So it wasn't the best first impression I'd ever made. Bite me.

"Could you pass the biscuits over, Penelope?" I shot Embry a quick glare, almost hating the smug little smirk he had on his face. Honestly, the whole use of my full name was getting quite obnoxious. He'd been adding my name onto the last of all of his sentences ever since I introduced myself, as if to make a point or whatever.

I shoved the plate of biscuits none too gently into his waiting palm, only hoping after I had done it that it didn't break under the force. That would have sucked.

"So," Emily broke in, smiling kindly at me, "you said you were new to the area? Where are you from originally?"

"I used to live back in California with my parents," I said, deciding to ignore Embry, who was smirking down at his over filled plate of food. "We lived in Orange County my whole life, so the move up here was like a huge shock to my system."

She laughed delicately. "I can only imagine. But the beaches there must have been amazing..."

And on and on it went for awhile. Once everyone had calmed down over my meltdown over Emily's pregnancy, we were all herded into the small dining room to sit down for a meal. That's where we spent most of our time, mostly because I didn't think Sam or Embry would ever stop eating. It was like watching a marathon of Man Vs. Food episodes without the commercials in between. Never. Ending.

But while they stuffed their faces, Emily continued to ask me questions about where I was from, what was I doing with my life, where did I see myself in five years, how did I meet the boys, etc. The last one brought on a serious bout of concern on her part, which led to a somewhat unnecessary -but totally enjoyable- reprimanding of the man in question from Sam.

And I got to know Emily a little bit better over dinner, too. She loved to talk about her baby (who was due in a little over two months), and she got really excited when she started to describe her ideas about the nursery. It was already mostly finished; they just had to rearrange the furniture until it was to Emily's liking and put all of the baby stuff away. She talked endlessly about how they had to go about getting neutral looking furniture, because they decided to wait until the baby was born to find out if it was a boy or a girl. She leaned in conspiratorially, whispering that Sam had told her that he didn't care what the baby turned out to be, but that she knew he secretly hoped for a little boy.

I smiled and nodded and laughed at all of the right parts, finding it surprisingly easy to be excited for her and her upcoming newborn.

Embry began to pay more attention to our conversation as the food on his plate steadily disappeared. He began to lean in bit by bit, angling his head so that he could hear our conversation better. He would interject every now and then, having some comment to say about this or that, or to ask a question about myself and what I thought of things.

But I still wasn't really sure what to make of him, so my answers were a little more than a bit sarcastic. But only a little.

I didn't wait long after dinner before I excused myself, using work and daily hygiene as my excuse to plead off staying for dessert. Embry's face fell at the news, but he was the first up and walked me to my car, keeping his hand lightly on the small of my back as he led me from the house.

I thanked Emily for dinner, nodding at Sam, and promised her that I would come and visit her sometime. Even pregnant, she was fun to be around, and I didn't want to stay holed up in my apartment all day every day either.

"So, you're going to come back and visit soon?" Embry asked, leaning through the open window of my car door as I started the engine. His voice was deep and soft, and even sitting in my truck, I had to look up to make eye contact with him.

I shrugged, buckling up my seat belt. "Yeah, I guess. Whenever Emily wants to get together again."

Looking down, he nodded slowly, tapping his fingers where he had his arms folded across the door.

I watched awkwardly for a minute, wondering if I should just come out and end this somewhat uncomfortable charade, or if I should just roll up the window and hope he got the hint.

But really, I mean, it could have been worse. Embry could have ended up being really ugly, or really mean, or he could have made a big deal about almost getting run over. But he wasn't, and he didn't, and he invited me over for dinner. In a roundabout, unconventional manner, it was all very nice of him. Plus, I couldn't deny that he was an attractive guy. Dark hair and tanned skin and muscular?

Yeah, I'd tap that.

When his head snapped up and his dark gaze pinned me to my seat, though, I realized what his most attractive attribute was. His smile.

Which he was shooting at me right this very moment. "I really enjoyed having dinner with you tonight, Penelope. I want to do it again sometime, if that's okay with you."

So what if my undeniably female side kicked in and I had to double check that he was asking me out on a real date, and not just asking me back to hang out at the house again? Every girl is entitled to a little reassurance.

His grin widened, and he nodded happily. "Yeah, I want it to be a date. Just the two of us. Is that ok?"

Really, I'd only known this guy for a handful of hours, and in that time span, I'd not only managed to avoid hitting him with my car, but make a grand spectacle of myself when introduced to his friends. And now I was getting asked out on a date?

"Sure," I smiled back, feeling my ears heat up a bit by his pleased attention. "That'd be nice."

Hey, stranger things have happened.

(0(oo)0)

"Nice job today guys!" I enthused, sweating slightly as I gazed about my class of high school students. The girls all grumbled to themselves, clearly not happy with the work out, and the boys generally ignored me, but that was only to be expected. Their attention spans weren't exactly developed yet, after all.

"You guys are excused; I'll be seeing you all tomorrow!"

I turned my back on them, letting their gym teachers gather them together and herd them into the locker rooms. I was putting my CD away and unplugging my boom box when a throat cleared itself behind me. "Miss Dermand?"

I turned at the voice, looking up into the smiling, boyish face before me. "What can I do for you, sir?" I smiled, placing my hands on my hips and read the name quickly off of his p.e. shirt. Clearwater, Seth.

He stuck out his hand for me to shake and introduced himself. "Seth Clearwater; I'm one of Embry Call's friends."

My eyebrows shot up at this news. "Really, now?" I drawled. "How do you two know each other, again?"

"He used to go to school with my sister; she was in an older grade though. We hung out a lot when I was still in junior high and him and the boys were in high school." He shrugged at this in a 'what can you do?' fashion, never letting the smile falter from his face.

"And what? You complained to him about the hard ass they hired for gym classes?" I teased, knowing full well what the kids said about my workouts when they though I wasn't listening.

He laughed at this, a deep, unapologetic, belly chuckle that made him seem like the high school student he was, and not the adult that he looked like.

Because believe you me, he looked old enough to buy me a drink without being carded.

"No, I haven't complained about you," he chuckled. "I actually think your classes are pretty cool. Embry's the one that's been talking about you."

Talking about me already? I'd only just met the guy last night; how fast does word travel around here? "Oh yeah? And what's he had to say?"

"Just that he's really excited about your date this weekend, and how cool he thinks you are." He shrugged at this, as if this information was common knowledge.

I nodded once, not sure what to think of having one of my students come up to me and talk about my dating status. I finally settled with, "I'm glad he's looking forward to it. It should be fun."

Seth continued to smile at me, seemingly content with my answer. "I'll tell him you said that. He'll be glad to hear it."

Wait - "Wait; was this some sort of recognizance mission? Did he dupe you into gathering intel for him?"

He stared blankly back at me. I imagine it was because he'd never heard so many big words in a sentence before.

And then he was laughing. Again. "You're funny," he said, clapping me once on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah? Got to get going if I'm not going to be late for class, you know?"

I watched after him disbelievingly as he ran back into the locker rooms. Really? 'You're funny,' that's all I got?

Shaking my head, I turned back to gathering up my stuff. Stranger things indeed.

So I hope that everything is to everyone's liking! Sorry that this story was slow in updating; I am fascinated with the wolves and the imprint aspect of their lives, and I've been thinking about it a lot as of late, so I'm hoping that updates will be able to come quicker and more often.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and who has continued to support me and my works. Thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes; I truly appreciate it!

-GrumpySunshine