Bella's POV

I was glad to be back in Forks. Victoria had managed to escape. She had run along the boundary line and the wolves and vampires had had a small altercation. Well specifically Emmett and Paul, and Victoria had used this opportunity to get away. Life sucked. With my luck I was thankful she didn't end up in Jacksonville during the weekend.

Thinking of the night we spent there brought back memories of the way Edward had held me.. I couldn't believe it… had it really happened? The Edward I had known would never have slept with me like that.. well this Edward had been missing from the room when I woke up. Only the bed sheet folded neatly on a chair and the towel in the rack were proof that he had actually been there. In typical Edward fashion he had disappeared when things got sticky.

Now I was angry at him for making me want him more and then pulling the disappearing act again. So I decided to ignore him and pretend that nothing happened. It seemed to work for the first two days after returning to school. I caught him staring at me on several occasions and every time I looked his way he would look down. He continued to sit with me and take notes for me. In other words everything was back to normal. Alice of course had this look in her eyes. One of speculation and I had no intention of asking her what it was all about. If she had seen her brother and me cuddling at least she had the good manners to not talk to me about it. I could tell she was dying with curiosity but I wasn't about to talk to her! If she wanted more information let her ask her stupid brother!

On the third day there was a marked change. I couldn't say it was for better or for worse.

The vampire kept staring at me even when I looked at him and then on the fourth day he had the audacity to smile….. that dazzling crooked smile….. I nearly chocked on my slice of pizza in the cafeteria and Angela had to give me a drink of water to stop the coughing.

"Bella are you alright?"

No one seemed to have noticed the cause of all the trouble but he had the nerve to grin at me and ask me whether I was alright! To actually give me that I know why you chocked grin! I've had it! He was flirting with me! And he was enjoying it at my expense. I knew it. I wasn't going to let it go. Well two can play the game. I knew his weakness. I formed a battle plan. As soon as I made this decision the little pixie gave me a huge smile. I quickly looked at Edward to see whether he picked up anything from Alice's mind but he seemed oblivious.

Alice and I had the next class together. I started writing on a piece of paper so that she can read it. I wasn't going to risk Edward hearing my little plan. I'd rather have kept Alice in the dark but I needed her help if this was to work.

"Alice you know what I have in mind don't you?"

"Yes! Yes Yes!... Shopping Yippie"

"Hey you have to keep this from him ok? I know you can keep him out if you want to and you have to help me out here."

"Sure Bella. Anyway it's time my brother learnt a lesson. You don't just sleep with a girl and leave her in the morning without a word."

WHAT? Ok. She had seen it. Never mind. Well he had slept with me.. well at least I had slept and he had been there. So it counts. He deserves what he is going to get!

"You have to make sure that he doesn't know about this. How are we going to evade him and go shopping?"

"I'll pretend to drag you with me for one of my shopping trips. And we can take Angela along. He would feel uncomfortable coming if I keep thinking of all the underwear we are going to help Angela buy!"

"You really are a genius Alice!"

"Let's go today I'll pick you up at your place after school with Angela she's going to agree to go with us. I've seen it. I'm glad I have my own transportation now."

So that's how I ended up with some really sexy stuff; some tight fitting skirts, jeans and tops. I don't know why I decided to buy new underwear but I just couldn't resist it when Angela actually went on to buy some for herself! Well we wouldn't be lying to Edward at least.

I carefully dressed the next morning. Edward and Alice were waiting for me when Charlie dropped me off. The look on Edward's face was priceless and the Cheshire cat smile on Alice's face confirmed that my little plan had succeeded. His jaw was literally hanging open. I wasn't wearing anything indecent but the skirt hugged my hips and the red blouse I wore showed my curves in a very sexy yet innocent manner. Alice had explained to me that it was not the amount of skin I showed that would count it was the way the clothes draped on me and the subtle hint of what was underneath that added to the mystery which was the key to making me look sexy. Specially, in Edward's case. In the early 1900's they even thought showing a woman's ankle was sexy for crying out loud! Anyway I was never going to play the sexy bomb shell and if I even tried, it would have only repulsed Edward. So I was going for subtle and mysterious. And it was working.

