this is me trying

chapter eighteen: shitshow

seth

I pull at my hair in frustration as I knock loudly on the door of Jake and Nessie's place. I wait just a moment before knocking loudly again. Nessie opens the door with a confused look on her face, dressed in only a robe. "What is wrong?" She asks worried. Her eyes scan over my appearance in hopes to get some answers.

"Is Jake here?" I say, brushing past her to enter their home.

"Come right in, why don't you?" Nessie says sarcastically, motioning with her hand before shutting the door. "And no, Seth, Jake is not home right now. He is at his dad's house fixing something with the roof or something. What's wrong?"

I groan as I fall onto the couch. "No one will take my patrol shift tonight and I promised Tatum a second date this evening." I say before resting my arm over my eyes. Stress and frustration cause my shoulders to tense up.

I hear Nessie settle in the chair. "Well, I'm sure that Jake will probably take it." Nessie assures me. "But something tells me that's not really what you are stressed about." She says pointedly.

I lift my arm off of my eyes and sigh. "I said that I was going to make dinner tonight at my place. And I'm not really sure why I said that because I freaking can't cook to save my life."

Nessie chuckles. "There it is." She mutters before standing up from the chair. "That I can help you with." She responds as she moves to the kitchen. "Why don't I write out a simple recipe for you to follow?" Nessie calls out from the kitchen. "All you have to do is pick up the ingredients from the store and follow the instructions."

The weight of stress and frustration on my shoulders begins to lighten. "That would be wonderful." I respond, thankful to have such a helping friend.

"Why are you so stressed out about this?" Nessie asks. "Well besides from the obvious." She says, referring to my lack of cooking skills.

"I just want everything to be perfect for Tatum." I grumble discouraged. "I want her to have a good time with me."

I hear Nessie's feet pad against the floor, getting closer. "Seth, she's going to have a lovely time with you." Nessie assures me, giving my shoulder a squeeze of reassurance. "Didn't she say that she enjoyed the date you planned on Saturday?" Nessie questions. I nod my response. "I think as long as she is with you, she is happy. You two have a connection. And that is more important than any silly date you plan. You two are going to have fun tonight, I'm sure of it." She hands me a piece of paper.

I shrug my shoulders, unsure.

"Now, go to the store and get ready for tonight." Nessie says. "I will handle talking to Jake about covering your shift."

I sigh as I rise from the couch. Nessie gives me a smile that I weakly return. "Thanks, Nessie." I say as I take steps toward the door.

"No problem, Seth. Call me if you need any help." She hollers to me as I walk out the front door.

I trek to my truck and climb in. I throw the piece of paper onto the passenger side seat. I start up my truck and head in the direction of the grocery store. Once at the store, I spend about thirty minutes wandering aimlessly around the store, trying to gather the supplies that I was instructed to get by Nessie.

After purchasing the items, I head home to begin my prep for tonight. I have two hours until Tatum gets off work, which is plenty of time to take a shower and start prepping for dinner. But as soon as I walk into my shared apartment, I realize I need to add cleaning to my mental list of things to do.

I take a shower first before deciding what I should wear. After getting dressed, I proceed into the kitchen where I begin on Nessie's instructions of cooking. I complete Nessie's instructions step by step before I get to the last instruction: letting it cook for a while. I take this time to clean up the living room and dining room table.

After completing that task, I set up the dining room table neatly before going back to check on the food. Just as I am stirring the sauce, I hear the front door open.

"Shit." I grumble, under my breath. "No, no, no." I say as I move into the living room to intercept the intruders.

"Dude, I'm telling you. I am totally going to whip your ass." Brady says as he plops down on the couch, kicking off his shoes in the process.

Collin follows him in, throwing down his dirty work bag and work boots in the process. "That's what you said last time, yet I totally killed you." He says as he falls onto the other couch.

"You guys have to get out of here." I grumble.

My two roommates peer up at me and Collin burst out laughing. "Dude, why are you wearing a button up? You look like a total dork." He cackles before Brady's laughter joins in.

I peak down at my outfit. Is it really that bad? I don't have enough time to change. Tatum is going to be here any minute and I need to work on getting these fools out of here. "You guys have to get out." I say motioning to all of their stuff. "Tatum is going to be here any minute. I told you guys that you couldn't be here tonight. I thought you guys said it was no problem."

"Oh, is your date thing tonight?" Brady asks as he turns on the TV with the remote, obviously ignoring my request for them to leave. "I totally forgot about it."

"Yes!" I huff, stepping in front of the TV screen to block their view. "Can you guys please leave? I'm begging."

Collin sighs and looks over to Brady. "Man, I don't have anywhere else to go." Brady whines. "Laura is too busy with homework and she says I'm distracting when I'm over there."

