Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns Twilight. I do not. I do however, own my 'gang'.

A/N: Also thanks to my awesome Beta, Blueboarderchick.

Thank you to my reviewers.

Chapter 35

Dillon and I went on dates almost every night since our first one. He took me out to restaurants, the movies and we even played mini golf. He was really charming and we had a lot of fun, but the absence of sparks still bothered me a little. I let him kiss me a few times but every time he tried to go beyond that my body would automatically stiffen. It was such a mood killer.

Our newly founded relationship did not go unnoticed by the female population on campus. Whenever we sat together at the Dining Hall we drew a lot of curious looks and jealous glares. I didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't like Dillon was my boyfriend or anything. At least, I hoped Dillon didn't feel like he had some sort of claim on me. The way I looked at it, we were absolutely free to see other people.

Taylor and my relationship remained unaltered after our almost kiss. In many ways, it was almost as if the incident never happened. Taylor didn't act differently toward me and he was his usual unpleasant self to Dillon. But there were times when I caught him staring at me with a slight frown on his face. Those were the times when I worried that he was remembering what happened between us at the lake house.

Amber and her minions were none too pleased to see me dating Dillon. I didn't know what her problem was. I'd suspected that she still might have had a thing for Dillon, but annoyingly enough, it was her sniffing around Taylor that bothered me the most. Whenever Amber saw the gang and me hanging out on the green or in the Dining Hall, she would stop to say hello to him, much to Liz's visible displeasure. She'd even gone as far as to rope him into buying lunch for her, a few times. And if I left the gang to go sit with Dillon and his friends, Amber would occupy my empty seat (which was usually next to Taylor).

She was definitely coming onto him but Taylor, for the most part, seemed unimpressed by her flirting. Taylor would usually eat his meals in silence, occasionally favoring Amber with a nod or two to show that he was listening to her. Poor thing. I could tell that Amber's incessant chirping bored him to tears. He always looked so tired whenever she was around giggling, asking stupid questions and frequently touching his arm. I didn't understand why he wouldn't just tell her to go away. It didn't pay to be polite all the time.

Amber even made attempts to be polite to Liz. But Liz would hear none of it. Even though she was always openly rude to Amber, the blonde was smart enough to keep her mouth shut rather than argue with Taylor's sister. Zach and Ryan would usually watch their hostile interaction with raised eyebrows and shoot me expectant looks. What did they want me to do about Amber? I was having a hard enough time, trying not to snatch her grabby little fingers off of Taylor, as is. I mean really, did she have to paw at him all the time? I managed to restrain myself by repeating over and over in my head that Taylor was a grown man and if he didn't like her touching him, he would have said something.

Except for the glaring, Amber mostly ignored me. She knew she couldn't afford to be openly rude to Taylor's best friend right in front of him. No, she saved that honor for when he wasn't around. We traded snide remarks and veiled insults on a regular basis. I wasn't shocked at my ability to be catty. Amber Hodge just brought out the worst in me, plain and simple.

The last time I'd spoken to Leah, she'd kept her promise and started dating, going out with guys from her classes. But she never got serious about any of them, always having the same list of complaints. They were always too boring, or no sense of humor or not sexy enough. It sounded to me like Leah was trying to find another Zach. She still refused to let me give Zach her phone number, but I was confident. I knew Leah would come around eventually, after a few more bad dates she would be begging me for his number. Okay… well maybe not begging but demanding roughly. In the meantime, I planned to keep working Zach into her good graces. Those two belonged together.

It was the day before the regatta and I was sitting on the living room floor, diligently working on a Literature paper that would become due in a three days. I would usually finish off my assignments with plenty of time to spare, but lately, my dates with Dillon were getting in the way. If I hadn't dug my heels in and insisted I needed to study, Dillon would have been successful in drafting me into yet another date.

I wasn't making much progress with my paper because Liz was sitting next to me, rambling on and on about the merits of early Christian art. She was talking to me because Ryan and Taylor were at the store and a somber Zach was sitting on the couch, watching TV. The change in Zach was hard to believe. He just wasn't his usual horn-dog self. I think he missed Leah even though he would never admit it.

Just as I was managing to tune Liz's voice out, she leaned into my ear and whispered, "I think she broke his penis."

