These Arms of Mine

This was my submission for SU4K.

To Katalina Roseph, for being the beautiful, strong, and graceful woman she is and for challenging me to write about a period in time that would normally not have clicked for me. I'd also like to dedicate this story to a woman that will likely never read it but means the world to me and has battled breast cancer not once, but twice. Jackie, you'll always be my hero. And last, but most certainly not least, to all the people who made this happen…Thank you for your dedication and big hearts.

This was beta'd by the wonderful Intricacy Alterite...she is my darling friend and I appreciate her in so many ways.

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The heavy footsteps of my father walking down the hall to the bathroom made the anxiety I was feeling almost palpable. My breath caught in my throat until I heard him retreating to his bedroom, the door closing with an audible snick, which was followed by my labored sigh. He was likely tired from the night's events and the celebration after his team beat their local rival on the football field. Just ten minutes later I was placing my foot outside of the open window. Father never took more than that to fall back to sleep after a long night. I lifted up and over quietly to shimmy down the sloped roof of our porch before climbing down the trellis. I'd snuck out a lot over the summer, usually to go visit my friend Alice two doors down but never with the intention of doing something so deliciously illicit as visiting the Playmart on the other side of town. The wrong side of town.

Forks, though small, didn't lack "proper" and "seedy" sides of town. My parents and I lived well within the boundaries of what was good and wholesome. Church attendance every Sunday morning was a foregone conclusion, as were football games for the public high school, where my father taught and coached. As a matter of fact, his teaching position had prompted both of my parents to enroll me in the only parochial school in the tri-town area because boys just weren't to be trusted…ever. It seemed that high-school-aged boys were quite industrious when met with the challenge of adult eyes around every corner. Father had caught more than his share of "bad kids" doing "unseemly things" around every corner of the one-hundred-year-old building, and I paid the price every day as I sat in a musty smelling classroom at an ancient convent listening to the equally ancient ramblings of Sister Mary Bernadette.

Eighteen years of properness seemed to have bred a deep-seated need to rebel, and our local "Den of Sin" would be just the place to stage my coup against the right side of the tracks. The past summer had nearly stifled my will to be myself. My parents rambled on and on about the heavy responsibilities of my Senior year and all their hopes that I'd find a good boy like Michael Newton to settle down with shortly after. It was just such a conversation that had been the proverbial straw on the camel's back two days before. Or perhaps it was just the push I needed to finally step out of the circle of propriety I'd been born into and seek the adventure I craved.

My black Mary Janes slapped quietly on the concrete of the drive. Steeling myself with a deep inhale, I wasted no time in darting down across our lawn and into the relative safety of the shadow of our neighbors' hedge. Thunderous heartbeats counted down each second I stayed crouched in the neighbors' yard. Sneaking around was not for the faint of heart.

I made sure to stay to the shadows and crept the short distance to Alice's house, where I had left my bike earlier in the day. Her parents were notorious snorers and unlikely to hear anything in the night outside of an A-bomb exploding.

Rounding the end of their driveway I saw my best friend fidgeting and biting her nails as she peered around nervously.

"Mary Alice Brandon! How many times do I have to tell you that biting one's finger nails is a disgusting habit?"

Her small shriek and jump were well worth the terrible impression of Sister Mary Bernadette.

"Isabella!" she whispered. With one hand poised over her heart she raised the other and pointed at me. "If you weren't my best friend I'd truly hate you right now. Good grief, that old woman sends me over the edge every time she says that."

"Really? I always thought it was the smack to your knuckles that bothered you most."

"Shut up, you. I think I have permanent marks on my knuckles from her ruler. Now, are we going to do this thing you're dragging me into or just stand here and discuss Sister's love of discipline?"

Her look of utter terror at both prospects made me giggle as I held out my hand for my bike and hopped on.

"You know, you don't have to come. This is my moment to see what all the fuss is about. I'll be fine."

Her only reply was a small shake of her head and a sigh before she took off, leaving me to follow with another laugh.

\TAoM/

"So this is it?" Alice's nose was scrunched up as we both surveyed the tin-covered building with the eyes of innocents. "Doesn't look like much to me."

"Yeah, but listen to the music inside. It's…amazing." The muted sounds of Elvis's Little Sister oozed from beneath the poorly hung wooden door. It called to me, and being the ever obliging girl I was I swayed and closed my eyes to soak it all in. "We have to go in, Alice. Please tell me I didn't drag us both all the way here for you to chicken out now?"

I propped one eye open just enough to see her signature eye roll, which was followed by a huff and a decidedly forceful step forward. My answering smile had her shaking her head and continuing her walk toward the doors where we both paused.

"We look ridiculously plain, Busy. I wish I'd been able to sneak Mama's rouge." Her fingers pinched her own cheeks before descending on mine with the same brutal touch. We both bit our lips to plump them and give them a bit of color before fluffing our ponytails. Before we could back out, I opened the door to the Playmart and stepped in, pulling Alice behind me with a quick jerk.

