Happy Trails and Hard Trials

This is the first fiction i've posted. It's just for fun, so the angst should never be unbearable, i can't read heavy angst...so i'll be far too much of a pussy to write it :)

Dislclaimer - I own nothing, it's all Stephenie...well except the nightclub in the story and a bunch of debts in RL :)

The nightclub was crammed with the Friday night crowd. Mostly office workers, letting their hair down after a long week of...well, whatever the hell it is they do all day, I thought sulkily. I had every right to sulk. So far my night had consisted of dodging one handsy drunk after another; having not one but two drinks spilled over me: and now...being the only sober person at the table, I'd been elected to fetch the drinks. Thanks Alice.

My roommate Alice had thrust a handful of crumpled notes into my hand, with a slurred request to 'get drinks for everyone, whatever they want.' And then planting a soggy kiss on my forehead, she'd vanished onto the dance floor, her spiky black hair bouncing behind her.

I didn't know what everyone wanted; because there was no way in hell I was asking them. My ability to speak drunkenese was impaired by the fact some of us had to work till 9 o clock on a Friday, and couldn't just drop everything and start drinking at 4. Anyway, I didn't want to interrupt the pairing off process, which was well underway. It was disgusting to watch them all pawing at each other.

I quickly counted.

There were about 10 people in Alice's group. So I was going to the bar once, and they were getting 10 vodkas and 10 random bottles of beer...and they could fight it out for themselves. Chances were good that none of them knew what they were drinking by now anyway.

I knew agreeing to come here straight after work was a mistake. I was tired, grouchy and my feet were aching. Just to make me feel even more out of place, while surrounded by glamorous girls in tiny dresses, I was wearing my oldest faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I kept both in my locker at work for slouching home in, not going to nightclubs.

But Alice had sounded crestfallen when I told her I was working late in the ER, and made me take the phone call equivalent of a blood oath that I would make it to the bar in time to have at least one celebratory drink with her.

Alice had been promoted, as anyone in Seattle with the ability to hear could testify. She had squealed down the phone, while I held it as far away from my ear as possible, and listed all the things she was going to buy first thing tomorrow. I couldn't picture the 63 inch TV in our tiny apartment, and I didn't think we needed the chocolate fountain. But I decided not to worry about it now, with the hangover she was going to have it was clear Alice was going nowhere first thing tomorrow, and probably nowhere in the afternoon. Well the pay rise must have been impressive, if the way she was throwing money around tonight was any indication. Filing this information away for future reference in times of dire financial need, I made my way to the bar.

I stood and waited...and waited...while the bartender closest to me served people to my left and right. People... meaning women with long blonde hair and batting eyelashes. He obviously had a type, and it wasn't a short grouchy brunette.

I followed his movements with what I hoped was a 'serve this woman now or she'll drag you over this bar and beat the shit out of you' stare, without getting any acknowledgement. He just continued to take his time and flirt outrageously.

Just as I was about to climb over the bar and serve myself, I felt a hand tentatively touch my shoulder. Glaring sideways I noted a man's hand, yes it was definitely the hand of a man. I closed my eyes and tried to count to 10, I really tried. But I'd been getting more and more infuriated all night, and this was just the last straw. I only got a far as 3 before I shrugged out from under his hand and rounded on him.

'Get your fucking hands off me you assh...'.

The furious temper tantrum I was about to unleash on the latest drunk to grope me, stopped dead in its tracks, and scurried back to wherever it went between outbursts.

The man standing behind me in the dark blue shirt was clearly as sober as I was, and I was already mentally giving him high marks for that, someone other than me should be sober in this place for god sake.

He was also unbelievably good-looking.

His feline eyes and chaotic brown hair were the most noticeable things about him. But his faint smile, which I briefly managed to glimpse before it slipped from his face, was breathtaking.

He wasn't smiling now though. Damn me and my stupid temper. He stepped back slightly and held his hands up obviously trying to placate me.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you' he apologised, eyeing me warily. 'You just appeared to have been waiting at the bar for some time, and I wondered if you needed any assistance?'

'Oh' I said lamely. He spoke so formally and politely, and I immediately felt even worse about my outburst.

'Um...yes...great...that would be...thanks' I stuttered. Unsure how he imagined he was going to be able to help. He wasn't a blonde with a nice rack after all. Well he was tall, so he'd be harder to ignore.

