A/N: I apologize, right now, before you read on. I said that if you reviewed, you'd get something steamy...yeah....didn't happen. It didn't fit with the chapter, you'll see why. This chapter is really crucial, and the steamyness just didn't go. So for those of you who were expecting it, sorry again! I won't disappoint in the future, I promise.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to the Ican'tcomeupwithanadjectiverightnowtodesrcibeherawesomeness Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with them =]

Chapter Eight: Hungry Eyes

I've been meaning to tell you
I've got this feelin' that won't subside
I look at you and I fantasize
You're mine tonight
Now I've got you in my sights

With these hungry eyes
One look at you and I can't disguise
I've got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you and I

I wanna hold you so hear me out
I wanna show you what love's all about
Darlin' tonight
Now I've got you in my sights

With these hungry eyes
One look at you and I can't disguise
I've got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you and I
I've got hungry eyes
Now I've got you in my sights
With those hungry eyes
Now did I take you by surprise

I need you to see
This love was meant to be


I've got hungry eyes
One look at you and I can't disguise
I've got hungry eyes
I feel the magic between you and I
I've got hungry eyes
Now I've got you in my sights
With those hungry eyes
Now did I take you by surprise
With my hungry eyes
I need...
Hungry eyes
Now I've got you in my sights
With my hungry eyes

Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen

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BPOV

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight, I counted inside my head. The sound of my heels against the hardwood floor was intimidating. I felt awkward and ridiculous in them, meaning I must have looked even worse. This was the sixth time we had restarted the dance, at least. My clumsiness was not helping today, and I could tell Edward was getting frustrated, but I guess we had somehow reached a truce because he was keeping quiet about it. It was hard enough to do the steps in heels, and I still had to remember what he said yesterday: feel the music. This last spin had nearly twisted my ankle, yet he was still silent. Thank God. I didn't want to argue with him just after starting over.

On the three, he spun me out. I tried to spot, but I ended up losing his eyes and tripped just as he pulled me back in. He was supposed to dip me, but I was already falling. I was already in his arms, making it that much easier for him to catch me. Still, I wasn't expecting him to so I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the fall. Nothing came. All I knew was that two arms were wrapped tightly around me, clutching me to a hard, warm body. I opened an eye, and saw said body. When I opened both, I saw that when Edward caught me, he had pulled me very close to him. I could see his lashes, the small, intricate details on his face. But mostly, I saw his eyes. Green met brown in that instant. My chest was heaving with the effort of my breathing; that happened whenever I looked into his brilliant green orbs. Now, his eyes were a little darker. He met mine with lust, which I'm sure must have been in mine. Aside from lust, there was curiosity. I realized that we may have talked yesterday, but I still didn't know much about Edward Cullen. Hell, he confused me more than anything and anyone! He went from teaching me how to dirty dance one moment, to hating me the next, to being civil, back to hating me, then apologizing, and now?

Now, he was holding me very closely, staring at me with as much curiosity and longing as I was. But what did he want to know? What could he possibly be interested in when looking at me? He could have something so much better. I wasn't glamorous, curvy, busty, or hell, even beautiful. Surely he'd want someone who was all of those things? So then why did he look at me in wonder? Why did he want to figure me out?

I stopped the questions then, because just as I was about to right myself, it happened. His eyes flickered down to my lips. They didn't return to mine for a full five seconds. When they did, there was more desire in them than before. My breath hitched, and my heart skipped a beat. Could he want to…

"He-hem," I heard someone cough. Edward's gaze immediately left mine and he quickly put me back on my feet. The blood was rushing to my cheeks. I searched for our interruption, and found her leaning against the doorframe in all of her perfection. Rosalie.

"Oh, don't let me stop you. Please, keep going," she said with smirk. I furrowed my eyebrows inquisitively, wondering what she was so smug about. She shrugged and walked over to the boom box, stopping the song, rewinding, then pressing play again. Edward and I went to the starting positions and started over again.

The rest of the rehearsal was spent in silence, at least from Edward and I. Rosalie would call out a few suggestions every now and then, but other than that she was quiet as well, but she was definitely trying to say something. She had a knowing smirk on her face the entire rehearsal, and it frustrated me to no end because I had no idea what she knew.

By the time we were finished, I was much better at handling the shoes. I could even turn without falling. Edward grinned crookedly at me in congratulations, and that was more than enough. That grin was dazzling, it would surely be the death of me.

"Come on, Bella, we're going to go fit your dress," Rosalie squealed excitedly. Had she met Alice?

I thought it was too early.

"Uh…sure?" I said unsurely. She laughed and grabbed my hand, then proceeding to pull me out of the studio. I felt Edward behind us the entire way to Rosalie's cabin. She ushered me inside the moment we got there, then pushed me inside her bathroom. She came in seconds after and started tugging at my clothes. I sighed exasperatedly and just took the rest of my clothes off, minus my underwear. She had brought in a garment bag with her which she then unzipped. Inside was a red, sequined dress. It looked to be too long for me, but then I reminded myself that Rosalie would've worn this and she was a good five inches taller than me. Damn her model figure.