"That'll be a dollar fifty for the both of you, sweetheart." The lipstick on the coat check girl's teeth made me swallow back a giggle as I handed over a month's worth of allowance.

"Thank you…" Narrowing my eyes I peered at the woman's faded nametag. "Lauren."

Alice's death grip on my hand tightened painfully while we wove our way around half-empty tables to get a better look at what was happening on the dance floor. After clearing the final row and moving off to an out of the way shadowy area, we simply watched.

"What are they doing?" Alice's whispered words were full of awe and shock. Turning slightly I noticed that her eyes were dilated, most likely due to the low lights and haze of smoke, and that her breathing was a bit labored.

Bodies were everywhere, wrapped in intimate embraces and moving suggestively to the beat as the band played songs from all manner of artists. It was intoxicating and made me tingle from head to toe. I wanted to be one of those bodies. I wanted to lock my arms around a boy and move against him in a way that would scandalize my mother and age my father twenty years.

"Dancing, Mary Alice. They're dancing."

"That's as sinful as the nun's warned, Busy. I think…." Her black curls bounced as she caught the viral beat and began to move. "I think I want to know how to do that. Does that make me wicked?"

My best friend was about as naïve and sweet as a person could be and that was the only reason I didn't laugh at her question. That's not to say I was anymore worldly but I did read a lot of things that were decidedly not "proper" or "wholesome and had a better idea of how others in the world lived and viewed things.

"You're not wicked at all, Alice. I think this is natural. No matter what the nuns say."

My words trailed off when my eyes landed on a particularly attractive boy and girl dancing closely and laughing. The music had changed to something I wasn't at all familiar with but instantly loved. Its beat was a little gritty and the singer had a rich, sultry-sounding voice. It was heaven.

The couple gyrated and rubbed against one another in a way that made my lower regions blaze, something I'd never experienced, even while engaging in the lewd act of touching myself intimately. The girl, a rather busty blonde with a fitted red skirt and low-cut top, threw her head back with a look of rapture on her face as the boy's hands ran a circuit from her waist, over her bottom to her thigh to bring it up just enough to fit around his and allow him more room to move between them. He was magnificent even in the little light available. Dark hair, tall, broad, and as handsome as the day was long. His head disappeared into the girl's neck, her mouth opening to a soft "o", which I was sure would be accompanied by a moan or equally depraved sound, had I been close enough to hear. When he raised himself back up his lips glistened slightly and I just knew he'd been kissing her neck. The thought thrilled me to my core. To have a boy like that lavish me with those sorts of touches would be more invigorating than diving into the cold water of the stream behind our house.

A hard jerk to my arm brought me back to my senses.

"What, Alice?" I hissed.

"He's staring back."

I'd been so focused on his lips, hands, and lower body that I'd neglected to notice his eyes. And they were looking right at me… straight to my soul.

"Oh, my."

"Busy, he's still looking."

Panic struck as the music stopped and I saw the boy kiss the girl's cheek and start walking toward us. I was only there to observe, not interact. Turning quickly, with Alice's wrist in my hand I pulled her back through the dispersing crowd now returning to their tables, and out of the building, wasting no time in getting on my bike and begging her to do the same. Just before rounding the first corner and leaving the Playmart behind I turned to see the stunning boy from the dance floor push through the door and wave.

\TAoM/

"Please leave your theme books open to your latest entry on your desk and remember that your mid-term exams begin next week. Have a God-filled weekend, ladies." Sister's gravely voice droned on with little inflection as we gathered our things.

"And Isabella, remember that your mother volunteered you to play the organ at Sunday's mass. Be there by seven a. m. please."

I barely contained my groan of frustration. I had truly wanted to wiggle out of that miserable chore. I hated playing the dirges they insisted on considering music on Sundays but because I was slightly more talented than most of the nuns I was always expected to play. I'd come to think of Sundays as a sort of early and infinitely worse Monday.

My nod was all the confirmation I could give my aged teacher before dragging my weary body out of the classroom and down the hall with Alice.

"Are you going to the game tonight?"

My sidelong glance and raised eyebrow was met with a giggle and smirk.

"Do you really think Father and Mother would allow me to skip one precious game, Mary Alice?"

"Well, do you plan to go back to…the place after? I'm not sure I can handle the excitement again." She nibbled ruthlessly on her lower lip and looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I knew I would go back, if only in the hope of seeing the handsome boy with the sinful moves. I was drawn to it, to him like a moth to a flame. It was just something I HAD to do. But I wouldn't let her know that.

"No. I think once was enough. You know, I saw that the Tripoli is playing the Sound of Music starting tomorrow night. Maybe our parents would float us a loan to go?"

