Seth
The last weekend of January, I arrive at Katie's apartment earlier than scheduled – my boss at the lumber yard let me off a few hours early, so I wasted no time in hoofing it to Olympia.
After I knock, I hear heavy footsteps approach, and when the door swings open, I come face to face with a man.
"Hey dude, what's up?" he greets.
In the back of my mind, I know there has to be an explanation for why there's a strange man in Katie's apartment when I show up before she's expecting me.
But that doesn't stop my hands from clenching into fists.
His eyes grow wide when he notices my change in body language. "Whoa, dude, chill out. Uh, Katie?" He yells over his shoulder, not fully taking his eyes off me.
I hear shuffling from Katie's bedroom. I focus in on her heartbeat in an attempt to calm my own as red heat crowds the edges of my vision.
"Seth!" she says excitedly, popping out one of her headphones as she comes over to me. "You're early," she says.
My eyes stay locked on the stranger, and he takes a step back.
"Seth," Katie says softly, placing a hand on my forearm.
Her touch is enough to snap me out of my anger, and my muscles relax instantly. I can't afford to be angry around her. I finally find her eyes with my own. She's worried.
"Seth, this is Devon, Ashley's boyfriend," Katie says, not removing her hand from my arm. "Devon, this is my boyfriend, Seth."
Devon gives me an awkward half-smile. "'Sup?"
"Hey," I gruff, ducking my head down so I can't see Katie's disapproving stare.
Katie drags me to her room and shuts the door behind her before whipping around to face me. "What was that about?" she asks immediately.
I watch as she takes out her other headphone and slides her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. She winds the headphones around her hand as she waits for my answer.
There is an unfamiliar emotion behind her eyes, and it makes me soften considerably. Whatever it is, it doesn't belong on a face as beautiful as hers.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I have no idea what happened. I just… I was early, and he answered the door, and I thought…"
The unfamiliar emotion spreads to the rest of her face, and her eyebrows scrunch together as she sets – almost slams – her phone and headphones down on her desk. She crosses her arms tightly across her chest. "You thought what?"
"Feels silly now," I admit softly.
"Say it anyway," she says. There's a bite to her words that reminds me of Leah when she gets angry. Oh. So that's what that emotion is.
I can feel her eyes on me, but I can't meet them. I stare at the floor instead as I mumble, "I thought you were… hanging out. With him," I say cautiously. "I overreacted."
"Yes, you did," she quips, her eyes starting to water. "I was folding laundry, Seth," she says, pointing to the bed behind me.
I turn over my shoulder to see half-folded piles of clothes covering her bed.
"And by the way, how I choose to pass the time we spend apart is none of your business," she continues, a tear leaking onto her cheek.
I step forward, trying to swipe it away, but she brushes past me and moves to her bed.
I slide my bag off my shoulder and set it in its designated spot on the floor by her dresser. "I'm sorry, Katie. You're absolutely right," I say, reaching for her arm.
She steps to the side, out of my grasp again. "You don't trust me," she spits, hands shaking as she tries to fold a t-shirt.
"No! It's not that!" I say, grabbing onto her wrist.
She pulls away from me again. I know I could hold her here, but I don't want her to hurt herself trying to get out of my grasp. I drop her wrist.
"What is it, then?" she asks, face twisted in a scowl. The shirt in her hands is nowhere near folded.
She hastily pushes the shirt onto a pile of folded clothes and reaches for another, but I grab it before she can get ahold of it. She sighs, wiping her eyes briefly before reaching for another.
"I didn't…" I start, grabbing the new shirt she tries to go for.
She catches on to my game and crosses her arms over her chest again with a huff, leaning against the wall by the head of her bed.
"I didn't know Ashley's boyfriend would be here."
"I told you," she returns. "I texted you like an…" I watch her face change. "An hour ago. When you were already on your way here," she realizes, shoulders falling.
I pull my phone out of the side pocket of my bag. An unread text from Katie glows on my screen. "Excited to see you! Heads up, Ashley's new boyfriend Devon is hanging out here this weekend," I read aloud.
She lets out a long sigh. Her tears, at least, have stopped.
"I'm sorry, Katie. I think sometimes I forget that not everybody sees you the way I do. That not every man thinks you're the center of the universe," I say. "Because that's what you are to me."
Katie rolls her eyes, and I detect a hint of laughter as she answers, "Very smooth." She fights a smile, and I see her body visibly relax.
"Now," I say, taking a step toward her. "I don't think we've actually said 'hi' yet, have we?"
"I don't know if I'm quite ready to say hi to you yet," she mumbles.
I take one more step to close the distance between us. Her eyes grow wide as she flattens her body against the wall. She doesn't have anywhere to escape to. I hear her heart racing at our proximity.
"Are you sure?" I tease, pressing a finger lightly to the pulse point on her throat.
