Riding the Rails
CHAPTER 27
DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. I'm just taking them for a ride!
Damn, Bella thought as she climbed the steps into the train's vestibule before leaning out and giving the all clear. He just had to turn at that moment and catch me staring at his ass. She had never been covert in her appraisal of a man, but there was something about Edward that made her hesitant.
Bella's normal routine of checking for tickets would be to start in the front car; however, that was where Harry and Edward were, and she wasn't ready to face Harry's inquisitive looks. She peered through the window of the door and saw the back of Harry's head. Directly across from him sat Edward, facing the door. She watched Edward's expressions, which ranged from embarrassment to amusement, as he talked to her old friend, and she found herself curious as to what they were discussing.
As if he could sense her staring at him, yet again, his eyes flicked up and their eyes met. His mouth spread in a smile, only to disappear when he saw the hesitation on her face. "Oh, shit," he muttered as he watched her turn away toward the other car.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked when he saw the despondent look on Edward's face. He turned just in time to see Bella stepping into the other car. "Hmm, that's strange. She usually starts in here." He turned his gaze back to Edward and narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you should elaborate on that comment you made earlier. It seems to have upset her in some way." He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat, indicating that he was settling in for a story.
Edward scrubbed his hands over his face then collapsed back in his seat. Letting out a sigh, he bowed his head. "Remember earlier when I said that my cousin moved out this weekend? She's renting one side of a duplex, and it turns out that Bella is her landlady. Not only that, but she lives in the other unit of the duplex." He quickly looked up at Harry to gauge his reaction. "We didn't know who she was until we showed up at the welcome party that Bella decided to have for Alice." He took a deep breath. "The invite said it was a pool party, so naturally we were all in swimsuits. Hence the comment about her having on more clothes than when I last saw her. It wasn't meant to be crude."
Harry had watched Edward's face as he told his story and could see that he sincerely hadn't meant for the comment to sound as it did, so he was anxious to see Edward's reaction to his next comment. "Everyone was swimming this weekend?" he asked. He chuckled at the confused look on Edward's face when he nodded his head. "Well, that means that she saw you in less clothes as well!" He couldn't help but laugh lightly as Edward's eyes widened in realization. "Yet she mentioned nothing of that fact to you."
Edward dropped his head. He truly felt like a heel for his comment, afraid that he had just put himself back two steps in regards to a chance with Bella.
"Don't worry, kid," he heard Harry say. "She noticed; she just didn't say anything." When Edward looked up, he was surprised by the huge grin that Harry had on his face.
"She's a nice girl," Edward said.
"No," Harry said firmly. "She's a nice woman." He couldn't help but notice the way Edward shifted in his seat. "Ask her out."
"No, I don't think so—at least not yet. We just met, really." Still, he wanted nothing more than to take her out, to have her on his arm for the evening. "Sam said I should bide my time."
"Pfft. It's never too early!" Harry admonished. "What are you waiting for? If you wait too long, someone else may come around and then where would you be?" He leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
"But Sam said—"
"Sam is her friend, and a very protective one at that. He doesn't want to see her get hurt again." He held up his hand to halt Edward's rebuttal. "And before you get defensive, I don't know you, but from the small amount of time that I have, I can tell that you're a good person. I don't think you're capable of destroying anything as fragile as her." He was surprised to see a small blush cross over Edward's features.
The announcement for Geneva Station came over the speaker. "Ask her out," he said again, placing his hand on Edward's shoulder and looking at him as a father would a son. "Ask her out, and do it quickly," he repeated as he stood up. "Oh, and tell Bella that I'll see her on the ride back". He walked through the vestibule doors and onto the platform. Edward caught sight of him as the train departed the station and saw Harry mouth the word soon to him.
During the remainder of the trip, Edward continued to gaze out the window lost in thought. Thankfully, his was the last stop because he had not been paying attention to any of the other stops. His mind was a jumble. He was questioning himself and contemplating Harry's words. I've only known her for one day. How will she react if I ask her out? Is it too soon? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear his name being called until a hand was laid softly on his shoulder. He turned and looked up into a face he wasn't expecting. Bella stood next to him, a small smile gracing her lips.
"Edward, I sure hope you have a ticket." She tilted her head to the side. "I'd hate to have to red-light you," she joked. The confused expression on his face brought a few giggles from her as she pulled out her ticket puncher and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, ticket. Right…" Edward floundered. "It's right here". He opened the flap on his briefcase and pulled out his ticket. As he closed the flap, Bella noted the letters ETM etched into the leather.
She became curious as to what his middle name was. For some unexplained reason, her thoughts immediately went to Star Trek. James T Kirk came to mind, and the name Tiberius flittered through her head. She thought of the most recent Star Trek movie she had seen, which starred, for a very short time, Chris Hemsworth as James Kirk's father.
"Um, Bella…?" Edward's voice brought her out of her musing. "You wanted my ticket?"
"Oh, yes. Thank you." She saw that he had a monthly pass, and that gave her hope that she would be seeing him on the train more often. "Make sure that you pull that out as soon as you come onboard," she advised. "I may not always be the one checking the car that you're in." In her mind, though, she would always make a conscious effort to ensure that she was. "Oh, and be sure you remember to take it with you. You'll have to purchase a new one if it gets lost."
"Yes, ma'am." He gave her a smile to indicate that he was playing around. He was just working up the courage to ask her out for a drink when the radio at her hip crackled, interrupting the moment of opportunity.
"Swan, this is Billy. Do you read?" They both jumped at the sound of the deep voice coming over the radio.
"Yes, Billy," she said after raising the radio.
"We've got some rowdy ones in Car Three," came the crackly response. "I'm heading that way now. Meet me there."
"Okay, I'm on my way."
"See you later, Edward," she said as she turned to walk away.
He couldn't let her go just yet. He was concerned about her safety. Lightly gripping her forearm, he was once again surprised at the firmness of her body. "Are you going to be okay going in there?" he asked.
Bella looked down at his hand then up into his worried face. She laid her own hand on top of his, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers. "Edward," she said with a light laugh, "it's not like I'm going into battle. I'm sure it's only some teenagers heading down to the lake. It happens all the time," she assured him before heading off to the rowdy car.
For the remainder of the trip, Edward waited for Bella to return to the car. He even looked out the window when they reached the next station to see if he could see her. When they reached the station after that, the train was met by a police car and an ambulance. He felt panic envelop him. Was she injured? Had one of the teenagers done something to her? Was her injury Billy's fault for bringing her into a dangerous situation? If any of these were true, he would make them pay.
When the train finally reached Ogilvie Station in Chicago, he quickly exited the train and looked around for Bella. He saw her emerge from four cars away. As he walked toward, her he noticed that her hair, which had been up earlier, was now down and flowing across her shoulders. Her conductor's cap was askew and looked like it had been trampled on. He got closer to her, and just as he was about to reach out and touch her shoulder, she turned toward him. A low growl rumbled from his chest at the sight he was met with. "What the hell happened?" he murmured as he reached out and touched her cheek.
A/N – So I have to share that the "look different with clothes on" thing actually happened to me. When I used to go to the gym in the morning before going to work in the catering department at a hotel. One day a client came in to schedule a meeting. He kept turning around while he was in the catering manager's office. After their meeting he came up to me and said "you look different with your clothes on" – needless to say I had an immediate meeting with the catering manager after he left.
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