"Yeah, and the whole pack is practically in hiding, trying to avoid Jake who is wanting someone to pick up your shift of patrolling tonight." Collin adds, pointedly.

I open my mouth to argue with them more, but just as I go to speak, the fire alarm blares in interruption. "Fuck." I yell before running into the kitchen which is filling with smoke.

I hear footsteps follow me as I pull the smoking pan from the stove. "Seth, dude, are you trying to burn down the house?" Brady chuckles as he turns off the stove and tries to shut off the fire alarm.

In the process of running water of the burnt contents of the pan, dirty water splashes up to ruin my shirt. "Well, it looks like my shirt is ruined." I grumble to myself.

"Probably for the better." Collin yells from the living room.

The doorbell rings and I can't help but wish Tatum could be just a little late. "I'll get it." Collin says, amused to be meeting my imprint for the first time in the midst of this shitshow.

I quickly clean off my hands and follow Collin to the door. "Hi, you must be Seth's boo thing." Collin says as soon as he answers the front door.

I hear Tatum's beautiful laugh. "I guess you can call me that." Tatum giggles. "You must be a roommate."

"The name's Collin Littlesea." Collin holds out his hand for Tatum to shake. "You don't happen to have any single friends, do you?" He asks with a smirk.

I quickly step in between the two of them. "Okay, that's enough." I say, nudging him to go back to the living room. I meet Tatum's green eyes and I can't help but melt. She looks gorgeous in ripped jeans and a flared sleeved, red sweater. "Hi." I say, grinning. My thoughts slip from the thoughts of the shitshow that just occurred. Tatum's eyes slowly move to the large stain on my shirt before a smirk takes over her pink lips. "Yeah, I have a little bit of explaining to do."

I motion for her to come in. I give her a side hug, not wanting to get her dirty, and press a kiss to her hair. I lead her into my bedroom and quickly slip my dirty shirt off. "So, I totally ruined our dinner." I say as I search for another shirt. I watch as Tatum's eyes look to my abs and I can't help but smirk. "Plus, those two idiots don't plan on leaving. So we probably need to change our plans."

Tatum's eyes jerk away from my abs. "We don't have to change our plans." She assured me. "I don't mind that your roommates are here."

I slip on a plain black shirt. "But dinner-" I begin.

"We can order food or something." Tatum says with a shrug. I bite my cheek in hesitation. Tatum steps forward and rests a wary hand on my chest. "Stop trying to make everything so perfect." She whispers before leaning in toward me. "It's perfect just being here with you." She whispers before pressing her lips against mine.

I quickly hug her body into mine as I allow my lips to massage hers. She always said the right thing to reassure me. She's perfect. "Are you sure?" I mumble against her lips. "I can't help but want everything to be perfect for you."

"I'm happy just to be with you." Tatum says as she peers up at me with her glowing green eyes. "Plus, you promised me a game of Mario Kart, remember?"

I can't help but chuckle. I'm glad that she remembered our conversation at her place the night after the mall incident. "Oh, you are so on. Can't wait to beat you." I tease as I grab her hand.

I lead her out to the living room where Brady and Collin have settled into their spots on the couch. "Oh the lovely couple has decided to join us." Collin chirps.

I roll my eyes as I take a seat on the couch and pull Tatum to sit beside me. "T, this is Collin and Brady, my annoying roommates. Brady, this is Tatum." I introduce them.

"Tatum, we've heard a lot about you." Brady grins. "Trust us, Seth has quite the crush on you."

"Oh shut up." I groan, tucking my head into Tatum's neck, wanting to avoid the teasing of my pack brothers.

Tatum runs her fingers through my hair. "I think it's cute." She says softly to me.

Collin makes a gagging noise that I chose to ignore. "Oh, like you are much better." Collin pokes at Brady when Brady begins to laugh. "Brady has a fiancé." Collin fills Tatum in as he wiggles his eyebrows.

"She hasn't exactly said yes, yet." Brady argues.

Collin rolls his eyes. "But she will. All imp-" I clear my throat and give him a pointed look. Collin quickly corrects himself. "You two are meant to be together. It's clear."

"What's your fiancé's name?" Tatum asks, innocently.

"Laura." Brady smiles brightly like a big goon. All of us imprinters always looked like goons when we spoke of our imprints. "She was going to come over tonight but she is studying. She's going to school to be a nurse."

"Oh, cool. Where does she go to school?" Tatum asks, curiously.

"Peninsula College here in Forks." Brady informs.

I sit up, pulling my head from Tatum's shoulder begrudgingly. "Tatum and I are going to order some food for dinner." I say, diverting from the topic of Laura. I knew Brady could talk about her all night and I couldn't bear it. "Do you guys want any?" I ask.