She told me to raise my arms and I did. She pulled the dress on me and made sure everything was in place before she started to pin it. She never stuck me, thank God. I really didn't want to deal with blood at that time. It took her a good fifteen minutes to finally get everything right. It fit snuggly, much better than it had before she made the adjustments.

"Okay Bella, turn around and look into the mirror," she instructed. I did as told and was surprised with what I saw. The neckline dipped all the way to my waist in a V, and my breasts were pushed together, giving me better cleavage than I had ever had in my life. The waist was tight, but once it got to the hips, the dress flared out slightly. Then there wasn't much after the hips.

"Rosalie…I thought tango dresses were supposed to be long," I said, slightly panicked. The dress was barely long enough to cover my bottom.

"Oh, they can be I suppose, but the audience really enjoys this type of dress a lot more," she winked at me in the mirror. I stared at the dress in horror, wondering how many men would get a glimpse of my underwear on the night of the show. And Edward…

Oh God.

Edward wouldn't just be seeing me in this dress, he'd be touching me in this dress. The fabric wasn't very thick, I'd feel everything. Was I actually supposed to be able to concentrate?

"We should get Edward's opinion, don't you think? Hey, Edward!" she called through the doors. I shook my head vehemently, hoping against hope that he would not open that door. But, of course, I've never been blessed with good luck, why should anything change in that instant? The doorknob turned, and in walked Edward.

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EPOV

"Hey, Edward!" I heard Rosalie call from inside the bathroom. I looked up from the random magazine I had picked up on the bed, but she didn't say anything more. I stood up and walked over to the door, thinking she needed my help with something. Forgetting my manners, I opened the door without knocking and was greeted by a…sight.

There stood Bella next to Rosalie, who had a Cheshire grin on her face. Bella refused to look anywhere but a random spot on the wall, and for that I was glad. She didn't need to see the look on my face as I took her in hungrily. Rosalie had clearly made adjustments on the dress, making it much smaller to fit Bella's shorter frame. Small was the key word there. It hardly even grazed her thigh, it was so short. Her long, smooth legs were exposed to me. She still had the heels on, making her legs look even longer. I moved up and saw that the neckline of that dress didn't leave much to the imagination. The skin of her waist and the valley between her breasts was exposed for my ogling, and ogle I did. So smooth, it glimmered almost. It made me want a taste. Hmm…would she like it if I ran my tongue across the smooth surface of her chest? Of her entire body?

Damn it.

Would she ever fail at making me hard? Did she even realize what she did to me? And since when the fuck are her breasts so damn perky?

"What do you think, Edward?" Rosalie's voice jerked me back to reality. I look over to her, and she's smirking like she's all-knowing or some shit. That's annoying. Bella was still looking anywhere but me. I was still grateful, it would've been worse to have been caught staring by her. Rosalie I could handle…maybe. I remembered Rosalie had asked me a question, one I wasn't sure how to answer at that.

"Oh…she looks fine," I muttered before exiting her bathroom and making my way out of the cabin. Just before I shut the door, I heard Rosalie's giggle. I leaned on the railing of her porch, waiting for them to come out so we could get the hell to lunch.

Minutes later, they both come out with completely neutral expressions. If Rosalie was all giddy and smug before, I wouldn't have known. She just looked her normal bored, apathetic self. Bella waved goodbye before heading towards the main house to eat lunch. Rosalie and I followed her, except taking another way to get to the staff cafeteria. Along the way, Jasper caught up to us.

"Hey darlin', how are you feelin'?" he asked Rosalie gently. She grimaced.

"Alright, considering. But, it'll all be over soon, right?" she replied with a tight, forced smile. Jasper wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips, placing a small kiss on it and murmuring "It'll all be okay."

I wish the conversation hadn't taken this turn. It was definitely a way to get my mind off Bella, but not exactly in the way I'd like. I hated the fact that Rosalie had to give up a dream of hers. If this had happened back home, it would be a different guy, and he'd marry her. They'd be financially stable enough to have this baby. Rosalie wouldn't have to go through a procedure she'd swore she'd never do once upon a time. She'd be happy with a guy who deserved her and their pretty baby.

We got to lunch pretty quickly, but not early. The fitting had taken longer than I realized. We saw Emmett sitting at a table, so we got our lunches fast and went over to sit with him. He greeted us with his usual smile. Rose sat down next to him, and he gave her a special smile. She grinned and leaned into him. They began to talk quietly, hardly acknowledging my or Jazz's presence. I looked over to Jazz, raising an eyebrow in question. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat. I shook my head and said nothing, but definitely remembering to ask her later.

Lunch went by pretty quickly, eating and not really saying anything. Rose and Emmett carried on their conversation the entire time, not even trying to include us. That was fine, I wasn't exactly in the mood to converse. When I finished eating, I got up to throw my trash away and to my immense surprise, Rose followed me. I didn't think she'd even notice me leaving. We took care of our trash in seconds, and I told her I had to go do a few lessons. She nodded and I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a corner of the cafeteria.

