Chapter 6: Cat & Mouse

~* Edward *~

Motherfucker! Not in my goddamn club! I grabbed him by the back of his jacket and hauled his drunk ass outside, shoving him up against the wall hard, my forearm pressing down on his throat as I pinned him to the spot and watched him start to squirm.

"I've been very fucking patient with you all night, but it's starting to run out, a lot like your luck." He smirked at me, his eyes rolling around in his head like marbles on glass as he muttered under his breath. I pressed harder on this throat and slammed my fist in to his stomach.

"First off, asshole, my bathrooms are for pissing not puking, so, if you can't handle your drink, I suggest you go and fuck up someone else's two thousand dollar tiles." I dropped my arm from his throat and stepped back, watching him splutter as he clutched at his stomach, one hand on this throat. I threw another punch, hitting him hard and square in the face as I heard his nose crunch under my knuckles.

"Secondly, if you ever come back, you will leave with more than a lousy fucking hangover and a broken nose. Understand?"

Blood was dripping on to the front of his shirt as he groaned and straightened up, stepping closer before deciding to lunge at me with his hands fisted. Not the smartest move; the beer had obviously clouded his judgement, as well as making him physically fucking incapable.

I grabbed his arms, squeezing tight as I pushed him, crashing him back into the wall. I knew Mike would have called the cops when he saw me "escort" him outside, so now it was just a waiting game to keep him here until they arrived. If only I had a dollar for every time I'd kicked a drunk out of my club and onto the street. I'd have enough to jack it all in and retire somewhere fucking quiet.

I loosened my grip on his arms. I'd seen his type drowning their sorrows a thousand times before, and this wouldn't be the last. The typical broken businessman. Last month's suit minus the silk tie, dark circles under his eyes, a now-empty briefcase just for show, scuffed dress shoes, a crumpled shirt, a week's worth of stubble, and the strong smell of stale cigarettes. Despite the fact they drank too much, trashed my bar, and gave me a damn headache, deep down I felt sympathy. They'd fallen from grace. The sad thing was they'd obviously had no one to catch them.

"Look, I'm gonna let you..." What. The. Fuck? There was saliva dripping down my left cheek. He'd spat in my fucking face!

Screw sympathy, now I was just plain pissed. My fist connected with his mouth, splitting his lip and shedding more blood in the process, which he apparently found hilarious. I turned him round and slammed his face in to the brick wall, my hand gripped tightly around the back of his neck, hissing in his ear. "Am I still fucking funny now?" He soon stopped laughing.

I glanced over my shoulder, the flashing lights announcing the arrival of the cops.

"Cullen."

I nodded. "Marcus."

He smirked, all chubby face and crooked, yellow teeth. "Wouldn't be a Friday night without a little visit from us now would it?" I had to laugh. The guy was a complete fuckwit, God knows how he'd actually managed to become a cop. But his lack of competence meant he didn't ask too many questions, so I couldn't really complain.

"I guess not. Just the usual." Mr. Business had been hauled away unwillingly by another officer and was currently being frisked up against the cruiser, not that they'd find anything on a guy who had nothing. Marcus took out his pad and sucked on the end of his pencil. Seriously, who fucking does that shit these days?

I smirked. "So, two cruisers tonight? Special occasion?"

He just glared at me as he flipped to a fresh page. I'm guessing that Mike didn't think it necessary to tell them they were only coming for one guy, not several. Idiot.

"So, Cullen, you know the drill. Any drugs or weapons?"

I sighed. "No. No porn, bombs, fake cash, needles, or stolen shit. Just another drunken asshole."

He was scratching away on his pad with his little pencil. "And our reason for being here again?"

Seriously. For the love of fucking God. "Removal from the premises due to disorderly behaviour."

I was smirking at him as he looked up, snapping his beloved little pad shut, and spoke. "A night in the cells should sober him up."

I scoffed. "Yeah well good luck with that!"

Marcus wasn't my biggest fan, he never had been. "Do you always have to bloody them up? It ruins the upholstery in the cruisers..."

