaster ride. Once we were seated, Edward pulled my seat closer to his. I leaned into his side and gave a loud yawn.

"That's not very lady-like," he teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care. I'm too tired to care."

Edward opened up the menu, and placed it in front of us so we could look at it together. I picked the spinach and ricotta ravioli; I loved ricotta and ravioli was awesome. It took me about two seconds to decide on the ravioli. While Edward was busy reading the menu, I sat up straighter, and looked around the room. It was spacious and the blinds were up on the windows. The natural sunlight gave the room a very cozy ambience. It was weird because I thought that it being New York the restaurants would be pricy and over the top. This place was classy but very comfortable in both setting and price. I liked it.

"Do you know what you want?" Edward asked.

"The ravioli," I said.

He smirked. "I thought so. You like pasta, don't you?"

"Yeah, the carbs keep me going," I joked. "What are you getting?"

"The steak sandwich and a side of fries."

I perked up when he said fries. That was another unhealthy food obsession of mine. I couldn't help it. Fries were really yummy.

Alice and Jasper were both busy checking the menu and typing furiously on their phones. I had a feeling they were trying to work out the kinks in our grueling schedule. I knew we were almost done with the press. We covered a lot of major media today. Tomorrow we'd go over to Regis and Kelly and then Edward had an interview with David Letterman. I, on the other hand would be blissfully decked out in my pajama's waiting in the hotel room. I planned to make use of the Jacuzzi tub.

Once the waitress arrived, we ordered our drinks and entrées. Edward and I continued to sit close to each other and Alice and Jasper finally put their phones away. When our drinks arrived, Alice held up her Long Island Iced Tea and proposed a toast.

"To my brother, Edward-I knew that being on the show would bring you great things, and I was totally right! Bella is the best thing that ever happened to you. Congratulations, you guys!"

"Why thanks, Alice," Edward said before taking a drink. "Only you could take credit for someone else's success."

She stuck her tongue out at him and in retaliation he threw a spit ball at her.

"Edward!" I said smacking his arm. "That's not nice! That's gross."

"They always do this," Jasper piped up smirking. "When they fight, it's actually kind of amusing."

"Its okay, Bella," Alice said with a devious glint in her eye. "Tomorrow when we go shopping, we'll make a huge dent in Edward's account."

Oh crap. Shopping with Alice was going to stressful. The one time just the two of us went shopping was fun but it was also very tiring. She had more energy than the energizer bunny.

"We're going shopping tomorrow?"

"What?" she said arching her brow. "Edward has more press than you do. Do you really think I'm going to let you bum around the hotel room by yourself? We're in New York for crying out loud! We're going shopping!"

I had no words. I couldn't say no to her because she did have a point, but I already didn't feel like going out.

Edward of course could sense my discomfort. He started pleading with Alice, but I cut him off.

"I'd be happy to go shopping tomorrow," I said interjecting. I didn't want them to argue and I couldn't stand to see Alice pout.

"See?" Alice said triumphantly.

"She's just being nice," Edward snarked.

"Trust me, we're gonna have fun," she said smiling.

Our food came, and Edward and I stole a few bites from each other's plate. I didn't touch his sandwich, but his fries were literally calling to me. The rest of the lunch was good. Conversation flowed easily, as it always did whenever the four of us went out. We went over tomorrow's schedule and I was mildly surprised that Edward arranged for us to stay an extra day. Usually, the winning couple would only be in New York for two days, but Edward said he wanted us to have some fun while we here.

"Next week rehearsals start and I just wanted us to have some private time. We've been on national television for the past couple of months; I wanted to give you a little vacation before the summer craziness started."

If I had a dime for every nice thing he said to me I'd be filthy rich by now. Ever since we first met, Edward has been nothing but kind to me. As a working couple, we understood each other. We worked flawlessly together and as a romantic couple he was very nice. I think our working relationship helped our natural relationship.

"So I get an extra day in New York?" I asked.

"Yeah, and Alice isn't the only one who has plans with you."

