Embry's POV

This isn't a date. It's an errand.

Early this morning I asked Winnie if she would accompany me on a run out of the res to some auto parts stores. As I've finally wanted to start detailing the empty van. It was a poor pick, but right when I woke up I wanted to see her. She was nice enough to agree, getting ready so fast when I picked her up at 9am.

Maybe if we stopped for some breakfast, a good playlist, some spontaneous stops for ice cream or something, maybe it could have been a date.

It could have been a date, if Jacob hadn't tagged along. Then he also brought Paul.

"Okay, here me out," Paul sticks his head up front, right between Winnie and I.

"Just a ton of posters. Everywhere." Paul suggests, holding out his palms to visualize it.

"What kind of posters?" I sigh, already knowing the answer.

"You shouldn't even ask." Jacob chuckles under his breath. Though all of us except Winnie can clearly hear him with our werewolf hearing.

"Posters of hot girls," Paul continues on as of he wasn't interrupted by Jacob.

"Pass," I ease off. My eyes glance to Winnie who clearly looks uncomfortable, but not in a tense way. More like she's trying not to roll her eyes. Women who brave being the only female in a group of straight guys are strong. We're barely ten minutes into the drive and already we brought up naked women.

"Come on," Paul groans, siting back to cross his arms.

"There's a lot of reasons that's not a good idea, Paul." Jacob finally can't hold back his laugh anymore.

"Like how?" Paul puffs.

"For one, I drive my mother around in this van." I point out which immediately makes Jacob laugh harder and even earns a laugh from Winnie.

"And Winnie too," I add, resisting the urge to reach across and squeeze her hand.

"And how can Embry even appreciate them if they're all behind him in the back of the van?" Jacob comments.

"Or if I get pulled over, how do I explain having naked women plastered all over?" I laugh, now finding the situation too funny not to happen at least once. It would make a great story.

"Fine, whatever man," Paul waves off. "If I didn't have a bike, I'd do to my van."

"You say four wheels are for PTA parents." Jacob adds with a smirk. Which just makes Paul flip him off with a whatever he never manages to finish because it turns into a laugh of his own.

"Winnie, what do you think the van could use?" Jacob inquires. She thinks it over for a minute, before turning in her seat to tell him.

"String lights could be cool. Mood lighting and all." She answers, thoughtfully resting her chin on the seat. "But not those fairy lights. Something that can change colors."

"Damn, that blows my poster idea right out of the water." Glancing in the rear view mirror, I can see Paul rubbing his jaw as if he's sore she one upped him.

"Now that's an idea I like." Not able to take my eyes off the road, I nudge my chin in Winnie's direction who grins back.

"Okay, how about this? A mini fridge."

"Paul, that'll drain the battery."


"No shag?" Winnie asks, gliding her hand over a sample of car mat. The two of us share a grin, remembering one of first conversations when I first started driving her around.

This is our third auto parts store today. We've been going from small town to small town, checking out autozones, garages, local hardware stores. Soon we might have to resort to a junk yard. All while Winnie hasn't complained once, not even when we all wanted burgers, or when Paul tried to hold a burping contest, or how we haven't stopped playing rock music all day.

"No shag." I shake my head.

"No furry dice either, huh?"

"Not a one." I joke along.

"Looks like your car isn't going to be furry." She shrugs playfully.

"Thank god." I breathe, checking out a sample of mat that's a deep maroon. So far we've decided on no tapestries or lava lamps. There's a silent yet strict agreement of no seventies vibes. Trying to make a hangout between the lines of hippie and homeless is trickier than I thought.

"Though, I did find something for Paul." Winnie looks satisfied with herself as she hands me a blank license plate with the mudflap girl silhouette.

"He'll love it." I chuckle, leaving it aside. "How are you liking guys day?"

"It's entertaining." Winnie nods, glancing over another sample. "I've mostly lived with only women most of my life. This is definitely a new experience."

Besides the cook and customers, Winnie doesn't have much of a male presence in her life. Her landlord is Old Lady Enola, before that her aunt raised her. Winnie even works with mostly all women at the Lodge.

"You don't mind it? Not grossed out?" I ask lowly. I don't blame her for being uncomfortable around boys since the freshmen year incident.

"Not a bit." Her nose scrunches up a tad as if she finds my question funny. "If you want, we can have a girls day."

"My mom and I have one every now again when she can manage a day off. We go get mani-pedis. I get clear and whatever she wants then we head go to a Marshall's or something." The way her whole face softens up with a smile makes me go warm. "If you want, you can come on our next one."

My mom could have easily been one of those parents who parks their kids at daycare or sitters for some alone time. Even though as a single parent who could have definitely used the alone time, she always included me. Most guys my age hate shopping with their mom, even grocery shopping. While I've always looked forward to shopping or nail salons or shopping or cooking, because that's how we spent time together.

"If your mom is okay with it... then yeah I would really like that." Winnie agrees, looking content.

"That means you got to meet her." I point out. My mom has been pressing me for awhile to bring Winnie over. Technically, Winnie has already met my mom back when we were younger. Though Winnie knows I mean reintroduce herself as the girl I have feelings for.

"If that second date happens, then sure." Oh she's clever. Winnie always knows how to give a polite, but the least straightforward yes I've ever heard.

It's amusing as it is frustrating.

"You're killing me," I groan, nearly growl. I lean into her, getting so close it's hard not to reach out and touch her. "Threaten me with a good time again, and I'll ditch these two just to have you all to myself, and we'll go have that date right now."

Winnie comes to a complete stop, as if I just made her mind go blank. Even though she paused, the sound of her heart speeding up gives away that she's thinking over every word I said, getting faster and faster with each breath. When it starts beating unevenly her face goes pink, it's so tempting I have to plant my feet so I don't just reach down and kiss her.

It takes everything in me to give her an innocent smile when her eyes meet mine. The way she turns into me to give me a glance nearly makes the wolf take full control. It's such a small movement that opens her right up to me.

"You wouldn't leave them out here." She musters up, glancing out the store front window where Jacob and Paul are debating over tires outside.

"They can manage to get home on their own," She doesn't know about how they can run all the way to Canada on four legs next to no problem. Winnie opens her mouth to say something reasonable, but nothing comes out. I can't tell whether the word yes is on the tip of her tongue or not.

"So which one do you like better?" I play innocent, going back to looking at the samples as if I'm not struggling to keep my hands to myself. I've always had good self control when it came to sudden shifts, but that wolf is hard to keep in check when Winnie and I are together.

She looks dizzy. I try my hardest not to smirk.

She's completely flustered up, pink from her ears to her neck. Checking her heart beat, it's even faster than it was before. And all while I play dumb as if I have a halo over my head.

"Um," Winnie's fingers pick a random one. "That one?"

"Then that's the one I'm buying," I decide.

"Embry!" All I can do is laugh.