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 36

It had been one month since the regatta incident and I was still dealing with the fallout. I was mortified when, just a few days after the regatta, Liz dropped a copy of the Dartmouth Review on my lap. A photographer from the school newspaper had been at the river covering the race and captured my kiss with Dillon on camera. I stared in shock at the front page picture of Dillon kissing me while the crowd looked on cheering. The headline caption read 'A Champion gets his due reward'. We looked like a happy couple celebrating a big win. I couldn't have been any more embarrassed.

Liz thought it was cute but I didn't share her excitement. She'd even gone as far as to have the picture framed and placed in my room. I thought Dillon and me were just having fun, keeping things light with no strings, but he thought differently. We'd even had a fight about it after the race when Dillon mentioned that he wanted us to be exclusive. I explained to him my assumption that we would be allowed to see other people. He couldn't comprehend why I wasn't over the moon about his news, when so many of the female population were already jealous of me.

His comment pissed me off, and I informed Dillon that if he believed that he was such a good catch, then he should go date someone else. Realizing that we were on our way to ending before beginning, Dillon quickly apologized saying that if I wanted us to have an open relationship, then it was okay. After some thinking, I caved and agreed to date only him. I didn't want to be kissing Dillon and wondering how many girls he'd just kissed with the same mouth. That would be all kinds of nasty.

Taylor had been distant with me ever since the race. We'd always enjoyed a close and, at times, physical friendship but now, it felt like there was an invisible wall between us. And its name was Dillon. Also, our relationship changed in subtle ways. He didn't wrap his arm around my shoulder anymore and I no longer played with his hair. Taylor wouldn't even bother to come by the apartment when Dillon was there. Things were different between us and I missed the way we used to be. If the others noticed the change, they didn't mention it, at least, not to our faces. Ryan and Zach grudgingly accepted his presence at the apartment, but they never tried to make conversation with him.

The physical aspect of my relationship with Dillon was slowly progressing. It seemed like my body was gradually starting to tolerate his hands on me. Even though it still didn't feel right, I consoled myself by saying that it wasn't supposed to. I convinced myself that, the things that felt right would only break my heart later on. I told myself that I was fine with less. Less was enough, good, safe.

We made out a lot in the backseat of his Jaguar and the bedroom he shared with Preston. But we were rarely afforded any privacy in a house filled with rowdy frat boys. There was always someone banging on the door or barging in, despite the, I've got a girl in my room sock on the doorknob. So, we usually hung out in my room, listened to music and kissed. It was nice as I'd never gotten to do that with Edward or Jacob.

It was on one such night that Dillon came over to the apartment under the guise of studying. Imagine my surprise when he showed up at my bedroom door, without any of his books. I assumed Liz let him into the apartment. Looking up from my books, I asked, "Did you lose your books on your way over here?"

Dillon's reply was a sneaky smile as he shut the door behind him, locking it. There really wasn't any need for him to do that. Liz and the others never intruded my room when I had Dillon over.

He joined me on the bed, pushing my books out of the way. "If I'd admitted that I just want to see you, would you have let me come over?"

He had me there. "Probably not," I smirked.

We usually got sidetracked and I never got any studying done when he showed up bookless. As he moved my books out of the way, I whined, "Dillon, I have to study."

"Later." Dillon murmured against my lips. He rolled me onto my back then climbed on top of me. Looks like I'll have to stay up late to get my studying done.

Bringing his lips down on mine, he kissed me hungrily. He tasted like beer and it was distracting. I tried to will my body into submission. In the back of my mind, it occurred to me that I shouldn't have to try so hard at this, but I pushed the thought away. I turned my full attention toward kissing him back, rubbing his back through his t-shirt with my hands.

After a few moments of this, I felt his hand toying with the material at the bottom of my tank top. This was usually the part where I pushed his hands away, but that night I was determined to go a bit further. When he realized that I wasn't going to stop him, Dillon smiled into the kiss and began to slowly slip his hand under my top. His hands felt a little cold against my skin, chilling me slightly. Bit by bit, his hand crept up my stomach and just as his hand was about to close in on my breast-

Bang, bang, bang!

Ryan pounded loudly on my door. I could hear the annoyance in his voice as he shouted through the door. "Hey, Izzy! Open up. Leah's on the phone." I knew he hated to come anywhere near my room when Dillon was here. Probably thought he might one day overhear us having sex.

I remembered I'd left my phone in the living room earlier. Dillon climbed off me, sighing exasperatedly as I said, "Sorry, Dillon, I have to take this. Can we pick this up some other time?" Leah's calls typically lasted an hour or so, and I didn't want him to just wait around while we caught up.

