Twilight isn't mine, but the idea is. I was inspired to write this after a marathon of Fast and Furious. All the songs on the soundtrack helped me create this, so you should check them if you don't know them.
Many thanks to my dear friends m0t0b33 and TeamAllTwilight for the pre-reader and beta work.
And to you, my readers and followers, thank you! I wish I had the time to answer you, but we can discuss stuff in my facebook group. ;)
"Edward!" Seth called loudly, rushing into Jake's garage.
Edward lifted his head from where he was working on Mach's engine with Jasper. "Yeah?" He wiped his sweat with a greasy hand.
"I have something for you," he said excitedly, waving a paper in the air.
"What's that? Read it to me." Edward showed him his dirty hands.
It had been three days since their arrival in Fredonia, and he more or less had slept in Jake's garage. Jasper had called someone—a friend of a friend—and only a few hours prior they got everything they needed to make Mach invincible.
"Fuuck"! Jasper shouted when oil spurted into his face.
"Careful, man," Edward groaned. "Seth, what's that?" he repeated.
"You have to see it or you wouldn't believe me." The younger boy went to Edward's side and kept the paper in front of him.
Edward gasped. "Who gave this to you?"
"Some dude…I was at the store with Paul…"
"Duuude! This is…no one should know about this."
"But you already knew your final battle would be with Ben," Seth mumbled.
"I suspect that because he's the best. But you have names here…and their cars. You didn't tell them anything about me?" Edward looked at him imploringly.
"No…"
"Seth?"
"I said you were ready to rock."
"Give the kid a break," Jasper grunted. "Gimmie that!" He snatched the paper. "I know some of the names. If one of your opponents is this Garrett dude, don't worry about it. He always chokes his car if you slow down giving him the impression he'd win. He gets excited and chokes the poor thing. Always. Never failed."
"Thanks," Edward said appreciatively, going back under Mach's hood.
Jasper kept telling him about the names on the list, until he stopped and made a noise of disapproval. "Figures. Ben has two cars."
"Like always. He always has one for the final race and the other for every other race. We knew that."
"He has a Ford Mustang Fastback from 1967 and a Plymouth Road Runner."
"Speed?"
"Let me check."
The results showed Edward which car Ben would use in the final race—the Plymouth. It got from zero to sixty in only five, when the Mustang got there in seven point seven, though he suspected with the changes it got there faster.
His own Mach had improved to a five point two after some work.
It was December 30th and he wasn't ready for what was to come the following Saturday. Not one bit. Every time he let himself think of the races waiting for him, he felt bile rising in his throat. Bella gave him worried looks every time she looked at him, James gave him warning looks, and Jasper always had something to comment about additions for the car.
Edward decided he needed a break from all that and that night when he let himself in the Swans' house, he was ready to have a talk with Bella about his plan on going away for a couple days. Anywhere would be better than staying in that town the weight of the world on his shoulders.
He found her in the kitchen. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts—the red holey one she had stolen so long ago—and was sitting on the counter, spooning ice cream into her mouth, tapping her heel into the cabinet doors to the rhythm of the music from her iPod. Not wanting to startle her, Edward edged slowly into the kitchen and sat on the chair right across from her.
When Bella opened her eyes, she gasped. The spoon fell from her hand. "You're back!" she shouted.
"Shhh!" He pressed his finger to his mouth, gesturing for her to take the ear buds out. "Hey," he greeted her when she could hear him.
"Hi." Her cheeks turned red.
"Waiting for me?" he asked softly, walking to her and standing between her legs. He'd missed her. They couldn't find time to be alone. Edward ran his hands over her naked legs. "Come with me away for a few days."
"What? Are you high or something?"
He took the spoon from the box and stuck it into his mouth, sucking. "Have you ever been to Lake Powell?"
"A couple times. It's nice."
"I haven't. Be my tour guide?" He smirked at her, leaning to press his cold lips to her.
"But…"
"Don't think. Remember, you want to act like a rebellious teenager. Run away with me."
"Edward…"
"Bella," he pleaded with her. "I need this. I need some time away."
"Okay. Let's pack."
"That's the spirit. You'll like it. It'll be our little adventure."
They fit a few clothes in a backpack, made another small bag of snacks and after they caught a few hours of sleep, they were ready to go. When Bella casually let James know of their plans, he agreed without putting up a fight. The upset one turned out to be Jasper, but in the end he understood they needed to detach from everything, and he said he'd go visit Jake. They had become friends over the past few days.
The only request James had was for Bella to drive her car, and under no circumstances was Edward allowed behind the wheel. He agreed to the terms and they were off. The drive to Page, the closest city to Lake Powell took a little over an hour.
They had something to eat then drove to the lake. They were the only ones adventuring to visit on the last day of the year, but it was better. As they walked around, Bella pointing different attractions like Glen Canyon Dam telling Edward everything she knew about it. She tried to take him to Rainbow Bridge, but the GPS on Edward's new phone—courtesy of his mother's Christmas present—couldn't locate a route to take them there.
"It's so beautiful," Bella muttered upset. "I don't remember how Jimmy got there the last time we visited."
"Don't worry, Bella. This is beautiful. I've never seen a dam before."
"No?"
"Uh…no. When we go back, I'll take you to visit Chicago."
"I can't wait." She snuggled into his embrace, looking at the water running under them.