"Okay." I mumbled distractedly. After pausing for a moment, my head snapped up, "What!"

"Shhh…" Liz shushed me and pointed at Zach. He spared us a disinterested glance then went back to his show.

Liz leaned in again. "I think Leah broke Zach's penis."

I stared at Liz with my mouth agape. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"I mean, look at him. He's been all depressed and sad ever since they slept together. Taylor told me Zach hasn't brought any of his usual girls back to the apartment. Maybe she… you know… broke something." Eyes twinkling with mischief, Liz explained.

Where does Liz come up with these things? "Wait a minute. You said Taylor told you this?" I tried to imagine Taylor gossiping with Liz like a school girl, twirling his short hair and popping gum but I couldn't see it.

"Okay, so maybe he didn't exactly tell me of his own free will. I sort of dragged it out of him." Liz confessed unwillingly. Whenever Liz wanted to know something, she would interrogate you until you cracked. I wasn't surprised Taylor couldn't take the pressure. "Anyway. What other reason could there be for him not having sex?" Liz demanded.

"Liz, did you ever stop to think that maybe Zach just misses Leah?" I reasoned.

"No way," Liz hissed in disbelief.

"Way," I insisted.

Liz stared at me incredulously. "But Zach's a dog." And Leah's a bitch. A match made in canine heaven.

"Wow." Liz sighed with an awed expression on her face.

I had to ask again. "Really, Liz? A broken penis?"

Liz shrugged her shoulders and we both turned to peer at Zach. How do you break a guy's penis? I didn't realize I was staring at his crotch until Zach spoke up, "Do you two gossiping hens know that I can hear you?"

Ashamed at being caught, my cheeks flushed red. Zach smirked, and Liz hastily averted her eyes. "If you girls wanted to see the goods, all you had to do was say so." Zach stood up, placing his hands on the button of his jeans. Zach the lecher was back.

Oh God! He's going to show us. "That's not necessary, Zach," I spoke hurriedly, trying to discourage him. I wasn't sure whether he was being serious or just yanking our chains. One could never be too sure with Zach.

"Now, now, Izzy. If the man wants to show us proof, let him." Liz was daring him with her eyes.

Zach smiled naughtily, "Well, I just can't show it to you; I'll have to do a striptease." Zach took off his shirt, walked over to where we sat on the floor and began to shake his hips in front of our faces. He's serious!

"Liz! Say something to stop him!" Liz wasn't paying any attention to me. She was too busy waving a five dollar bill around in her hand. What the hell? Where did she get that from?

"Whoo! Yeah, baby! Take it off!" Liz cheered.

Meanwhile, Zach was gyrating his hips and slowly unbuttoning his jeans, exposing his grey boxers. I'd never had a striptease done for me before and I didn't want Zach to be my first. As I stood up with the intention to go hide in my room, my cell phone rang. I checked the caller I.D., it was Charlie.

I decided to use my phone to halt the madness. Standing with one hand on my hip, I tapped my chin with the still ringing cell phone. "I wonder what Leah will say when I tell her that you stripped naked for us."

Zach froze mid-dance and it was comical to see the look of panic on his face. His panicked look turned into a calculating one then took a step toward me. "You wouldn't."

I narrowed my eyes, tightening my grip on the phone. "I would."

"Give me that." Zach made a grab for the phone, but I was able to dodge him. He tired to snatch it again, but I maneuvered my body out of his grasp and stuck the phone in my bra.

I thought I'd won. Oh, how wrong I was. I think it was my smug smile that provoked Zach. "Oh, so you think I won't go there?" He took one step toward me.

I offered Zach a self-satisfied smirk while Liz eyed our showdown with growing amusement. "Pfft." Attempting to appear unthreatened, I haughtily tossed my hair. That set him off.

I turned to run but before I knew it, Zach lifted me off the floor, wrapping me in a bear hug. Zach freed one hand and proceeded to snake his hand up my t-shirt, trying to retrieve my phone from my bra. Screaming and giggling, I wriggled trying to get away but it was useless. There was no escaping his vise-like grip.

"Help me, Liz!" Liz took pity on me and came to my rescue, tickling Zach. Zach laughed and squirmed but didn't loose his hold on me. Just as his hand reached my bra, the front door swung open and in walked Ryan and Taylor. We all stood stock-still staring at each other with wide eyes.