The quick change of subject was just part of my plan to derail my best friend and set her off my scent and to have a corroborating story for my mother when I asked for an allowance advance tonight. If I was very frugal with what she gave me I could manage the movie one night and the Playmart the other. It was a very good plan, in my opinion.

"Oh, it is? Mother's been dying for that to come to Forks, but she might let me go with you first. I'll ask tonight and let you know at the game. Would you mind if I catch a ride with you tonight?"

"Not at all. I have a few things to do early tomorrow though, so I won't be able to linger once we're home. Mother says she plans to get me up at the crack of dawn." To make it all more believable I rolled my eyes heavenward and shook my head. She fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

"All right then, I'll see you later. Tell Mr and Mrs Swan thank you in advance for the ride!" she hollered just as she stepped up to the door of her house and walked inside.

Keeping things from Alice was almost painful but it had to be done. I wouldn't make her an accessory to my wrong doings and I couldn't hide as well with her beside me. My thoughts trailed off in the direction of tall, dark, dancing strangers as my feet carried me to my room. After the game and after I was assured my parents were asleep I would again steal from my room to visit the wrong side of the tracks, and perhaps this time I might actually be brave enough to dance a little myself.

\TAoM/

My actions were eerily similar to the week previous as I darted from my room and slid down the trellis to run for my bike hidden in the alley behind the house. By the time I had made it to the Playmart I was breathless and running on adrenaline, all thoughts of playing the part of the cool girl swiftly gone while I continued my frantic pace to the beat-up door that led to my own personal Heaven. The same woman was sitting at the coat-check counter and smiled at me when I laid my ill-gotten money down for entrance.

The building was once again teeming with bodies and heavy beats. I could feel the music in my toes as I walked around scattered chairs and tables and found my safe corner. Scanning the floor I located my mystery boy, who was dancing with a different girl tonight. The voluptuous blond from the week before was dancing with a mountain of a man who laughed loudly and tossed her around like a doll. She seemed to like his less-than-elegant handling because she laughed with him and pulled him into repeated kisses that made me feel like I was intruding on them in a private room.

The girl wound around "my" boy tonight was smaller and less curvy but lithe like a ballet dancer. She molded herself to him and matched him move for move. I was so intent in my perusal of their dance that I missed, yet again, his stare. When my gaze moved to their faces he smiled crookedly in my direction and I giggled and lowered my face to stare at my oxfords, too afraid to look up and find him staring back at his partner. The thrill of his eyes on mine had me blushing a million shades of red. My cheeks burned from both the exertion of the relentless smile I was sporting and the fierceness of my embarrassed reddening.

Bringing a shaky hand to my cheek I gently shook my head and started to turn to leave, promising myself I wouldn't return. My rabid fascination with my mystery boy would likely end up costing me any freedom I'd earned with my parents and for what? So that I could watch him dance with other girls? Just as began to turn my head I saw feet in front of me. My shocked gasp caught in my throat when I followed the line of leg from shoe to waist and further up the masculine chest to his face. My mystery boy was even more devastatingly handsome up close and his eyes were so green they nearly glowed.

"Uh, hey, pretty girl. I was wondering if…well, if you'd like to dance?"

He was talking, I knew that for sure because his mouth was moving, but all I could hear was the overwhelming whoosh of my heartbeat in my ears.

"Pretty girl?"

I cocked my head to the side and stared at his lips while I tried desperately to fight my way through the haze of incredulity and find my voice. He was talking to me. Asking me something. Why couldn't I concentrate?

"Uh…I'm…sorry?" The moment I spoke was the same moment I realized I'd stopped breathing. No wonder I felt faint. With a deep breath in and closed eyes I stood up straight and put my shoulders back. Best foot forward, my father would say. Well, not in this instance because he wouldn't allow me to speak to a boy – let alone sneak off to watch one mimic intimate relations on the dance floor.

"Are you all right?"

After my third consecutive deep breath I dared to peek one eye open to answer him.

"I'm fine, really. You just startled me. I was leaving."

"I see. Would you honor me with one dance before you go? I feel like if I miss my chance again I might never get the pleasure." His smile was a touch shy, nothing like the predatory smirk I assumed he'd wear like a second skin and his words were perfectly formed with a hint of an accent. He almost sounded like my great-uncle Joseph who lived in New York.

Looking around him to the dance floor I felt my heart sink. I couldn't possibly dance with him, as I'd never danced the way I knew he could. He'd find me lacking in so many areas and I wasn't so sure I could handle that sort of ridicule.

"I don't think I can. I've seen you dance and, well, to be honest it was amazing but they don't allow things like that where I'm from."

"And where is that, Timbuktu?" Twinkling eyes and a small laugh nearly made me swoon. This boy was…magical.

"No. I'm from the other side of town but I'm going to guess you already know that, though, I'm positive you're not from Forks." His words made me feel a little defensive. Hands on hips I began tapping my foot in irritation.

