h great," Bella said, suddenly looking very self-conscious; she had a feeling the others weren't going to like this.

"You're always curious," I complained. Oh well. It wasn't like I hadn't had to eat before. It was part of the charade. An unpleasant part.

I reached for the closest thing, and held her eyes while I bite off a small bite of whatever it was.

"I wasn't actually asking you to eat it," Bella rolled her eyes. "A verbal answer would have been enough."

Without looking, I couldn't tell. It was as slimy and chunky and repulsive as any other human food. I chewed swiftly and swallowed, trying to keep the grimace off my face. The gob of food moved slowly and uncomfortably down my throat.

I sighed as I thought of how I would have to choke it back up later. Disgusting.

"That is disgusting... and something that we didn't need to hear about," Jacob said.

Bella's expression was shocked. Impressed.

I wanted to roll my eyes. Of course we would have perfected such deceptions.

"If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?"

Her nose wrinkled and she smiled. "I did once...on a dare. It wasn't so bad."

Jacob laughed at that. "Why?"

"It was a dare," Bella said as if it was obviously, the all too common blush was coloring her checks again.

I laughed. "I suppose I'm not surprised."

They look cozy, don't they? Good body language. I'll give Bella my take later. He's leaning toward her just the way he should, if he's interested. He looks interested. He looks...perfect. Jessica sighed. Yum.

I met Jessica's curious eyes, and she looked away nervously, giggling to the girl next to her.

Hmmm. Probably better to stick to Mike. Reality, not fantasy...

"Yeah, you do that," Bella said.

"Jessica's analyzing everything I do," I informed Bella. "She'll break it down for you later."

I pushed the plate of food back towards her - pizza, I realized - wondering how best to begin. My former frustration flared as the words repeated in my head: More than he likes me. But I don't see how I can help that.

She took a bite from the same slice of pizza. It amazed me how trusting she was.

"Why? Is there something wrong with the pizza?" Bella wondered.

"I doubt it, he wouldn't give you anything that could have the slightest possibility of being dangerous," Jacob chuckled.

Of course, she didn't know I was poisonous - not that sharing food would hurt her. Still, I expected her to treat me differently. As something other. She never did - at least, not in a negative way...

I would start off gently.

"So the waitress was pretty, was she?"

She raised the eyebrow again. "You really didn't notice?"

As if any woman could hope to capture my attention from Bella. Absurd, again.

"If you don't say things like that to me, how am I supposed to know that's what you're thinking?" Bella muttered.

"No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind." Not the least of which had been the soft cling of her thin blouse...

Good thing she'd worn that ugly sweater today.

"Poor girl," Bella said, smiling.

She liked that I hadn't found the waitress interesting in any way. I could understand that. How many times had I imagined crippling Mike Newton in the biology room?

She couldn't honestly believe that her human feelings, the fruition of seventeen short mortal years, could be stronger than the immortal passions that had been building up in me for a century.

Bella grimaced, when he said it like that it made sense and yet it hurt that he couldn't perceive how much she liked him.

"Something you said to Jessica..." I couldn't keep my voice casual. "Well, it bothers me."

She was immediately on the defensive. "I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like. You know what they say about eavesdroppers."

Eavesdroppers never hear good of themselves, that was the saying.

"I warned you I would be listening," I reminded her.

"And I warned you that you didn't want to know everything I was thinking."

Ah, she was thinking of when I'd made her cry. Remorse made my voice thicker.

"You did. You aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking - everything. I just wish...that you wouldn't be thinking some things."

"Um... he's being confusing again," Jacob said.

More half-lies. I knew I shouldn't want her to care about me. But I did. Of course I did.

"That's quite a distinction," she grumbled, scowling at me.

"But that's not really the point at the moment."

"Then what is?"

She leaned toward me, her hand cupped lightly around her throat. It drew my eye - distracted me. How soft that skin must feel...

Focus, I commanded myself.

"Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" I asked. The question sounded ridiculous to me, like the words were scrambled.

Her eyes were wide, her breathing stopped. Then she looked away, blinking quickly. Her breath came in a low gasp.

"You're doing it again," she murmured.

"What?"

"Dazzling me," she admitted, meeting my eyes warily.

"What did he do to dazzle you?" Jacob asked and Bella shrugged... how could she know?

"Oh." Hmm. I wasn't quite sure what to do about that. Nor was I sure that I didn't want to dazzle her. I was still thrilled that I could. But it wasn't helping the progression of the conversation.

"It's not your fault." She sighed. "You can't help it."

"Are you going to answer my question?" I demanded.

She stared at the table. "Yes."

That was all she said.

"Yes, you are going to answer, or yes, you really think that?" I asked impatiently.

More chuckling from Jacob and this time Bella joined him.

"Yes, I really think that," she said without looking up. There was a faint undertone of sadness in her voice. She blushed again, and her teeth moved unconsciously to worry her lip.

Abruptly, I realized that this was very hard for her to admit, because she truly believed it. And I was no better than that coward, Mike, asking for her to confirm her feelings before I'd confirmed my own. It didn't matter that I felt I'd make my side abundantly clear. It hadn't gotten through to her, and so I had no excuse.