Dillon's face was clearly agitated as he sighed, "Sure."

Pressing a light kiss to my forehead, he strode toward the door while I followed behind him. Dillon opened the door and Ryan stood there in the hallway, looking ever so pleased to see him leaving. Ryan moved aside, allowing Dillon to pass then passed me the phone. Ryan then padded across the hall and into his bedroom. He shot me a smile before closing the door. I assumed Liz was already inside waiting for him, and I didn't expect to see them for the remainder of the night.

"Hi, Leah," I answered, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Hey, Bella," Leah greeted me.

Deciding to cut right to the chase, I probed, "How are things? Or more importantly, how is dating going?" I couldn't help but smile into the phone. I bet it's been just crappy.

"Shitty as hell," Leah grumbled.

"Aw, that's a shame," I cooed with false sympathy.

"So, how is everybody?" Leah tried to sound nonchalant but she didn't fool me one bit. I knew she was really asking about how Zach was doing.

"Everyone's fine. Zach still asks about you, you know?" I informed her slyly.

"Oh, he does?" She tried to downplay the interest in her voice, but I heard it anyway.

I suddenly remembered the weird message Zach asked me to pass along, the next time I spoke to Leah. "Hey, Zach said to tell you that Suzie Q misses you."

Leah laughed heartily, "I bet she does."

I was curious. I wanted to know what happened between them. "Zach's been pretty down and depressed since you left. He hasn't been himself at all. Do you know he hasn't brought home one girl since you two slept together?" I informed her.

"Really?" Leah questioned in a surprised tone.

"Yeah. What did you do to him, Leah?" I paused as an insane thought occurred to me and I blurted out, "Did you break his penis?"

"What! Where the hell did you get that idea from?" Leah managed to ask in between laughs.

"Liz." I confessed, feeling a little silly that I'd even considered Liz's asinine idea. How do you even break a penis?

"I should have known. Look, I didn't break his penis."

Something happened between them. "Then why is Zach all celibate and depressed? You must have done something to hook him?" I probed.

Leah paused for a moment then admitted reluctantly, "I touched his snake."

My nose wrinkled in disgust. "What- Ew, Leah! Never mind, I don't want to know." Ugh! I was so not interested in Leah's pet names for Zach's penis.

"I'm not talking about his dick, you pervert… I'm talking about Suzie Q… I did a little naked dance with Suzie Q for him."

Oh.

It was no wonder Zach was going through Leah-withdrawals. She'd found a way to incorporate two of Zach's most favorite things, Suzie Q and sex.

"How are things between you and that Dillon guy?" Leah turned the tables on me and probed.

"Things are going all right. We're progressing," I answered slowly, choosing my words carefully.

"I still can't believe you're dating that guy. When we changed the pact, I thought you were going to take a poke at Taylor."

Deliberately choosing to ignore her Taylor comment, I rolled my eyes asking, "What's wrong with Dillon?"

"He seems a kinda shifty to me. I don't trust him. Plus, I like Taylor better," Leah grumbled.

Her words were not the least bit surprising. Now, I was certain Zach had something to do with Leah's Team Taylor stance. "You don't trust anybody."

Leah barked out a short laugh. "You know it."

Not really wanting to get into a Taylor based discussion with Leah, I changed the topic. "So, how are things with Emily?"

Leah let out an unladylike snort. "As if you don't already know. I know she still calls you."

The last time I'd spoken to Emily, she told me that Leah seemed different since her return. She didn't appear quite as angry as before. "She does still call me, but I'd like to hear things from your perspective."

"Well, things are… slightly better between Emily and me. I don't know… I finally feel like I'm ready to move on." I noticed she only spoke about Emily. That meant Leah and Sam were still at odds.

I was so happy to hear that Leah and Emily were trying to become friends again. "That's great, Leah."

Leah's voice sounded hopeful. "I'm not going to say, it still doesn't hurt to see them together, but it doesn't hurt as much as it used to." I had the feeling that Leah's new take on things had a lot to do with Zach.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, I decided to go into the kitchen to get myself a drink of water. "How are things with you and Sam?"

Before disappearing into the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of Taylor and Zach watching TV in the living room. I didn't think anyone else was here.

"Sam's an ass. Do you know he's all bent out of shape about Zach?" Grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, I froze.

"What? How does Sam know about Zach?" I thought not being able to think about me when she was phased also meant that she wouldn't be able to think about anything related to me. Like my friends.

