Thanks to tiffanyanne3FF and areao for the beta. Tkegl made the awesome banner.
Happy Valentine's Day!
KL
Long Way from Heaven
~ 2 ~
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Jasper embraces the crazy.
Fortunately, because he saved me from having to dress up. Unfortunately, because when we leave for the club half an hour later, I am flanked by two … well… shit. I have no clue what the fuck they are, but it's bad. I can't decide which is worse: Emmett's bulky muscles highlighted by pink-and-purple leopard print, or Jasper's lanky build encased in fluorescent green-and-blue zebra stripes. Both of them look really fucking awful.
Despite Emmett's claims to the contrary, I highly suspect that they're committing social suicide. But, no matter how hard I try, they won't listen to my warnings. Instead, they've both totally immersed themselves in the wacky "sexy dudes" personas. They're strutting around as if they're the best thing since sliced bread and talking in some mutated form of English that I can't even begin to understand.
In all honesty, I'm a bit embarrassed to be seen with them.
In contrast to their outlandish attire, I am the model of normality. Or quite possibly boring, which suits me just fine; tonight of all nights, I'd rather be left alone. Embracing my inner southern frat boy, I'm dressed in my usual khakis and gray pull-over. The persona will stretch to the dance floor, where I will pretend that I don't have any rhythm. That way, I can make my escape to the bar, which is the only place I have any desire to be tonight. Emmett will probably give me shit and call me a pussy. Even though I know he's absolutely right, I just can't bring myself to be excited about anything remotely related to Valentine's Day. Unless it involves excessive amounts of alcohol.
Luckily, the cover charge to this party includes two drink tickets, so as soon as we make it into the club, we head straight for the bar. We hand over a ticket and are given a bottle of domestic beer in return. I'd really prefer to be drinking hard liquor, but at this point, I'll just take what I can get.
I down the first bottle quickly and redeem my second drink ticket. My second bottle is empty before Emmett and Jasper are even half-way through their first.
"Whoa… Slow down there, Silver," Jasper warns in an overly-emphasized Texas drawl. "You'll be done before the rodeo's even begun at that rate."
I scowl at him. "I need to be medicated to make it through this evening. Alcohol is my drug of choice."
"It's not that bad, is it?" he asks.
"Dude," Emmett mock-whispers to Jasper. "Edward hates this day, remember. Cut him some slack."
Jasper nods conspiratorially in Emmett's direction, but he winks at me. My scowl deepens.
"It's not only the day, guys. I need to completely shit-faced before I'll be able to hang with you and not question my sanity. Or my sexuality."
Emmett barks out a laugh. "Whatever, dude. You just watch. We'll be the highlight of this party." He turns to Jasper. "Since we're embarrassing Edward so horribly, what say we give him some space."
They turn in their last drink tickets and head out to the dance floor. I'll admit that I'm kind of relieved when they leave. I take a seat at the bar and signal for another beer. After it comes, I sit back to enjoy my booze and do a little people-watching.
I'm half-way through the bottle when my gaze lands on a table where three women are standing. Two are dressed just as atrociously as Emmett and Jasper. The tall blonde is all in white, complete with halo and fully-feathered angel wings, while the short, dark-haired girl is dressed in red with horns. It's not too hard to figure out what they're supposed to be: angel and devil, or possibly heaven and hell. What makes the outfits so outrageous is that they look like something from the Victoria's Secret fashion show, little more than lingerie and sheer fabric. In contrast, their friend looks as prudish as a nun in her form-fitting red mini-dress. I can't see her face, but I'm struck with a vague sense of familiarity nonetheless.
After a few minutes, the music begins to pick up. I recognize the song that Emmett was singing earlier. A few "whoop's" come from the direction of the dance floor, and I turn away from the girls to look at my friends, who just happen to be the source of all the noise. They're dancing like male strippers, thrusting their pelvises and swinging their tank tops—which they've stripped off—above their heads.
Much to my chagrin, it appears as if Emmett was indeed correct: the girls are going ape-shit for their antics.
They are surrounded by women, some of whom are shoving dollar bills into their shorts. I shake my head in disbelief, but manage to raise my bottle in a silent nod of concession when Emmett catches my eye a few minutes later. He grins as the white-clad angel sidles up to him and slides her hands around his waist an into his shorts. A glance at Jazz shows red devil is now dancing in a very naughty manner with him.
The girl in the red dress is with them, and once again, I'm struck by a strange sense of familiarity. I feel like I know her somehow, although it might just be her demeanor that I can commiserate with; even from this distance, it's obvious that she feels just as uncomfortable with her friends—the two Victoria's Secret wannabe's who are now having sex on the dance floor with Emmett and Jasper—as I had with mine. When a random guy steps up behind her and attempts to dance, she pushes him away and turns to her friends. I watch as they exchange a few words, red-dress becoming even more irritated when the other two show no desire to quit dancing. She finally shrugs, then walks off the dance floor and makes her way toward the entrance of the club.
When she passes the bar, I get my first good look at her face. I smile widely and honestly for the first time tonight as I take in her flushed cheeks and flashing eyes. It's a face I know, and she's probably the only person in the world who might have the power to make me feel better this evening.
Without sparing another thought to the friends or the party I'm leaving behind, I drop my half-empty bottle on the counter and follow her out the door. She's storming down the street, so I have to jog a few steps in order to catch up with her. My smile practically breaks my cheeks as I reach out and lay my hand on her arm. Leaning in, I speak in her ear.
