Riding The Rails - Chapter 3

Peeking out from under the covers.  Is anyone still here?  I hope that everyone enjoyed the first chapter.  I came up with this story while I was headed into downtown Chicago.  One of the conductors was kinda cute!

Thanks much to my two Beta’s Shiloh Wallace and Jasper’s Destiny.  They really cleaned up my mess.

And special thanks to Caz for pre-reading and giving me suggestions when I get a stuck.

Riding The Rails

SM owns Twilight and Characters.  I’m just taking them for a ride.

Song references: 

Elegantly Wasted by INXS

All Summer Long by Kid Rock

So Hott by Kid Rock

Chapter 2

Special Day

Bella set off to run errands in preparation of Emmett’s birthday celebration. Em, as she preferred to call him, was her big brother. Actually, big was an accurate description of him, since he was 6’2” and wide, like a football player. He had brown hair, just like her, and had blue eyes, where hers were chocolate brown, like their father Charlie’s. Their dad was always joking that Emmett was the milk man’s kid.

Em was turning thirty today, so Bella wanted to make the celebration special. The plan was to have for a nice dinner together at home with Em’s girlfriend, Rosalie, and her brother, Jasper—both of whom had become quite special to Bella. As much as Em and Rose might have enjoyed Jasper and Bella hooking up in a serious way, there was no interest between the two in pursuing anything long-term together. Not that they didn’t have fun together. Occasionally, there were times when they would find themselves in bed together but without the romance—just a need to enjoy each other. 

Bella was positive that Em would love the lasagna she’d made for dinner. She had never heard him complain about food, except that there wasn’t enough. She completed her other plans for their evening out, sure that this whole thing would be an adventure that Em would remember for a long time.

After she’d assembled the lasagna and wrapped his presents, she realized she had time for a quick run. Quickly changing into her running clothes, she grabbed her cell phone, sunglasses, and iPod, and then threw her hair up into a long ponytail. She was out the door in less than ten minutes, headed for the neighborhood track.

After a three mile run, she decided to walk the last mile to cool down. As she walked with her head down, thinking about the evening to come, she subconsciously adjusted her cell phone on her hip. Engrossed in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the approaching runner until a strange sense of awareness—an awareness she’d felt once before—alerted her to the presence. She looked up and was met with deep green eyes and a mop of unruly dark bronze hair. Her breath caught in her throat and she stilled, nodding at the runner as he passed by. As she came to the end of her walk, her phone rang and she headed over to one of the benches nearby, all thoughts of the bronze haired god partially forgotten.

“Hey, handsome, happy birthday! Are you ready for your big night tonight? You know, you are turning three decades old!” she said, answering the phone. She made sure that everything was still on schedule for Emmett’s celebration and fielded a few questions from him in regards to exactly what they’d be doing.

“You better hustle—” she said before being interrupted by someone passing by.

“Excuse me. Are you talking to me?” She looked up at the sound of the voice, but the sun was behind the person in front of her and she was momentarily blinded. She shook her head no, gesturing to the cell phone in her hand and the Bluetooth in her ear, with a smile.

“Oh, sorry,” she heard him say as she continued talking to her brother.

After a few more minutes, she finished up her phone call and then stood and stretched before turning to put her foot on the bench to re-tie her shoelace. When she straightened, she looked up and saw a marble chest, free of a shirt, glistening with sweat. Her eyes followed the line of his sternum up to his face and realized it was the jogger she had passed earlier. She sucked in a large breath, and he cocked an eyebrow at her, obviously catching her ogling him. Bella smirked, shrugged her shoulders, and then casually sauntered away. 

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=

“Fine, Alice, I’m leaving already. Jeez! It’s my house—why are you pushing me out?” Edward complained. 

“I just want you to get back into your exercise routine, Edward. I have a feeling that if you don’t go today, you’re going to have a setback,” she answered.

“Fine, fine, fine,” he finally agreed. After all, he really had missed jogging.

As he came up on his third mile, he saw a woman walking toward him. He was struck by a feeling of familiarity but knew that he’d never seen this person on this track before. He noticed the way she adjusted the phone holder on her hip and had a moment of déjà vu. As she looked up at him, all he could see was a reflection of himself in her sunglasses. He nodded as he passed by and continued on.

Finishing his fourth mile, he slowly jogged over to where a couple of guys were playing ball. When he approached them, he saw the same woman from earlier sitting on one of the nearby benches. “You better hustle, handsome,” she said. Thinking that she was talking to him, he stopped.

