Hey guys! Thank you for your continued interest in this story. This chapter was fun to write! Nothing too serious, besides some old fashioned sexual tension :)
Seth
It's been a while since I've had to come to Olympia on two legs, and I don't like how slow it makes me feel. But Katie needs my truck – and Jake's – to move her stuff up to La Push.
I haven't seen Katie in nearly two weeks, and I feel my heart racing the closer I get to her. Two weekends ago, I had to leave for patrol early Sunday morning. Last weekend, she'd foregone her weekend in La Push to study for finals. I didn't complain – out loud.
But she's done with finals now, done with her obligations in Olympia altogether.
When Katie's heartbeat drops into my hearing range, I relax considerably. I had no idea I'd been so anxious until I wasn't anymore. I shift into fifth gear, willing my truck to get me to her just a little bit faster.
My feet have barely touched the ground after I park when I hear the side door burst open. Katie spills out, beaming.
She practically runs across the parking lot to me, throwing her arms around my neck in a tight embrace. I lift her off the ground, and she winds her legs around my waist, holding me tighter to her as she plants a hard kiss on my lips.
I'm a little floored at her public display of affection, but I'm certainly grateful. I pull back and say into her hair, "Nice to see you, too."
She giggles against my neck. "I missed you," she says, placing a kiss below my ear.
I set her down, turning back to Jake and Nessie. When Katie notices we have an audience, her cheeks fill with heat. She must not have noticed them before. "Hey, guys," she says softly. "Thanks for helping me out today. I thought you weren't coming until later."
Jake gives her a grin as he says, "Couldn't wait to get started. Let's go see what we're working with."
Katie slides her fingers through mine instinctively, leading the way up to her apartment. It's always been sparse, but with Ashley moved out, it's absolutely barren.
Katie's bed is stripped, sheets packed away. Her walls are bare, curtains taken down. Even her desk, which I've never actually seen the surface of through textbooks and loose photographs, is clean and empty spare her duffle bag. It's painted turquoise.
There's a small pile of boxes in the corner. The one on top, still open, holds her photo albums and portfolios.
Nessie flips through them as Jake and I discuss the best way to load the trucks with Katie's furniture.
"Seth said you were good, but I thought he was being biased," Nessie says, flipping through the various books. "No offense," she adds quickly, looking up to Katie with wide eyes.
Katie laughs, winding her arms around my waist. "I thought he was biased at first, too," she says, looking up at me. "Thank you."
"Do you just do landscapes?" Nessie asks, eyes back on one of Katie's many albums.
"That's one of my favorites, yes. I'll have to take some classes in other areas for my degree, so we'll see if anything else sticks."
Nessie nods, placing the book carefully back in the box. "Let me know. Maybe you'll photograph my wedding one day."
Half the heartbeats in the room speed up at that comment – Jake's and Nessie's.
I can't decide who I want to look at, so I settle for flicking my eyes back and forth between the two of them.
Nessie's cheeks are pink, and she's deliberately avoiding eye contact as she peers down deeper into the box. Jake's eyes are on the ceiling, but I watch him spare a glance down at her.
Maybe I should amend my bet for when they're going to get together. Embry will probably charge me another entrance fee, but that's okay. It should pay off.
"We should eat before we do anything," Jake says to fill the awkward silence. "I can't work on an empty stomach."
Katie laughs. "Yeah, sure. Seth can't either," she says with a wink up at me. "We'll have to go get something, though. I have no food."
"What are you in the mood for?" Katie asks as we head toward the parking lot.
Jake's eyes light up. "Chinese?"
"No!" Katie and I exclaim at the same time, and then we share a knowing look and burst into laughter.
It garners a weird look from Jacob, but he must be ravenous, because he suggests burgers in the next beat.
After lunch, Jake and I start loading up what little furniture Katie has, and Nessie stays inside to help Katie pack up her last few boxes.
Jake and I are on our way back from loading up Katie's dresser, and a guy on his way out holds the door open for us.
"Thanks, man," I say, grabbing the door from him.
"No problem," he says. "I've seen you around here before. You guys are moving stuff out of two-A, right?"
I can't fight my grin. "We're helping my fiancée move out." It still feels weird to refer to Katie as that, but that's what she is, for forty-nine more days at least. But who's counting?