That obviously meant he had some things up his sleeve. I hated surprises mainly because I liked to know what was going on. I hated being out of the loop, but I had learned that Edward's surprises were usually very good, so I didn't hate them as much. I already knew better than to ask what plans he made for us. But judging by our hotel change, it looked like our time in New York was going to be freaking fantastic.

"Umm, when we get back, Alice is going to take you out for a little while."

Umm say what? I haven't slept since we got off the plane, and he's handing me over to Alice? That girl never slept! She had copious amounts of caffeine in her system and she didn't even drink coffee!

"Huh?" was all I could manage to say.

"I've got plans for the four of us and I really need you to go with Alice for a little while. You're only going to her room for a few minutes."

"Why?" I asked. Thank goodness I found my literacy skills again.

"We have plans for tonight."

I didn't ask anything about else. If Edward had plans for us tonight then that meant I had to go over to Alice so she could get me ready. I hadn't brought anything remotely dressy, so I figured we were going out to a swanky place.

"Hey, are you okay?" Edward asked. He was holding my left hand in his right, and he was looking at me with a concerned expression.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now I made plans for us. I didn't realize how tired you'd be. We could cancel and just sleep."

"No! No!" I said. "Yeah, I'm tired but its okay. I'm actually sort of excited about your plans. I have no idea what you've come up with. It's kinda killing me here not knowing."

He smiled in relief. "I can tell you we're having dinner, but I won't say where. Oh, and our reservations aren't till eight. You have time to take a nap."

Thank the Lord! I was practically a walking zombie.

"Wow," I said. "You think of everything, don't you?"

"Well, I have to think about you," he replied. "You're my girlfriend, right? I think about you all the time."

I laughed, "So charming."

"And you love it."

I inwardly sighed. I did. I totally did. He had the power to make my knees feel weak. No one ever had that affect on me. Edward was really one of kind.

Once we all finished eating, we paid the check and then scrambled back into the SUV. I was grateful that Edward was taking the opportunity to go out while we were here. He was right-this was New York. There was a hint of romance because of the city and we'd just won a major reality show. There were many things to be happy about.

By the time we got back to the hotel room, Alice and I had scheduled for me to go over to her room at around six. That gave me a couple of hours to rest.

Edward left me alone and went to the living room to put the television on. I went to the bathroom and immediately started taking my stage makeup off. When that was taken cared of, I went back to the bedroom and snuggled inside the sheets.

I was halfway asleep when Edward came back in the room. He took one look at me and smiled.

"Tired?"

"You have no idea."

He chuckled as he sat next to me.

"I think I do have some sort of idea."

I snorted. "Maybe. I mean you and I did win, so I guess you're tired too."

"Can I nap with you?"

"Sure," I replied. "You can hold me and tuck me in at night." I was only joking partly. The very idea of Edward and I sleeping next to each other every single night was overwhelming. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I mean, we'd only been dating for a little while. And to be honest, we had yet to go on an official first date. So sleeping with him every night would be a big, big step. I'm pretty sure we had miles to go before we even started thinking about that seriously.

When Edward climbed in next to me, he asked if he could hold me. Once again, I fought the urge to roll my eyes and laugh at him. We'd spent nearly 12 hours a day in the rehearsal touching, slapping, grinding and dancing up against each other, and he has to ask me permission to hold me while I sleep? I know. I shouldn't be so bitchy about that. He was after all being a gentleman. He was treating me with respect and I liked that.

After I told him that he could indeed hold me, he brought his arms around me so that we were spooning. Edward held me delicately, nicely. It was like he was afraid to hold on tighter in fear of breaking me or something. He gave me a tiny kiss on the cheek and said goodnight. I'm almost ashamed to admit I fell asleep soon after he did that.

My nap was very helpful. It was a power nap and it gave me enough energy to get up on time for Alice. When I got up, Edward was still sleeping. He was still holding me and when I turned around in his arms, his eyes began to open.

"Hey," he murmured.

"I have to get ready now. Are you going to pick me up at their room?" I gave him a kiss on his lips to wake him up a bit more. He kissed me back, and then gave a yawn.