I could feel his eyes on me all day. When I chanced a look I saw they were black. Not the way they would look when he was hungry. This was the look he had given me when he had had his release in class. He was hungry for me not my blood. And I was really enjoying it! I chanced a glance down his groin and saw that he had his jacket draped in his hand and was also holding his books in front. Ok. He was having trouble. Great. I decided it was time to give him a hint. It was not fun playing without him knowing what I was up to.

I looked right up at him and stared at him; then I winked. He looked at me in shock. I saw first surprise…confusion and then understanding in his eyes. For a moment he looked embarrassed. But then slowly that dazzling smile spread across his face….good he knew. But the problem was now I found it difficult to look away from his eyes. Great! Way to go Bella. Thankfully Alice pulled my hand and got my attention at that time. The next day was Saturday. I was sorry it was the weekend. I would miss my little game. It was sunny so I decided to spend the day at La Push beach with Jake and try to get a tan. I would hopefully look more alluring with a tan.

Edward's POV

I was feeling awkward facing Bella that first day after getting back from Jacksonville. I had escaped from the room just as dawn broke. I felt ashamed of my behaviour the night before. I should never have continued to hold Bella like that to me. It was improper. She had been totally unaware of what was happening and I had taken advantage of it. I couldn't face her in the morning. I thought of waiting for her to wake up and apologizing but then realized that she wouldn't even know what actually happened. I didn't really know how I was going to explain it to her without sounding like the worst pervert in history. So I decided to take the easy way out and pretend nothing happened. It was easier said than done.

I couldn't keep my eyes off her the next few days in class. I looked away when she caught me looking but I noticed she blushed when she looked at me. So I decided to be bold and continue to hold her gaze after she caught me staring. I even worked up the courage to smile at her. She must know I was flirting. I had seen human boys do it and decided it was ok to do it with Bella. I loved her and I was serious about having a relationship with her. It was courting in modern times. I nearly laughed out loud when she chocked on her food when I smiled at her. Oh! I was affecting her. She even blushed bright red. I was happy at this new proof of her attraction.

The next day I had the shock of my life. Bella looked stunning in a figure hugging skirt and blouse. I couldn't tear my eyes off her. I knew Alice had gone shopping with her the day before. May be she got this during her trip. I didn't care I was too busy admiring her. Edward junior also made an appearance and I had to use my jacket as a cover. I wanted so much to hold her tightly to me. Images of the way we cuddled were on my mind the whole day with the warmth and her intoxicating smell as reminders. It was with great difficulty that I kept my hands to myself without touching her. I knew one touch was enough to send me over the edge and I might even end up making love to her on the class room floor. I was thankful that I had continued to wear the new underwear. I'd already had one mishap when I first saw her in the parking lot. So far that was the only instance and I was holding on to my control.

We were in the hall way when Bella stopped suddenly in front of me and turned and looked at me right in the eye. I realized she had caught me staring at her again. But what she did next puzzled me. She winked at me! It was so unlike Bella and I was astonished at first. Then confused; But the slow smile spreading across Bella's face finally made me understand. She was flirting with me and was purposefully making it uncomfortable for me! She knew I found her very attractive and now she was flaunting herself in front of me to entice me. I was mortified! Did she know what I was thinking? That I was fantasizing about making love to her?

Then I realized she knew! At least she knew of how attractive I found her. She might have even known that we had intimately held each other that night. Was she trying to punish me for not admitting it? Well although I felt embarrassed I was also happy. I was getting some where with Bella. She was opening up to me. Well she was actually trying to flirt! I couldn't help smiling.. She smiled back and we stared at each other for a long moment. I didn't talk and she didn't either. We both knew what we were up to. I guess that was what counted.

I cursed the weekend and the sun that Alice had predicted. So I couldn't even visit Bella with any pretext of helping with her home work. I decided to go hunting. I couldn't wait for the weekend to be over to see my Bella again on Monday.