Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine.
Chapter Six: New Feelings & Experiences
"Embry, you need to calm down," Seth's voice repeated for the third time in the last five minutes.
"I can't help it, I'm just so excited to see her!" Embry breathed.
"I get that, but you need to calm down or you're going to freak her out," Seth reminded him gently.
"I know, I know."
"I don't blame you Embry, if I had an imprint that was as hot as yours, I'd be excited to see her all the time, if you catch my drift," Collin told him from his seat on Sam and Emily's front steps.
Embry let out a warning growl at Collin who simply put his hands up in surrender, "I was just saying."
"Shut up Collin, you know better than to talk about someone else's imprint in that way," Seth scolded him.
Collin rolled his eyes, but remained silent.
"I don't know about you guys, but I don't think Callie is going to want to be ambushed when she gets here," Sam's deep voice said from the front door.
"But Sam," Collin, Brady and Seth whined all together.
"Get in the house," Sam ordered. They all heaved an annoyed sigh and followed the order. Before Seth left Embry's side he patted him on the back gently, giving him an encouraging smile.
Once the three were in the house Sam stepped out, followed by Emily who had a basket in her hands.
"Thanks again for making lunch for me Emily," Embry gushed.
"It's no problem Embry, I'm just happy that you've finally found your imprint," Emily replied as she handed the basket to Embry.
"Me too, trust me."
"Well, we'll be inside if you need us, but I don't think you will because she should be here any minute," Sam told him. Like Seth he patted Embry on the back before turning and walking back towards the house, Emily following behind him after she had given Embry a reassuring smile.
Embry took a deep breath and sat down on the front steps. He wasn't sitting for a full minute when he saw a familiar red Ferrari turn the corner and come towards Sam and Emily's house. He felt an ecstatic grin spread across his face, as the car got closer, eventually pulling into the driveway and coming to a stop.
Embry had to fight all of his instincts that told him to run to her, and instead he walked slowly towards her car. By the time he got there she had gotten out and pulled Brook out of her car seat. The second that Brooklyn saw Embry she squealed happily.
"Embee!" she cried, reaching her arms out to him. Callie was very surprised with how Brooklyn was acting. She never let people outside of family hold her. Shaking off the thought she handed a squealing Brooklyn to Embry.
"Hi Brookie! Are you excited to see a beach today and have a picnic?" he asked her.
"Beach!" she cried loudly.
Embry chuckled quietly, "I'll take that as a yes."
Embry finally turned his attention away from the child in his arms and instead focused on his imprint. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of her.
Callie's bright red hair was blowing in the light breeze as she smiled at him and Brook softly. She was dressed casually in shorts and a tank top, a baby bag slung over her shoulder.
"Brook was very excited when I told her she would be going to the beach," Callie commented.
"I bet she was. She'll have to make the most of it, it's never usually this sunny and warm here."
"How exactly are we going to get there?" Callie questioned.
"We're going to drive, it should only take us about two minutes to get there," Embry explained.
"Are you going to drive or do you want me to?"
"I'll drive since I know how to get there," Embry said as he motioned towards his beat up truck, which was parked next to Callie's car. He quickly grabbed the basket that Emily had packed for them and walked towards his truck.
He opened the door for Callie and helped her in, then he handed her Brook, who she sat on her lap. He placed the picnic basket by Callie's feet where the blanket already sat, before shutting the door and walking over to the driver's side.
Once he was settled in he turned to Callie, a teasing smile on his face, "It's no sports car, but it gets me to where I need to go."
Callie playfully glared at him, "For your information I actually really like trucks!"
Embry didn't respond, instead he turned the car on and backed out of the driveway.
The car ride was short and silent, but not awkward at all. Once Embry parked the truck they unloaded their things and walked on the rocky beach. After a few seconds of walking, Embry spotted a relatively sandy spot near the water and walked over to it. He laid the blanket on the ground and set the picnic basket down as Callie and Brooklyn sat on the blanket.
"Beach!" Brook cheered as she pointed excitedly at the water.