The guy nods, studying us with an amused expression. "No offense, but I'm not too sad to see her go."
"Why not?" Jake asks defensively. It's a valid question – why would anyone not be sad to see Katie leave?
The stranger laughs. "She's a screamer, bro. Makes it hard to focus on homework."
Jacob's jaw goes slack, but the guy only laughs, continuing on his path toward his car. "Anyway, see ya!"
"Seth, you dog!" Jake says, punching my shoulder.
I shake my head, and I rush to explain myself before he gives me any more credit. "He's talking about Ashley. Katie's roommate."
"Right," he says slowly, unconvinced.
My ears get hot as I say, "We're waiting. And I've, uh, heard what he's talking about. Thin walls."
I'm not sure what my face looks like, what Jake sees in my expression, but he drops the subject.
When Jake and I return from loading up the last of the furniture, Katie is working to box up her few rarely-used kitchen items. I lean on the counter next to her.
Jacob plops down next to Nessie on the sofa.
"Is this your couch, Katie?" Jake asks, throwing his arm casually across the back of the couch. He's chosen to sit next to directly next to Nessie. Yeah, I'm moving up my bet. By the end of summer, definitely.
"No, but Ashley doesn't want it. And honestly, we probably need to burn it," Katie says, folding the flaps of the box shut.
"Why?" Nessie asks, turning to look at Katie over her shoulder.
There's a smile playing at Katie's lips when she answers. "I've walked in on Devon and Ashley on there at least three times."
Jake and Nessie scramble to their feet, and Jake curses under his breath.
I can't help but laugh, and it only makes it better when Jake's eyes tighten in my direction. I shrug, giving him a glance that says, Told ya.
The couch ends up by the dumpster, the rest of Katie's belongings get shoved into her trunk and back seat, and just like that, her chapter in Olympia is done.
After Katie does a final walkthrough, she winds her arms around me as we stand in her empty apartment.
"Are you sad?" I ask, studying her face as she takes in the blank walls.
She purses her lips. "I'm going to miss Ashley the most, I think. And the free cable," she says with a small smile.
"Was it hard to say goodbye?"
Her eyes dart down. "Yeah, we cried for a good thirty minutes. I don't think I'll see her again until the wedding, and who knows when we'll see each other after that," she says, voice shaky. With a sharp breath, she raises her eyes to mine again. "But I am excited. At least we don't have to say goodbye anymore," she says, squeezing my waist.
I hug her tight to my chest before pulling back. "We should go. It's a long drive."
"Three hours and sixteen minutes," she says with a laugh. "Give or take."
I walk with Katie to the leasing office to drop off her key, and when we return to the parking lot, Jake is spinning his keys around his fingers, leaning next to Nessie.
Katie gives him a thumbs up. "Good to go."
"Ready, Ness?" Jake asks, moving toward the driver's seat.
"Actually, I think I'm going to ride with Katie," Nessie says.
It's hard not to notice Jake's face fall, but Katie's lights up in the same beat, so I can't really find any sympathy for him.
Jake and I nearly have both trucks unloaded, Katie's stuff shoved into the spare bedroom of Leah's house, by the time Katie and Nessie pull up.
They spill out of the car, giggling, holding two coffees each.
"'Bout time," Jake jokes, and his comment causes the girls to burst into giggles again.
"I had to stop for gas," Katie says, extending a coffee to me. "And Nessie offered to get us coffee, as a welcome home present."
My fingers brush hers as I accept the cup, and I can't stop the smile that comes to my face. Home. Katie's home now. And I feel like I am, too.
The door has hardly shut behind Jake and Nessie before Katie's winding her arms around my neck from her position next to me on the couch.
"Katie, baby," I say. "Leah will be home soon."
She giggles. "You should stop talking, then," she says before pulling my lips down to hers.
I am quick to oblige her, covering her mouth with mine. I rest my hand on her waist, and she locks her arms behind my head.
Our lips move together at a feverish pace, and soon I'm unable to resist any longer before running my tongue across her lips.
She moans into my mouth before returning the gesture, and our tongues tangle along with our hot breaths. My hand slips to Katie's hip, her hands cupping my neck as she kisses me hungrily, trying to deepen our kiss further.