I cut him off mid sentence, my face pulling into a scowl as I leaned against the car. "Are you shitting me? He smashed at least 20 glasses, threw a bar stool at the goddamn wall, and, not content with just hurling all over the bathroom floor, threw up all over my fucking leather couch." I raised my eyebrows "You wanna clean that shit up and pay for the damage?"

Silence.

"No, I figured as much." I heard a door slam and looked over to see Mr. Business getting lively in the back of the other cruiser.

"Well, thank you, Cullen. No doubt we'll be seeing you soon."

Lucky me. "Oh, I'm sure you will. Good night, Marcus." I stepped back, watching as the cruisers pulled away, the clacking of heels suddenly catching my attention. "Alice, Rose..." I nodded at the girls. It was good to see them, but...holy fuck...I was staring in to a pair of huge brown eyes, momentarily stunned. "You must be Bella?" Alice had called the night before. Thank God I'd been paying attention for once; I'd remembered her name.

She spoke quietly, her voice soft and sweet, just like her face."Um...yes…Edward, right?"

All I could do was nod and smile. My throat was dry, and my brain had apparently cut all contact with my vocal chords, the power of speech currently escaping me.

In what felt like a second, I'd managed to commit every inch of her to memory but, for fear of drowning in her vast brown pools, I glanced down at her feet in an attempt to distract myself. A distraction was definitely what I got. Jesus Christ. She was not just a beautiful, wide-eyed woman. She was a beautiful, wide-eyed woman wearing fuck me heels; it didn't get much hotter than that. Well, actually it did, and it involved her wearing nothing but those black, shiny, five-inch....shit Cullen, get a grip and keep your dick in check.

She was a total stranger to me, and there she stood, completely clueless to the fact that she had me by the balls already. It was all down to her face, that body, and, of course, those damn heels. I didn't know whether to kill or thank Alice as she danced past me and twirled her way in to the club, winking as she passed. She had some fucking explaining to do later. Rosalie Hale sauntered past me in a dress so red you couldn't possibly miss it and so tight I'd put money on it splitting before the night was out. I'm pretty sure that would please Emmett greatly, horny bastard that he was.

My skin suddenly began to tingle, and I looked back to see Bella slowly approaching, her head down, a look of concentration on her face. She was biting her lip. Had I made a bad impression already? Probably. Fuck. I was pretty sure Alice would cuss me out for that later. She made a hurried attempt at brushing right past me, and, before my brain could catch up with my body, I had reached out and grasped her elbow. I leaned in close, my lips just inches from her ear and my voice quiet and low as I spoke. "Welcome to Masen's, Bella."

Bella managed to stutter out a thank you before being summoned to the bar by Rose and Alice, who were waiting, albeit impatiently, in the doorway. I followed them in and did a quick scan of the club to survey the damage from earlier. Mike had done well. The broken glass had been cleaned up, the trashed bar stool had been replaced, and my violated leather couch had disappeared, a black velvet one now sitting in its spot. I could see the "wet floor" sign outside the men's bathroom and took it as confirmation that someone had been given the unpleasant task of de-vomiting the floor. I breathed a small sigh of relief and slipped behind the bar.

As regulars, I knew what Alice and Rose would be drinking tonight, but I was curious to see what Bella choose. Alice was a cocktail girl; she liked that sweet and fruity shit with sugar round the rim, floating cherries, and those little fucking umbrellas. Rose had a love/hate relationship with Jose; she favoured anything containing tequila but always regretted it the morning after. I eyed Bella for a moment; she seemed so shy, sitting quietly between two such strong personalities.

I smiled to myself and leaned forward. "Would you like a drink Bella?"

She nodded, and, for the first time tonight, she smiled. In that exact same moment, I swear I felt my insides go up in flames. What the fuck is wrong with me?

"Jack & Coke please. A double."

I smirked. She'd just ordered my own drink, even down to the double shot. "OK, coming up."

One by one, I slid the glasses over the bar. Alice and Bella both reached out, money clutched in their hands for the drinks.

I shook my head and grinned. "Not tonight ladies. Have fun!"