"Is that dress from space? 'Cause baby, your body is out of this world!"
I sense her tense up before she even whirls around. Anticipating her move, I easily step out of the way and wrap my palm around the wrist of the hand that she's raised in order to slap me. Electric awareness jolts through my entire body at the contact. Despite my surprise, I watch as her irritated scowl morphs into slack-jawed astonishment. I shoot her a cocky smile before dropping her hand.
"Hi, Bella."
For a moment, we just stare. A flush blooms on her cheeks at the heated and sustained eye contact. Her mouth works, although no sound comes out at first.
"E-Edward," she finally stammers, obviously shocked to see me. She quickly recovers. "Still using those tired old pick-up lines, I see?" she zings.
"Sure am, Bella, but only with you." I wink at her. "You're the only girl that's ever been worthy of my astounding wit."
The corner of her lip twitches and my smile widens in return. Then she shakes her head in confusion.
"But… What the hell are you doing here?"
"Here, as in the club? Or here, as in Atlanta?"
She shrugs, obviously at a loss for words. "Either. Both."
"I was at the club because my friends dragged me here. I'm in Atlanta because I'm in grad school at Emory. You?"
"Pretty much the same, only I'm at Georgia Tech."
"Wow… Small world, huh?"
"Yeah. It really is."
She's staring at me, and the way she's looking makes me feel about fifty feet tall—like she's been stranded on a desert island for years, and I'm the last bottle of water. Her eyes dart from my face to my chest and back again, obviously checking me out. Not that I mind. Hell, I'm doing the same thing.
If possible, she's even more beautiful now than she was back in high school. Her hair is shorter than I remember, and her face has thinned out a bit, but the mischievous glint in her eye is the same as always. As is her clumsy streak; for no obvious reason, she suddenly stumbles and falls. A small oomph escapes her lips when her backside hits the pavement.
I quickly offer her a hand. And a smirk. "I know I'm hot and that we have a history, but Bella, I really didn't expect you to fall for me this quickly."
She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, but she's smiling as she grabs my hand and allows me to pull her to her feet. She groans.
"Did that hurt?" I ask.
"Not really. Why?"
"Well, you fell a long way."
"Huh?"
"You know… from Heaven?"
She snorts. "That was bad, Cullen. Really bad."
I decide to try a different angle. Fanning the air with my hand, I ask, "Wow… Is it hot out here, or is it just you?"
This time, she laughs. The happy sound is accompanied by a slight flush on her cheeks. "Well, since it's only about forty degrees out, it must be just me."
The smile on my lips spreads to my insides, warming a part of me that's been frozen for years.
"So, Bella… How've you been?"
We spend twenty minutes exchanging all the necessary information about our families, our mutual friends from high school and ourselves. My parents have moved for the second time since I graduated high school and are now living in New York; her father is still the Chief of police in Forks. We both went to undergrad in Washington, although she spent two years at the community college in Port Angeles before transferring to Washington State. It took her an extra year. I graduated from U-dub in four years. We both moved here for graduate school, though I came out a year before she did. We're both working on doctoral degrees—Bella in computer science, me in physical therapy.
A glance at my watch shows that it's just after eleven. Technically—at least when it comes to clubbing—it's still early. But I wasn't lying to Emmett earlier; for me, it really has been a long day. I had a test this morning, then spent all afternoon in the prosthetic clinic for children. The work is rewarding, but in many ways draining. Before I can stop myself, I'm stifling a yawn.
"You're tired," she states.
"Long day."
"Know the feeling. I should head home…"
"Did you drive?"
"Yeah."
"Where'd you park? I'll walk you. Protect you from any other guys who might try to win you over with bad pick-up lines."
She smiles at me. "Thanks. What about you? Where's your car?"
"I didn't drive. I came with the idiots your friends were dancing with."
"Do you want me to give you a ride?"
The smirk is back. "Angel… you can give me a ride any time you'd like."
She groans.
"Hey… you set me up," I laugh. "I couldn't pass up that golden opportunity. Sorry. Had to do it."
"I know, I know…"
"It'd be a good ride, too, I promise," I continue, waggling my eyebrows. "All those curves, and me with no brakes."
"Can it, Cullen," she grits out, but I can tell she's trying hard not to laugh.
My laugher bubbles up from deep within. I haven't laughed in a long time. It feels really, really good. She makes me feel really good. I nudge her shoulder with my own.
"It's really good to see you again, Bella."
"You, too, Edward. You, too."
A/N: So… the idea for the 'costumes' and the dance club was inspired by a real-life event in my past. At Halloween a few years back, my brother came to visit me. We were going to a club that night, and I was dressing up. He decided that he wanted to dress up, too, but didn't have a costume. Long story short, I dressed him in some of my old clothes, gave him fake (balloon) boobs and full make up. The girls went ape-shit over him! My boyfriend (now-hubs) and his friends were dressed in all their southern frat boy glory—ie, not dressed up at all—and they got no attention from any girl. My brother got three phone numbers. LOL
Have you seen the "Sexy and I Know It" video yet? It's soooo bad. Go watch it, and then imagine Emmett and Jasper as those two crazy dudes. Bwahaha!
Thanks for reading!
See you soon.
