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 38

When the sun rose the following morning, I woke up alone. Or rather, I woke up to Liz poking me. I squinted at her.

"What's time is it?" I groaned, rubbing my throbbing temple.

"Almost eleven," Liz answered softly, mindful of my headache.

With another groan, I kicked off the blankets, dragging my weary body to the bathroom for a shower. Wordlessly, Liz eyed my panty and bra with a sneaky smirk. Once I was done showering, I dressed myself and took some aspirin. Surprisingly, Liz was still waiting in my room for me, after I'd left the bathroom.

I inspected the mug in her hand and she smiled at me nervously. "Here, you'll need this."

Taking the offered mug from her, I asked, "Why would I need this?"

Liz shrugged helplessly in reply before walking out of my room while I trailed behind her, pondering her strange mood. As we neared the kitchen, I heard the guys talking. The atmosphere was tense when Liz and I appeared in the doorway. Ryan and a sulky Zach greeted me as I sat at the table, but Taylor remained silent, stabbing at his pancakes. I assumed he was still mad at me and chose to dismiss it. If he wanted to be a jerk, then fine. I was in no frame of mind to deal with his moodiness.

Ignoring the heavy silence of the room, I sipped my coffee in feigned calmness while everyone else mutely ate their breakfast. I watched as Liz popped a few Tums into her mouth. The stress was really getting to her. After a while Liz, Ryan and Zach rose from the table, having received some sort of silent signal from Taylor. Zach gave me a pity filled look before leaving the apartment. Ryan was reluctant to leave but did so after Liz pushed him from behind. Liz mouthed good luck to me before exiting with Ryan out the door.

Now that I was alone in the apartment with Taylor, the atmosphere seemed even more oppressive. I looked up from my cup to find Taylor staring back at me with a heavy scowl marring his face. Pushing myself away from the table, I took my cup to the sink, all the while feeling his eyes boring into my back. I sighed heavily, deciding to kick off the argument that had been brewing since the night before.

Let's get this over with.

I turned away from the sink and addressed him. "What's your problem? You've been moody all morning."

"Do you have any idea what could have happened to you last night?" He asked in a lowered voice.

"What are you going on about?"

"I'm talking about coming upon the scene of you drunk again with Dillon taking you up to his room. What were you thinking?" Taylor huffed in frustration.

"I was thinking that my head hurt and I needed to lie down." I rolled my eyes. What the hell is he trying to get at?

"If you weren't feeling well, why didn't you come find me?" he scowled at me with his hands tightening around his cup.

"I looked around but you weren't there." I remembered his sudden disappearance when I was arguing with Dillon. "By the way, where were you?" Was he with Amber?

"Don't change the subject. That ass is just looking for an opportunity to take advantage of you and you almost gave him one last night." Taylor stood up then leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table.

I was surprised. Is that what he thinks? That Dillon was going to try something? "What? Dillon would never do that. And don't you change to topic either. You still haven't told me where you were. Were you with Amber?"

"What? Don't bring Amber into this."

"Why not? You don't seem to have a problem bringing Dillon into this." I snorted.

"That's because he's a jackass." Taylor shot back.

My mind went back to what Ryan said at the party about Taylor sleeping with Amber. "You know what? Let's talk about why you're really upset. You just upset because I ruined your sure thing with Amber."

Taylor looked at me incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. We both know that Amber is easier to get into than an unlocked door." I snorted sarcastically.

"You're insane." Leaning off the table, Taylor began to pace and mumble distractedly to himself. "I mean, this is proof of how crazy she is. What does that say about me?"

"Stop calling me crazy. Why won't you tell me where you were last night?" I demanded with a raised eyebrow.

"I was outside, on my phone with Zach. He wanted to talk to you but you left your cell at home. Leah didn't call last night." He stopped his pacing and explained calmly.

When he was finished, I had to admit that I felt a little silly. I imagined that he had been with Amber, locked in a disgusting grope session in some dark corner of the frat house. With a ridiculous amount of embarrassment, I realized that I was jealous. I didn't want him going out with her. Just thinking about it was enough to make me ill.

I was so locked in my musings that I didn't realize that Taylor was staring at me until he spoke up. "Did you think I was having sex with Amber? Why would you think that?" His nose was wrinkled in slight disgust.

Bashfully, I tore my gaze away from Taylor and looked down at my feet. "Last night, Ryan said that you were a guy and Amber was throwing herself at you, so I thought…" My voice trailed off awkwardly, unable to finish the sentence.