"I wasn't done with you. I need to know, Edward, what is up with you and Bella?" she asked bluntly. That was her style. I tilted my head as I contemplated my answer. What was up? Yesterday it seemed that we were finally going to try and be friendly to each other, but I soon found that I wanted much more than friendship from one Bella Swan. Not that I ever expected to get more; no, Bella was better. She could do a lot better.

And I wanted so badly to lie to Rosalie and say that there was absolutely nothing 'up' with Bella and I. Unfortunately, I had grown up with Rosalie. If I knew her from back to front, she knew me from head to toe. She caught even the smallest of lies, and I doubt she would choose now to start being ignorant. She was too proud to play dumb.

I clamped my eyes shut and just let the truth out.

"Bella is an incredibly beautiful and interesting young woman. I haven't yet found anything that I don't like about her. She's constantly in my thoughts and I would certainly like to get to know her better, but she's a guest. I'm an employee, a non-college-boy employee at that. Bella and I could never be anything more than friends," I said remorsefully, wishing with my every fiber that that were not true. I opened my eyes to see Rosalie looking at me sympathetically.

"Edward, don't say that. I'm sure Bella feels the same way. She doesn't look at you the way she looks at everyone else. You guys were about to kiss, had I not come in the studio at the time I did! I like her, Edward, she'd be good for you," she smiled at me, "but I have to warn you, Edward. Bella is the best thing that's happened to us in the past three years. I have no doubt that what you're telling me is true, but please Edward; don't fuck with her. Don't you dare hurt her because if you do, I won't care that you're family. I'll make sure that you're not able to fuck with anyone else for the rest of your existence. Literally," she sneered before whipping around and going back to the lunch table.

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BPOV

I walked away from Rosalie's cabin horribly embarrassed. Edward had run away from the bathroom so fast, I thought he must've caught fire or something. That was upsetting; did he find me that repulsive? I didn't even think I looked that bad. Once he left, Rosalie had a sudden fit of giggles, which annoyed me to no end. What the hell was so damn funny?

After he shut the door, I hurriedly changed back to my shorts and t shirt. Rosalie gave one last chuckle before leading me out of the cabin and back to Edward. I didn't say anything, just waved goodbye and left to eat lunch. Aside from being mortified by that…small thing that didn't even deserve to be called a dress, my day was going alright. Until I got to the dining room.

Alice was already there.

With James.

"Oh, Bella over here!" she called, waving her tiny arm in the air. I fake-smiled then went over to the table. James was perched next to her, so close that Alice was nearly in his lap. I wondered how shocked she would be if I pulled him away. Ignoring the urge, I sat down and smiled again, pleasantly before a light bulb went off in my head.

Aha.

"Alice, how's your day so far?" I asked innocently. Thank goodness my lying skills had gotten better in the past couple of days.

"Perfect," she said dreamily, grinning at James. He grinned back, though it looked slightly forced to me. Hmm.

"Lovely to hear that. James, how are you?" He looked flabbergasted at being acknowledged by me. I'd never really shown that I knew he even existed, except the other day when I warned him to stay away from Alice. His expression turned pleasant before Alice noticed the shock.

"I'm just dandy, Bella. I have Alice to thanks for that," he smirked at me before leaning in to kiss her cheek. Alice blushed. Would it have been weird to lunge for his throat at that moment?

"I see. So James, please tell us, when you're not waiting here in the dining room, who-what are you doing?" His eyes looked panicked for a moment, before he put his mask back on. I nearly sneered.

"I'm working with children's activities," he answered airily and all smiles for Alice, before his face fell. I sat up in my chair with glee.

Ammo.

"Really? Children? Wow, that's interesting. How is that? Do you work with older children or with babies? Give me an age range."

"The nursery takes care of the babies," he began with a victorious grin, "our department takes care of those from ages four to ten."

"Wow, so your getting a lot of practice for when fatherhood comes around, aren't you?"

He narrowed his eyes at me.

"One could look at it that way," he said with his teeth gritted together. My chin raised, and it was my turn to win.

"Indeed. How long are you planning on waiting to be a daddy? Five, six, seven years? Or perhaps…sooner," and my smile stretched from ear to ear, knowing that he couldn't possibly counter that. He was seething silently, while Alice took a bite. She had been watching our conversation with interest, and I knew she thought I was probably grilling him to see if he was good enough for her. She got a kick out of those types of things.

"We'll see," he said after Alice looked at him curiously, wondering why he wasn't answering. He grinned at her and lightly flicked her nose with his index finger. She wrinkled her nose then went back to eating. I raised my glass in a silent cheers to James, laughed, tipped it back and downed the contents.

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After lunch, the three of us walked out into the hall right outside of the dining room. Alice excused herself to go to the bathroom, surely to check her appearance. James was smiling the entire time; that is, until the door to the bathroom swung back after Alice. He grabbed my shoulders and slammed me up against the wall. The hallway was secluded, so no one would see.