"Yes," she says, although her pulse only races faster. "I'm still mad," she says unconvincingly.
"Oh, alright then." I say, taking a step backward.
"Seth," she sighs. There is a sense of desperation behind her tone.
I reclaim the space between us, crashing my lips to hers with the same sense of desperation.
I press my body against hers, forcing her up harder against the wall, and it elicits a gasp from her against my lips. I grab her waist, holding her in place.
Her hand brushes my chest, and I feel her fingers tighten around my shirt collar.
She breaks away, breathless, all too soon. "Hi," she whispers against my lips.
"Hi," I say back, bringing my lips against hers again. This kiss is softer, more of an apology this time than a reunion.
I break away and pull her into my arms. She rests her head against my chest and I hear her pulse slowly start to return to normal.
"Still mad?" I murmur into her hair, getting a deep breath of her scent. She smells like citrus, grapefruit maybe, and vanilla. After a week – okay, five days – without it, it overwhelms my senses. It's intoxicating.
"No," she mumbles into my chest. "Still jealous?"
"No," I say, placing one final kiss on her forehead before taking a step back. "I'll call next time."
She shrugs, turning back to the laundry. "It's not a big deal. I don't have anything to hide."
I turn to face the mountain of clothes on her bed, and my eyes zero in on a piece of clothing that's familiar. "Is that my shirt?" I say, reaching for the red Henley.
Katie's face turns crimson, and she snatches it up in her hands before I can grab it. "I accidentally packed it with my stuff after Christmas break." She shifts her weight to her other foot, holding the shirt in both of her hands. "I was going to bring it back, and then… it smelled like you," she finishes, holding it out for me.
I shake my head. "Keep it."
Her heart rate increases. "Really?"
I nod, taking it out of her hands and folding it. "I'm sure it looks better on you anyway."
She shakes her head. "I highly doubt that," she says, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.
I exchange the folded shirt for the one she haphazardly folded earlier and start to fold that one too. We fold a majority of her clothes in silence.
Katie's pulse increases, and out of the corner of my eye I see her slip something behind her back.
"What was that about not having anything to hide?" I say playfully, angling to try and get a better peek.
"Don't, Seth," she says, jerking away from me.
"C'mon, Katie, lemme see," I say, holding her hip to try and reach behind her.
"Stop," she commands.
Like I'd hit a brick wall, my movements stop, and I drop my hands back down to my side.
Her eyes grow wide. "Um, thanks," she says, like she hadn't expected it to be that easy.
Neither had I. But imprinting made it impossible to ignore Katie's command. Not like I would want to anyway. I turn back to the laundry pile and continue folding.
"I don't have to see it, but could you at least tell me what's so incriminating?"
She coughs, and I hear her slide open her top dresser drawer. "Just some… undergarments."
My ears get hot. Now I understand her embarrassment. "Right. Sorry," I say, trying in vain not to think about what specific article of clothing she was trying to hide.
"So I think Ashley and Devon are going to a party tonight," she says, abruptly changing the subject. "We're on our own for dinner."
I'm grateful for the distraction, especially when that distraction is food. "What did you have in mind?"
We end up getting Chinese food from a place Katie swears by, although I'm a little concerned about food poisoning based solely on the building exterior. She only laughs, promising me that it's tried and true.
Katie and I spend Saturday exploring Capitol State Forest. She's taking a photography class this semester, and she's explaining that they get extra credit if they submit ten different types of photographs.
"There's that many different kinds?" I ask. It's just barely sprinkling, and Katie's fingers are bright red because she refuses to wear gloves. She claims it affects her ability to control the camera.
Her eyes grow wide. "There's so many more than ten."
"What are your favorites? Landscape, obviously," I say, gesturing out to the wide field in front of us. We're all alone out here; we're the only ones crazy enough to be out here in January, and there's some bad weather coming in.
"Landscape is nice, yes. Seascapes, too," she says from behind the viewfinder. "A lot of the photography I really like I can't do. Like astrophotography."
"Why not?"
She takes a breath before answering. "It takes equipment I don't have. There's only so many loaners in the photography department, and it's too expensive to buy my own."
"What other kinds of photography do you like?" I ask, moving on quickly.
She smiles warmly at me before shifting back to the landscape. "Anything that tells a story, really. Candid, lifestyle, urban exploration. I've also wanted to try my hand at golden and blue hour, but I haven't been that adventurous about it."
She pulls back from the viewfinder. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" she asks with a smirk.
I shake my head. "No, but I'd love to learn."
She continues snapping photos as she talks. "Golden hour is the hour – thirty minutes is probably more accurate – after sunrise and before sunset. The sun's really low in the horizon, so everything is…"
"Golden?" I offer.
She laughs. "Fast learner."
"Good teacher," I retort.