"Ryan? You really took Ryan seriously?" Taylor's face was comically surprised. I wondered if Ryan was just pulling my leg. But I didn't understand why he would do that. Was he deliberately trying to make me jealous? Trying to clear my thoughts, I shook my head.

Meanwhile, Taylor began to move slowly toward me. His eyes were watching my face intently, almost as if he was attempting to decipher the emotions flickering across it. He came to a stop in front of me, and I peered up at him through my lashes. The rhythm of my heart pounded in my chest as he unhurriedly raised his large hand. He hesitated briefly, before tucking a few rebellious strands of hair behind my ear. His attention was drawn to the light blush that invaded my cheeks. A small, playful smile tugged at his lips, and he brushed his warm fingertips across the slightly reddened skin on my face.

A small gasp escaped my lips and my body tensed marginally as he gathered me in his arms, pulling me toward him. The skin on my forehead tingled as he grazed his lips across it. Gradually, my body relaxed and I leaned into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his waist. He seemed even bigger up close and I marveled at the sheer size of him. Turning my face into his chest, I greedily inhaled the scent of his after shave. I felt his hands as they ran them languidly up and down my back.

"I worry about you, Isabella," Taylor murmured quietly.

"Why?" My question was muffled by his t-shirt but he heard me anyway.

"Because you're much too trusting. I worry that, one of these days, you'll end up trusting the wrong person," Taylor confessed.

For a moment, I wondered if he was referring to Dillon or to himself. Pulling away from him slightly, I gaze up at his face. "I can take care of myself."

A soft smile flittered across his face. "I know, but I still worry."

"Well don't. You'll get wrinkles." Removing one hand from his waist, I smoothed the worry lines between his eyebrows with my fingers.

My cell phone buzzed in my jeans with a newly arrived text message. Stepping away from Taylor, I squeezed it out of my pocket and flipped it open. It's from Alice.

For a few seconds, I stared blankly at the screen.

Kiss him!

I gasped softly. Oh my God. I couldn't believe Alice was spying on me. Taylor was observing me with a raised eyebrow. I shot him an embarrassed smile then sent Alice a reply.

Alice, stop looking!

Her text message came back speedily.

Chicken ;P

I texted her back with a frustrated sigh.

Stop looking!

Alice replied almost immediately.

Or what? You'll send me a strongly worded email ;P

I sighed in defeat and flipped my phone closed, tucking it back into my pocket. She was right. I couldn't do anything about it now, but she would be getting one angry phone call from me later.

Jeez. She wants me to kiss Taylor. What the hell?

Taylor's face was amused as he queried, "What was that about?

My blush darkened, and I mumbled, "Um… Just Alice being silly."

Suddenly, the front door burst opened and Liz, Ryan and Zach strode in. They observed Taylor and me cautiously as if looking for signs of injuries.

"Are you two still fighting?" Ryan questioned with a frown. I watched as Liz anxiously popped a couple more Tums into her mouth, crunching loudly as she chewed them.

"Nope. We're good," Taylor answered with a small grin.

"Oh thank God," Liz sighed with relief and threw her Tums on the table.

"Good. Now that that's cleared up, I want to talk to you." Zach stomped over to where I stood next to Taylor and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the kitchen toward the couch.

I sat myself down, and Zach collapsed heavily in the space next to me, looking dejected. "Leah didn't call last night."

"I heard." I rubbed his arm in sympathy.

"I don't understand her. Leah said she would call. Why do you think she would blow me off like that?" Zach heaved a depressed sigh.

I sat in silence trying to think of a reason. For a brief moment, I wondered if there might have been a vampire attack. But then I remembered Leah explained to me that vampires hardly came through Forks anymore and the ones that did didn't survive long enough to cause trouble. It couldn't have been that she had to patrol, so there was only one other answer. The she-wolf was scared. I tried to think like Leah and it wasn't a hard thing to do. After all the misery she'd been through, Leah didn't want to open herself up again. If there was anyone that could understand how she felt, it was me.

But I would never admit that Leah was scared to Zach. Bros before hoes and all that. And Zach was the biggest hoe I knew. I tried to think of a way to help Leah and Zach and realized there was only one option. All I could do was hope that Leah wouldn't run all the way to Hanover and kick my ass for doing it.

Zach looked a tad bit anxious as he eyed my sneaky smile. "I have something for you." I pulled out my cell phone and handed it to him.