"What the hell is this?" Ryan asked with a slight frown on his brow.

Taylor's eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the odd scene we presented. Liz had her hands around a shirtless Zach while he held me in a tight grip. I flushed red with embarrassment when I realized that Zach's hand was touching my breast. Seeing this, Taylor's arm tightened on his grocery bag and Zach quickly removed his hand from beneath my shirt. "It's not what it looks like," Zach began lamely as he zipped up his pants.

Liz giggled nervously and I fixed my t-shirt unnecessarily. Suddenly, the ringing of my cell phone broke through the awkward silence, making me jump in surprise.

Red-faced, I uprooted the phone from my bra and answered it. "Hello, Dad," I muttered. Zach's eyes lit up in comprehension. He'd realized that I'd played him as he assumed that it had been Leah who was calling me earlier.

Charlie's voice came through loud and clear. "Hi Bells. Is this a bad time?"

Nope. You have perfect timing. "No, Dad, now's fine." Holding the phone between my ear and shoulder, I reassembled my books from the floor and beat a hasty retreat to my room.

"How are your classes going?" His voice sounded a little anxious.

Dumping my things on the bed, I sighed, "Things are going great. Is everything okay, Dad? You sound strange."

Charlie cleared his throat nosily. "Well, there's something I want to discuss with you."

I sat down on the bed with my curiosity piqued. "What is it?"

Charlie took a deep breath then asked, "How would you feel about my asking Sue to move in with me?"

Gasping in surprise and excitement, I shouted, "That's great, Dad!" I was so happy for him. He wouldn't be alone anymore and Sue was a wonderful woman.

His nervous chuckle was also tinged with relief. "I'm happy to hear you say that. I was a little worried you wouldn't like the idea."

"Sue's great. Why wouldn't I like the idea of her moving in?" I asked curiously.

After a brief pause Charlie continued, "Because Seth would be moving into your room."

Oh. I didn't think about that. "It's fine, Dad. I don't mind if Seth gets my room." It wasn't like I was ever home anyway.

I decided to be a bit evil. "It's nice that you and Sue will have a place of your own so you won't get caught kissing by Leah anymore." An evil grin slid along my face as I teased him.

Charlie was mortified. "What! How did you find out about that? Did Billy tell everybody? I swear when I get my hands on that old man, I'll wheel him right into traffic," Charlie yelled, and I pulled the phone away from my ear laughing.

I decided to save Billy from any further injuries. "Dad, relax. It wasn't Billy that told me, it was Leah."

"Leah? Wait a minute; I didn't know you two were friends." Surprised echoed in his voice.

"Yeah, Dad. We talk all the time." I admitted.

"So, you talk to Leah but you're not friends with Jacob anymore?" Charlie cross-examined.

"Dad. It's complicated." I sighed, squeezing my eyes close.

"Complicated how?" Charlie inquired. He was clearly not willing to let the subject drop.

This was the last thing I wanted to talk about. I had no desire to discuss Jacob's and my current estrangement. "He doesn't care about me anymore."

Disbelief was evident in Charlie's voice as he spoke, "I can't believe that, Bella. You and Jacob used to be so close."

"Well, Dad, believe it. He told me so himself," I retorted.

"Well, he sure didn't act that way when I mentioned that you went to visit the Cullens in Alaska. He got all huffy and stormed off."

"What?" Leah never mentioned that. But then I remembered that because of Jacob's injunction, Leah couldn't tell me much of anything about him anymore.

"I didn't understand his reaction. It's not like you're back with Edward or anything, are you?" Charlie asked cautiously.

"No, Dad. It's over between Edward and me." I needed to make that clear to him.

Charlie sounded a little confused as he continued, "I just found his reaction strange because he's moved on. Everyone's seen him around with that Carmen. It doesn't look like he's been pining away at all."

I didn't know what to say to that. "Some friendships just aren't meant to last forever, Dad."

"Speaking of moving on. Are you dating anybody?" Jeez, even Charlie wants me to start dating.

"Um… Yeah. I'm sort of seeing someone. His name is Dillon Buchanon." I felt a little nervous about talking about Dillon to Charlie.