"I'll meet you in the lobby. Jasper and I are going out for a while."

Oh. That was news to me. Where the hell were they going?

"Where are you going?" I asked. Curiosity got the better of me.

"Guy stuff. We're probably going to head to the hotel bar. I just need to hang out, you know?"

I didn't want him explaining himself to me. I didn't want to be one of those overbearing girlfriends. "That sounds fun. You get to do manly stuff and I get to have some girl time."

"Glad you're so happy. Now get going or Alice will have my head."

I got Alice's room and she practically yanked me by the arm. Jasper was nowhere to be found, so I assumed he was already meeting up with Edward.

"Oh my god!" Alice gushed. "I just found out where we're going! You're gonna love it, Bella!"

Now how come she knew where we were going and I didn't?

Alice pushed me down on a chair and looked me up and down. After she evaluated me, she gave me a little smile.

"I don't want this to come out wrong, but would you like to shower? It's just that I have these plans for doing your hair and your makeup…. Maybe if you showered you'd feel more alive."

I guess that was her nice way of saying the nap did nothing for your appearance; you look like the living dead.

"Sure, you don't mind?" I said getting up.

"Not at all," she replied. "I have clothes for you here."

I didn't even want to think about the undergarments she had for me. Knowing Alice, she thought about all things fashion. It was safe to say she had me covered.

While I started up the shower, Alice excused herself to get the clothes and her curling iron ready.

She was right as per usual. The shower did wonders for my tired body. It helped me feel more awake. It didn't take me long to shower. I never took long showers, and I knew Alice had plans to doll me up so I was out in about five minutes.

When I got out, I found a satin blue panty and bra set. Once I had the essentials on, I went back to the living room and found Alice waiting. I was just in my bra and panties and perhaps I should have been nervous in front of her like that, but being on the show made me more comfortable in standing around in bras and panties. Besides, I wore less than this when I was performing.

"Ready for your hair?" she asked. I followed her back into the bathroom and sat down on the chair. She used a brush to take out the tangles and all the while she and I chatted about everything and nothing. I never had real friends before. Competitors and dance partners, but not real friends who had different interests and different professions than me. It felt good to be able to have some friends that I could just hang out with. Alice and really the whole Cullen family had become very close to me.

It took Alice a little over an hour to do my hair. She gave me big curls that she said would eventually die down. She left my hair down, and then she focused on my makeup. I was used to getting my hair and makeup done because of the show. The hair and makeup team did a fantastic job at helping us. Alice was just as good as some of the professionals if not better. She had a knack for keeping things elegant and simple. When I was finished, I had a smoky eye, light peach cheeks and nude glossed lips.

"Your dress is hanging in the closest. There's two. One for you and one for me. Bring them out and set them on the bed. I'm going to get ready now."

I walked out the bathroom and went straight for the closet. There were tow garment bags. They were pretty light and once I had them on the bed, I unzipped them.

The dresses were beautiful. They were both full length evening gowns. One was a solid blue color and the other was a purple printed one.

"The blue one is yours!" Alice called from the bathroom.

I picked it up and looked at it. It really was a stunning gown. It had straps but parts of my back were exposed. Alice came in with her makeup already done. She smiled as she took the gown from me and unzipped it.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's amazing," I said.

"I'm glad you like it. Edward requested something blue for you, so I just went from that."

She walked out to finish her hair, and I stepped into the dress. There was a low zipper, and a few straps. After some careful maneuvering, I was able to get it on. Alice helped me with the zipper and went back to the bathroom to finish doing her hair.

Twenty minutes later, we met the guys in the lobby. Edward and Jasper were sporting dark suits. Edward had on a blue tie and Jasper had a black one.

"You look very beautiful," Edward said wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm almost tempted to go back to the room and keep you for myself."

"I wouldn't mind."

He looked shocked for about a second.

"Why Bella, I'm flattered and perhaps a bit shocked."

"So what are your plans?"

"Have you ever been to the Rainbow Room?"

"No, but I know what it is."