With raised eyebrows, Zach looked at me in silent inquiry then smiled until I explained, "Leah's number."

I still owed Leah one for letting me go to bed with Taylor. As Zach eagerly dug through my cell, I grinned evilly.

Payback's a bitch, bitch!

It had been a few weeks since the keg party and Dillon and I still hadn't slept together yet. Of course, it didn't help that I was beginning to notice that he was a much bigger snob than I had anticipated. I was made painfully aware of this one day as we were sitting together in the Dining Hall.

Dillon was successfully trying to sweet talk me into going back to his room when I accidentally spilled my latte, creating a mess all over the table. I was frantically trying to mop up the mess with my napkin when Andy, the custodian in charge of the Dining Hall, showed up and offered to help with the mess. Grateful for Andy's help, I apologized for my clumsiness. As we were leaving, Dillon told me that I shouldn't have apologized to the janitor, that it was his job to clean up after us. He was confused when I immediately changed my mind about going home with him, deciding to go my apartment alone instead.

Then there was his constantly calling Taylor an immigrant. Dillon had no idea how much that annoyed the hell out of me. It was so derogatory. As far as I was concerned, when you got right down to it, we were all immigrants. All except for the Native Americans.

Dillon's snobbery was an issue, but our biggest problem was the fact that I didn't want to sleep with him because I wanted him. I wanted to sleep with Dillon because that was what you were supposed to do in college, sleep around and have lots of hookups. But I was having a hard time with just having meaningless sex.

It was on my mind so much lately that I decided to discuss it with Liz. The boys went to hang out at a sports bar and Liz and I were having a girl's night in. We spread our pillows and blankets on the living room floor, ordered a pizza, and pigged out on chocolate ice cream. I bit into my slice of pizza, watching as Liz danced around in her pink Footzies pajamas to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

My mind wondered back to Dillon and I began to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Dillon was a fun-loving, attractive guy. Any other girl would have slept with him by now.

Okay. So he isn't perfect. And his snobby attitude sometimes gets on my nerves, I thought with a grimace.

Seeing my expression, Liz turned mid-dance and paused. "What's up with you?"

After taking a sip of my soda, I confessed, "I think I might be frigid."

Liz stared at me in amazement for a second before she collapsed into a fit of giggles on the floor. "It's not funny, Liz," I grumbled in embarrassment.

Crawling toward the pillows, Liz panted, "The hell it's not." She propped a pillow behind her back as she leaned back on the couch. "Why do you think you're frigid?" She asked in an amused yet serious tone.

"Because Dillon and I have been going out for months and we still haven't slept together. I'm certain it's not him. So, it has to be me, right?"

Liz looked at me incredulously. "You still can't pull the trigger?" I wrinkled my nose at her crass wording. Her face turned thoughtful. "Maybe you're having… technical difficulties. Tell me; are you able to get aroused?" Liz asked bluntly.

My cheeks burned as I mumbled, "Yes."

"With Dillon?" Liz probed.

"A little, yes," I hedged.

"Ah, I see. It's the level of arousal that's the real problem here." Liz concluded with a firm nod of her head.

My level of arousal doesn't seem to be a problem with your brother, I thought with a secret smile.

"You're so lucky, Liz. Ryan's the only guy you've slept with and you guys have a great sex life." I didn't bother to hide my envy. Liz and Ryan had it all.

"Ryan isn't the only guy I've slept with, Izzy." Liz informed me while shaking her head.

"What?" I asked with my eyes bulging. "Who else did you sleep with?"

"It was just one other guy. His name was Daniel." Liz collapsed back onto the blankets with a dreamy sigh. "Oh, you should have seen him Izzy, he was beautiful… he was my first." Liz confessed with a slightly shy tone in her voice.

"I didn't know you dated anyone before Ryan."

Liz shook her head briefly. "It was so stupid, Izzy. You see, Ryan and I grew up together and we'd always been close. Ryan had always been in love with me, but I had a huge crush on Daniel Vanderbilt. So, when Daniel asked me out, I said yes. We only slept together that one time, though."

"So how was it?" I inquired curiously after taking another sip of my soda.

"It took about five minutes and he didn't even take off his pants." Liz sat up tracing the pattern on the blanket with her finger. I guess it was lousy.

This was a lot to process. "I always assumed that you and Ryan lost your virginities to each other."

"Actually, I'm Ryan's first," Liz admitted proudly.

I stared at her in awe. "Wow, seriously?"