"You're quite astute, you know? You're the first to guess I'm not from here or the first to mention it, anyway. No one else seems to care."

"I don't care either. It was nice meeting you…?"

"Edward. Edward Cullen." His large hand was suddenly in front of me. When I put my hand in his and he wrapped his long fingers around it I felt my knees buckle and my feet tingle. I repeated my earlier claim inside my head that he was a magical creature.

"Not anymore than you, pretty girl. Do you think you might share your name with me? It seems like the proper thing to do in this situation, right?"

"Not anymore than me? I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean. And my name is Isabella Swan." Reluctantly I pulled my hand from his and wrapped my other around it, hoping to keep all the wonderful warmness sealed to the skin there.

"Magical. You said I was magical but I'm not. As a matter of fact I think I'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more magical than you, Isabella. You've bewitched me and I've thought of little else since last week."

Those words would have been wholly unbelievable had I not seen the sincerity in his eyes. The embarrassment I'd just felt at letting slip my internal musings was pushed aside, to be replaced with utter fascination.

"That's just not…you have to be joking. I mean, look at you and look at me. You're so….sophisticated and you ooze worldliness. I'm just plain ol' Bella from Nowhere, Kansas."

Warm fingers grazed my cheek and landed lightly on my shoulder.

"You're nowhere near plain and I'm hardly sophisticated. Now, will you please dance with me? I'll take it slow and teach you if you'd rather, but I would really like the chance to see you move to the beat on the dance floor, Bella."

Smooth, smoky tones filled his words. He won me over with that voice and those fingers and before I knew it I'd nodded and was being gently pulled to the scuffed floor.

"I probably have two left feet. You'll be sorry you asked when you wake up tomorrow with broken toes, Edward." My eyes stayed solidly on our feet so as to be sure I didn't step on his but he was having none of it. His knuckles lifted my chin and he smiled when our eyes met.

"Look at me. Always at me. Don't worry about your feet or my feet. I've got toes of steel."

"I'd like to see that. It must make walking a chore. Steel toes would be particularly heavy." I giggled slightly but didn't break eye contact until I felt his hands move my arms to his shoulders and then find their own home on my waist. I'd never had a boy hold my hand, let alone wrap his larger ones around my middle and it made me feel light-headed all over again.

"Breath, my pretty Bella. Feel the song."

He was so close. Too close really but I'd never tell him that. The song had just begun and it was This Magic Moment by the Drifters. One of the few songs my mother could be heard humming while she cooked. I swayed with him, following his slight guidance at my waist and tried to breath with a regular rhythm. I was almost there, almost able to breathe normally and open my eyes and then he pulled me closer, his right leg going between mine slightly as his right hand moved up my side to my arm to take my hand. All thoughts of breathing halted. All thoughts at allhalted. I could only feel. His hand in mine, his leg barely brushing my most secret place, his breath in my hair, his heartbeat on my cheek.

"Is this okay?"

"Mmmph."

"I'll need more answer than that, Bella," he chuckled.

"It's…fine." My words came out almost choked and gritty. Our proximity made me want to be even closer. The feelings coursing through me were so foreign that it made it feel as though I was dreaming. Reaching over with the hand that was on his shoulder I pinched my other arm and winced.

"What did you do that for?"

"Just checking." I dared a glance at his face and found him smiling slightly, his brows wrinkled.

"Checking what? Is your arm falling asleep? Maybe we should move more."

"It's fine. I was just being silly. Pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming all of this." My blush reemerged with a vengeance.

"Are you? Dreaming, that is."

"No. It still feels like it but I could feel the pinch so either the old adage is wrong or I'm very awake and actually dancing with the most handsome boy alive in a place my father would have a conniption about me being in."

"You think I'm handsome?" I watched his face light up with the biggest and most genuine smile I'd ever seen on a person. The thought that my finding him attractive would encourage such a thing was beyond me, much like everything else that had happened since I had arrived.

"Like you don't know you are? You do have a mirror, right?"

"I do, but there's really nothing interesting about me." His statement was followed by a heavy sigh and shake of his shaggy-haired head. "I think we should concentrate on the dance, pretty Bella. I'm going to move my feet now. For every step I take forward I want you to step back and so on. I'll lead you with this arm. A soft pressure this way," his hand moved mine back just a touch, "means you step back and when I move it the opposite direction that means you step forward. On the count of three we'll start."

"All right." Taking a page from Alice's book I sucked my lip between my teeth and focused on his hand, never taking my eyes from his. Between his counting and the hand pressure I became confused and stepped squarely on his foot. Just as I watched him wince I pushed away and shook my head.

"I told you I was no good at this. I can hardly walk a straight line without tripping. You'd better go find one of the other girls to dance with, Edward."

Fingers tightened around my hand and he moved back a step.