The Rainbow Room was a historic night club and restaurant. It had a live band and a great floor for ballroom dancing. I almost couldn't believe that Edward was taking us there! That was a pretty big deal. It was like being in an old-Hollywood nightclub.

"That's where we're going," he said.

"I don't know what to say," I said.

Edward took me by the arm and led me to the SUV. I guess he was keeping the driver.

"Are you pleased?"

"Umm, yeah!" I said as the car started. "I'm just so shocked and impressed and wow!"

"Isn't this awesome, Bella?" Alice said. "He's caught the dancing bug!"

I laughed at her sentiment. It certainly looked like he caught the dancing bug.

We got to the Rainbow Room and I was still so chocked. I'd heard about this club but I had never managed to get reservations. I was always so busy with competing; I never had time to socialize and have fun. This was beyond amazing.

Edward never left my side. We were led to a table and I was taking everything in. The ballroom was huge! The band was pumping and Alice, Jasper and Edward were all having fun with me.

"How do you like it?" he asked leaning towards me. I was looking around and taking mental pictures of the whole place.

"I love it!" I cried. "I'm so happy, Edward. This is really amazing and I'm having the best time."

He smiled, tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and gave me a kiss. It was a slow kiss, supposed to be chaste since we were out in public, but I deepened it just slightly. I wanted him to know how thankful I was to him. Sure, we may have won, but he was by far my favorite partner. And all his generous plans were very enjoyable. He went further than the usual dinner and a club date, and I loved it.

The whole night was so much fun. The dinner was great because I was with three people who I generally liked. Edward and I were really together. We sat together; we held hands and exchanged sweet looks. It was very nice to just be ourselves without having the cameras on us.

When a big band song came up, Edward stood up and looked at me.

"Care to Quickstep, Ms. Swan?"

I grinned up at him and placed my palm in his. Normally, I took a break after the show. I didn't dance or go to the studio, but with the summer tour coming up, I broke my little rule. Being in the Rainbow Room with Edward was beyond anything I'd ever dreamt about. He was an enthusiastic partner and we glided around the floor. Edward remembered his frame and I was pleasantly surprised that he led me throughout most of the dance. He wasn't a professional, but he was very able and talented. We danced a Foxtrot next to a Frank Sinatra song. This dancing was very different than the ones we did on the show. None of these were choreographed. Edward danced as if by memory. I had to help him out a few times, but for the most part he was leading me around the floor. It felt good to be close to him. Our chests were touching; our upper body was in the standard hold position. He was laughing, smiling and murmuring sweet things to me. When Roberta Flack's "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" came on I knew I was a goner.

"What's this dance?" he asked.

"Rumba."

"Oh shit."

I knew what he meant. The Rumba was the women's bedroom dance. It was a triple S-slow, sexy and sensual. Dancing the Rumba with so many people here and in this dress was going to be tricky. We could only move around. No impressive leg lifts, then again I wouldn't want to do any tricks. Edward and I danced only through the first verse. He was watching me sway my hips, and the look he was giving me was like nothing I'd ever seen. It was full of emotion and longing and I almost stumbled because of his penetrating gaze. He held my hand and guided me into a spin. By the time it reached the chorus we were both treading a very thin line. Dancing was the basis of our relationship and we were getting pretty into it. The feeling of the music and our bodies working as one, it was all very symbolic for other things. I knew that our relationship was still new, but everything about New York screamed right. If I was going to give myself to Edward then tonight was the night. Everything was perfect.

"You wanna get out here?" he asked as we walked back to the table.

Alice handed me a glass of water and went back to eating her cake.

"I'm ready whenever you guys are," I said. I sat down and picked up my fork to eat a piece of cake. Edward sat next to me and drank some water.

"You guys looked like you were having fun," Jasper said.

"It's a lot of fun," Edward replied. "I actually like it."

"I'm sure you do," Alice said into her plate.

I was too happy to make a comeback. I knew she was teasing us, and I didn't really care at the moment.

"Are you ready to go?" Alice asked. "It's getting late and you guys have Regis and Kelly in the morning."

"Yeah, let's go."

