Kate was standing out by the river when he came to find her that evening, after the party had broken up, blood still high and many and varied emotions running rampant. Garrett, usually impervious to that sort of group mentality, felt oddly stirred by the show of support for this odd family he'd become surprisingly attached to in so short a time. He felt a bit like an extended cousin: affably welcome into the family - bouncing Rensemee on his knee; (mock?) scuffling with Emmett; complimenting Carmen and Rosalie and listening with fascination to Carlisle's stories.
And his Kate.
He held his breath when he approached her, still feeling daring, up in arms - being ready for action wasn't a new state for him to be in exactly, but the challenges he tackled were usually physical or mental ones. Not matters of the heart... but he'd made up his mind, and there was no turning back from this point. He'd often scaled mountains or walked through a crowded marketplace just to see if he could. The edge of danger he felt in those situations was the same as he felt now. He longed to show Kate the world he'd seen during his adventures, and couldn't fight the feeling that the if Kate was with him, it would be like seeing the lands for the first time himself.
She didn't turn around, though she had to have heard his boots crunching over the leaf litter and the minute sound of his breathing. So he came up behind her and wound his arms around her slim waist. He almost melted when she leaned back into his embrace and a soft sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry that I ran out on you like that earlier, Garrett." She said softly, the way she said his voice like music. He wanted to hear her saying his name every day for the rest of their lives. He nuzzled into her head, remembering to breath again to inhaled her strawberry-snow-static scent as if it were oxygen. "I only care that you came back." He told her honestly. "And I'm sorry too, for pushing you. I would be lying if I said I hadn't been dreaming up ways to kiss you since I first laid eyes on you, though."
He felt a small inaudible laugh run through her. She leaned her head back until it rested upon his shoulder, and with her chin tilted sideways, she looked up into his eyes. Her voice dropped to a lower, silky tone that nearly keeled Garrett over at the knees. "I had a little bit more in mind when I first set eyes on you."
Garrett made a small strangled noise in the back of his throat, holding onto her for dear life in case he chanced to be dreaming. "Maybe I should take back that apology, Katie. Might have just done the trick."
The nickname fitted, though she would have zapped a month of Sundays out of anybody else who'd called her that. She turned slowly in his arms, though he kept his grip on her tightly, able to feel her lithe figure even under her bulkier outdoor clothing. When her hands snaked up between them and caressed his chest very gently he thought he'd never remember how to think again. Her body was lightly pressed against his, and he'd never cursed the existence of clothing before that moment.
"Garrett, this is complicated..."
He placed two fingers against her lips to silence her. "It's not actually." He voice was shaking, dammit. "The most uncomplicated thing in the world is how I feel about you, it's having you here, and in my arms, and wanting you so damn much that I can't remember anything else." Her big beautiful eyes gleamed as if she could actually cry, and he reached up to cradle each side of her face, tracing his thumbs over her cheeks, words tumbling out with a fierceness now. "Every evening when the couples vanish all I think about is how much I want to spirit you off somewhere all to myself, how much I want to kiss every inch of this body of yours." He stroked a hungry hand from her neck down her side to her thigh and felt her tremble in response, still frozen against him. "I think of every little thing I want to do to you to show you exactly how I feel so you'll never, ever want to run from me again." She was pressing closer, as close now against the lean, long lines of his body as she could get while still able to gaze up into his face. She stood up on her tiptoes so she could reach his ears, and the slight slide of arms, breasts and stomach up his chest nearly killed him.
"Show me, Garrett." She whispered in his ear, and with a muted roar he swept her into his arms, leaped the river and took off through the trees.
A/N: Too much? Not enough? Next chapter is being written, so let me know what you'd like to see happen... you never know when a wish might come true!