Chapter Two

I suppose everyone who was considered anyone at Darrington Prep was down at the Henderson boat pavilion and docks at this student-made "welcome back" party. After sneaking away from Alice, I decided to go sit by the water and examine my classmates as they arrived. I watched as the well-dressed crowd of teenagers parked their expensive vehicles and dispersed into their separate groups as they walked down to the lakeside. There were a few prominent cliques that stood out to me.. the beefy jocks, a large group made up of the boys on the varsity football, rugby, lacrosse, and crew teams -- you could tell which team each individual belonged to by the patches on their green and gold letterman jackets; your typical peppy cheerleaders -- but not many people were paying attention to them, most look like they were annoyed by them; and Alice's clique of choice, I suppose I could call them the Queen Bees but thats quite cliched.. although that is what they were, they seemed to be running the party and reigning over everyone there.

My eyes scanned the large array of students for Edward and that beautiful coppery hair of his, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Who are you kidding, Bella? He is probably already spoken for by one of Alice's friends or a cheerleader, or something, I thought to myself.

"Bella! Where have you been?" Alice huffed as she came walking up to me. "I've been looking all over for you. The boys heard there was a new girl who was worthy to be in my circle of friends and they are dying to meet you! Although, I have someone more specific in mind that I want to introduce you to." She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me up off the dock. "Come on, girly!"

I smiled as I followed her back to the party. Was I honestly nervous? Isabella Marie Swan was never nervous.

"Everyone, this is Bella Swan!" Alice explained with a bright smile as she gestured towards me and then she disappeared, leaving me alone with at least twenty very large teenage boys.

I chose to use the old "smile-and-nod" gesture for the rest of my time around the group of boys she had just put me on stage in front of. As my hands fiddled with the ruffles on my tank top, my head was being filled with every jock's name ranging from Adam to Zach. There was no way in hell that I would ever remember any of their names, and I'd feel terrible if they were to come up to me in a coule of days and try to start a conversation in one of the hallways of the school. How could Alice just leave me alone with all these jocks? I looked around. Where had she gone anyway?

I had just about given up when I felt someone run their fingers softly across the small of my back. The surprise from the touch sent chills down my spine. I watched the faces of the jocks change, they looked defeated like the had just lost a state championship or something. I was wondering who was behind me, but whoever it was had gotten the attention of all the boys and they had slowly dissipated from the area around me. I overheard a few of them tell each other that they were going to get another beer and some had moved on to prey on some other girls.

"I had hoped I would find you here," he whispered in my ear, his hands trailing down the skin of my bare arms.

I didn't need to turn around, I knew exactly who was behind me now.

"So, did you two already meet or something, Edward?" Alice's voice was sharp as she questioned him.

I turned to look at her. "Is this the specific person you had in mind, Alice?" I asked with a smile.

"Of course, sweetie." She spoke with a happy smile this time. "Apparently, I had a good match for you in mind. Have fun!" And then she was gone again.

Edward moved his lips closer to my ear. "Do you want to go some where more private with me, Miss Bella?" He said softly, his breath was warm and smelled sweet. How could I say no?

The Darrington Prep campus was actually quite creepy at night and I was really glad that I wasn't heading back to my room alone. Alice and I had taken my Range Rover to the docks so that we wouldn't have had to walk back through school grounds so late at night and I was glad she had another way back to our dormitory, it made me feel less guilty about ditching my new friend for a guy, especially one that I barely knew.

Edward took my free hand in his and intertwined his fingers with mine as I drove back towards the dormitory halls. I smiled lightly at the warmth, it was quite charming. My night was definitely turning out even better than I had thought it would.

"So, your room or mine?" He asked sweetly. He turned to face me, then leaned over and kissed my check.

I felt myself blush as his soft lips touched my skin, but I quickly snapped back to reality. "Which dormitory do you live in?"

"Winchester," he answered. "I'm on the third floor, love."

"I live there too," I said cheerfully as I pulled in to the Winchester Hall parking lot.

I put the car in park and went to reach for my door, but he was already there and had opened it for me. "After you, beautiful." He took my hand guiding me out of the SUV and towards the main doors of the building. "Where to?"

I contemplated quickly. "It doesn't matter to me. My room is a mess and I haven't completely unpacked yet. Alice kind of distracted me with a party invite."

"Mine it is."

I woke the next morning to the sound of a shower running. I opened my eyes as I stretched my arms up above my head and noticed that it wasn't a dream. One thing was certain, this was definitely not my bed.. and I was still clothed, well semi-clothed. That is a good thing, I guess, I thought with a light giggle as I heard the water stop.

Edward stepped out of his steamy bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. "Looks like you finally woke up, sleeping beauty." He flashed a smile as he walked into his closet.

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm up," I chuckled. Slowly, but surely, I was becoming more and more aware of my surroundings. I was certain that I was sitting in Edward's large iron-framed bed that was in Edward's room on the third floor of our dormitory hall, and as I looked down, I noticed that my tank top and mini-skirt from the night before had been exchaged for a t-shirt that belonged to Edward as well.

He emerged from the closet no longer covered by the towel but now somewhat clothed in a pair of Darrington Prep gym shorts. After planting a sweet kiss on my cheek, he climbed back into bed and wrapped me up into his arms. "So, Miss Bella, what are your plans for your last free day before we start classes?"

That's when I realized it. It was Tuesday morning, how depressing. I remembered what I had read in one of the packets yesterday.. classes at Darrington started promptly at 8'o'clock on September 1st. That was tomorrow morning. I had also remembered that Alice and I had made plans to do some last minute shopping in the city today. I reached for my purse and pulled out my Blackberry Curve to check the time. "Actually, I have to get going, darling. I made plans with Alice to go shopping during the day today," I explained, "but we should be back no later than five because she apparently has a date tonight."

"Well, thats a good thing because so do you."

"So do I, what?" I asked with a giggle and a raised eyebrow.

Edward smiled that crooked smile of his and sighed. "You have a date tonight too, only if you want to, of course." He spoke softly as he got back out of bed.

"And what will we do?"

He smiled again as he pulled me from his bed. "That is for me to know and you to find out," he joked as he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Well then, I guess I have no choice then to say yes to your invitation," I said as I gathered up my clothes from the floor, moving them to his bed. After sliding back into my skirt, I turned to face away from him as I stripped off his t-shirt and replaced it with my tank top. I turned back around and made my way to him, wrapping my arms around him once I got within touching distance. "Text me while I'm gone, sweetie. I want to know what we are going to be doing."

He held me steady by my waist as I reached for my boots and slid my feet into them. "I'll send you hints, and hints only. Its a surprise, gorgeous."

I stood at the door, purse and jacket in hand, with a smile on my face. "I'll see you tonight."

He kissed my cheek one last time. "I'll pick you up at seven," he stated as he hugged me tightly. "See you later."

"Yes, later.." my voice trailed off as I walked out of his room and headed for the elevators with the same smile still plastered on my face.

Hey guys!

I'd love to hear your feedback on my story. Its not the first one I have ever written, but it is the first one that I have ever posted for others to view.

I'm trying to get a couple chapters out quickly so I can keep the story progressing. I promise it will get more juicy soon, just working up to it.

Please review!

Loveee Devon :]