She blushes. "And blue hour is the time before sunrise and after sunset. There's light from the sun, but it's still under the horizon, so everything is—"
"Blue," I finish for her.
She glances over at me, shifting the camera so that I'm the subject. Before I can think, she clicks. "Candids," she says, "are natural. The subject usually doesn't know they're being captured. It's really raw, which is why I like it so much."
Katie pulls up the photo roll, showing me the picture she just took.
I smile. "Can I take one of you?"
"Sure, if you want," she says, holding the camera out for me. "What should I do?"
I lift the camera to my eye and find her in the viewfinder. "Don't move, you're perfect," I say.
She tries to freeze, but her cheeks flush with color and the corners of her mouth turn upward.
I continue taking pictures.
"Okay, that's enough," Katie laughs, reaching for the camera.
I raise my arm, holding the camera far out of her reach.
"Seth! Be careful!" she giggles, eyes growing wide as she reaches up for it.
There's a breeze in the air that swirls her hair around her face, and it's so chilly it makes her eyes water. She jumps for the camera, and she's nearly swallowed up by her winter coat. When she lands, the hood falls perfectly on her head.
Katie giggles, standing on her tip toes as she continues reaching for the camera. She can't even reach the dangling strap when my arm is fully extended. "Please?" she asks quietly, jutting out her bottom lip in a pout.
I blow out a sharp breath, dropping the camera down so she can reach it.
She grabs the camera, but her brow furrows. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She asks, slipping the neck strap decorated with lilies around her neck.
I have to swallow to clear the lump in my throat before I speak. "I'm so in love with you, Katie."
A smile breaks across her face, and it makes my heart skips a beat.
"I love you, too, Seth," she says softly.
I reach up and cradle her face before brushing my lips softly against hers. Our mouths mold together in a way I only ever want to experience with her.
When we break apart, Katie looks to the side and smiles again.
"What?" I ask.
"It's snowing."
I lift my eyes. Little flurries are flying all around us, but they're melting before they touch us.
"It's like being in a snow globe," she murmurs before leaning her head against my chest and gazing out at the field around us. "I think I could stay here forever."
"Me too," I say into her hair.
But then my stomach grumbles, and Katie chuckles into my chest. "You sure about that?"
"I'm still surprised I didn't get food poisoning."
Later that night, Katie and I are lying in bed, watching a movie on her laptop. It's a romantic comedy – something, like Christmas movies, we both love to tear to shreds.
Across the apartment, I hear Ashley ask Devon in a hushed voice if he has a condom.
"Katie," I whisper, sitting up. "We should leave."
She sits up with me. "What's the matter?"
I chuckle, running a finger across her cheek, the lines of my shirt pressed into the skin there. "Ashley and Devon are about to have sex. From what you've told me…" I trail off, tilting my head.
Her eyes grow wide, and she giggles. "Yeah, we should go."
We slip on our shoes quietly, and I grab a blanket off the back of the couch on the way out the door.
It's still snowing. Even on the short walk to Katie's car, the thick flakes rest in her hair.
I drive us to the beach anyway, and we sit in the car. The heating system in her car is horrible. I'll have to see if Jake can take a look at it next weekend when she's in La Push.
Katie starts to shiver, so I pull the blanket tighter around her shoulders and wrap an around her. I almost wish we were in my truck. There's no center console, and I can hold her closer in there.
"Can you still hear them?" she asks.
"Just barely," I say. "It's nothing like being around the wolves," I admit.
"Are they all… noisy?" she asks. Although the only light comes from the dull glow of the dashboard, I still her cheeks grow red.
"Yeah," I say, chuckling. "New Year's Eve was the worst."
Her eyes grow wide, and she grimaces. "Ew."
"I'm used to it by now. The rez is small," I say.
I watch her face twist as she comprehends that information, and she pushes her feet against the dashboard. "Can we talk about something else?"
"This is part of Sunset Beach, right?" I ask without skipping a beat.
She nods before resting her head on my shoulder. "Why?"
"Just wondering if you ever actually get any good sunsets around here with all the rain."
She laughs. "Good point. There's a Sunrise Beach across the inlet, too. I've always wanted to try and make it out there to see one, but I can never wake up in time. Plus it's always raining."
"Do you like sunrises better than sunsets?" I ask.
She nods, and when I glance down, her eyes are closed.
"Why?" I ask.
She makes a contemplative noise, and I can tell that sleep is enticing her. "Full of possibility. Makes me feel like I can change the world. I saw a sunrise the morning I left on my road trip in October," she says softly.
She hadn't told me that before. Warmth floods my heart. What are the chances? That she feels like she wants to change the world, and then she comes to a tiny little beach town and meets me? Did she know that she succeeded? That she changed my entire world?
I open my mouth to tell her that, but Katie's already asleep against my shoulder.