My hand has nearly reached the button of Katie's jeans when I hear Leah's car pull up outside.
With a groan, I pull away. Katie whimpers, grasping for my hand and trying to move it back, but I pull away again seconds before Leah walks through the door.
Katie blushes when she realizes why I've stopped, and Leah pauses in the doorframe at our guilty expressions. She looks like she wants to say something but thinks better of it.
Over dinner that night, Leah clears her throat. "I'd like to talk to the both of you," she says, and I know whatever she held back earlier is about to spill out now.
"I thought we could set some ground rules. You guys already have a list of those, don't you?" she says with a chuckle.
"Leah, we don't need to do this," I say, seeing Katie blush out of the corner of my eye.
Leah rolls her eyes, setting her fork down. "My room is off limits," she says. "And don't fuck on the table. People eat here. And if you're going to shower together, at least lock the door."
Across from me, Katie's face goes crimson, and she ducks her head.
Leah opens her mouth again, but I rush to stop her. "Leah, we aren't—"
"Aren't what?" she interrupts. "Going to do that? I was a teenager once."
Is she speaking from experience? I can't unimagine the things my sister has likely done in this house. "I'm twenty-one," I say defensively. My ears are red-hot, but I try to continue. "We aren't… We—"
"We haven't had sex," Katie interrupts.
Leah chuckles. "You don't think I know that? I share a mind with Seth at least once a week. I just want to know what you expect from me. Privacy or no privacy."
The color on Katie's cheeks deepens as she looks down at the table. "I want to wait," she says, quiet yet firm.
Leah nods, eyes narrowing at me. "Okay, then. No privacy. Got it."
"Leah!" I exclaim, hiding my head in my hands.
She snickers at my clear embarrassment. "You can't have it both ways, Seth," she says. When I groan, she adds, "Oh, and all of those things from earlier still stand after the wedding. Please don't fuck on the table."
Having Katie in La Push, having her here with me, is great. She started a waitressing job at the diner in Forks, and they agreed to work around the wedding and Katie's school schedule when she starts back in the fall.
The first Saturday morning of June, my phone dings with a text from Embry – Sunshine and 70 today. Beach later.
"It's supposed to be sunny today," I say to Katie excitedly. "Which means everyone is heading to the beach."
Katie laughs as she continues brushing her hair in front of the mirror. "Isn't the water still fifty degrees or something ridiculous?"
I start digging through my drawers for my swim trunks. "I can keep you warm if you get chilly," I say, wiggling my eyebrows up at her.
She laughs, shaking her head. "Do you have sunscreen?"
I find my trunks and straighten up, trying to remember the last time I'd seen any of the wolves or imprints stop to apply sunblock. After coming up short, I shake my head. "We don't really get sunburns that often."
"Right," Katie says, cheeks turning pink.
It's easy to see how she could burn with her milky skin. I bet she's really cute with sunburnt cheeks, and I almost feel guilty for hoping it happens today. Then I remember we're getting married in three weeks, and I actually feel guilty. I'm sure she doesn't want tan lines in our wedding pictures. "We can stop at the store on the way, though," I say. "To get some. And we'll grab drinks."
She nods, setting her brush down. "Drinks as in soda, or drinks as in beer?"
I chuckle, winding my arms around her waist. "Have you had beer before, Katie Kat?"
Her nose crinkles as she cranes her neck to look at me. "Devon let me try one of his once. It was gross."
"Then we'll get you something nonalcoholic," I say, kissing her crinkled nose.
She tiptoes to capture my lips with hers. When she pulls back, she chews her lip. "I don't remember the last time I went to the beach. I'm not even sure I know which box my bathing suit is in."
Katie and I spend the next forty minutes digging through her stuff in the spare bedroom in search of her swimsuit.
"What's this?" I ask, brandishing a small stuffed frog. "I've never seen it before," I say.
When her eyes fall on the frog in my hand, they go wide. "Oh, my God."
"He's cute. Where'd ya get him?" I ask, inspecting the stuffed animal.
She leans over and reaches for it. "Please, Seth, don't."
"Have you been hiding this from me every weekend I've been in Olympia?" I laugh, holding it just out of her grasp.
She jumps onto her knees after it, and I roll away from her in an attempt to keep it out of her grasp. "It's embarrassing," she says, trying to reach around my back to grab it.