"Jacob's injunction stops me from thinking about you, Bella. As long as it has nothing to do with you, the injunction doesn't stop me from thinking about anyone else," Leah explained, and I thought I detected a bit of smugness in her voice.

"Leah? Are you torturing Sam on purpose?" I wouldn't put it past her. Hell, if I were in her shoes, I might have done the same.

"I swear I don't do it on purpose, Bella. I can't help it if Zach crosses my mind once in a while when I'm in wolf form. But can you blame me if I'm not exactly saddened that Sam's having a hard time with me dating?" Leah defended.

"I guess not." I relented. It wasn't the perfect situation and after everything Leah was allowed a little payback. But I was a little bewildered by Sam's reaction. "Leah, I thought Sam being imprinted meant that no one but Emily mattered anymore."

"That's not exactly correct, Bella. Sam still has feelings for me, but the imprint pushes them aside. Although he can't act on them anymore, they're still there. The imprint's just stronger." I could tell that it hurt Leah to have to explain that to me.

Finally, I was able to understand why Jacob got mad when Charlie mentioned my visit to the Cullens. Even though he'd imprinted, he still felt something for me. I decided not to dwell on that. He was imprinted and there was nothing either one of us could do to change it.

As I took a sip of water, Leah continued, "Sam can feel however he wants. I'm done. I'm going to try to get on with my life and he's not going make me feel guilty about it. Not after all the shit he put me through," she finished firmly.

"Good for you, Leah. You deserve to be happy." As I turned around with the intention of heading back to my room, I saw Zach standing in the doorway.

I wondered how long he'd been there listening to our conversation. "Is that Leah, you're talking to?" He queried.

I nodded mutely, and he crossed the room and plucked the phone from my hand before I could protest.

"Leah?" He spoke into the phone.

Apparently, Leah didn't say anything because Zach spoke again. "Come on, Lee. The least you could do is talk to me."

I watched as his broad shoulders sagged slightly in relief and I assumed she answered him. Zach turned around, realizing I was still standing there, his hazel eyes narrowed slightly. I read the message loud and clear. Beat it.

Huffing in indignation, I turned on my heels and entered the living room. I was fresh out of the shower when Dillon called to ask me to come over, so I didn't get to brush my hair. While scanning the room for my hair brush, my eyes landed on Taylor. He was sitting on the couch, feet outstretched, with the remote in his hand. He was wearing a white, close fitting wife beater and grey sweatpants.

Taylor's green eyes were dark and intense as they roamed my body. I became acutely aware of my barely there tank top and tiny shorts that showed off my legs and butt. A pleasurable sensation coursed through my body and I pushed it aside, reminding myself that Taylor had seen me in much less. Discovering my hairbrush on the other side of the room, I strode over to collect it, all the while feeling his eyes on me.

Pulling my scrunchie out of my hair, I settled on the floor in front of the couch. Turning my attention toward the TV, I saw that my favorite show was about to begin. There was something about True Blood that intrigued me so much. No surprise there. The show was about vampires, shape-shifters, werewolves and the human girl who was caught in between all worlds. Whether it was the hilarious Lafayette or the drop-dead sexy Eric that did it for me, I didn't know, but the show had me hooked. The show's character Bill, reminded me of Edward a little. They were both so caught up in their gentlemanly manners and old fashion ways. The similarities between that show and my life were uncanny. From the mindreading to the love triangle with Sookie's best friend, the shape shifter. Briefly, I wondered if the writer of the book knew any supernatural creatures personally.

Staring at the TV, I picked up my brush, and ran it through my hair in slow, lazy strokes. I was in no hurry to return to my studying, it could wait until after my show. I was so caught up in my musings about Eric that I was startled when Taylor spoke up. "Can I?"

I looked over my shoulder to find Taylor perched at the edge of the couch, watching me with an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. I blushed faintly and bit my lip in contemplation. Friends could do stuff like this right? Brush each other's hair.

Nodding my consent, I placed the brush in his large hands. I was rattled when he slipped off the chair to sit behind me with his long legs on either side of my own. My body was tense at first but Taylor's hands were gentle as he began to wield the brush through my hair. Gradually, my body began to relax, feeling the pressure of his tender strokes, from my scalp to the ends of my hair. Occasionally, he would run his fingers through my hair strands, along with the brush, creating a bunch of worrisome tingles. I closed my eyes, giving myself over to his delicate administrations.

It was around this time that the opening song for True Blood began to play.

When you came in the air went out,

And every shadow filled up with doubt.

I don't know who you think you are,

But before the night is through,

I wanna do bad things with you.

