Chapter Ten
Ever since becoming a wolf, Jared's appetite had increased exponentially, there was no denying it. It was perfectly reasonable why, though.
Before becoming a wolf he had been a (rapidly) growing teenage boy with an appetite to match. But now he actually required more food because of how much he burned off by phasing and through all of the running he did as a wolf. Sam and Paul had appetites just as big as his.
But after the third time he sent Kim's mom back to the kitchen with a new order of food in the span of a little over an hour, even Paul was giving him funny looks. And it was never a good sign when Paul was the one to question a person's actions.
Okay, so admittedly maybe he had achieved what he'd previously thought was impossible and was actually currently full. But couldn't Paul see the big picture here? Jared had also achieved what he'd thought was more impossible and was currently hanging out with Kim doing something completely non-school-related (well, kind of, anyway). He couldn't just stop eating now! Then they would have to do the socially-acceptable thing and leave the diner and then he'd have to bring Kim home. No, it was for the best that Jared just kept ordering more food. Really, it was.
But on the other hand…if they stayed too long, then Kim's mom might be finished with work and then she'd do something crazy like insist on driving her daughters home herself since they were all going to the same place, and then Jared would have less time with Kim.
Clearly this was just a no-win situation.
"Can we go to the beach after this?" Kylie asked, looking pleadingly at Kim.
Hmm…or maybe not quite no-win.
"We could do that," Kim replied, glancing down at her watch. "It's not even two yet, and mom won't be home until really late tonight anyway."
Well that was good to know too…
"And Paul and Jared can come, too!" Kylie continued cheerfully.
Jared smirked at Paul's deer-in-the-headlights expression as the other boy looked up from the remnants of his massive order of fries at the sound of his name.
"Yeah, Paul," Jared agreed, smirking widening as Paul glared at him. Kylie's attachment to Paul was by far the most entertaining thing Jared had ever witnessed. "You should come to the beach with us."
"I have to head to work soon," Paul stated, but as Kylie lamented the fact her new best friend would soon be abandoning her, Jared was more focused on the fact Kim's cheeks had reddened again slightly.
For as adorable as Jared really did think her blushing was, by this point he knew that it really only happened when she was embarrassed about something. So now the question was: what did Kim have to be embarrassed about right now? Surely it couldn't be Kylie's obsession with Paul; she'd seemed just as amused by that as Jared was. So then…was it something Jared had done? Oh no! That must be it! Jared had done something and now Kim was embarrassed by it and she was never going to want to associate with him ever again! His life was over.
Suddenly, a cool hand was lightly touching his arm that rested on the table.
"Are you alright, Jared?" Kim's voice spoke softly from his left.
Jared barely registered Kylie, on the other side of the table, conning Paul into promising her he would go to the beach with her another time. No, his attention was focused on the fact that Kim was actually touching his arm and the rest of her was just an inch shy of being pressed against his side, as she had leaned closer to talk to him quietly.
"Jared?" Kim questioned again. "Are you okay? You looked like you were going to start hyperventilating or something."
Well, that was probably a reasonable observation, Jared could not help but concede to himself. And if she leaned any closer to him, he couldn't promise that it wouldn't happen.
Jared turned to Kim with a smile, "I'm great."
And she must have believed him, because her concerned expression easily morphed into a matching smile. She was beautiful.
Also, clearly imprinting could be responsible for causing some pretty rapid mood swings. But Jared wasn't about to complain about it a single bit.
After asking for a to-go box for his latest meal, true to his word Jared paid for Kim and Kylie's food, easily shooting down Kim's protests that it was too much. Nothing was too much for Jared to do for Kim; she would learn that soon enough.
Following that, they all piled back into the truck—Jared glancing nervously back at the diner in case Kim's mom happened to be witnessing him driving around her daughters semi-illegally—and Jared dropped Paul off at Sam's house, before heading towards First Beach. Throughout the whole ride, Kylie kept up a constant stream of chatter about the sand castle she planned to build while Kim nodded or gave a monosyllabic reply every so often.