"It's cute," I correct, scooting away from her again and attempting to scramble to my feet.
Katie tackles my leg, and I grunt as I fall back on the floor. She straddles my waist, and my eyes go wide as she leans down to my lips. I feel my desire for her start to surface.
But then she snatches the frog from my hands with a giggle and starts to move off.
I grab her hips, using her momentum to roll us. I'm hovering over her now, my legs intertwined with hers.
The sudden movement makes her gasp, and I take the opportunity to lean down and kiss her open mouth.
She must have dropped the frog, because she flays her palms across my chest and shoulders.
Her touch makes me exhale a sharp breath against her lips, and I reach up to cradle her face, holding her to me as I knead my lips to hers.
Katie works her tongue through my lips, whimpering as I fight it with my own, and I press my thigh in between her legs. It stirs the scent of her arousal, and I have to suppress a growl.
She tears her lips away. "We're breaking our rule," she says breathlessly.
I sit up, pulling her into my lap. "Better?" I ask, not waiting for an answer before moving my lips to her throat. One benefit of our many make-out sessions is that I've now mastered the art of not giving her hickeys, which I know she appreciates.
Her hands tangle in my hair as she settles her weight against my crotch.
My hands slip from her waist to her butt, encouraging her to make that movement again. She moans and indulges me, grinding her hips to mine.
I push her shirt up her back, but her hand wraps around my arm to still me. "We both can't have our clothes off," she whispers.
"That's not a rule," I chuckle against her neck. "And I'm just shirtless." I place a kiss below her ear.
"Same difference," she murmurs, even as she throws her head back, giving me more access to her neck as she continues to move her hips against me.
"Do you want me to stop?" I ask against her neck before pulling back.
She blushes, biting her lip.
But she doesn't have a chance to answer, because Leah slams the bathroom door shut hard enough that it shakes the whole house, and Katie scrambles off my lap.
"Oops," I hear Leah snicker under her breath.
She's having entirely too much fun with this whole buzzkill thing.
Katie shoves me out of the spare room, urging me to get dressed. She assures me she can find her swimsuit on her own.
By the time she emerges from the bathroom she's already got her clothes on overtop of her swimsuit, jean shorts and a button-up baseball jersey.
When she sees me staring at her, she blushes again. "What?"
I shake my head vigorously to clear it. "I've just never seen you dressed like that before," I mumble, grabbing my old Mariners baseball cap off the corner of the mirror and offering it to her. "For the sun."
She accepts it with a gracious smile. "Thanks. And it hasn't been above sixty since I've known you," she counters, "or not raining." She pulls the hat on her head as she heads down the hall to find Leah.
We're some of the last people to arrive at the beach after our pitstop at the store. Even Claire and Nessie are here. The only people still missing from the normal crew are Jared and Kim. I'm sure they'll show up giddy and smelling like sex soon enough.
I strip my tank top on my way to the cooler to shove in the drinks.
I try not to stare as Katie shimmies out of her clothes and spreads her towel next to Nessie in the sand, but it's hard. She's wearing a striped one-piece, perfectly modest, but it still makes my heart thump erratically against my ribs.
Paul comes up beside me, clapping me on the shoulder. "You have some drool, Seth," he says with a playful smirk. "Three weeks. God, I can't wait. Patrol sucks with you right now."
Embry laughs as he appears next to us. "And you think it will be better after the wedding?" he asks. "I didn't know Katie had a tattoo," he says, and when I track his eyes, they're on the back of Katie's neck as she pulls her hair through the hole of my baseball cap. "Is that her only one?"
Does he need to know about the other one? Katie got it there on purpose, so nobody would know about it, besides her future husband. I've only seen it a few times since the first time in March, and even then, it was only for a few moments before Leah found a way to ruin the moment. And I've never seen the entire thing unobscured by her bra.
Besides, it's not like Embry will ever see it.
For the first time in my life, I tell a deliberate lie when I say, "Yes."
Katie finds my eyes, and even across the beach I see her blush as she spots us watching her. She holds up the bottle of sunscreen in her hands. "Wanna get my back?" she says softly, knowing I will have heard her.
Paul and Embry cackle behind me as I scramble back across the sand to her.