The more she thought about it, the more Delilah thought it was okay to go with her gut and play it by ear. As right as Julie had been about Embry's reaction being worth some thought and consideration when it came to understanding who he really was and what Delilah wanted of him, she couldn't ignore how she felt around him and how much she never wanted that feeling to go away. How she felt around Embry wasn't comparable to how she'd felt around Nathan when she'd been with him, Delilah decided. It wasn't comparable to how she'd ever felt around anyone before. She didn't know that anything would ever come of her and Embry, but she knew she didn't want to stop being around him, at least in some capacity.
Delilah tried not to assume, but she figured something would happen at some point. She just figured Embry liked to take things slow, or that he was trying to figure himself and his own feelings out. But Delilah couldn't bring herself to ignore how he'd grabbed her hand and how much courage he'd seemingly needed to stack up in order to do so, or how he'd started coming around her more and more, even sitting in her house while she got ready. He seemed to be doing that just to be around her, and Delilah found it hard to avoid all of these things that might be considered signs by most people.
She wasn't necessarily growing impatient, but every day that went by without him making another move made her prone to more and more embarrassment. Because with every passing day, she seemed to like him more. It was scary, feeling something for someone as fast as she'd begun to feel things for Embry. Only, it wasn't all that fast, the more she'd thought about it. She'd known him for over a month by then, and she'd spent a lot of days within that month with him. She supposed she only felt nervous because of how strong her feelings were in comparison to how she'd felt at the beginning of her two previous relationships.
She didn't know how he felt, really. Even though she knew how she'd grown to feel about him and how she thought he felt about her, she knew that she would rather be his friend than nothing at all. She just wanted to be around him, above all else. He'd awakened something in her, she'd decided. Something she hadn't felt anything similar to since her mom died. She felt alive and, well, happy. It was a different kind of alive than she'd felt when her mom hadn't been sick, but she was okay with that. And she clung to it.
Embry had offered to take her to get something to eat after practice that Thursday, and as per every other time, Delilah obliged. He suggested the diner, of course. Which Delilah didn't mind. They served french toast all day, after all.
But Embry suggested she do something before they went and got their dinner. He suggested that she finally talk to her father.
She'd been a little taken aback by his suggestion at first, though this wasn't the first time he'd encouraged her to do this. But it was the first time he'd suggested a date and time for her to execute the idea. She didn't really know what to say, and she ended up awkwardly not answering, really. She stuttered a few times and then looked away from him.
"I'll be outside, and you could preface the conversation with that if you need to. You'll have a way out if you need one. Plus, he'll probably be quicker to tell you how he feels." Embry had reasoned. And his words did make her feel better. If it didn't go well, she could leave before it got ugly. And if it did go well, it'd be short and sweet and best of all, over with.
So she agreed, and it was all she could think about during practice. She'd called Rosalie before practice started because she'd needed to stay on campus for the practice, but she still needed to talk to her. Rosalie had said it was a good idea, and the more she dragged it out, the more she'd have to regret later on. Because more dragging meant more time. So, basically, she was on the same page as Embry. It was weird, they seemed uneasy around each other but they were similar in what they thought was best for Delilah most of the time, and how it reflected in the advice they'd both given her a time or two. She wished they got along better, she thought they'd like each other more than they did, if they really knew one another. And that went for all of the Cullens, really.
So Delilah got in Embry's car after practice, nervously running her fingers through the tips her hair that was pulled back into a ponytail as she waited for him to turn onto her street. She didn't remember the drive ever taking so long, except for the time she and her father had rushed home from her science fair because her mom, who had been home alone, was feeling worse than she ever had, but she refused to call an ambulance. This wasn't quite that bad, but the drive from the school to her house had never seemed long in any other situation.
Once she was there, it felt as if the ride had been too short and that she wished it was still going. But it wasn't and Embry had given her an encouraging look as she'd grabbed hold of her gym bag with one hand and the door handle with the other, stepping out anxiously.