"Listen, Bella. I know you know about Rosalie, but if you know what's good for you," he pushed me up against the wall harder, "you won't say shit to Alice. I can be a dangerous enemy, Bella. You and I both know you're smarter than antagonizing me. I already have your sister. Let us be, and I won't need to do anything," he growled. I glared at him, and with one last painful squeeze of my upper arms, he let me go. I tumbled down to the floor knowing that I'd have to hide bruises for the next week.

Alice still hadn't come out of the bathroom.

I heaved myself off the floor, brushing off the back of my dress. I marched up to him and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, probably expecting me, but at that moment I didn't really give a fuck. I slapped him with all the force I could muster.

"You bastard. I will make sure you stay away from my sister. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But when I hit, I can promise you you'll regret ever setting eyes on a Swan girl," I hissed lowly with more venom in my voice than I had ever even thought of using with anyone. I promptly about-faced, making sure my hair whipped him across the face as I did so. I heard him retreat as I stood by the door of the bathroom waiting for Alice to come out. When she did, her face fell when she noticed that James had left.

"He had to go to work," I told her apologetically. She nodded understandingly and we took off for our afternoon walk.

The sun was shining bright today, illuminating the trail that winded around the trees. Alice chatted happily as we walked leisurely, and I couldn't help but catch her mood.

"So I've asked mommy if she knows a couple with one son around Mattie's age. She suggested the Prestons, and I think that's them because she told me their son's name was Matthew. She told me that Mrs. Preston stays here during the week while her husband goes back to Seattle to work. He only comes up on weekends. They're loaded apparently."

That was really the only thing she said that really piqued my interest. Really? They could really just go about their vacation forgetting their son? Why the hell would a sweetheart like Mattie get punished with parents like these?

"Oh, speak of the devil," she said excitedly. I followed her gaze and smiled. I didn't realize that we had ended up at the lake. There he sat in the sand, building a sandcastle just like we had left him the other day. I glanced at Alice before taking off at a run to Mattie. I heard her giggle before she ran after me. She caught up to me easily, a track runner at Seattle High. I definitely wasn't a track runner, barely able to walk three steps without tripping, but it felt nice to feel the sand between my toes as I ran. I felt proud of myself as I got closer, I didn't trip once.

I spoke too soon.

I didn't even have time to gasp before I somehow tripped over my own feet and landed on my butt. I winced to think about what a fall that would've been if I hadn't been running on sand. Alice stopped instantly and bent over me, frantically asking me if I was alright. I just laughed and waved her off, saying it was just the usual. I must have made quite the scene because the next thing I heard was:

"Bella! Alice! You came!"

I turned my head and there he was, in his arm floaties, running to me. I felt my entire face brighten when I saw the ecstatic expression on his face. He collapsed on his knees next to me, his eyebrows coming together and his head tilting in confusion and concern.

"Bella, are you okay? Did you fall?" he asked me, reaching out to touch my face. I blushed, but smiled tenderly at him.

"It happens all the time, I'm really clumsy," I assured him. He grinned and lunged at me, wrapping his arms around my neck. I hugged him back with just as much fervor. He let me go after a minute then attacked Alice. Alice laughed and picked him up to spin him around. It was too comical; he was more than half her height. He laughed loudly and begged Alice to put him down. She finally complied after a few minutes and we all just erupted in giggles.

"I missed you guys!" he said after his laugh settled.

"We're sorry; we got kinda…caught up. We missed you too. But hey, we're here now, do you want to go play croquet?" His eyes lit up and he nodded his head vigorously. I chuckled and got up from the sand, not even bothering to brush it off. I held out my hand for him to take, as did Alice. The three of us walked over to the green field next to the lake where the game was played. I set things up and we were playing in no time. Alice always let Mattie win, while I didn't have to. I was bad enough at the game that he could beat me easily.

"What's your favorite color, Mattie?" I asked. I had been asking him random questions like that for the past hour, trying to get to know him.

"Blue and red," he answered readily. I laughed.

"Do you like Spiderman?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?"

"Oh, lucky guess," I winked at him. His small cheeks reddened as he took his last shot.

"OH Mattie! You beat Bella again!" Alice shrieked excitedly. I pretended to be dejected as Alice congratulated Mattie with a high five. Mattie saw my fallen face and walked up to me.

"Bella? It's okay. You can win next time if you want," he offered. I didn't have the heart to tell him I was kidding, he looked so sincere.

"Aw, thanks. You're really nice," I complimented, patting his head. He blushed, looked down, and dragged his toe across the dirt.

"Are you hungry? Do you want a popsicle?" Alice asked cheerily. He lifted his head, a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yeah!"

Alice and I exchanged grins before each taking a hand and bringing him over to the concession stand. Once we got within ten feet, Mattie let go of our hands and skipped ahead. The same redhead as before was there today. By the time Alice and I reached the stand, we saw that she was holding a conversation with Mattie.

"Really? Your parents are the Prestons? Your daddy gives really good tips," she winked as she said that. I scowled; he was a kid, for Christ's sake. Why would she go and tell him that? I rushed over to Mattie's side and hugged him to me, glaring at the redhead. Victoria was her name, I believed.