"We'll go play in it once you've had something to eat sweetie," Callie promised with a smile.
Embry smiled at the exchange and opened up the basket, pulling out various foods.
"It looks like we have some of Emily's famous PB&J sandwiches and some pasta salad."
"Sounds amazing," Callie commented as she pulled Brooklyn into her lap, thanking Embry when he handed her a sandwich for her and a smaller one for Brook. They ate in silence for a few moments, Callie tearing up Brook's sandwich into small pieces and handing them to the child so that she could eat them.
Embry was watching the interaction with a sense of pride and happiness. Finally he couldn't take the silence any longer, "Tell me about yourself," Embry demanded lightly.
Callie finished chewing her food before answering, "What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
Callie let out a small laugh, "You're going to have to be a bit more specific."
"Okay, let's start with your name and age."
Callie groaned, "Do we have to?" she whined.
"Yes."
"Fine," she grumbled, "My name is Calida Alexander, but I prefer if you call me Callie. Don't ask me why my mother named me that, I think she wanted me to get beat up on the playground."
"I think it's a beautiful name," Embry told her honestly.
"Thank you. Oh, and I'm eighteen years old," she added as an after thought.
Embry was stunned; he had thought she was at least in her early twenties. She looked older than eighteen and she acted so mature for her age.
"So where are you from?"
"I'm actually from Sacramento, California."
"Really?" he asked, looking at her pale complexion with his eyebrow raised. She leaned over and playfully hit his arm, laughing lightly.
"Just because I'm extremely pale doesn't mean I can't live in sunny places!" she defended herself.
"I know, I just don't know if I can picture you with a tan."
"That's because I don't tan, I burn. It's because of that that I've accepted the fact that I will be unfashionably pale, and I've embraced it."
"I guess that's a good way to look at it," Embry mused.
"Anyway, about two years ago my sister, Brook and I moved to New York City," Callie continued, a dark look crossing over her pale features. Embry's eyebrows knit together in confusion as he watched the sad expression unfold.
"Why did you move to New York?" he asked cautiously.
"My parents were killed," Callie deadpanned, her voice lacking any emotion.
Embry felt his heart break for her, "I'm so sorry."
Callie shrugged her shoulders, "It's okay, I just don't like talking about it."
"How about instead you tell me what you're doing with your life. Are you in school? Are you just hanging out, taking life as it comes?" Embry quickly changed the subject, not wanting to see the pain in her eyes anymore. He wanted to know more about what had happened to her, but he knew that something that painful would take time for her to share. He would wait forever if he had to.
"I'm actually going to be taking online classes in about a month," Callie answered, shaking off the dark emotions that she had been experiencing.
"Really? What major?"
"Business mainly. I don't know how many classes I'm going to actually be able to take right now, because I have this little bundle of joy to watch," Callie explained, looking at Brook who continued to sit in her lap, but was oblivious to the conversation, finding the ocean waves much more interesting.
"It sounds like you'll have your hands full," Embry commented thoughtfully.
Callie simply shrugged her shoulders in response.
"What about you?" Callie questioned before she took another bite of her sandwich.
"My name is Embry Call, and I'm twenty years old, I'll be twenty one in a few months."
"And what do you do?"
"I actually work at La Push Auto."
"Really?" Callie asked excitedly.
"Yeah," Embry replied, giving her a strange look due to her excitement.
"I was actually going to have my car looked at and my sisters, and my Aunt had suggested La Push Auto. Since it was such a long drive getting here from New York, I thought it'd be best to get them checked to make sure everything was running okay!"
Embry let out a small laugh, "Well stop by anytime and we'll take a look for you."
Callie smiled happily in answer.
"Beach!" Brook cried suddenly, pointing to the waves crashing on the shore.
"I guess someone wants to go see what the beach is all about," Embry commented. He started to pack up the empty containers and put them back into the basket as Callie stood up with Brook.