She'd noted his truck in the driveway as she walked up to the door, her head hung somewhat low as she attempted to peer over and look through the front door's window to see if her father was watching a game in the living room. When she got close enough, she realized that he was, and that she would have to face him right when she walked into the house.
Or not. She found herself running up the stairs, deciding to get out of her uniform and into normal clothes first. This seemed like the smart thing to do. If she really needed out, she'd be able to leave right away.
"Are you going out? It's a school night." Her dad offered once he heard her bounding back down the stairs. Delilah sighed, knowing she was going to have to be the one to bring it up. It seemed fair, though. He had been the one to try last time. Then again, he was the adult.
"Just to dinner. I'll be back before 11." She replied, turning to face him. Even her head on eye contact seemed to throw him for a loop. He hadn't gotten that much out of her since before the incident. Suddenly he was up out of his brown recliner, walking toward her, leaving two feet between them.
"Fair enough." She knew he was trying to take her attention as a lifeline, and she felt bad that he'd been that desperate to talk things through. She sighed, knowing then really was the perfect time to bring things up and be rid of the awkwardness for good.
"I know you're still seeing Tracy." She started. He was confused. Her words were blunt, maybe even sharp, but her tone wasn't. She was calm as ever. He cleared his throat as he thought about her words, trying not to scare the communication he'd been hoping for away by saying the wrong thing.
"I am." He admitted simply and cautiously. Delilah inhaled deeply through her nose, trying to keep herself composed, as well as revert her mind from that fateful Saturday morning.
"Well, it is what it is then," Delilah admitted, and with her exhale went the anger that she'd built up toward him. She was letting it go, though she'd never forget it.
"Would you rather me not see her?" Her dad's words surprised her. It wasn't as though he had never valued her opinion, but if he'd continued to see her while they had been on the outs, so she somewhat figured he didn't care all that much about her opinion of the situation.
"No, I want you to be happy." Delilah figured her dad would be surprised, maybe he had figured that too, but he wasn't. He knew his daughter and he knew what kind of person she was. No amount of surprise or anger would trump that, in the end.
"Well then, I'll get over it." Delilah decided out loud. Her dad raised his salt and pepper colored eyebrows. He was surprised by her answer, he felt like it still left them in some sort of limbo, but he'd take it over Delilah's ignoring him, that was for sure.
"Really?" He asked, hoping she would elaborate.
"Yes. I want you to be happy, dad. But she isn't the perfect candidate, to be frank. She's still technically married, she's my best friend's mom. It could get complicated." Delilah felt she could be honest with him, given how subtle the conversation had been so far. She was right, she could be. Her dad already knew all of these things.
"I know it's not ideal in every way. But thank you. For coming around." He gave her a somewhat weak smile.
"Yeah." She said simply, turning to open the front door again, doing what she could to leave the somewhat awkward energy behind. She hoped it would be less awkward every time they interacted after that.
She only turned and walked back toward him when she saw his eyes were glassy. He didn't cry, and she knew that. She hugged him close to her and his arms somewhat hesitantly wrapped themselves around his daughter for a few moments.
"Bye dad." She pulled away and walked out of the house, grabbing her purse off of the entry table on the way, leaving him to consider everything that had just been said, and said without actually being said.
She got back into Embry's Jeep, only then realizing how fast her heart was beating. She closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths before opening them and looking on silently.
"It went well?" He asked. She knew he wasn't going to pull away until she told him what had happened or that she didn't want to talk about it, so she turned to him.
"It's better. A lot better." That was all it took for Embry to put his car in gear, pulling off into the night. He surprised her when he grabbed hold of her left hand, squeezing it and resting their now connected hands on the center console. Now Delilah's heart was beating fast again, but for a different reason.