"Yes, Mattie's parents are very generous," I said sarcastically. She shrugged and asked me what I wanted.

"Cherry popsicle," I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice for Mattie. Alice sauntered next to me, and I knew she was glowering at Victoria as well.

"Make that two," she piped up, with clear anger in her voice.

"I want a grape one," Mattie said timidly. I looked down at him, and his eyes held confusion. He could feel the tension. Victoria cowered back from the two of us, hurrying to get our popsicles. She handed them to us and I paid, not giving her any sort of tip. Alice and I grabbed Mattie again, running away so fast we nearly lifted Mattie off the ground. We went to the same tree we had sat under the other day. Mattie sat down immediately, enjoying his popsicle. I plopped down next to him, Alice next to me, the three of us forming a triangle. We sat there in the shade, finishing our treat and in Alice's and my cases, calming down.

"Mattie…do your parents love each other?" Alice asked. Mattie stopped licking the desert and frowned.

"I think so. Mommies and daddies are s'posed love each other, right?"

I shared a sad glance with Alice.

"Yes, of course they do," I lied feebly. Mattie was still so innocent, he couldn't even see through my lies.

"Do you love your parents?" I asked. I feared the answer.

"Yeah. Lots," he said happily as he took the last bite of his purple popsicle.

His answer shouldn't have made me as angry as it did. His parents didn't deserve his love, they hardly deserved to have such a sweet son, if at all. My fear increased after I heard his response. I hadn't even known this little boy for a week and already he had carved himself a niche in my heart. I genuinely cared about him and hoped that we would remain friends even after our vacation was over. It would kill me to see him get hurt later in life, when he found out what type of people his parents really were.

"Do you like to read?" Alice asked, easing the tension. I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Yeah. I'm just starting to read chapter books. My nanny got me all the Magic Tree House books for my birthday!" he said excitedly. It was infectious; I caught it and so did Alice.

"Really? When I was your age, I loved those books. Have you started reading them yet?"

"Yeah, I just started Night of the Ninjas. It's awesome."

"Oh, that was my favorite! But when I was seven, I also liked Nancy Drew books," Alice said. Mattie wrinkled his nose.

"Those books are for girls," he said petulantly. Alice and I laughed.

"Well, Mattie, Alice and I are girls," I said matter-of-factly.

"But you're big, you're okay. Girls at my school have cooties," he told us, shuddering. I saw an opportunity for another question that had been bugging me.

"What about the rest of the kids? Do you have friends at your school?" He hung his head, all of a sudden sad. I grabbed his chin gently and forced him to look at me.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. You don't have to answer if you don't want to," I assured him. He nodded.

"No, it's okay. I don't have friends at my school. Most of the kids are mean to me," he said in a would-be casual voice. He even added a shrug. This new information startled me, however, because his nanny never said anything about the children being mean to him. She simply said that he didn't relate well to other kids his age.

"Why are they mean to you?" Alice asked kindly. He shrugged again.

"I don't know. I don't really play with them. I always like to play by myself." I chewed on my bottom lip anxiously. I didn't realize that the problem was this serious.

"Mattie…don't you ever want to make friends? Maybe then you don't have to play by yourself," Alice suggested.

"I guess," Mattie said, staring at the ground. Suddenly, an idea came to mind and my face brightened.

"Hey, Mattie, why don't you come with Alice and me to arts and crafts tomorrow afternoon? There are lots of kids there your age. We can make new friends."

He smiled and nodded his agreement. Alice looked over at me, grinning thankfully.

"One more game before we have to say bye?" Alice asked and Mattie answered in the affirmative. We walked back to the field together and Alice set up the last game. I watched them play for the next forty five minutes. Mattie beat Alice again, but he didn't comfort her, unlike he did with me. He teased her and Alice teased right back. They approached me and Alice announced that she owed him a bag of cookies. I chuckled, shaking my head at the small pair in front of me.

I chose that moment to look towards the trail.

Big mistake.

Edward and Jasper stood there having a conversation. He must have sensed my gaze because he looked up at that moment too. Our eyes met. We were at least fifty feet apart, but that didn't lessen the intensity of our stare. In that moment, his eyes told me so much. He was confused, afraid, guilty, lonely, and longing. He wanted something. He wished for something. I didn't have to speak to him to know that he saw something in my eyes; I just didn't know what he saw. Did he see the curiosity? Did he see my desire to know everything about him? Or did he see my desire to have him all to myself?

His next move told me everything I would need to know.

He grinned. Crookedly. I stopped breathing.

He saw everything.

I looked back down, flushing furiously. It didn't escape Alice's notice, although Mattie didn't seem to have seen anything. Alice, on the other hand, looked to where she thought I had been looking. I followed her gaze, and my eyes again landed on Edward and Jasper.

Except Edward was turned around and Jasper was staring at us. Or, more specifically, at Alice. That thought made me smile. This might be a stretch, and they didn't even know each other, but Jasper was a much better guy than James. Alice turned her head back to face me. Her face surprised me.