"I don't want to dance with another girl. I want to dance with you. It was one lousy mistake, Bella. Don't let it stop you, unless of course, you're chicken." My narrowed eyes took in his lifted brow and subtle smirk.

"Are you daring me, dancer boy?"

"I am. I believe I'm going to throw in the ever difficult to refuse, triple dog dare. Bella Swan, I triple dog dare you to continue this dance. What do you say to that?"

"Fine." Straightening my shoulders and holding my arms more rigid I waited for his instruction, eyes always on his lovely green ones.

This time around, my head cleared of the haze he'd created with his closeness and whispered words I was able to follow well enough. It wasn't sensual or even fluid really but I didn't step on his toes. It was a start.

We danced to one more song with a slow rhythm before I looked at my wristwatch and nearly choked.

"It's almost twelve thirty. I have to get home." Scrambling away from him I straightened out my shirt and smiled. "Thanks for the lessons. I'm not sure I'll have use for them again anytime soon but it was nice learning something new."

"Won't you be back next week? I could teach you more." He stepped closer, clouding my mind again with his unique smell. "I saw the way you watched me dance last week and earlier tonight. I could teach you that."

After three failed attempts to respond I finally settled on a ridiculous giggle.

"Is that a yes, pretty Bella?" Leaning in he continued his easy seduction. "Please say you'll come back, otherwise I'll be forced to search the town for you."

"Y-y-y…yes. I'll come back. Same time, Edward."

His answering smile was all the thanks I needed for succumbing to his wiles.

"Now, I really have to go. I'm meant to be up early to help my mother can vegetables. Thanks for tonight, Edward." Holding my hand out felt awkward but I was reaching for any excuse to touch him again before I left. Instead of merely shaking it, he took it in his own and led me outside.

"Thank you, Bella. Dancing with you…talking to you, it was all a breath of fresh air." If I had known what he was going to do next I would have made sure to record the entire incident in my mind for posterity. It wasn't every day that a girl was kissed by a handsome boy, but when that boy was her very first kiss it was worth remembering.

His lips were everything I had expected from another. Warm, soft, slightly wet. What I didn't expect was the slight flick of his tongue to my bottom lip before he pulled away.

"Oh."

Head tilted he smirked slightly before his expression turned more serious as looked at me thoughtfully.

"Was that a good "oh" or a bad one, Bella?"

"Good. It's just that… Well, that was my first one. Um, my first kiss, that is." I stumbled over the words, feeling more naïve than ever. "I wish I'd have thought to remember everything about it." I shrugged one shoulder and looked down at our feet again.

"Well, assuming you'll permit me the honor, I'd very much like to give you another."

"Like I could tell you no." My words were whispered and full of giddy anticipation as I lifted my head and leaned in for him to follow up on his request. I wasn't left leaning for long and this time my mind was prepared to record every thing in detail. When his tongue again moved against my bottom lip I opened enough to let my own tongue peek out and have a taste. His answering groan was accompanied by his arms encircling my waist and holding me close. He was gentle and carefully held his lower body from mine, though all I ached to do was pull him closer. I needed to feel him, all of him, but he had other ideas. His lips pressed against mine for what could have been hours before he finally let go, his forehead resting against mine while our uneven breaths mingled together in the autumn air.

"I could get used to this, pretty Bella. Please tell me there's a way I can see you before next weekend. I'll meet you anywhere."

"Edward, I'm risking a lot just to sneak out on Friday nights. I don't know how I could do it any other time. So unless you want to meet at the library this is all I can give you."

"What days will you be at the library?"

His question was immediate and slightly rushed. I laughed at the goofy smile that graced his face as he waited for my answer.

"Every day but Wednesday. I'm usually there from three until about four thirty. You really want to see me there?"

"Didn't I just say I'd meet you anywhere?" Smile still intact he leaned in to give me three more quick pecks on the lips and stood back away from me. "Until Monday afternoon then. Be careful riding home, Bella. Next week I'll meet you closer to your house and walk you here."

"All right." My blush was back in full force but I had to have one last touch, to hold me over. Wrapping my arms around his middle I took in everything I could about him, still not convinced that I would see him again. "Thank you, Edward." I gave him no time to return the thanks or say anything really before hopping on my bike and pedaling for home as fast as I could. When I finally made it to bed and closed my eyes all I could see was my handsome boy's face, and that was all right by me.

\TAoM/

Any doubts I had about never seeing Edward again were put to rest on Monday afternoon. Not only did he show up at the library but he proceeded to help me study for my midterms and asked constant questions about my life. In return I asked him just as many questions and was not surprised to find out he was from an affluent family in New York. What did surprise me was his reluctance to tell me what he was running from and why. Little by little I was able to pull more from him but I'd still only been given enough to know he was tired of his parents dictating his life. Because he'd just turned eighteen and had already graduated high school he decided that taking out on his own for a while was well deserved and likely his best option. Of course he didn't elaborate on what his other options might have been but I was hoping he would sooner rather than later.