While trying to thaw out my sudden brain freeze, and say something semi-intelligent, I squeezed over to make room for him. He slipped in beside me and leant against the bar. This did nothing to help me recover my faculties. As surreptitiously as possible I glanced up at him from the corner of my eye, he was just as gorgeous from that angle.

God, I was such a hypocrite, hadn't I just been mocking every other person in the room for being a slave to their hormones. And now here I was ogling a randomly hot guy at the bar, as though I was in the middle of the mother of all sexual dry spells and he was an oasis of orgasms.

As I watched he narrowed his eyes at the bartender, who was obliviously flirting with another blonde.

'Demetri' he barked.

Oh, he must be a regular here if he knows the employees by name, I thought speculatively. I had enough time to wonder how often Alice drank here, and how suspicious it would look if I suddenly began hanging out with her and her co-workers every Friday. I hated nightclubs passionately, but maybe I could suffer a few times, if I had the right incentive. Before I could refine my plan, Demetri was standing in front of us. None of his previous swagger was discernable.

Sheepishly, in a soft English accent he asked. 'Is there a problem Sir?'

'Serve this woman right now!' the tall man to my right ordered curtly, jabbing a finger at Demetri. 'You serve the customers in the order in which they are waiting, is that clear'.

'Yes. Sorry Mr Cullen!'

The whole exchange was getting very strange, and I knew I was definitely missing something, but at least I had a surname now.

'I'll be in the here in the office for the rest of the night, come and get me if there are any problems!' He snapped at Demetri, turning to leave. He paused and glanced down at me and seemed to consider saying something else, but after a moment he simply gave a stiff nod, he strode off. Strange.

When he was gone I turned back to Demetri who breathed a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed.

'Sorry about that.' he shrugged apologetically. 'That's the boss. Anyway what can I get you?' he crossed his arms and grinned impishly.

The boss? A nightclub owner? Well, scratch that plan. We were definitely going to have nothing in common. Damn.

'Um...10 beers and 10 vodka's please.'

Demetri cocked his head to the side and grinned.

'Am I going to have to take you to the emergency room later?'

Ok, I could see why he was such a hit with the ladies, with the cute grin and the accent, and despite myself I smiled in return 'No. None of this is for me; it's for my roommate's promotion party. I think they're too far ahead for me to play catch up.'

Demetri looked at me thoughtfully.

'I bet we could get you all caught up in no time!' he put a finger to his chin and pretended to be deep in thought.

I seriously doubted this guy ever had a deep thought in his life.

'Sit right there and don't move' he said sternly, pointing to a bar stool.

I watched him closely as he hopped from bottle to bottle, pouring from an alarming number of them. So when he finally put the large glass full of bright blue liquid in front of me, I had a good idea how much alcohol had gone into making it.

He stood with his arms folded, looking at it proudly...obviously waiting for some kind of enthusiastic response from me.

'Um...what is it called?' I asked.

'I don't fucking know do I? I just made it up.' He grinned up at me. 'What's your name?'

'Um...it's Bella Swan.' Immediately wondering if it was a good idea to give your full name to a stranger in a bar.

'Bella...beautiful name, I've never seen you here before, we mostly get regulars. Are you with the guys over there?' he asked nodding towards Alice's group.

'Yes...but I don't know them, they work with a friend of mine.'

'So your boyfriend's not over there?'

'Um...no...there is no boyfriend.'

'That's good to know.' Demetri winked. 'Where do you work then?'

'In a hospital' I answered apologetically, looking into my drink and stirring it with a straw, knowing what was coming next.

'Really? Let me guess then, are you a doctor or a nurse?' he considered briefly. 'I'll say doctor, you look smart and tired.'

I looked again at the huge drink in front of me and then back at Demetri.

'I'm an alcohol misuse counsellor'

'Fuck. .' Demetri said gravely. 'Well no wonder you're single.'

Then he leaned over and whispered. 'Take a night off Bella...I won't tell anyone.'

With a wink he went back to work. Well if flirting and flexing well toned guns and pocketing phone numbers counts as working.

As I began to pile drinks onto a tray, I glanced around.

No sign of Mr Cullen Nightclub boss.

Thanks for reading xx