She was jealous.

Jealous? Of what? What could she possibly have seen to make her jealous?

And before I could ponder it any longer, her face changed back into her signature perky grin and she took Mattie's hand, ready to take him back to his nanny. I jogged to catch up to them, still confused as to Alice's face. Jealousy? Really? We walked back to the lake and spotted Mattie's nanny immediately. She was again sitting in one of the lounge chairs, soaking up the sun.

"Maria!" Mattie called, running to her. Alice and I ran after him, stopping once we reached them.

"Yes, cariño, did you have fun playing with the muchachas?" she asked him.

"Yeah! They're my best friends!" he gushed. I blushed and Alice flashed a grin. Maria looked up at us and gave us a smile of her own.

"Cariño, why don't you go and play in the sand? I'm sure these lovely girls have to go do something?" She looked up at us, her eyes telling us that she wanted to talk to us.

"Okay. Bye!" he gave Alice and I each a hug, which we returned, before he went off to play in the sand like Maria suggested. We faced Maria, wondering what she would want to say to us.

"Mattie has been asking me about you two for the past few days. It makes me feel sad when I cannot answer him. I did not catch your names earlier, perhaps that would help me for future situations?"

Duh.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Bella Swan," I said, extending my hand for her to shake. She did so then turned to Alice.

"I'm Alice Swan," and they shook hands as well.

"You are Dr. Swan's children, yes?" We nodded. She sighed.

"Mattie enjoys having you two as friends. I love him as if he were my own son," she looked at him adoringly, "which he might as well be. I have raised him since he was a beautiful bebé. Sometimes I wish I could just adopt him and take him away from his padres; they do not even deserve to be called that! I am more his mother than Sheila will ever be."

"So…why don't you? We've gotten to know Mattie, and Alice has asked about his parents. We feel the same way that you do. His parents don't deserve him. Why don't you just take him away?" I asked. Why hadn't I thought of that before? She shook her head sadly.

"His parents would never allow it. Imagine how they would look to their amigos if I took Mattie away. The police would catch us before we could even make it out of the city. The best I can do is care for Mattie until he is big. He probably won't need a nanny anymore; how I hate that word! I am so much more to him. When he is old enough to take care of himself, his parents will think he does not need me anymore. They will let me go. Until then, I will prepare Mattie for life as much as I can. He will grow up to be a good man, and his parents won't be able to take any credit for that."

Her little speech made me see Mattie's future to be a little brighter. At least Maria cared about him. I wish that I could find some way for her to adopt Mattie and just take him away, but I knew it would break Mattie's heart. He still naively loved his parents. But what would happen when his illusion of his parents was shattered? Would Maria still be 'needed' and around to put Mattie back together? Or would she already be gone?

"Well, we told Mattie that we would take him to arts and crafts tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay?" Alice asked tentatively. Maria laughed and nodded.

"Of course. I appreciate that you two are able to be friends with him. I appreciate it more than you could know. I love my Mattie, I want him to be happy. You two make him smile and laugh. I will meet you two in the foyer of the main house after lunch tomorrow and Mattie will be with me. You can drop him off at cabin 508. I believe it is not too far away from your own," she raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yes, we're staying cabin 505. It shouldn't be too difficult to find," Alice speculated.

"Okay. We'll see each other then, I suppose," she began shifting around in her chair, presumably to lay back down. Alice and I murmured our goodbyes and left, heading back to the trail.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, both contemplating Mattie. I was slightly placated by the fact that Maria loved him like a son, but I still couldn't help but to want something better for him. He still had to technically live with his parents, even if they weren't around, and he still loved them. I mentally smacked myself, I had forgotten to ask him how he felt about his nanny, though I was about ninety percent sure of the answer.

"At least he has Maria," Alice mused, voicing our thoughts.

"He does," I agreed.

More silence.

"So…I noticed you were eyeing the blond earlier," Alice said, much too innocently for me to think she was just mentioning it in passing.

Wait. Blond?

"Blond?"

"Yes, Jasper. He walked me home the other day you know, when James had to go back to work early. He's gorgeous," she said with a sly smile. I rolled my eyes. A misunderstanding, of course. When she looked up earlier, Edward was looking away and Jasper was looking at us. Gorgeous he was, but I preferred bronze.

And Jasper clearly preferred short, pixie-like, inky-haired energizer bunnies.

"Yeah, he's a good friend," I said off-handedly. Hmm. So this is why she was jealous earlier. Alice liked Jasper and she thought he liked me and I liked him. Well sure, we had been attracted enough to kiss each other, but that kiss dissolved whatever small amount of sexual tension there may have been between us. We were just Jasper and Bella. Friends. Nothing more.

Edward on the other hand…

"Friend? Stop lying, Bella, you're rubbish at it. You guys may be friends now but you want something more," she concluded. I rolled my eyes. I wanted something more alright, just not with the person she thought.