"My cousin, Demi, told me that even if it was warm outside, the water would be freezing. So I'm only going to let Brook dip her toes in. I'm hoping the cold will deter her from the water and make her want to play by the tide pools," Callie told him as she folded up the blanket.
"Sounds like a smart idea."
Once everything was cleaned up the three headed towards the water, Callie grasping Brook's hand tightly so that she didn't run into the water.
"Ready Brooks?" Callie asked her as they reached the waterline.
"Water!" Brook cried excitedly.
"I'm taking that as a 'yes'," Embry commented with a chuckle.
The wave crashed a few feet from them and then continued to roll across the rocks and sand, eventually reaching their feet.
When the water hit Callie's feet she sucked in a quick breath, surprised by how cold the water actually was. Brook was giggling wildly, jumping up and down in the receding water.
Embry, on the other hand, was watching Callie with a look of complete awe on his face. He watched the breeze blow her hair away from her beautiful face, as she laughed and jumped with Brook in the damp sand.
"Embee!" Brook cried loudly, wanting him to join them.
He took a few steps closer to the duo and jumped with them, letting laughter fly from his lips. After a few seconds he grabbed Brook under the arms and lifted her high in the air, swinging her around as she giggled happily.
As Embry was twirling with the small child in his arms, Callie felt her breath catch again, but this time it wasn't due to the cold water at her feet, it was because of the man that was playing with her niece. His dark brown eyes were shining in happiness at the musical sounds of Brook's giggle, and Callie couldn't seem to look away. There was something about him that just drew her in, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to fight it. With the realization made, she made the choice to let whatever relationship her and Embry would have happen. For the first time in years, she was going to allow herself to get close to somebody.
This realization brought an uncontrollable smile to her face.
"Why are you so happy?" Embry asked as he sat a happy Brook back onto the sandy ground.
"I'm just really glad that I decided to hang out with you," she said honestly.
Embry's face broke into the largest smile Callie had ever seen. She was a little worried that his face would break in half.
"Me too."
The afternoon continued with the trio playing in the tide pools. Embry and Callie continued to exchange random information about themselves, both feeling closer and more attracted to the other with each fact that was shared.
After two hours of playing and Embry showing them various parts of the beach, including pointing out the cliff where he and his friends went Cliff Diving, it was time to leave.
Brook had fallen asleep in Embry's arms as they were walking down the beach back to their blanket and picnic basket.
"Thank you for inviting us."
"Thank you for coming. I had a great time," Embry told her honestly.
"Even with a two year old running circles around you?" Callie asked, trying to make it sound like a joke, but deep down she was worried that Embry didn't like that he had to hang out with a child.
Embry reached out and grabbed Callie's arm gently, stopping her mid step, and turning her towards him. Callie stared at the ground, not wanted to see something in his eyes that she didn't want to. Embry reached out and gently grasped her under the chin, gently lifting her face until her gray-blue eyes met his dark brown ones.
"I had an amazing time with you and Brook today," he told her seriously, "I don't mind spending time with Brook, she is an amazing little girl. She already has me wrapped around her little finger."
"Really?" Callie asked hopefully, her eyes shining with hope.
"Really."
Callie smiled at him beautifully, and Embry couldn't help but to smile back.
"I know this is sudden, but would you like to go out to dinner with my later this week?" Embry suddenly asked, unable to hold it in any longer.
Callie had a look of shock on her face, which caused Embry's heart to fall.
"If you don't want to that's fine, we don't have to-"
Callie cut off his rambling by placing a finger over his lips, "As a date?" she asked softly.
"It doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be," he reassured her.
"Do you want it to be?" she asked curiously, pushing a lock of red hair behind her ear.
"Yes."
Callie's face broke into another smile, "I would really like that."
Embry couldn't contain himself; he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, feeling the spark immediately. Callie felt it as well, letting out an almost inaudible gasp.
"How about Tuesday night?" he asked.
Callie thought for a minute. She was sure that someone in the house would be able to watch Brook for a few hours.
"That would be perfect."
I hope you liked the chapter!
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