When they arrived at the diner, Embry did what he always did when they went somewhere together, he opened her door for Delilah, helping her out. She was sort of surprised when he grabbed her hand again leading her into the establishment in a way that reminded her of how she'd grabbed his hand when she'd taken him to air hockey. The diner was busy, so people would definitely see it. She wondered if Embry cared about what some would assume about them if they noticed her hand in his.
Mindy was their waitress, she'd been their waitress four out of the five times that he'd now taken her there. She was friendly, often asking how Delilah was doing in school and what they'd been doing before they'd showed up.
"Do you kids need menus or do we know what we want?" The woman rested her hands on her hips, looking between them expectantly.
"No, I think we're good. Do you want french toast or a burger?" Embry asked her. Delilah felt her face heat up, seeing how predictable she was.
"The first one please." She looked at Mindy, smiling at her shyly. The waitress laughed and shook her head.
"Coulda guessed," Mindy said softly, almost to herself while making note of the order on a pad of paper. She turned to Embry looking at him expectantly.
"I'll take a double bacon burger please." He said, taking a sip of his coke right after he spoke. The waitress wrote his order down, then looking back up at him.
"Good manners. Better than most of the kids that come in here. Tiffany raised you right." She commented, pausing and smiling down at the young man. "You giving her less shit lately?" She continued, causing Embry to look up, startled. Delilah cocked her head, confused by the woman's words. He'd never said that he'd been having a hard time with his mom.
"We're doing fine, Mindy." He grumbled, looking away from her quickly. He was over the conversation, clearly.
"Good. This one seems like a good influence anyhow." The woman winked at Delilah, walking away and leaving them alone. Embry was still staring at his drink.
"Are you and your mom-" Embry didn't even let Delilah finish her question, hurrying to cut her off and end what Mindy had started.
"We're fine. Really." He looked at Delilah, clearly trying to make her believe that there was nothing to what Mindy had said. Delilah swallowed awkwardly.
"You don't have to, but you can talk to me too, you know." She offered. Embry couldn't help but smile at her. She meant it, and would've listened without any question, had he told her or had she found out before.
"It's just curfew stuff. She thinks I'm a rebel. It'll pass." Embry assured Delilah. She took the answer, nodding and smiling at him.
"Well, I'm here." She responded with another reassuring word, looking over at the TV screen in the corner. Embry believed her.
He paid, this was only the second time she had let him. And he grabbed hold of her hand once again as they walked back to his Jeep. She figured he had walked to her side of the car so he could open her door. But he didn't, he just stopped and stared at her for a while. Delilah still felt drawn to his eyes and all the emotions playing around within them, so she stared back.
"Should I take you home?" He asked, quickly shaking his head, almost like he was ridding himself of what he had felt when he looked at her so he could function properly again. And really, that was what it felt like he had to do.
Delilah found herself disappointed. She didn't know why, but she'd braced herself for him to lean down and kiss her. Finally. Though what she felt when she was in his presence was unique to anything else she'd ever felt, she knew it was socially acceptable for him to finally make a move. And she couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't.
"Okay." Delilah couldn't help but sigh as she finally looked away from him, turning to open the door for herself.
But the door was left ajar. Delilah was taken off guard as Embry spun her back around, tipped her head up gently, and planted his lips on hers softly.
It was nothing like when he'd first grabbed her hand. She was surprised by this. She hadn't been able to see it coming or really brace herself. But still, it was easy, comfortable but exciting, just good. His lips were warm and tender and they to Delilah, they felt like they molded with hers perfectly. And as her hands subconsciously flew around his neck, pulling him down toward her in an effort to deepen the kiss, she realized she really didn't need to brace herself. There was nothing scary or intimidating about how she felt. Suddenly and organically, she felt herself admit that he was everything she needed him to be.
Hello all! Well, it finally happened! I hope this was an entertaining chapter and as always I hope everyone is staying safe.
This was a feel-good chapter, I think. I hope you all feel similarly. Thank you for the continued support! This whole fic has
been a welcomed distraction with everything that is going on in the world, I hope it's a good distraction for you guys too!
-J