"Hmm. Well Alice if you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that Jasper was not staring at me. He was staring at," I searched for a random name in my head, anyone who might have been on the croquet field, "Victoria. He and I really are friends, and he told me he likes her," I fibbed. The lies were coming too easily. Alice frowned in confusion.

"I was sure he was looking at you. But Bella, Jasper can't like Victoria! Her hair is too read and she's not as pretty as he is!" she whined, believing my made-on-the-spot lie. And I was rubbish at it?

"If I didn't know any better, Alice, I'd say you were the one eyeing him. I didn't miss the look you were giving him."

She scowled.

"I was not giving him any sort of look. I was…appraising him. I wanted to see if he was good enough for you," she sniffed. I bit back my laugh.

"Being a bad liar must run in the family, Alice, because you're just not that great at it either. Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but I like Jasper much better than James," I said, looking directly at her so that she knew I was being completely serious. She shook her head.

"James and I are together. You were getting along with him just fine today at lunch," she said pointedly.

"I didn't say I didn't like James," I backtracked. It was the truth…sort of. I didn't dislike James. I wanted him castrated, and I wanted him to grow his bits back so he could get castrated again, slow and painful. Alice just sighed and walked on without me. I stayed back, needing a little more time to breathe fresh air before dinner.

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EPOV

After I finished my last class in the afternoon, I went to find Jazz so that we could go and take a swim in the private section of the lake for employees, picking up Rose along the way. She loved to swim…mostly the way she got attention because of the way she looked in a bathing suit. I quickly found Jazz getting the projector and screen set up for tonight's movie. Once I mentioned going to the lake, he was game. It was hot today.

We didn't know where Rose was, so we had to go looking for her first. We checked the dance studios. Not there. We checked her cabin. Not there. We even checked the cafeteria and the dining room. Not there. Finally, as a last resort, we checked the ballroom. Not there.

"You don't think she's…with Emmett?" Jasper asked hesitantly. I was taken aback.

"Maybe. They looked awfully close this morning."

"Yeah. You don't think she told him, do you?"

"I'm not sure. Emmett's a good guy, but I don't know him enough to know if he'd stick around after knowing…that," I hissed. James still pissed me off. He had carefully avoided me since the day Rose told me, but there was no power in Heaven, Hell, or on earth that would stop me from beating him to a pulp when I finally did corner him. Except maybe Jasper, of course, but he'd pull me back only to get a few good hits himself.

Giving up, Jasper and I got on the trail that would lead us to the lake. The sun was shining brightly enough to completely illuminate the way. It was so rare that we got a sunny day, it seemed a shame to waste it indoors. Eventually I got slightly ahead of Jasper, eager to cool down in the tepid water of the lake. It was one of the good things here at Newton's. It wasn't contaminated or full of trash, it was clean and sanitary. And a great place to practice lifts.

I heard the sounds of children laughing and screaming, the typical sound of the main area of the lake, where the guests swam.

We stopped short of the lake, right in front of the green field used for croquet.

"I don't think Emmett would leave her," Jazz said suddenly. I turned around to face him, my face contorted in a silent question.

"He likes her. A lot. They're good for each other. They're both really into themselves, but Emmett isn't stupid. He doesn't have his head completely up his ass. I think he'd give her what she needs," he said as if he had given it much thought, which he must have considering we were silent the entire way here. I shrugged, trying to be as relaxed as he was, but I felt something. Like the ghosts of electric shocks coursing through my body. I got the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I looked in the direction of where I thought the stare was coming from.

A fascinating sight greeted me.

There she stood, laughing with who I assumed to be her sister and a little boy who I didn't know. The sun was shining down upon her, making her skin glow and giving her the appearance of what she truly was- an angel. She observed Alice and the boy playing with a dazzling smile on her face. She looked at them so adoringly, so lovingly. If I could get her to look at me like that, just once...I think I'd die the happiest man in the world. Or perhaps everything would right itself; she had the power to do that. I'd forgive my father, he'd forgive me. My mother would forgive me as well. Rosalie would be able to keep this baby, or maybe she would never have gotten pregnant in the first place. She'd go back to school, go to Julliard, and be the best ballerina this world had ever seen. Jasper would go to Columbia or Harvard or any Ivy League school to study American History, or maybe architecture. He liked that. I would go to Dartmouth for the music program, and my parents would be okay with that. She'd be right alongside me, making everything in my world okay. Better than okay. Perfect.

Her big, brown eyes expressed everything she felt when she looked at me. Confusion, curiosity, desire. She wanted me, all of me. But why? I wasn't good enough for her, that much was obvious. I didn't fit in her life; she would go on to do something great while I would always be afraid to go home. She had a home and she could go back every night. What on earth could she see in someone like me? Someone who had dared to hurt the most magnificent woman in my life, up until I met Bella.

She still wanted me.

Or rather, she wanted to know more about me. Would that scare her off? Probably. She'd immediately realize what kind of a person I am, and she'd want nothing to do with me. I was so afraid of that, because even though our relationship now was full of tension and irritableness, it was a relationship nonetheless. I didn't want to give up whatever I had with her now in exchange for not having her at all. I was too selfish for such a selfless creature.