"Sounds like a snob," Charlie concluded.

"Dad!" I blurted.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I continued, "He's fun, Dad. He makes me laugh, but it's not serious."

"Well, if you two ever do decide to get serious… I'd like you to be… safe." Oh God. Charlie was giving me the safe sex talk. I was pretty sure both our faces were identically red right now.

After a ridiculously awkward silence, I mumbled, "Sure, Dad." I felt grateful that Charlie cared enough to risk shaming us both.

Following another few minutes of conversation, where Charlie kept asking for Dillon's license plate number, so he could run it through the system, we said our goodbyes before hanging up. I flopped back on my pillows, rehashing the talk I just had with Charlie. It was so nice to see him finally moving on and grabbing his happiness after all this time. Maybe Leah was right. It sure looked like we would become stepsisters someday. I looked forward to it.

The following morning I awoke to Liz leaning over me. "Morning, hooker," She greeted me, grinning ear to ear.

Brushing her hair out of my face, I murmured, "Morning."

Liz sauntered over to my open closet door and pulled out an outfit, holding it up for my inspection. "Here's your outfit for today."

"What's today?" I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

Liz eyed me with disbelief. "Don't tell me you forgot." After being met with my blank stare, Liz explained. "The Green Monster boat race is today."

The groggy fog rolled away from my mind and I figured out what Liz was talking about. Dillon's race. "Oh, right." Untangling my blankets from my legs, I stood to my feet and strolled into the bathroom. A glance at the clock alerted me to the time with was ten o'clock. I'd overslept.

Liz followed me into the bathroom and hovered around me while I brushed my teeth and showered. "I can't believe you forgot. I've been up for hours, picking out our outfits and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee." Liz sang the last part while bouncing excitedly on her heels with pent up energy.

An excited Liz was difficult enough to deal with but a high on caffeine Liz would be impossible to keep from climbing the walls. She was wearing white t-shirt, with the word Dartmouth written in green across the front, and a pair of dark green shorts. Her brown hair was pulled away from her face and tied with a green scarf. Upon the inspection of my bed, I noted that I had an identical outfit waiting for me.

Despite Liz's protests, I opted for jeans instead of the green short-shorts and left my hair loose. I slipped on my green and white trainers then we made our way to the kitchen.

Ryan and Taylor met us in the living room, wearing their forest green Dartmouth sport shirts and jeans. Zach was still slumbering in his bed as he rarely awoke before noon on a Saturday. However, he promised to grace us with his presence sometime in the afternoon.

As Liz pushed me toward the door, I whined, "But I haven't had my breakfast yet." My stomach grumbled in agreement.

"We'll get something at the race," Liz supplied, and I pouted in annoyance. But I'm hungry now.

Once in Ryan's SUV, Taylor slipped me one of his energy bars and I smiled in thanks. Ryan pulled out of the parking lot and drove us to the Connecticut River, where the race was being held. We found parking close to the river, alighted from the car then followed the crowd of people walking to the regatta.

Apparently, Liz wasn't lying when she said we would find stuff to eat at the race. Looking around, I observed that many of Hanover's local eateries had stalls set up with various delicacies on sale. Immediately, everyone made a beeline for the hotdog stand, navigating through the crowd of hungry rowing fans. Hotdogs and soda in hand, we located an empty spot in the grass then sat down to eat and watch the various races. The women's lightweight race began, and I still hadn't seen Dillon yet. The mass of spectators were dressed in their respective school colors, representing their visiting colleges. Clearly, we weren't the only ones struck with school spirit.

After finishing our hotdogs, Taylor turned to me, "Do you want to take a walk?"

"Um… okay." I grabbed hold of the offered hand and he helped me to my feet. Liz and Ryan exchanged smirking glances as they watched us go.

He threw an arm around my shoulder as we strolled farther and farther away from the throng. The trees lining the river were already showing signs of fall. Their foliage were a painted with hues of yellows, orange and red. Everything had a magical appearance. We stopped by a large tree and Taylor released my shoulder, walking a few steps away from me. Staring at the water in silence, I assumed Taylor had something on his mind.

His voice drew my attention, "What happened between us the night we got our tattoos?"