Everyday that week and the following three were exactly the same, with the exception of Friday night. He would meet me down the street on his own bicycle and we would ride to the Playmart together. My dancing lessons were going along quite well and on the third Friday night he informed me that he'd entered us in a small competition being hosted by the dance hall.

"Oh no, Edward. We'll lose for sure. I mean, I'm getting better but I'm not ready to compete. Ask one of the other girls. Please. I don't want to embarrass you."

If his sigh had been any heavier I would have thought it a groan.

"I don't want to dance with anyone else and we have two weeks. I'm quite sure we can make this work. Besides, I'm doing this for fun, not to win. Not that I don't think we can. I do actually. I think we can dance the socks off of any of the other couples."

"Really?" My bottom lip was tucked securely between my teeth as I peeked up at him.

"Really. We may need to sneak off and find a spot to practice in during the week, but your tests are over and I can still help you with your homework before we practice. Please say you will, pretty Bella."

It really wasn't fair when he looked at me with those imploring eyes and small pout. On a good day I would never have been able to say no to him and I'm quite sure he knew it.

"UH! No more pout. You really don't play fair. I'll do it but only so long as you won't be disappointed when we lose." I rolled my eyes when he smiled wide.

"Ugh. No more, dancer boy. What do we have to do for this contest?"

"One dance of our choice. I thought you might like to finally learn how to do something with a Latin inspiration. Like what I was doing the first two times you snuck in here."

My cheeks, traitors that they were, flamed bright red.

"I'm not sure I could keep up with such a fast beat though."

He spun me out and then reeled me back in, laughing the whole time.

"I thought we'd pick something slower for that dance. As a matter of fact, I think I have the perfect song. Hold on."

A protest was just about to leave my mouth but he gave me no time before he ran off to the band as they broke for a ten-minute break. His smile, as he sauntered back toward me was nothing less than lethal.

"Their next set will start with the song I'd like us to dance to."

I managed a nod.

"I know you can do this, Bella. You're doing with what we've gone over so far and this really isn't that far off. You'd have impressed my dance instructor with your quick study."

His words registered and I realized he'd never mentioned how he came to know the dances he did.

"Why did you have an instructor? Did your parents make you take lessons?"

Hands shoved into his pockets he shrugged and looked past me.

"Sort of." His deep sigh ruffled my hair and the discomfort he felt was palpable. "There's still a lot you don't know about me, Bella. The world I'm from couldn't be more different than this."

Without thought I wrapped my arms around his waist, weaving them through his arms, and laid my head against his firm chest.

"You could tell me though. I won't pass judgment. I mean, it's not like I can. I know you don't come from a bad upbringing. What could you possibly be bothered about?"

My hum of approval as he shifted and folded his arms around was met with one from him. The rumble tickled my cheek and made me smile as I melted into his embrace.

"What would you think if I told you I was an actor. Not on the screen but on the stage?"

"Like Broadway? You're an actor on Broadway?"

"I am, though I don't go by Edward Cullen. My stage name is Tony Masen."

"Tony Masen?" The reality of what he was saying began to sink in. I knew the name, and the plays accredited to the actor but I could never remember seeing his face out of make up. My mother, being the fan of stage plays that she was, had a hoard of magazines in our attic that dated back the last ten years. "Tony Masen of West Side Story fame? That Tony Masen?" I kept my words hushed and spoken directly into his ear as his head was bent toward me.

"The very one. Now what do you think of me? I think your nuns would call me a heathen."

My indelicate snort was just loud enough for him to hear and followed by my traitor blush.

"They're not "my nuns" and I hardly think being an actor equates to being a heathen." Pulling back so that I could see his face I smiled brightly. "I think it sounds exciting and amazing, actually."

"If you knew what it was really like I doubt you'd feel that way but I appreciate that you aren't going to think poorly of me for it. Now, the band is moving back to the stage, are you ready to dance with me?"

"I'll do my best but no laughing with I look like an idiot."

As soon as I'd finished my disparaging statement, the band started playing. There were no opening chords before the singing began and it was haunting.

These arms of mine,

They are lonely, lonely and feeling blue

These arms of mine

They are yearning, yearning from wanting you

Immediately Edward pulled me close, his hands on my hips while we began to sway to and fro to the beat. When the beat changed, became more desperate, his hands slowly slid up my sides, holding me so that his large hands were firm against my shoulder blades as he leaned into me and forced me to bend backward with a grace I didn't know I had.

And if you would let them hold you

Oh, how grateful I will be

These arms of mine

They are burning, burning from wanting you

These arms of mine

They are wanting, wanting to hold you

My upper body, bent back slightly moved in a slow circle, and each time I straightened he would bend me back again. I could feel the muscles under my hands shift and tense as he helped me feel the beat and move. This was the heaven I'd only ever witnessed. This was sex, and freedom, and euphoria.