I fought back a groan. Before now, I never realized just how sexy those lyrics were. Our sensual moment was interrupted by Zach when he strolled out of the kitchen. "Okay. Bye, Lee." Flipping my phone close, he paused as his eyes landed upon our intimate positions on the floor.

His face broke out into an irritating grin, causing me to frown. Why the hell was he smiling at us like that? "Um… I'm just gonna go ahead and leave now." Pointing his thumb over his shoulder, he back away from us slowly. All the while grinning like Shrek's donkey.

Seeing that he still had something that belonged to me, I said, "Don't take my phone with you."

"Oh, all right." Zach's face looked slightly disappointed as he placed the phone on the table. I gathered he'd planned to dig through my phone for Leah's number. But luckily for Leah, my quick thinking had thwarted his plans. If Leah wanted him to have her number then she would have given it to him.

Zach exited the apartment, leaving us alone again. As much as I tried to concentrate on my show, I couldn't. I kept thinking about how much simpler things would be if I could switch Dillon and Taylor's positions in my life. Dillon could be Liz's brother and Taylor could be my boyfriend. That way, if I attempted to have a serious relationship and screwed things up, then I would only be losing a boyfriend, and not my newfound family.

After a moment, the gentle sensations of my hair being tugged on ceased. I watched as Taylor set the brush aside on the floor. Assuming he was finished, I waited for him to return to his seat on the couch. Another pleasurable shiver racked my body as I felt his fingers slide across the back of my neck. His movements were agonizingly slow as he pushed my hair over one shoulder, leaving my bare neck exposed. I relished the feel of his rough hands as they slid along my arms, leaving goose pimples in their wake.

My breath came in short pants as I was abruptly engulfed in Taylor's strong arms and pulled against his hard chest. Warm breath fanned my skin as he buried his face against my neck. My heartbeat accelerated in my chest.

Lips tickled my skin as he murmured, "I missed you."

And just like that, I melted. Allowing my body to relax into his warmth, I replied, "I missed you too."

There was no more Dillon, no more weirdness and no more distance between us. Everything else fell away and we were just Izzy and Taylor. It was unknown as to how long we remained sitting like that, in companionable silence. It seemed like hours but I imagined it was only about ten minutes or so.

As much as I was enjoying the silence, I couldn't help but ask, "Taylor?"

I felt a deep rumble in his chest as he replied, "Hmm?"

Craning my head in his direction, I inquired softly, "We have an odd relationship, don't we?"

"I suppose." Taylor's tone was reflective as his lips moved against my shoulder.

Odd was the only word available to describe our friendship at the moment. Things were different between us right from the get go. We'd always been more than just friends but never quite romantically involved. We existed somewhere in between. I knew for a fact that Dillon would neither like nor understand the nature of our relationship. Hell, even I had trouble understanding it.

Taylor's lips left a burning trail on my skin as he made his way up my neck. His muscular arms tightened around my torso briefly just before he pressed a searing kiss right behind my ear. Pressing my lips together, I held back a moan that threatened to escape from my mouth. I marveled at how one of Taylor's innocent kisses riled me up so much more than a full-on make out session with Dillon ever did.

He planted one final kiss on the side of my forehead, sliding his hands from around my ribs. I blushed as one arm brushed against my breast. Tentatively, Taylor eased himself from behind me and stood to his feet. Green eyes stared down at me with a hungry flame burning in their depths.

"Goodnight, Isabella." His voice sounded deeper than usual.

From my place on the floor, I peered up at him through my lashes. "Goodnight, Taylor," I murmured quietly with a small smile.

After offering me an answering smile, Taylor turned and left the apartment. Returning my attention to my show, I watched as the gorgeous Eric tricked the oh so gullible Sookie into believing he was dying. Eric lay on the floor with his hands laced behind his neck as Sookie sucked on his chest, frantically trying to get the silver bullets out. His smug eyes briefly made contact with the camera and I giggled, "Oh, Eric. You dirty boy."

My mind wandered to Taylor toned chest and I pondered what it would be like if we switched places with Sookie and Eric. Leaving out the bullets and blood, of course.

I wanna do bad things with you.

One week later, I was sitting in the Dining Hall with Liz having a cappuccino until my next class. Liz was chatting excitedly about her new cool friend, Keisha. Keisha was a beautiful, Jamaican born woman with skin the color of cocoa. She and Liz became friends after she hit on Liz in one of her Art History classes. Liz turned her down, saying that she was a huge fan of the penis and just could not see herself getting down with the puss. They hit it off as friends right away.