"It's not as breathtaking as this…what can compare to natural beauty?" As he spoke, Edward wasn't sure if he was talking about the landscape or Bella.
"The dam isn't natural."
"I wasn't talking about that," he said gently, tilting her head and kissing her deeply. "I love you."
A tight knot formed in Bella's throat and soon a sob escaped her. She burrowed her face into his jacket. "Don't kill yourself in the race."
"I'll see what I can do."
They stayed there for a few more minutes, before they returned to her car and went back into the city. Bella was asking if they should book a room or actually return home when Edward got a call from Jasper telling them about Jake's friends buying fireworks and having a party. That settled their destination.
After a late lunch, Bella gave him the keys, rolling her eyes and saying Jimmy would never know. She even gave him a route to bypass Fredonia on the way to Kanab.
Edward parked the car in front of Jake's house at four in the afternoon. He felt much better after their trip away from his problems. Jake guided them inside his house and Edward realized it was the first time he actually stepped in his friend's home. He'd only seen his garage. He hadn't even met Mr. Black properly, only seeing him in passing a few times.
"Dad's not home. He's in Phoenix with business. I think. Anyway, we're alone." Jake was more enthusiastic than usual. "I got booze," he whispered to Edward.
"Nice." He wasn't sure what to say. Well done, but have you forgotten Bella's brother is a cop?
In the living room the furniture had been pushed against the walls and everyone was sitting on the carpet in the middle of the room. It looked like their friends were in the middle of a card game. By the looks of it Jake had teamed with Jasper and they were winning.
It didn't surprise Edward to see they were playing on real money. Of course they had money. He'd seen Paul one too many times giving small packets of things to people at school or in different parts of the town.
He took Bella to the kitchen to grab drinks. On the table was an array of strong liquor bottles.
"What would you like to drink?" he asked.
"Surprise me." She shrugged, not knowing much about drinks.
Edward winked and tried to show off with the bottle of whiskey, rolling it in the air and missing. "Oops."
Bella giggled, shaking her head. "Another job you should rule out—bartender."
"You think you're so funny, Miss Swan."
"I know I am, Cullen!"
He narrowed his eyes at her before pouncing. Her back collided with the wall as he devoured her mouth, her legs wrapping around him and her hands in his hair. She moaned loudly when he bit his way down her throat.
"Get a room! We can hear you fucking!"
"We're in another room!" Edward shouted back.
Footsteps approached the kitchen and Edward finally let Bella down on her feet, turning to see who was interrupting them. Jasper leaned against the doorjamb.
"Oh, no! I liked the whiskey."
"It slipped from my hand," Edward lied. "Drink?" he asked Bella, winking.
"I'm still waiting," she joked.
He fixed her a Mojito and he poured himself half a glass of scotch. Good thing there was a variety of drinks. Jasper grabbed a beer and led the lovebirds to the living room.
"We're upping the game," he explained. "Playing on money is not fun between friends. We're going to undress if we lose. We play in teams."
"Bring it. I'll have all of you naked in a matter of minutes." Edward looked smug.
His plan didn't work when Bella decided to prove she knew poker too. They lost three rounds in a row. He snatched his shirt off him, pursing his lips.
"Stop it. I'm playing, you stay here and look pretty."
Bella giggled, poking her tongue out at him. She'd had one too many Mojitos in the past half an hour. She leaned into his side, loving the skin on skin contact and watched attentively how her boyfriend played poker. He won match after match until all the others were down to their underwear like them.
"Should I keep this up?" he asked, his eyes glinting.
"Unless you and all the others want black eyes for seeing my girl naked…" Sam said threateningly.
"Yeah, you're right." Edward nodded in agreement. "You've seen enough of Bella. Besides, I'm cold."
On common agreement they got dressed and went to heat the pizza Jake had bought hours ago. They ate, resuming their spots in the living room, talking about anything but the races. Edward appreciated that.
As night fell around them, Jake switched on the TV and they watched different shows, emptying the bottles in the kitchen. Bella lay with her head on Edward's lap as he ran his fingers through her hair, looking at the TV but his thoughts were far away. He liked being with his friends, but was afraid of this being the last time he'd be around them.
Close to midnight, they went outside ready launch the fireworks to the sky. Paul and Jasper were opening bottles of sparkling wine while Leah and Bella were putting paper cups on the step in front of the house for the boys to pour the drink in when they managed to open the bottles. When they figured how to do it, corks started flying around—one, two, three, four.
Once everyone had a paper cup and the fireworks were ready to launch, they only had to wait two more minutes.
Edward wrapped both arms around Bella and pressed his forehead against hers. As cheers erupted around them and the fireworks zoomed through the night's air towards the sky, he closed his eyes.
All I wish is to make it out the races alive.
Bella echoed his silent wish in her head.
When they opened their eyes, the tension escalated. He kissed her deeply, pouring everything he felt into that kiss—love, worry, need.
"Happy New Year, my man," Jasper said quietly, nudging Edward's arm.
Separating from Bella, Edward smiled slowly, clinking his cup to Jasper, repeating the words, before leaning to peck Bella's lips again and taking a sip from his now regular wine.
"Love you," she told him seriously.
Tucking her under his arm, and wrapping his other arm around Jasper's neck, Edward looked up at the firework show. He'd worry about his upcoming races in the morning. For the moment he wanted to get lost in Bella and had no idea where to take her to be alone. Maybe if he asked nicely, Jake would give him one room.
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