The pink tinge was back on her cheeks again.
Once Jared had parked and Kylie was running across the deserted sand—it was typically overcast and rather chilly outside for a day at the beach for most people after all—he turned to Kim and held a hand out to her. She didn't take it, though, and Jared's outstretched arm wavered when she made eye contact with him and bit her lip—a telltale sign of her nervousness.
"Kim?" Jared questioned.
"You don't have to stay with us!" Kim finally blurted out and her blush darkened. Was this really what she had been embarrassed about since the diner? "I mean, thank you for driving us here, but if you don't want to stay and build sand castles with us I'll totally understand. You really don't have to spend more time with us than you already have today if you don't want to."
A wolf was supposed to be whatever the imprint needed and wanted him to be. And Jared was really starting to get a clear picture of what Kim needed from him.
There was no doubt about it that Kim was used to going it alone. To start off with, even though Kim hadn't said anything—and Jared knew it was too soon to ask about something so personal—he knew her dad wasn't in the picture at all. Her mom loved her, but she also needed to work two jobs in order to support her family and so depended on Kim to take care of Kylie most of the time. Jared could barely even fathom how much work it must be for Kim, as a teenager, to care for a seven-year-old all the time. What he did know, though, was that caring for Kylie was basically Kim's life. She had let slip on the first day Jared asked to eat lunch with her that she usually ate alone because she had no one to sit with. Because she didn't really have friends. Because she didn't have time for friends. She was fifteen years old and she didn't have time for friends.
What Kim needed was someone who could be in her life and wasn't going to leave her alone, who would support her and help her in any way possible.
Jared was more than up for the job.
"Don't be ridiculous," Jared told her easily. The key had to be being casual about the whole thing. "I love spending time with you, and I think Kylie is hilarious, so having her around is pretty fun, too."
"You're sure?" Kim clearly couldn't help but question. And, although her expression was just a bit dubious, her eyes had definitely lit up when he said he loved spending time with her. Well that was definitely a good sign.
"Positive," Jared replied, reaching his hand out for hers once more, and this time she took it. This was now the second time today that Jared was holding Kim's hand—for the record, it fit perfectly in his—and as they started walking across the beach to where Kylie had begun digging through the sand with her hands, he couldn't help but think that this day really couldn't get much better. Well…maybe there was just one more matter to settle first…
"So I was thinking," Jared began.
"Do you do that often?" Kim cut in slyly.
"Eh…when it suits me," Jared replied with a shrug, though he was grinning. Before he'd really gotten to know Kim, he'd had no idea how sassy she could be when she wanted to. He loved it. "But really though, I was thinking about something in the car."
He glanced over at Kim here and she merely raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
"You know how I asked you out earlier?" He questioned. "And you agreed?"
"Yes, I believe I was there for that," Kim replied.
"Oh, good, so was I," Jared said. "But anyway, I only just realized that even though we agreed to go out together, we never actually discussed any specifics. Like when…or where."
"Hmm…you may have a point," Kim agreed thoughtfully. "I feel like figuring out those types of things might prove useful in the long run."
"See? That's exactly what I thought!" Jared exclaimed. "So, I guess the important thing to know first: when is Kylie leaving?"
Kim shook her head with a small laugh. "She is kind of a third wheel, isn't she?"
Well, Jared had attempted to word it in the least rude way possible, but if Kim was going to word it like that, then he couldn't help but agree. Kylie was an entertaining third wheel, but a third wheel nonetheless when all he really wanted to do was spend time with Kim.
"Mom has the day off tomorrow," Kim continued, "So we're heading over to the Hoh reservation to spend the day with my grandma. We'll leave Kylie there with her."
"So, we can go out on Friday, then?" Jared asked hopefully; he was pretty sure he would die if she said she was busy then. And what if she had changed her mind about going out with him in the past two hours since he had originally asked her? Or, more realistically, in the past two minutes since he brought the topic up again? This was all way too stressful.
But then Kim smiled and Jared instantly felt himself relax. Ah…the imprint-induced mood swings strike again.
"Friday would be perfect."