Alice grinned and shoved the money back in to her purse. Bella on the other hand looked a little shocked.

"T-thank you. Are you sure?" Her words were hesitant.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah I'm sure. But you look a little surprised, if you don't mind me saying. Has a guy never bought you a drink before?"

She turned the most adorable shade of pink and I realised I'd made her blush. "Um...no not really…" She looked down in to her glass, and I felt a sudden pang of sadness for her. I couldn't help but wonder what else she'd missed out on and why.

"First time for everything, Bella." I smiled and politely excused myself.

The books for last nights takings would sadly not do themselves, and, since it was fairly quiet, I snuck in to my office and closed the door. I sighed as I flopped down in to my chair, running my hands through my hair, trying to shake off the image of a beautiful blushing Bella. C'mon focus....books…books…gotta do the fucking books.

Two hours had passed. I sat up and threw my pen on to the desk, stretching my arms and legs out in front of me. Number crunching and paperwork a big pain in my ass. I'd eventually managed to concentrate long enough to finish up the admin from the previous night. I pulled a bottle of Jack from my desk drawer and filled a small glass. Shoving the bottle back, I swallowed the contents of the glass and leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes. Bella appeared, all brown eyed and blushing again. Full pink lips that just begged for me to kiss them.

I jumped with a start when the door flew open and in bounced Alice. "Christ, don't you ever knock?"

She giggled and popped the cherry from her glass in to her mouth. "Don't you ever socialise?"

I huffed and rubbed at my eyes with the heel of my hands. "Yes actually. Did you want something?"

She perched on the edge of my desk and shook her head. "No, but you do Edward, and I have no idea why you're sitting in here hiding away from it."

"Alice, what are you...?"

"Bella...you're hiding from her."

"How much have you had to drink?"

"You know, Eddy, Mike is out there with her, putting on his bar-charm and trying to sweet talk his way in to her panties."

That sleazy bastard! I jumped out of the chair and stalked my way out of the office. Sure enough, there at the bar, exactly where I left her, was Bella....with Mike, who was staring, quite obviously, at her chest as she continued to talk. I approached the bar.

"Newton, time to knock off man." He glanced over in my direction and checked his watch. "I know it's early, but we're quiet tonight. I can take it from here, but you'll be paid a full shift." I wasn't asking him to leave. I was telling him.

"Oh...uh...OK…I guess I'll see you Saturday then?"

I thought about it for a moment. "No, take Saturday off, you did good on the clean up job tonight." He looked so fucking confused that I had to cough out loud to stifle the laugh that was threatening to escape.

"OK...thanks…I think..."

"Night, Newton." I watched him take one last look at Bella before he grabbed his jacket from under the counter, waved, and made a hesitant exit. I felt a little hand on my shoulder from behind.

"That's more like it, Eddy."

"I want answers, Alice. I'd better get them."

"You won't need them; you'll understand soon enough."

"Understand what, Alice?" I was getting irritated now. I couldn't deal with her riddles; I liked my shit straight forward, uncomplicated.

"Tell me you don't feel an inexplicable pull to her, that you don't want her in any way or feel the need to protect her. Tell me you don't feel possessive of that little brown cookie out there, and I will answer all your questions."

I opened my mouth to object and tell Alice how ridiculous she was being when I saw Bella, sitting there, all alone, biting her bottom lip and fumbling with the sleeve of her jacket. She was in my club surrounded by people, and she looked so fucking lonely. I closed my mouth and said nothing. I couldn't deny any of those things. Not a single one.

"That's what I thought. Now man up, grow some balls, and go talk to her."

"Jesus Alice, why do you have to be so goddamn fucking right all the time?"

With a shrug and a shrill giggle, she skipped off towards the dance floor. I sighed and started towards the bar...well, more precisely, towards Bella, who looked a lot like a frightened little mouse. Does that make me the nasty big cat?

"Hey, little mouse, why so glum?" What the fuck? Was I thinking out loud now? This could be awkward, not to mention fucking embarrassing!

She jumped in her seat, looking up at me with a shocked expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"N-no you didn't. You just startled me, that's all."