I grinned at her to let her know I saw everything. She looked down, blushing. What had she seen? Had she seen everything as well?

But most importantly.

Where did this leave us? How would she act tomorrow at our next rehearsal? The thought scared me. She may want me now, but what would happen when I told her all about me? There was no if about it. She wanted to know me, and I knew I could never deny her anything. She had me so completely and she was clueless. I followed her example and turned my head the other way, less Jasper catch me staring.

"Come on, we're just standing in the middle of the trail," I muttered before continuing on towards the other section of the lake.

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"Where's Rose?" Emmett asked as he attacked his breakfast the next morning.

"She was feeling sick this morning," Jazz answered in between bites. Ron had asked us to get up early this morning to set up the volleyball nets as today was the annual tournament. I was starving after we finished, and I'm sure these two were in the same predicament, if the way they were eating was any indication. Last night, Victoria and Eleazar had ballroom duty, something that annoyed Carmen to no end. Victoria purposefully pushed her buttons, flaunting Eleazar on her arm. Jazz and I observed with anger. Everyone except Rosalie knew that Victoria was fucking James. A slut for a slut. Rose told us that she was indeed with Emmett yesterday afternoon as we helped clear the dining room for movie night. Jazz and I shared an amused grin. He made her happy, which was really all I could ask for. Even after she told him about the baby.

The three of us wolfed down our eggs and went back for seconds. I finished about half of that, needing to be comfortable to dance with Bella. I'd be teaching her lifts today. It was our second to last rehearsal and I was starting to feel the pressure. If Bella was, she wasn't showing it. Our pay at the Crowley depended on how well we did. Rose and I always did spectacularly. I hoped Bella would perform at least a fraction of how well Rosalie did.

I left the cafeteria late because I waited for my stomach to settle, which took entirely too long. I jogged to the dance studio where we practiced, bringing with me Bella's heels. I would teach her the lifts after we mastered the rest of the dance in heels, then she could learn the lifts without them and later practice them with heels. Rose told me it wasn't hard to do lifts in heels since the male was doing most of the work anyway.

She was already in the room stretching by the time I got there, a first. She smiled at me in greeting while I walked over to the boom box to put the CD in. I did my own quick stretches before joining her in the middle of the room. She was standing, ready to begin.

"I brought your heels for you," I gestured to the bag lying next to the boom box. Her mouth formed a small 'Oh' before scurrying to put them on. I watched her, fascinated by her every move. It didn't help that her legs went on for miles in those shorts and heels. She finally got up and came to join me, the heels causing her hips to swing more than usual. I gulped.

"Ready?" she asked brightly. I nodded, unable to say anything and went to start the music.

For the next forty minutes, we rehearsed the dance over and over until she finally got everything right, in tempo and in heels. Except that tricky last turn.

I was to spin her out, spin her back in, then lift her a couple inches off the ground and place her next to me. She wasn't jumping, leaving me to lift her completely. In that position, I couldn't use my legs to lift her. I was growing more and more frustrated and irritable every time we practiced it, but I was trying so hard not to snap at her. I didn't want the asshole in me to come out, not now when I was about to reveal the rest of me to her. She just needed to say the word. It would be bad enough without my douchebaggery.

But the last one did it. She jumped a second too late, kicking me in the stomach, forcing me to drop her. She landed on her feet while I was crouched over holding my stomach.

I snapped.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry, I-"

"You what? You weren't trying to kill me? Is that your idea of fun?" I asked incredulously, but breathlessly. Her jaw clenched and her breathing was labored. I wasn't the only one who snapped.

"Yes, as a matter of fact it is. We're supposed to do the show in two days, you won't show me lifts, I'm not sure of those turns, all you've been to me is a jerk. Obviously your apology didn't mean shit. I'm doing all of this to save your ass, what I really want to do is drop you on it," her hands were on her hips and her voice increased in volume with every word. God she was sexy when she was angry.

"Let's get out of here then."

A/N: Hope I didn't disappoint too much! It just really didn't leave room for much sex...iness =]. I can't really promise anything for the next chapter either because I'd like to shift the focus to Rosalie&Emmett and Alice&Jasper. I got home at like, ten a.m today with the intention of finishing this chapter but...exams knock me out. I have my two hardest tomorrow, not really looking forward to it, but hey I get another four day weekend =D W00t. I'll try to update twice then. Key word is 'try'. haha. The rest of this story is in my head, I just have to get it on the computer. Trust me, we've still got a ways to go. And then the sequel...whew, I'm getting winded just thinking about it. My fingers and my keyboard are terrified. And to top it all off, I have an idea for a new story. I swear, my mind is too busy with all the wrong things =P. haha well thanks for those of you who are actually taking the time to read my ramblings. You're my favorites!

Shout out to AquarianGirl because her reviews make my life. A lot =]

ALL THE SINGLE LADIES.

I hate getting songs stuck in my head.

Review if you forgive me for the unsteamy chapter =]