"Oh, really? I thought we were going to eat the black chicken." Brady gripes before the three (Tatum, Collin, and Brady) laugh at my failure of dinner. Tatum gives my thigh a squeeze.

"I would kill for some chinese right now." Collin states before patting his stomach as if to show he is starving.

I roll my eyes as I stand. "I was going to let Tatum decide what food to get since it's supposed to be our date before the two of you decided to tag along." I grumble in annoyance.

Tatum laughs, light-heartedly. "Chinese sounds good with me." I am not sure if she was just agreeing to be nice or if she really wanted Chinese. But she gives me a look of certainty that doesn't lead me to argue with her.

I begin taking everyone's orders before I place the order and settle back on the couch next to my imprint. Tatum rests a casual hand on my thigh and I can't help but relax into her side and wrap an arm around her shoulder.

"Seth said that you love to play Mario Kart." Collin grins. "Are you up for the challenge?" He asks, as he holds out a controller in her direction.

Tatum's eyes light up in amusement. "The real question is: Are you up for the challenge?" She smirks, devilishly. "I used to beat my brother Cade all the time. So I know I won't have any problem beating you guys."

Brady lets out a belly laugh. "I wouldn't be too sure about that." Brady says, confidently.

A Mario Kart tournament begins between the four of us. And it gets really competitive between the group. Just like my roommates, Tatum isn't afraid to talk dirty or play dirty for that matter in the middle of this competition. And just like she had warned, Tatum was pretty good at Mario Kart. She was beating up my experienced roommates without a bat of an eye. I love seeing this competitive streak in her, just like I had done on our first date during the bowling and arcade games.

When the food arrived, we paused our tournament play to eat and chat. The chatter is light-hearted and entertaining. Tatum was grinning the entire time, which satisfied me. I am happy to see her happy. I also enjoy seeing her look so relaxed here at my house and with my pack brothers.

After finishing up our food, we proceed to play a few more games of Mario Kart, where Tatum continues to beat us relentlessly. Following our final game, Collin and Brady can't shut up about my imprint.

"Tatum, you ARE really good." Brady states before giving Tatum a fist bump as if she were one of the bros. "This might be the last game for tonight, but I assure you, we will play in a rematch." He says, pointing a finger in her direction.

"And I will win." Collin chirps into the conversation.

My two roommates continue to bicker on who would win as they exit the living room and head to their respective bedrooms. When Tatum and I are left in silence, I look to my imprint, who looks worn out. She gives me a tired smile. "I had fun tonight." She whispers.

I grab her small hand in mine and pull it up to my lips to press a kiss to the back of it. "I'm glad." I respond. "I had fun, too."

With her free hand, she reaches up and strokes my face. "This date was just as fun as the first." Tatum promises me. "A different fun. More relaxed. More you." She says as her thumb rubs my cheek. "I like doing things like this just as much as I like doing the stuff we did on the first date."

I look at her unsure. Not entirely convinced. I thought girls liked the over extravagant dates.

"I don't need fancy dates. I just want to be with you, Seth." She says before leaning down to press a kiss to my lips.

Our lips remain interlocked in a peaceful connection between two people for moments before my tongue maneuvers through her parted lips. When our tongues make contact with each other, I quickly pull her into my lap by the grip on her hips. Tatum reaches out to hold my face with both of her hands as our tongues massage one another. I can't help the natural reaction that occurs within me as I grow hard beneath her.

Tatum breaks the kiss with her panting as she rests her forehead on mine. She shifts on top of me, causing me to groan. Tatum lets out a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry." She whispers, referring to my hard on.

"You have nothing to apologize for." I assure her. "You are perfect."

"I'm far from it." Tatum whispers, breathlessly. She climbs off of my lap and stands in front of me. "I should probably head out. I have work tomorrow. And a family dinner, unfortunately."

"A family dinner? Didn't you just have dinner with your family a few days ago?" I ask, confused.

She nods her head, causing her blonde hair to bounce with her. "But unfortunately, my mom wants to have dinner with my sisters present. She originally had it scheduled for next week, but apparently one of my sisters had a conflict. But I guess it will just be over faster." She grits out.

I frown, sensing how upset this truly made her. "I'm sorry." I say, honestly.

Tatum just shrugs. "I had a good time tonight. It was definitely a lovely way to break up my week." She says with a smile. "I'm glad I got to see you, too. And got to meet your roommates."

I rise from the couch. "We will have to do it again some time." I agree.

"A casual date." She smiles. "I like the sound of that."

With that, I walk Tatum out to her car and kiss her goodnight before watching her drive away. And just like that, I am counting down the seconds until I see her glowing green eyes again.

Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait for the new chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I really enjoyed writing it! Let me know in the reviews if you enjoyed it or what you would like to see. Be sure to favorite or follow the stories so you can get notifications when I update. xx M