"Damn right. That's my penis." Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she smiled smugly. Liz's expression turned serious as she addressed me. "Even though my first time turned out to be crappy, I'm still grateful it happened because it made me see what was in front of me all along." A beautiful smile lit up her face. "And now I have the best sex ever. It's so good that… Well, I don't have to explain to you, you hear us all the time." She wriggled her eyebrows naughtily.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Not since I bought those earplugs. A girl has to be able to get some sleep around you two."

"Anyway, that's why I was in support of your dating Dillon. If it turned out to be a mistake, it'd be yours to make. But now, I'm not so sure about dating him." Liz's brows creased as she continued gently, "Maybe you should think about whether you can be one of those girls that can just have casual sex. And if you decide that you can't do it, then you should reevaluate what kind of relationship you want with Dillon."

Liz gave me a lot to think about that night. I realized that I hadn't given him a fair shot because I was afraid of getting hurt again. There were lots of girls that were able to sleep around, but I was beginning to realize that I wasn't one of them. Dillon and I would have to talk soon. We needed to rethink our relationship.

As expected, Leah called me threatening to kick my ass for giving Zach her number. After I called her out on her reasons for not calling Zach the other night, she calmed down slightly. She grudgingly thanked me for giving him her number, admitting she'd been getting a hard time from Sam lately and his phone call cheered her up. Apparently, Sam was still jealous about her memories of her night with Zach and it was really getting on her nerves.

Her relationship with Emily was coming along bit by bit but there were some problems among the wolf girls. Since I'd left, there had been additions to the wolf pack, which meant more imprints. They were having trouble getting along with each other. Leah didn't want to get into it, but from what she told me, I gathered that the wolf girls were now divided into two groups. She laughingly told me about Jared and Kim's shotgun wedding. Kim didn't want to get married just because she was pregnant, but finally caved after Jared proposed for the fifth time. She was due to deliver her son in one month.

Since the keg party, Taylor had no further dates with Amber. Much to my obvious delight. Of course, Amber blamed me every time Taylor turned her down. She didn't look like the type to give up on what she wanted even though Taylor gave her no hope. Amber would constantly glare at me from across the Dining Hall, whenever she saw me. Then Amber and her minions would laugh and snicker behind their hands, shooting evil looks at me. To tell you the truth, it was all beginning to make me a little uneasy.

My relationship with Dillon seemed a little strained. He'd been really distant with me all week. At first, I'd assumed he was stressed out because of his classes and rowing practice, but now I wasn't so sure. Maybe he was upset that we weren't having sex, I didn't know. Not knowing how to initiate the conversation, I had yet to discuss the current state of our relationship with him.

One day, Liz and I were alone in the apartment studying, when my phone started vibrating on the table. After Liz passed it to me, I flipped it open to read a text from Dillon.

Hey Izzy, can you come over?

Staring at my phone, I scrunched up my face in confusion. In all our years of knowing each other, this was the first time Dillon sent me a text message. He always said that people looked stupid typing with their thumbs. He was adamant that if someone wanted to contact to him, then they would have to do so verbally.

I sent him a quick reply.

Why?

He had been so moody lately. I wondered why he wanted me to come over now.

To spend some time together.

I took a moment to think about it. We could use this opportunity to talk and redefine our relationship, so I texted him back, agreeing.

Okay. I'll see you in ten minutes.

I sent the message then went into my room to fix my hair into a ponytail. Hastily, I put on some lip gloss and changed into a cuter top. As I was leaving the apartment, Liz eyed my ponytail and smirked, "You're going to see Dillon?" She knew I only wore my hair like that for him.

I grabbed my keys and phone, heading toward the door. "Yeah, I think we need to talk."

"Good luck," Liz said before returning her attention to her books. I closed the door behind me then went down to my car.

It turned out Liz was right to wish me luck. I had no idea what I was about walk into.

A/N: Once again I faced the curse of Thursdays and won.

You guys almost got this chapter next week Monday but I felt guilty about making you guys wait so long and here we are.

Back to the story: Taylor doesn't trust Dillon.

Liz gave Bella some good advice.

Bella paid Leah back. (Heh heh)

Coming up next:All I'm going to tell you guys is that two people are going to end up injured.

But I'm not going to say anything else about it.

I will say that I'm freaking excited about the next chapter.

Now I know it's like exam time right now and you're all busy.

So you guys have to let me know if you want the next chapter next Monday or if you prefer to wait until Thursday.