“Excuse me. Are you talking to me?” Seeing by her gesture that she was on the phone, he added, “Oh, sorry.”

Just then, one of the guys playing ball yelled out to him. “Hey, Masen, want to play a pick-up game?” 

After a few minutes of playing ball, he stopped and stripped out of his wife beater. As he turned to the bench to put his shirt down, he saw the woman stand and arch her back while stretching. The movement pushed her breasts forward, and the sight caused Edward’s imagination to go into overdrive. His cock swelled in the confines of his running shorts as he continued to watch her. He was assaulted with yet another wave of lust as she turned, put a foot on the bench, and bent to tie her shoelace. He was now afforded a more than pleasing view of her ample cleavage, which was glistening with sweat from her earlier run. At that moment, she looked up and slowly raked her eyes up his bare torso to meet his own lust-filled stare. A small sound, almost like a moan, came from her throat. He cocked an eyebrow at her and was surprised when she smirked, shrugged her shoulders, and walked away—again leaving him with a feeling of déjà vu.

“Hey, Masen, you okay?” he heard Sam ask. 

“Oh, man, he’s under the spell,” Paul chimed in. Edward turned to look at his friends. 

“What the fuck are you talking about? What spell?” 

“Seriously,” Paul replied. “Bella’s hooked you in. I’ve never seen it happen that fast.”

“You guys are full of shit,” Edward snapped. “I don’t even know her.” 

“Oh, yeah? Then why are you drooling and fisting that shirt of yours?” Paul asked. Edward turned angrily toward him, and Paul threw his hands up in the air in surrender. “Okay, man, sorry! Hey, are you still joining us tonight?”

Edward remembered that they’d invited him out for drinks that night. “What’s that place called again?”

“The Depot. It’s a club in town near the station, about a block away,” Sam said as he walked over.

Edward thought for a moment. “I’ve never seen it.”

Paul sighed and rolled his eyes. “Of course you’ve seen it—just not when it’s open. Man, you go to work at the butt crack of dawn. What time do you get home? Three o’clock?” 

“No. I get home at five thirty most days. So why haven’t I noticed this place?” 

“Because it opens at seven, and you’ve probably never gone back by the station after you get home,” Sam answered.

“Okay, I’ll come. Mind if I bring someone along?” 

“As long as they don’t cramp our style,” Paul replied. “Don’t want to be the fifth wheel, huh?”

Edward shook his head. “It’s my cousin, you fuckwad. She’s staying with me until she finds a place to live. She’s moving here from upstate.” 

“Cousin, huh?” Paul piped up. “Is she pretty? Single? Hot?” Edward glared at him in response.

“Stay away from her. I know how you are!” he warned. 

“Okay, okay, relax man! Meet us there at seven thirty. The place doesn’t start going until around eight, but we want to get a good table for the show,” Paul said.

“Show?” Edward exclaimed. “Is this a strip club? I can’t take Alice there.”

“Nah, man,” Sam answered. “Not a strip club. The place has a dance floor, and there’s some nice…um, women there.” Paul snickered in the background. “Anyway, meet us at seven thirty. I’m sure you’re going to like it.” Paul and Sam exchanged a knowing look. 

Edward glanced between the two, wondering about the looks on their faces. “Fine, we’ll be there.”

=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/=

At seven thirty, Edward and an overly excited Alice pulled up to the address he had been given for the club. It was an old converted train car repair depot.

As they entered the club, they noticed a definite “train” theme. The outer edges of the club were done up in such a way to give the appearance of a Club Car, for those who wanted to sit back, relax, and dine. 

The walls were decorated with railroad crossing signs and signal lights.

The club was filled with high tables and stools surrounding a dance floor.

“Really, Edward, I wish you would have worn the shirt I laid out for you,” Alice admonished him as they approached the club. 

“Alice, I’m thirty years old. I don’t need you to pick out my clothes for me. Besides, what’s wrong with what I have on?” Edward was dressed in black fitted button flies and a forest green, long sleeve t shirt under a dark brown leather jacket. He thought he looked quite good in the outfit.

“Nothing, just…” she started with a sigh. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll buy you a new Barbie that you can dress up, okay?” With that came a resounding smack to his chest. “Ow, shit! For a little pixie, you sure can hit. Come on, let’s find

Sam and Paul.”

Edward and Alice found Sam and Paul at a tall four-top table next to the dance floor. As Edward made the introductions, the waitress came over to take their drink orders. Alice ordered a margarita—made “her” way, of course—and Edward ordered a Corona and a shot of Patrón Silver. No training wheels for me. They all settled in, talking and getting to know each other more.