I flashed her a goofy grin. "I'm usually too noisy to catch people off guard." But it was me who was caught of guard when she laughed. She was smiling from ear to ear and making a surprising little chuckling sound. That shit was cute. I couldn't help but smirk. "What's so funny?"

She was still smiling as she spoke. "Don't take offence, but you don't exactly seem the quiet type. It's not hard to imagine you getting caught being sneaky. I bet you got busted with your hand in the cookie jar all the time when you were a kid."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "You're right, I did....I still do actually!"

She scoffed. "Well that figures! Ever thought about changing your strategy?"

"I tried every damn trick in the book, but apparently I'm just not cut out to steal cookies!" I pouted in mock disappointment, which elicited another little giggle from her. I was starting to really like that sound, along with the huge smile that seemed to come with it. I gestured to her empty glass. "So what will it be this time?"

"Um, I'm not sure. What do mice like to drink?" She was playing me at my own game.

"I have it on very good authority that they like Corona."

"Corona it is then. Actually, can I grab a couple of bottles to take home with me? Alice only has wine in the house and it's not really my thing..."

Holy shit, she was a beer drinker....in fucking hot shoes no less.

"Yeah, sure. Remind me before you leave."

She nodded and took a pull from the bottle I'd placed in front of her. "How much?"

I shook my head. "Mice drink for free tonight."

"In that case, maybe the cat would like to join me?"

I stood there, stunned for a split second, my mouth wide open like a complete moron. "Sure, I'll join you, but for the record, I'm really a dog person."

Her lips curled in to a small smile. "You traitor."

I shrugged. "I should have known you'd be all for the felines."

She shook her head. "Nope, I believe we sit on the same side of the fence here."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly.

"I always wanted a dog, but my Mom had allergies. When I moved away, the apartment was strictly no pets so…" She looked wistful and a little sad as she peered in to her bottle, peeling away at the label.

Don't be a fucking pansy ass Cullen, just ask her already!

"Bella...do you, uh...I mean, would you like to...meet mine?"

Her head snapped up. "You have a dog?"

I grinned, nodding. "Two actually."

Her face lit up light a fucking Christmas tree. "I'd love to! Um...when could I...?"

"How does now grab you?"

"Now? What about the club?"

"Don't worry. We won't be going very far, so the club will be just fine. Alice can watch the bar for a bit."

She gave me a quizzical look, imploring me to stop being so vague.

"I live upstairs, above the club."

Realisation crept slowly onto her face as my words sank in, and she smiled sheepishly at me.

"C'mon, let's introduce you to the monsters."

She was so eager that in her haste to get up she slid a little clumsily off the bar stool she had been occupying. I couldn't stifle the laugh that escaped me.

She pouted and jabbed me in the chest. "Didn't you know it's rude to poke fun at those less physically coordinated than yourself?"

I held my hands up in mock surrender. She looked so sulky, it was fucking adorable. "It must have escaped my mind. My humble apologies."

"Okay, well maybe your mother taught you to mind your manners after all. Apology accepted." She huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

I put my fingers into my mouth and whistled loudly to grab the attention of Alice, who was in the process of shamelessly throwing herself around the dance floor. It was the funniest thing I'd seen in a long time, and I'd seen all kinds of shit. I made a mental note to tease her relentlessly about it later on.

She stopped and turned on her heel, looking flustered and a little pink in the face. I gestured for her to come to the bar and had to snigger to myself as she pranced her way over. All she needed now was a fucking tutu.

"Yes, Eddy?"

"Firstly, quit calling me Eddy, or I'll catch those killer moves on video and YouTube that shit for my enjoyment and your embarrassment. Secondly, I would have yelled, but you wouldn't have heard me over that fucking song! Would you mind working the bar for me? We won't be long…30 minutes tops."

She nodded, looking a little smug, no doubt feeling pleased with herself. "Sure! But if you're not back before closing time, I'll tell Rose where you keep the imported tequila."

She could be such a bitch. I smirked. "Get Rose to watch the door, so at least you know there won't be any trouble. That's a full body search no one would ever fucking forget."