The feel of his leg sliding between mine while he moved his hips to the sensuous beat was a distraction I couldn't pull from. I fought with all I had not to jerk forward and snap my legs closed out of some deep-seated need for propriety. I focused on the music, letting the beat get under my skin. With all our lessons it was now like second nature to follow his lead and mimic the movements I'd seen him do with the other girls.

Straightening in time with another slight tempo change I moved my hands to his shoulders just as he moved his hands slowly down to my waist. Our legs, laced together the way hands might be when being held, bent and our hips circled. He repeated this move two more times, each time hitting a spot below my waist that sent tendrils of electricity straight through me. Just as we straightened after the last dip of our knees he began turning us in soft circles, his mouth descending to my neck to rain moist kisses on the heated skin. So entranced by his soft lips was I that I missed his move to take one of my hands in his before he stopped turning us only to dip me low when a grinding beat began that set my entire body aflame. He held me by one hand, my long hair skimming the dirty dance floor. I could feel him move his hips against me and came back up more flushed and panting than I had a right to be.

While we continued our erotic dance I took time to really listen to the words of the song. The melody was so overwhelmingly wrought with desperation that I needed to know what could drive a man to sing like that. The singers voice pleaded with his unseen lover to let him hold her, love her, feel her body and lips against his. It was, in the words of Alice, sinful.

And if you would let them hold you

Oh, how grateful I will be

Come on, come on baby

Just be my little woman, just be my lover, oh

I need me somebody, somebody to treat me right, oh

I need your woman's loving arms to hold me tight

And I...I...I need...I need your...I need your tender lips

The song closed with more desperate pleas just as Edward pulled me in as close as he could and bent us both low, kissing me passionately. I was so dazed and heated that I didn't register the shocked stare of the bane of my existence when I was pulled back up.

Michael Newton.

Fork's Golden Boy.

Quarterback on my father's team.

And he was staring at me with fire in his eyes. His eyes shot to Edward's back and he took a step toward us before I narrowed my eyes and shook my head slightly.

"Edward, I really need to go. One of my father's players is here and it looks like he's ready to run off and tell him what I've been doing. I need to talk to him, all right?"

Edward's head turned to look in the direction I was staring and shook his head.

"I'll go with you. I don't trust anyone that would look at you like that."

\TAoM/

Twenty minutes, a heated argument, and one sloppily thrown punch later I stood in the hall of the police station being berated by my pajama-clad father.

"How dare you sneak out, Isabella. Your mother and I give you everything. What would make you think…"

And so it went for another twenty minutes. I was a bad child. I was irresponsible and my actions were disgraceful. I was also grounded for life.

Though Edward didn't attack Michael or even retaliate, he'd been brought in for questioning. He was the lone stranger in town so of course they'd throw their weight around to make sure he understood that the precious daughter of the town's amazing coach was absolutely off-limits.

Of course, Mike wasn't reprimanded at all. He was merely protecting my honor. More like staking his claim.

My eyes caught Edward's as he was escorted out of the station and I smiled sadly. I'd likely never see him again. The thought brought a rush of tears to my eyes, which my father misinterpreted as me feeling badly for all my wrongs.

As the following week melted into the next I could be found pacing my room restlessly. My father had actually nailed my window shut to keep me from trying to sneak out again. He and my mother had become ruthless in their ploy to keep me chaste and proper. I was allowed only supervised visits with Alice and the only freedom I had was my daily visit to the library. Little did they know that I still met up with Edward every day in the hallowed stacks. We had to be careful and stay out of the way but it gave us time to plan. I was eighteen and practically crawling out of my skin in my structured, "perfect" life. I wanted to see things, experience new sights and sounds, while my parents invited the same boy that assaulted the man I had come to love over for dinner three nights out of the week. I played the part of the good hostess but never sat by or touched Mike. I avoided being in a room alone with him or even on the same side of the room hoping my parents would understand my dislike for him but they didn't and the dinners continued. Each time my father would leave us to ourselves in the living room for more time and each time I would move just to stay as far from Newton as possible. It was tiring.

Another two weeks passed before Edward mentioned that he would be leaving soon. He'd been away long enough and his life wouldn't be made easier by a longer absence. He needed to take control, he said and in the same breath asked me to come with him.

"You…I…what? Come with you? As in, run away with you?"

"Well, yes. I don't think your father would allow me your hand given what we both know he thinks of me." Regardless of his shrug, I knew my father's feelings for him cut deeply. No matter what I tried to tell him, my father firmly believed that Edward was bad news and would never amount to anything good.

"You're miserable here, Bella. You've said that you want to see the world and I can give you that." Soft fingers laced with mine and squeezed. "If you'd rather wait to graduate I'll understand but know that I'll be here the very next morning to collect you. I…I can't imagine my life without you in it. I'm just selfish enough to not want to, either. Please think about it?"