=/=/=/=/=/=/=

At six thirty, Bella was practically ready to jump out of her skin. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were supposed to be here by now. The limo was arriving at eight, which gave them a little over an hour to eat and open presents. She knew that wouldn’t be enough time for Emmett—he could eat for hours. Right then, the bell rang and the door opened. 

“Yo, sis, why the hell isn’t dinner ready?” 

“Fuck you, Emmett! You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.”  

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “But, um, Rose had to give me my birthday present. Never want to pass that up.” 

“Seriously? That is so gross. No more, okay?” 

“Dude,” Jasper piped in. “That’s my sister you’re talking about!” 

“Yeah, whatever,” Emmett casually dismissed their protests. All of a sudden, there was a resounding slapping noise. 

“Emmett! Shut up, you big clod! You are so uncouth….” Rosalie chastised as she smacked him again soundly across the back of his head.

“Hey, Sweet Lips, I can’t help it if you’re my all. I tell it like it is.”

At that comment, both Jasper and Bella moaned and made gagging noises.

“Okay, let’s eat before I lose my appetite. We only have an hour before we have to leave. No more!” Bella ordered. 

“Really, sis, where are we going, huh? What are we doing?” 

“I’m not telling, so shut up and eat. Now! You’re going to need it.”

=/=/=/=/=/=/=

At around eight fifteen, Bella and her group walked into The Depot and headed over to their reserved table. Just as they were getting seated, Eric the DJ’s voice came through the speakers with a greeting.

“Hells Bells! It’s Bella and crew.”

Edward turned at the mention of her name and saw her and three other people taking a seat nearby. He immediately noticed that she was wearing a very short and tight sapphire blue dress. The neckline was just low enough to show the top swells of her breasts. That dress, coupled with the four-inch black heels she was wearing, caused a stirring in his crotch.  He noticed Bella’s group had the appearance of a double date. Hmph, he thought that must be the guy she was on the phone with. He wasn’t entirely sure why that bothered him, but it did. He also noted that the other guy was as huge as a fucking bear. He turned back to his friends when he heard a chuckling, only to be met by three sets of eyes staring at him.

“What?” he asked. 

“Seriously,” Sam said, “he’s not a bear.” 

Oh fuck, did I say that out loud? he thought. He looked over at Alice, who was smirking at him. Shit.

He took a drink from his beer and signaled the waitress for another round of drinks and shots. As she walked over, he noticed that her tray contained double what he’d ordered and then saw her stop by Bella’s table to deliver some of the drinks there before bringing the rest over to his table. Hmmm, she’s a Corona and Patrón drinker, too… Good to know, he thought to himself. Wait, what do I mean, ‘Good to know’? Why the fuck is that good?

He turned back to the conversation with his friends and Alice, just as he heard his cousin make a comment about renting a place.

“Wait, Alice… What do you mean by rent a place to live? You’re staying with me.” She looked at him and shook her head. “What?” he asked. “You don’t like living at my house?”

“Edward, staying with you is fine while I find a place of my own. But, seriously, how do you expect me to attract a man if they see me living with you?”   

“What the fuck? We’re cousins, Ali.”

“True, but not everyone knows that,” she responded.

“Okay, fine. Where is this place? Hopefully not on the North Side, or else I’ll never see you!” he whined. 

“No, it’s not on the North Side. It’s actually here in Elburn. There’s a woman who owns a duplex and has the other side of it for rent. I’m meeting with her next week to check into it. It’s not far from us now,” she answered.

“Do you know anything about this woman? She’s not some old lady with a million cats, is she— worse yet, dogs? You know I’m allergic to animal fur. I’d never be able to visit you.”

“No, Edward, she’s not old, and there are no cats or dogs that I know of. The agent I’m working with said she’s about twenty-five. And, no, before you ask, I don’t know her name yet. The agent won’t give me that information until I meet with her.” Alice knew he was going to want to know everything about this prospective landlord of hers. He’d always been very protective of her.

After a few minutes, Alice asked Edward if he wanted to switch seats with her. He gave her a confused look. “Why do you ask that?”

“Well,” she replied, “you’re beginning to look like some horror movie character with your head turned around the way it’s been. Plus, I figure you can just sit here and see her more clearly.” 

“Ha, ha…” he replied, but then after a moment added, “Sure.” He got up and practically lifted her out of her chair before placing her in the one he’d just vacated.