The ride back was silent. I knew Edward and I were exhausted and very aroused at the same time. Dancing did that to you. There was something very intimate about partner dancing. It was something special we both enjoyed especially now that we were just dancing for ourselves.

When we got back to our hotel room, I immediately took my shoes off. They were black peep toe heels. They hurt like a bitch, and dancing in them was painful especially after dancing the Quickstep. Edward followed me and took off his jacket. He threw it on a chair and began to untie his tie.

"Can you help me with my dress?"

He came up behind me and unzipped the lower part. I gently stepped out of it and rummaged around the closet to hang it up. I almost forgot I was in my underwear when Edward came up behind me and surprised me by caressing my back. He'd done that before when we were on the show. I was decked out in body glitter and my bustier was revealing. He was behind me teasing the hell out of me.

"Edward," I moaned. "Not now. I'm trying to put this away."

He chuckled but backed away from me.

Once I had the garment put away, I went through my suitcase and found a white t-shirt. I figured since I was sharing a bed with Edward, I might as well keep the blue panties on. Feeling sexy in bed never hurt a girl, right?

I changed in the bathroom and Edward changed in the bedroom. When I was finished, I found him lying on the bed, with his phone in hand. He looked up when he saw me.

"Wow," he breathed. "You're only wearing that?"

"You like?" I said crawling up to him.

"Umm, yeah."

I laughed as I rolled around to lie on my back. "We have to wake up early tomorrow." I looked at him as if I was challenging him.

Now what? We were both wide awake and very aware of each other.

"Can I try something?"

"Go for it," I winked. I wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but I was up for just about anything.

He lifted up my shirt to reveal my bare breasts. He carefully traced the outline my areola. "Damn, Bella. You're so lovely. I can't tell you how often I've dreamed of this-seeing you without anything on. You always tease me with those costumes."

I smirked at that. It was true, the costumes I wore were sexy and revealing, but they weren't slutty. At least I didn't think so.

Edward touched me for a little while longer. It was like he had to know everything about them. I guessed in a way I had been teasing him with the costumes.

"Can I?"

Still not sure what he was asking, but I nodded. He could do anything to me.

He leaned down and wrapped his lips around my nipple. It was very alarming feeling. I wanted him to do that, but to actually feel his lips wrapped around me was something else.

"I've wanted to do this too," he said against my skin. "All the dancing and all your costumes were so beautiful, but you're a fucking tease sometimes."

He'd never used the word 'fuck in my presence before and for some reason that got me even more excited. Edward got me out of my musings when he latched onto my other breast. He was laving it with attention and I sure as hell didn't mind. When I felt like it was getting too much for me, he started moving down. He took one look at my panties and then he silently asked me. When he got my confirmation, he pulled them down ad threw them away. He came back up, and gave me a kiss on my lips. I parted my lips and let him taste my tongue. I gave up control to him because to me this was about him. He'd given me so much already, I just wanted to reciprocate and I loved every minute of it. He moved down to my neck and when I felt his tongue flick over my shoulder, I moved my hands to his hair and pressed him closer to my body.

"Is this okay, Bella?" he asked while he moved to my clavicle.

"Yes," I managed to say.

"Don't think less of me, but I've dreamt of doing this to you too."

He went back to sucking on my neck and then I felt him move his left hand. It was traveling lower, and I instantly knew what he was going to do.

"Is it…"

I didn't let him finish.

"Yes."

He moved his hands to the junction between my thighs. I was very aware of my arousal, and now so was Edward. He ran his fingertips between my slit and with just his hands in me; he brought me to a quick orgasm. It took me a few moments come down from my high, and when I did, Edward switched off the light and pulled me to his side so that we could sleep.

Excuse my language-I won't cockblock you in the next chapter. Although you should know I don't write explicit lemons. I'm trying not to 'fade into black/gray' either. Be patient with me. I'll get there.

The Rainbow Room does not exist anymore. It was shut down last year. I only put it in my fic cause it fit well. You'll find out which team Edward picked in the next chapter. Any guesses?

Till next time.

Tina