"You really feel that way?"

"I do. I have for a while now. If I didn't think it would scare you away I'd tell you that I've loved you from the moment our eyes first met."

All the air left my body in an audible whoosh as his words registered. He loved me. ME. Plain ol' Bella Swan, was loved by an amazing and wonderful man.

"I love you too, Edward. I'm just not sure that I can run away with you. It would kill my parents. Would you really wait for me to graduate? There are so many things that could happen between now and then. You've already said you can't stay here any longer."

"There will be no one else, Bella. I'll be faithful to you. I'll write, even though I doubt your parents will give you my letters, and the morning after you graduate, at eight a.m. sharp I'll be waiting at the end of your drive. You won't even have to pack anything. We'll just go on a shopping spree when we make it back to New York."

He painted a lovely picture. Could I really make a life with a boy I'd only known a few months?

"Promise you won't forget, Edward. My heart would never recover."

"I will be here to take you with me in May, Isabella Swan. I solemnly promise to be faithful to you while we're apart."

\TAoM/

After more discussion and a lengthy make out session we vowed to be together at the end of my final year in high school. I convinced him to mail the letters to Alice under a pseudonym, knowing she would deliver them to me.

The day he left was the darkest of all my eighteen years. I cried for hours in my room, feeling alone and empty. While my grades stayed high I rarely went anywhere and refused to attend any dinner that Michael Newton was invited to. Hunger had no comparison to my broken heart.

A week and a half after he'd fled Forks, Edward's first letter arrived. He'd made it back and moved out of his parent's home to settle into a small apartment of his own. He'd hired a new manager and was once again studying for a part in what was to be the next big Broadway musical hit. From then on I received a letter a week and returned them just as fast.

The day of my graduation dawned bright and warm but the anticipation was only beginning. I knew I'd have a large dinner with family and friends and my parents both believed I would be working on a few correspondence classes over the summer while I looked for a job in nearby Pawnee. Only Alice and I knew what my real plans were and I could only hope that one day my parents would forgive me.

Excusing myself early in the evening, well after the last guest had gone, I gathered the few things I knew I would want to have with me. I placed photos of my parents and Alice in a large bag, while a riot of butterflies beat their wings against the inside of my stomach. To that I added my rosary, two changes of clothes, the little bit of jewelry I owned, and Edward's letters.

My heart was a mass of confusion as one minute I felt elated and excited only to feel sad the next. Leaving behind the only life I'd ever known was equal parts difficult and easy. Sitting heavily at my small study desk I began writing a letter to my parents. I doubted that it would lessen their anger with me but certain things had to be said and I knew I was too big a coward to tell them in person.

Dearest Mother and Father,

By the time you read this I'll be far away. Please know that my leaving has nothing to do with you. I know you love me and have worked hard to instill goodness within me. I hope you know I love you too.

I am moving to New York to be with Edward, the boy Michael Newton assaulted so many months ago. We're in love. We've been in love since before that fateful night at the Playmart and I know we'll be happy together. He's not who you think he is, Father. He's good and kind. He'll make a wonderful husband and father one day. I hope you'll give him a chance once your anger lessens. I know he'd like you both to be a part of our lives.

I'll contact you via letter the moment we make it safely to New York but I won't expect a return letter. Please know that you've raised me well and I promise that I'll make something of myself. I won't let you down anymore than I know I already have.

I love you both with all my heart.

Your daughter,

Bella

Tears were flowing freely by the time I put down my pen. Knowing that my parents would feel betrayed and angry with me might have stopped my behavior in the past but being with Edward was what I needed, wanted, and would give up my old life to have.

Those thoughts swam in my head as I laid it down on my pillow. Sleep eluded me for several hours, my heart giving in to the fear that he wouldn't be waiting outside for me in the morning. My body and mind finally gave up out of sheer exhaustion only to be jolted awake by my muffled alarm clock. I had to put it under my pillow to keep it from waking my parents. I would be leaving under the cloak of the very early morning. Sneaking off like the coward I'd become.

I took my time in making my bed and straightening my room. The letter I'd written was placed on my pillow in the hopes my parents would find it easily.

Gathering my things and quickly washing my face before changing I snuck to the bathroom and then back to my room to grab the only possessions I packed. I had to avoid the third stair from the bottom as it squeaked loudly, something I'm certain my father actually did to make it impossible to sneak around. The minute my hand touched the knob of the front door I choked on a sob. Turning my head back I took in my home and promised myself to never forget the love and happiness I'd known here. Smothered as I had always felt, it was still home and my parents had done all they could to raise me right.

Before fear could stay my course I opened the door to see Edward waiting, just as he had promised. Without any more thought I walked straight into his arms. The moment they folded around me I felt the love, the passion, the safety within his embrace. I knew in that moment I would never let go. I would be his lover, his friend, his everything. Leaving with him would be my salvation.