From this new vantage point, he was able to observe Bella and her companions more discreetly. He noted quite a few times the strong feeling of déjà vu he got while watching her. It still puzzled him, as he’d always considered himself to have a great memory.

He couldn’t help but watch with fascination as she licked salt away from the base of her thumb and the way her mouth looked when she put the neck of the bottle to her lips for a drink. He was surprised when he registered a low moan and realized that it was coming from him. He chanced a side glance at Alice, who was regarding him with a determined look. “What?” he asked. She said nothing—just shook her head and turned back to answer a question Sam had asked.

“Uh oh,” he heard Paul say.

Paul nodded over at Bella’s table as a blonde guy walked up holding two bottles of beer.

“Shit! The dumb ass never learns, does he?” Sam remarked. Curious about their comments, Edward shot Sam a questioning glance. “That’s Mike Newton, and every week he tries to buy Bella a drink. She’s never accepted one, though, and he is always summarily dismissed. This has been going on for the last couple of years.”

“She won’t take the beer?” Edward asked. “Why?”

Paul and Sam both said that they hadn’t heard why, but that she was adamant about it.

Edward watched as Bella told the blonde, Mike, thanks but no thanks, but the idiot went ahead and set the beer down in front of her anyway. She shook her head, and just as the waitress approached with another round of drinks for their table, she took the bottle he brought her and put it on the tray for the waitress to take away. Mike made some comment and walked away with a scowl on his face.

Paul made a remark that it was akin to watching re-runs on T.V. “One of these days, he’ll learn,” he said. 

Sam just laughed. “Don’t fucking count on it!”

About fifteen minutes later, the lights went out and a spotlight illuminated Bella’s table. The DJ shut off the music and asked everyone to turn their attention to the table as a very buxom, scantily clad, red head walked out of the kitchen, pushing a cart with what looked like a huge cake on it. After she reached the table, she lit the candles and placed the cart in front of the huge guy.

 

“Ladies and gents,” Eric said over the mic, “please help us in wishing a happy thirtieth birthday to Big Emmett.”

“Oh, shit!” Sam said. “She didn’t, did she?” 

“Fuck, yeah, she did. She got him back!” Paul replied. Edward turned to them with a confused look on his face. “Last year, when Bella turned twenty-five, Emmett hired a male stripper to deliver roses to her here. At first, she thought it was a standard delivery, and she was going to refuse them, since she hates having her birthday celebrated, but then the guy ripped his top off. Boy, you should have seen the…um, action here that night.” 

“Yeah,” Sam said, “she was definitely showing it that night, wasn’t she?” 

Edward glanced over at Bella, then looked back with a glare at his friends for their comments. Why? He had no idea. What she does—or did—was of no consequence to him.

When he looked back over to her table, he saw the redhead standing in front of Emmett, singing happy birthday Marilyn Monroe-style. She started getting closer to him, seductively touching his legs, and then made her way to his forearms, up to his biceps, and then to his shoulders.

Edward turned to Sam. “Um, is that blonde woman he’s with just going to sit there and do nothing?” What kind of women are they? he wondered. 

“Nah, she’s fine. Rose knows Emmett won’t do anything. She’d have his balls if he even so much as thought about it,” Sam answered.

The music changed to a slow sensual strip-type song, and the redhead began grinding into Emmett, going down to the floor and back up again. She took off the jacket she was wearing and put it on the table next to her. Then, just as she was about to pull her pants down, Eric came over the mic, reminding her where she was. After that announcement, a loud groan went through the room—by the guys, of course. The ladies applauded appreciatively in response. Edward watched Bella’s reaction to the stripper—she didn’t seem the least bit phased by her actions. It was almost like she was used to the situation; making him wonder exactly what type of woman she was.

He watched as Bella started cutting and plating pieces of birthday cake. “I want some of that cake,” he said out loud.

 

Alice looked over at him and reminded him that he doesn’t even like cake.

“I do now,” he replied. 

He watched as the blonde guy took a forkful of cake and tried to feed it to Bella, but she turned her head away at the last minute and ended up with frosting on the side of her mouth. He swallowed hard, watching her little pink tongue peek out and slowly lick it away, which elicited a low moan from deep within his chest. He jumped as he felt a cold, wet sensation on his leg and looked down at his lap and then over to his cousin, who had a sheepish look on her face.

“Seriously, Al? You spilled your drink on me!” he exclaimed. 

“Sorry, Edward. It was only a little bit. Go into the bathroom and wash it off. That way you won’t be sticky.” He glared at her and made his way to the men’s room.

When he returned a few minutes later, there was a wedge of cake at each place on their table.