Shit! Does he remember? My heart sped up in my chest. Trying to keep my voice even, I replied, "What do you mean? We got drunk and passed out. Why are you bringing this up now?"

He turned to face at me, pinning me with his stare. "Because lately I've been having these dreams… only they don't feel like dreams. They feel more like memories," Taylor murmured unsurely.

I forced a smirk onto my face in an attempt to poke fun. "So you're having sex dreams about me?"

Taylor refused to take the bait. "Do you remember anything from that night?" He took one step toward me and I fought the impulse to take a step back.

"No, I was way too drunk. I must have blacked out or something," I spoke hurriedly.

"Now, why don't I believe you?" Taylor was a predator again as he advanced another step.

In spite of my endeavor to appear brave, I moved one step backwards. "I-I'm telling you the truth," I stammered. I really didn't want to admit to remembering anything because then there would be awkwardness between us. We came way too close to crossing the line that night. Plus, I knew Taylor would feel like he took advantage of me which really wasn't the case. Just thinking about the way I'd assaulted his shirt was enough to make me blush. We took advantage of each other.

Whatever Taylor was about to say was cut off by someone unexpected. "Hey there, Izzy."

Taylor and I stilled then twisted our heads to see Preston walking in our direction. His grey eyes took in our scene with amused interest in them. I managed a quiet greeting. "Hi, Preston."

"Am I interrupting something?" Preston asked with slightly raised eyebrows and a small smirk.

"No not at all." I hoped no one detected the slight tremor in my voice.

"Well, Dillon's been looking for you, but his race is about to start, so he sent me to find you. He wants to make sure you're at the Ledyard Bridge in time to witness him in his winning triumph." As Preston spoke, his eyes kept darting between me and Taylor.

"Okay, then. Let's go." As we all walked briskly back to the crowd together, I risked a quick peek at Taylor's face. By the stubborn look in his eyes, I knew that our discussion was far from over. We joined up with Liz and Ryan then continued on our way to the bridge.

Once there, Liz began to snap away, taking pictures with her camera. The gun went off, signaling the start of the heavyweight race. The spectators began to cheer as they caught the first glimpses of their teams coming around the river bend. From where we stood, we were already able to determine the results of the race. Dartmouth was in the lead with Boston University in second and MIT in third. In the end, Dartmouth made a strong finish crossing the finish line ahead of the other teams.

We joined the crowd of congratulators as they gathered down by the river's edge. The teams were now climbing out of their boats. Dillon and his teammates were all smiles as they were slapped on the back and greeted with applause. Dillon spotted me through the crowd. He then made his was over with a tired but triumphant expression on his face.

My giggles were genuine as he lifted me off my feet in a hug and spun me around. Gently lowering me to my feet, Dillon surprised the hell out of me by planting a kiss on my lips right in front of the entire crowd. I was too stunned to do anything but stand there. The whoops and cheers around us, clued me in to the fact that everyone was watching our romantic spectacle. Oh God. Everyone!

Redness engulfed my face as I pulled away. I was completely embarrassed, but Dillon was oblivious, keeping a possessive arm wrapped around my shoulder as more people came up to congratulate him. Liz smiled away, taking pictures of us. Ryan stood off to the side, arms crossed over his large chest; rolling his eyes and with a scowl on his face while Taylor… Well, Taylor looked like he was mad enough to come take another swing at Dillon. His eyes sparked with barely contained fury as he stared at Dillon.

My eyes found Preston's smug ones on the crowd and I realized what just happened. Because of Dillon's public display, I had just been labeled. If anyone one had any doubts before, Dillon definitely cleared them up. I was officially Dillon Buchanon's girlfriend. I'd just been peed on in front of the entire school!

A/N: How did you enjoy Zach's striptease and Liz's wacky theory on his depression?

What do you think about Charlie's call?

Looks like Taylor's starting to have some memory flashes of his own.

And Dillon's staking a claim...Interesting.

Coming up next: Bella and Dillon argue, then come to an agreement.

Leah gives Bella a call and Zach butts in.

Bella and Taylor reconnect then disconnect.

Bella has the hots for a smoking hot vampire.

A/N: Due to a request, I've created a forum for you guys to discuss AML together.

The link is on my profile.

About updating this Thursday... I'll try.