"So, do you know what you're going to wear to the keg party tonight?" The Alpha Theta's were throwing a keg party tonight, and we were all planning on being there.

"I haven't decided yet."

"Oh hell. Look who's headed our way now." Liz alerted me with an irritated roll of her eyes.

Amber and her two flunkies were headed in the direction of our table.

"Well, if it isn't Dartmouth's own social climber," Amber addressed me.

I lazily sipped my cappuccino and resisted the urge to sigh. What the hell is this bitch's problem with me? In an effort to remain silent, I pressed my lips together. I decided to take the high road and not answer her. Maybe she would take the hint and go away. No such luck.

Liz sneered in my defense, "Shouldn't you be on your knees somewhere giving head, right now?"

"You know, it's a real shame that Taylor is stuck with such a classless sister like you." Amber turned to Liz and shot back.

Through worried eyes, I watched as Liz's green eyes hardened, balling her hands into tight fists. Amber's classless comment really hit a nerve with Liz. I grew a tad bit worried for Amber's safety and warned silently, easy Amber. Don't let the Gucci handbag and Hermes scarf fool you. Liz is a gangster and will not hesitate to beat you down.

I recalled stories Liz told me about when she attended the academy in Boston. Some of the girls used to make fun of her all the time, calling her low class and the maid's daughter. Until one day, she finally snapped and beat the crap out of them. In the end, her father had to make a hefty donation to prevent her from getting expelled. But no one ever called her names again.

My patience was beginning to run thin. "Is there some point to your being here, Amber?"

"I just wanted to let you all know that I'm taken." Taken? That was her big news? That some poor fool had fallen into her clutches. Then I wondered why she would come here to tell us this.

Just as I was about to ask what the hell she was talking about, Liz interjected, "You look like you've been taken, in every way a girl can be… taken."

Damn Liz!

My eyes widened and I couldn't help the vindictive giggle that slipped past my lips. The sound of my laughter drew the attention of Amber and her cheerleaders, causing them to glare at me. If she didn't want to talk with us then she was free to leave. Which reminded me, why the hell was she talking to us in the first place?

"Just say what you have to say then move the hell on, Amber. We have places to be." I had a class starting in a few minutes and Amber was beginning to get on my nerves.

Amber cooed with false sympathy, "Aw… What's the matter, stamp tramp? Not in a good mood?" A malicious smile appeared on her face. "I take it you've already heard the wonderful news then."

I sighed wearily, "What news?"

"Taylor's taking me to the Alpha Theta keg party tonight," Amber announced triumphantly, flipping her blonde curls over her shoulder.

A frown creased my eyebrows. "What?"

"Don't tell me Taylor didn't tell you." At the obvious surprise on my face, Amber taunted, "Well, I guess you two aren't that close after all."

Liz refused to believe her. "Oh please." She turned to me. "Clearly this bitch is delusional, Izzy." Liz said, trying to dismiss Amber's claims but I detected a flicker of doubt in her eyes.

"Believe what you want. I guess you'll see us together at the party tonight." With her news delivered, Amber flounced off with her minions trailing behind her.

Amber? I couldn't believe Taylor would ask Amber out. But Amber victorious smile was enough to convince me.

I imagined him kissing her and it was enough to make me feel sick. Meanwhile, Liz was looking at me sympathetically, reading my face. I began to feel a little angry at her. After all, she was the one who insisted that Taylor would never be interested in Amber. Then I realized that I couldn't be mad at Liz just because Taylor proved me right. I began to feel nauseous again.

Hastily, I began to assemble my books. "I don't want to be late for my class." I still had fifteen minutes until my class was supposed to start but I just couldn't sit here anymore.

"Izzy, wait. I'm sure it's just some misunderstanding." Liz tried to reassure me but she sounded like she was trying to reassure herself too.

"Whatever, Liz. I've got to get to class." I grabbed my books off the table then stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Exiting the Dining Hall, I tried to convince myself that I didn't care that Taylor was dating Amber. Taylor could do whatever he wanted. He wasn't mine and I had no claim over him whatsoever.

A/N: Leah hooked Zach by touching his snake.

So Sam's jealous. I think we all grieve for him. (Sarcasm)

Dillon and Bella are exclusive... sort of.

Taylor and Amber? What the hell is going on there?

Coming up next:Bella and Taylor argue.

Ryan plants seeds of doubt in Bella's mind.

More drinking at the keg party.

Bella and Dillon argue and she begins to feel unwell at the party.

You know what to do if you want an early update before Thursday.Review!