“Uh, where did this come from?” he asked. 

“Oh, it was dropped off while you were in the bathroom,” Alice replied. “Don’t’ worry, Edward, you’ll meet her soon.” He shook his head. “Besides, she wants to meet you.” He quickly turned his head toward her.

“How do you know that? Did she say something?” he asked. Jeez, I sound like a fucking fifteen year old virgin.

“No,” Alice replied. “But when the other woman brought over the cake, she only brought three slices, as there were only three of us sitting here, and Bella sent her back with another one. So, she had to have noticed you.” 

He took a bite of the cake and rolled his eyes back with a groan of satisfaction. 

“Good, isn’t it?” Alice asked. 

“It’s fantastic. Esme would love to know what bakery this came from.” 

“It didn’t come from a bakery, Edward. Bella made it. The woman who brought it over told me when I asked where the cake came from.”

After a few minutes, Eric started playing more upbeat music for dancing. Edward watched Bella swaying in her seat, as if she were dancing sitting down. The blonde asshole—Mike—approached again and asked her to dance, and once again he was rejected. Edward looked over to Sam. “No dancing?” he asked.

Sam laughed. “Only with certain people,” he replied.

“Yeah, certain people…like Jazz,” Paul said. 

“Oh, her boyfriend?” Edward asked. 

“Yeah, more like fuck buddy,” Sam replied. “Bella is real exclusive. We’ve never really seen her with anyone other than Jazz.” 

“Of course,” Paul offered, “we don’t know for sure that they are fuck buddies, only that every time they’re together, Bella is really calm for the next few days.”

Elegantly Wasted by INXS piped through the speakers as Bella and Jasper made their way onto the dance floor. Edward grabbed Alice’s hand and took her out on the floor.

“Seriously, Edward!” she exclaimed. 

“Shut up and dance, Ali!” He wanted to get closer to Bella. Unfortunately, that ended up not being the case. So, after the song ended, he and Alice returned to their seats. 

As Edward continued to watch, he noticed that the dance floor pretty much cleared, with the exception of Bella and Jasper, who continued to dance “swing style” as Kid Rock’s All Summer Long came through the speakers. Edward watched for a few moments and noticed that they danced together as if with years of experience. His eyes were drawn to her long legs and the way her short skirt hugged her ass—and the fact that she was able to move in four-inch heels so flawlessly. 

About that time, the song transitioned into another Kid Rock song.

Oh, fuck me… he thought as So Hott started blaring out of the speakers. Bella and Jasper began circling one another to the beat at the beginning of the song like they were stalking each other like predators. They then started dancing fluidly together. When the one verse that Edward had been waiting for to see their interaction came on, Bella’s back was pressed up against Jasper’s chest. His hands slunk down her sides to her hips, and she closed her eyes, raised her arms, and clasped her hands behind his head just as the verse, “I want to fuck you like I’m never gonna see you again!” came on. 

Edward continued to watch Jasper’s hands roam up and down her sides, and he almost growled. The third time that verse came on, Bella was staring directly into Edward’s eyes, and he felt like she was looking straight into his soul. He found himself thinking, Mine! He hoped that he hadn’t actually said it out loud. After the song was over, he watched Bella and Jasper exit the dance floor and head back to their table, and he noted that she had changed seats and was now facing him. 

They continued to watch each other across the room for a few minutes before Edward felt the need to go into the restroom for an…adjustment. When he returned, he saw that everyone at Bella’s table had left. He also noted that Sam and Paul looked like they were ready to leave as well.

“Where’d everyone go?” he asked. 

“Dude, what the fuck are we—chopped liver?,” Paul asked, “We’re still here. We didn’t go anywhere!”

“Sorry, it just seems like a lot of people left. I thought the place was closing.”

“Yeah,” Sam said, “it’s late, and Paul and I have an early start tomorrow, so we’re heading out. We’ll have to do this again sometime.”

“Yeah,” Edward answered. “Maybe next weekend. I like it here. It’s interesting.”

After Paul and Sam left, Alice turned to Edward. “Seriously, Edward? You come back out and act like you missed the grand finale of a show. Where’d everyone go?” she mimicked. 

“Well, where did they go?” he asked. 

“I’m not sure. Bella and her friends stopped by to say good night to Sam and Paul, and they said something about heading to another town close by for more clubbing. It’s late. We should probably head home as well”, Edward said with apparent disappointment in his voice. “Don’t worry Edward,” Alice consoled him, “I’m sure you’ll run into her again.”